Category Archives: C-MACS

Promoting Upcoming Events

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If you have an upcoming event and need to promote it, C-MACS can help with the promotion of an event while you create, manage, and operate it. Before we can do anything, though, we need some information about the event.

The questions on this form (also seen below) can help you plan your event, and will give us some background information so we can help promote it.

  1. Who is your audience?
  2. What date have you chosen? Does this conflict with other major events on campus or holidays?
  3. What specific activities are you planning?
  4. What kinds of advertisement do you want? Flyers, website graphics, table toppers? Based on your answers to the questions above, you should be able to formulate some visual ideas. You should now contact Jeff Koffler and communicate your ideas to him. He can create a unique image that can be used for your posters, flyers, website promotion, emails, etc.
  5. After getting your image, you can now communicate it to your intended audience, which you defined above.
    1. For reaching students, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and (coming soon) Snapchat are all great communication pathways. You can also send an email to ustudents-l@mailman.rice.edu, put up posters near the entrance, and contact Jeff about placing the image on the website calendar and website scroll.
    2. For university employees, use ALLDEPTS, our social media channels, put up posters near the entrance, and contact Jeff about placing the image on the website calendar and website scroll.
    3. For the outside community, use our social media channels, put up posters near the entrance, and contact Jeff about placing the image on the website calendar and website scroll.
    4. For grad students, use our social media channels and submit info to their weekly newsletter. You can also put up posters near the entrance and contact Jeff about placing the image on the website calendar and website scroll.
  6. If you need to post to our social media channels, please submit a request via the library’s website and select “Suggest a News Item or Feature for Fondren’s Homepage.” Please be sure to tell us which social media you want us to post to and follow standard rules for posting to social media sites (for example Twitter character limits).

Much of this information is on the C-MACS Wiki, as well. Feel free to browse it.

After following the steps above, if you need to meet with C-MACS about additional planning ideas, please feel free to contact the co-chairs, Michael Chiles and Norie Guthrie.

Originally published September 29, 2016 @ 14:19

Fondren Bingo Night 2016

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Last week, on Tuesday, August 30, Fondren Library hosted its annual bingo scavenger hunt with great success!

Jean shows students how to fill out the bingo card

Jean shows students how to fill out the bingo card.

C-MACS members placed bingo code cards at over 25 different points of interest within the building, such as the giant owl sculpture and the moon rock. Students could pick up bingo cards at a snack station on the 1st floor with icons matching those on the code cards. They would then write in the codes for that space on their bingo cards. Once they had a bingo (full horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line), they could bring the card back to the snack station to pick a prize (or two if they had a blackout)–Fondy swag!

This year, over 25 students took part in the event, which lasted from 7pm-9pm. C-MACS would like to thank Debra Kolah, Norie Guthrie, Jean Aroom, Michael Chiles, Mary Lowery, and Sue Garrison (and her friend Nicole!) for staffing the snack stations throughout the library.

Fondren Library Student Ambassadors Kick-Off 2016

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The UX Office, in collaboration with the C-MACS committee, held our first 2016-2017 Fondren Library Student Ambassador meeting on Friday, September 2nd. Norie Guthrie, Amanda Thomas, and Debra Kolah facilitated the meeting. The Library Ambassador program was started by the UX Office in 2014, but became a funded program by the Executive Committee in the Spring of 2016. We currently have 7 student representatives from: Lovett, Brown, Baker, Sid Rich, the GSA, Will Rice, and Jones College.

Current ambassadors are recruiting students from the remaining unrepresented colleges. Students can sign up at: https://library.rice.edu/news/we-are-looking-fondren-library-student-ambassadors and the Feedback owlcard has a small blurb about the program.

The 2016 Fall issue of News from Fondren will include a brief story on the program, and include a photograph of the students. The Ambassadors will:

  • Promote library events, classes and programs
  • Participate in Fondren Library social media
  • Attend library events
  • Serve as an advisory group to the UX Office and to the CMACS committee.

The kick-off meeting on Friday, September 2nd, included conversations about the new student conference room (Room 156) which will be open soon, Labor Day hours, safety and signage in the library, and upcoming events. Students will receive a weekly email that they will share with their colleges. All of the ambassadors also received a small bag of Fondren promotional items.

Additionally, Kathy Weimer gave a brief tour of the Kelley Center for Government Information, Data and Geospatial Services, and talked about the GIS/Data Center. She also informed the students of two upcoming events: Constitution Day, on September 16th, and the Digital Frontiers Conference https://digital-frontiers.org/ on September 22nd-24rd. She encouraged them to come to the two keynote talks at the conference, which are free to attend.  The students will help promote these events at their colleges, and make other students aware of the range of programs, events and classes that Fondren offers.

Future meetings will include tours of other departments, and help the students gain a deep understanding of the role of an academic library in the University. They will share feedback on their experience of the library, and gather feedback from their colleges that will help improve and develop library services.

Kelley

Kathy Weimer gives tour to the Ambassadors.

ambassadorswag

Marketing items from Fondren Library.

 

Social Media at Fondren update

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The Social Media group at Fondren is ready for 2016-2017! The schedule for content is as follows:

Twitter (862 Followers) https://twitter.com/fondrenlibrary:

  • Monday: Shannon Kipphut-Smith
  • Tuesday: Debra Kolah
  • Wednesday: Kathy Weimer
  • Thursday: Scott Carlson
  • Friday: Norie Guthrie

Facebook (1,238 Likes) https://www.facebook.com/ricefondren/:

  • Monday: UX Monday (Amanda Thomas)
  • Tuesday: Information Literacy/Reference Events (Joe Goetz)
  • Wednesday: News from Fondren highlight (Melinda Flannery)
  • Thursday: Archives/#TBT item from the Woodson Archive (Norie Guthrie)
  • Friday: Rotates with focus on library humor/light reading

Instagram (191 Followers): Michael Chiles/DaVian Smith/Norie Guthrie (3 x week) https://www.instagram.com/fondrenlibrary/

Pinterest: Amanda Thomas, Norie Guthrie (1 x week) https://www.pinterest.com/ricefondren/

This summer Norie Guthrie and Michael Chiles undertook cleaning up the Fondren YouTube Channel, and created new playlists. It looks great! Take a look! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FondrenLibrary

If you have something you would like posted to social media, you can use the form on the library website. On the Contact Us form (http://library.rice.edu/~fondren/contact) when you select “Add an Event to Fondren’s Calendar,” a “Post on Social Media” option will appear. We are especially interested in marketing events, classes, and presentations. We are still using HootSuite, so we can easily schedule posts in advance–so give us a heads up, and we will get it on the calendar!

We have room on the Social Media group for you! If you would like to participate in Fondren Library’s social media efforts, email Debra Kolah (dkolah@rice.edu) and we will get you signed up!

 

 

 

 

CMACS Summer Update & O-Week 2016

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These are busy times for C-MACS, Fondren’s Committee for Marketing and Customer Service! A number of C-MACS-sponsored activities are on the horizon for the library…

 

  • New “swag” is available to promote Fondren to new students around campus. Some of these fun and useful items include:CMACS O Week 2016-4
  • C-MAC’s Student Bingo Night will return on August 30. Participating students will receive Bingo cards which can be filled out by visiting certain locations around the library. Prizes will include some of the great swag seen above!
  • C-MACS will also host a Coloring Night as a mental rest break for student during mid-terms week.

 

C-MACS is also planning updates for Fondren’s customer service methods. Circulation will soon be the starting point of an experiment involving electronic tablets. The tablets — which the committee is considering for use at different locations around the library — can be used to promote events, sign up for those events, or conduct surveys.

 

Finally, the committee would like to thank everyone who signed up to help out with Fondren’s table at the university’s 2016 O-Week Academic Fair.

CMACS O Week 2016-1

Mike and Norie Doing Set-Up

CMACS O Week 2016-2

The Fondren Table for O-Week 2016

CMACS O Week 2016-3

The Reference Staff Meeting Students O-Week 2016

Keep an eye on your email for dates and further details!

New Fondren Brochures

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Fondren Brochure

New series of brochures for Fondren Library

The library has recently modified its brochure marketing strategy. Based on the success of the Fondren Owl Cards, which advertise specific departments and services, we have reduced the number of large brochures by updating the primary “Welcome to Fondren” brochure and creating smaller, single-sheet brochures for select departments. Service points should replace any existing brochures with the newly updated brochures; you can check the back of the “Welcome to Fondren” brochure to ensure that your copies show that they have been revised as of 1/16. Any departments interested in a future brochure or owl card should contact Debra Kolah or Norie Guthrie of the C-MACS committee.

Back cover of new brochure showing the recent date of revision

Back cover of new brochure showing the recent date of revision

Owl cards now provide concise information about departments and services that previously was conveyed through brochures.

Owl Cards now provide concise information about departments and services that previously was conveyed through brochures

 

C-MACS Updates

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Social Media

C-MACS has been working on strengthening Fondren’s Social Media presence. Our new series of Facebook posts, Faces of Fondren, have been extremely popular, and we are in need of additional profiles. Our Instagram followers have increased to 30-40, and we will hold a student contest where all shares on Twitter or Instagram during a defined period will be entered in a drawing for a dedicated study room during finals. Look for more details about the contest soon!

Renovation Open House

Access Services is hosting a study break on December 7 at 10 pm, and C-MACS is providing coffee mugs and cookie trays.

Collaborative/Quiet Spaces

C-MACS is following up on recommendations from the Survey Data Implementation Group (SDIG) about the need for collaborative versus quiet spaces within the library. We will investigate possible spaces and may explore another Space Study.

Fondren 101

A group of staff, including Sandi Edwards, Debra Kolah, Amanda Thomas, Kathy Weimer, and Joe Goetz, are meeting to design a 1-hour course as an introduction to the library, including a 101 on using Fondren’s Website and a tour of the physical space. We aim to roll it out around O-Week 2016.

Social Media at Fondren Update

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Fondren Social Media

C-MACS is happy to announce some changes in Fondren Library’s social media presence.

We have some new Fondren faces helping with the efforts: Paloma Lenz (WEST project), DaVian Smith (Access Services), Michael Chiles (Access Services), and Amanda Thomas (UX Office). Additionally, we now have a subscription to HootSuite to manage our posts. This means that we can more easily schedule posts across our various platforms. We are very interested in marketing events and classes for Fondren Library, so please let us know if you have a special event or class coming up! We have just added a special place on the Contact Us form on the website to specify if you would like an event to be posted to social media.

socialmediapost

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to all of our new social media content providers. Please let us know if you are interested in participating in our social media efforts!

Here is the current schedule for Fondren Library social media:

Twitter:

  • Monday: Paloma Lenz
  • Tuesday: Debra Kolah
  • Wednesday: Kathy Weimer
  •  Thursday: Scott Carlson
  • Friday: Norie Guthrie

Facebook:

  • Monday: Amanda Thomas (UX Office: Library website tip, Library hack, UX info, call for usability testers –etc.)
  • Tuesdays: Joe Goetz (Reference Events/Information Literacy information)
  • Wednesdays: Melinda Flannery (News from Fondren story highlight)
  • Thursdays: Norie Guthrie (Archives/#TBT item from the Woodson Archives)
  • Friday: Debra Kolah (Faces of Fondren: Photo/brief blurb/link to News from Fondren profile if one exists/link to poster/conference presentation, project, etc.)

Instagram: Michael Chiles/DaVian Smith/Norie Guthrie (3 x week)

Pinterest: Amanda Thomas, Norie Guthrie (1 x week)

Hootsuite (Social Media Software): Norie Guthrie and Paloma Lenz

Bingo Night, September 9, 2015

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bbingonight15 For the second year in a row, Fondren Library hosted a scavenger-hunt activity to help orient students to service points and resources in the library. This year’s event, hosted by CMACS on September 9, 2015, offered prizes for students who completed a row on their bingo card, with specialty prizes for students who visited every spot on their card. As with last year’s event, students commented on their pleasure at learning about previously unfamiliar aspects of the library, with many of this year’s participants indicating that they had located “nice new study spots.” Special thanks to the Friends of Fondren Library for generously funding many of the prizes!

fbingonight15

Fondren at O-Week 2015 Academic Fair

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Fondren Library was invited to participate in Rice’s O-Week 2015 Academic Fair. Held at the Rec Center the afternoon of Tuesday, August 18, the fair was an opportunity for new students to learn about different academic offerings on campus. Several library employees took turns staffing the table, providing materials and answering questions about the library’s many services and collections. Here, an academic fair participant proudly displays one of the new Fondren-Library-branded water bottles, which were distributed to all freshman as part of an O-Week welcome packet.

CMACS Water Bottle