Holiday season – a time of joy and cheer, also poses unique challenges to libraries. With closures and extended shutdowns, it becomes crucial to keep services running smoothly and patrons informed. How, you ask? Here are our top 5 tips!

1. Communicate Changes: Use effective communication techniques to announce holiday closures and schedule changes. Gone are the days of manual announcements; it’s time to leverage the power of social media, email newsletters, and creative signage. Fine-tune your library’s online resources, ensuring all closure information is accurately updated.

2. Holiday Features: Do you want to create a merry ambience? Try crafting a ‘Holiday Reading Carousel’. Display your festive book selections, not just on shelves, but also as a featured carousel on your library’s homepage. Your patrons will love this whirling collage of suggested titles.

3. Promote Digital Alternatives: Libraries never really close now, do they? Let your Integrated Library System (ILS) do the hard work for you; promote remote access to resources like e-books, audiobooks, and online databases even when your physical doors are closed. Discover interactive ways of engaging with your users remotely, perhaps with a vibrant video or custom searches for seasonal reads!

4. A homepage for the holidays? Your library’s homepage is the virtual face of your services. Why not update it with holiday-themed changes? Keep patrons engaged and informed; send out bulk holiday greeting emails, and even reminders of loans. Create a more user-friendly experience by simplifying your search box and tweaking your banner for more holiday vibes.

5. Bonus tasks: When you’re ready to tackle more, there’s some bonus tasks to spruce up your library system — get involved with tasks like pausing interest alerts to managing borrower records; or performing acquisitions budget rollovers to reviewing library usage statistics.

But it doesn’t end with the holiday season. If you’d like to know more, our webinar provides so much more detail.

As 2023 draws to a close and the holiday season begins, keep your library services running efficiently, and head into the holiday season with confidence. Let’s navigate the festive season together, after all, ‘tis the season to be jolly! Of course, if we can help, remember to get in touch.