[OPLINTECH] Summer Reading software

[Stephen Hedges]

At a meeting of library directors in Lancaster a couple of weeks ago, there was an interesting discussion of software alternatives for managing Summer Reading programs.

Nancy Levin from Heights Libraries pointed to the work a team there has already done on room booking software, and the other directors who tried it out were very impressed. Nancy also said work had begun on some software to manage reading records.

I asked Sheryl Banks (sbanks at heightslibrary.org) for more information, and got her permission to share her response with this list. It's pretty interesting stuff.

Regarding their new room reservation/online calendar system, they created it themselves using WordPress. (WordPress is also what they used to create their new website, which launched January 2014.) They hope to release this system to the public for free in the spring of this year, as a WordPress plugin available via the WordPress.org repository. Right now, they have several libraries helping them work out any bugs it may have by beta testing it. The link that explains all this and more (and offers a way to sign up to be a beta tester) is http://meetings.heightslibrary.org/bookaroom/.

Once it is ready for release, they'll be doing some publicity to let everyone know it's available. They won't be able to offer direct support for other libraries, of course, but they've already created *extensive* instructions and documentation [yes!] on how to use it, which will be available along with the download.

As for Summer Reading management, they've started out by creating a customized system using a WordPress plugin called Gravity Forms. It's a paid plugin that provides a whole slew of tools for creating and managing forms. Gravity Forms is relatively cheap --$99 a year for business, and the Developer License, which allows unlimited sites and advanced add-ons, is $200 a year.

What they've got so far is a Summer Reading form that is private and requires staff to enter the participant's data (or check to see if they already have an entry). Staff would log in and then fill out the form with the patron information. There are standard fields like contact information, school, branch and a field to track if the child/teen had gotten their prize yet.

They also have a drop down with two age groups. Gravity Forms allows some handy logic based functions, so they are able to send the registering participant an email based on their chosen age group, completely automatically. Gravity Forms also allows them to search, export and easily view any entries they get.

This year they are thinking about trying something new: BadgeOS, another WordPress plugin, that would let them set up achievements, goals and sharable badges. They haven't played with it yet, but the site is http://badgeos.org/ for more information.

Since they're building the Summer Reading forms on other WordPress plugins, it's probable that they *won't* be able to share the Summer Reading software they develop. But the information they have already shared, and future information, might help libraries build their own.

Sheryl is willing to answer emailed questions, so long as they're not basic housekeeping questions like "where can we get more information about the meeting room software?" (read the fourth paragraph again) or "when can we get it?" (read the fifth paragraph again).

Stephen
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Stephen Hedges, Director
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. Fifth Ave., Suite 130, Columbus, OH 43204
614-728-5250  ::  hedgesst at oplin.org