Top Libraries for Increased GALILEO Usage

There’s no better time than National Library Week to showcase the public libraries whose GALILEO usage has increased most in a year’s time. In a comparison of logins to GALILEO in 2014 and 2015, Chestatee Regional Library System increased 70%. Another good indicator of usage is the number of links chosen from the GALILEO website, and Chestatee also led this category with a 40% increase. Colby Hunter, Information Specialist, says a number of factors may have contributed to the increase. Library staff include GALILEO in their patron classes, including genealogy and Mango sessions. They also include GALILEO in their promotional items, including email blasts, their newsletter, and bookmarks that they create in-house. Colby said they also include GALILEO promotion in their outreach visits to schools, the Women’s Club, and other organizations.

Ohoopee Regional Library is number two with a 27% increase in logins to GALILEO and a 38% increase in links chosen. Director Cameron Asbell gives a lot of the credit to previous director, Martha Powers-Jones. In particular, Martha adopted positive, informative signage to raise awareness of resources and services among their patrons. Cameron also said Martha saw value in GALILEO training for library staff. Like Chestatee, Ohoopee includes GALILEO in their promotional materials. The Vidalia library is partnering with an immigrant program to serve seasonal workers in the area, and Cameron is working on a flyer that includes Mango Languages. the Spanish-language resources in LearningExpress, and other useful resources.

Speaking of Mango, Ohoopee takes advantage of the Mango Market promotional site to create flyers and bookmarks. Mango Market is an online tool where library staff can download and customize flyers, posters, bookmarks, and other materials. Contact GALILEO for your own administrator’s login.

LearningExpress Library promotional materials can be found on the EBSCO promotion website.

Congratulations to Chestatee and Ohoopee, but kudos also go to staff in all the libraries who are helping patrons every day to create a resume, learn a language, study for a critical test, write a business plan, ace a research paper, improve a skill, and transform their lives in many other ways.