“Libraries should get specific in our promotions”

I started reading this article for the usability testing content but ended up loving it because of this little marketing nugget of information.

BGSU students were most successful navigating the library’s database web pages when they were looking for the names of specific resources, not when they were browsing by subject. Therefore, if we want students to use a wider range of our resources, it is crucial that we teach them to recognize the resources that will be useful for them. … One way to do this might be to connect lesser-known databases to the most popular ones (for example, Project MUSE and JSTOR, Factiva and LexisNexis, or the ISI Web of Science and EBSCO) in instruction sessions, campus communications, and web guides. Ideally, students familiar with one resource would be able to link the two databases in their minds and remember or recognize both at their point of need.

Fry, Amy, and Linda Rich. 2011. Usability testing for e-resource discovery: How students find and choose e-resources using library websites. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 37, no.5: 386-401.