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For Libraries
What do librarians say?
"Wowbrary is just what we have been looking for yet can't develop ourselves."
"We are thrilled with this service."
"Wowbrary has received an overwhelmingly positive response at our User Council meeting."
"We really loved the look and feel of our first newsletter."
"More than 500 patrons have signed up in just the last few months and report great enthusiasm for the newsletter."
"I just got our first Wowbrary newsletter. WOW is right. This is a thing of beauty… Wowbrary is worth every penny of sponsorship and more!"
"I think Wowbrary is a great tool. Thanks for all you are doing to make the jobs of librarians easier."
What is Wowbrary?
Wowbrary is a nonprofit service that showcases your acquisitions via free weekly emails, RSS feeds,
Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, and new book lists and widgets on your library website.
Patrons are both awed and excited week after week when they see the new books, DVDs, and CDs
you purchase and can quickly find and reserve ones of interest.
The Wowbrary emails, RSS feeds, tweets, and Facebook posts reach both avid library patrons and those who haven’t used libraries in years.
Wowbrary serves as an attractive online version of
your new-book shelf, but one that spans all library branches and includes items
already checked out. We show covers, descriptions, popularity, ratings,
and/or reviews for the majority of titles. Patrons can click directly
through to
your website to place reserves and get further information.
What does Wowbrary include?
- Weekly emails covering your new books, DVDs, and CDs for an unlimited number of recipients
- RSS-based versions of the newsletter, plus dozens of feeds for individual genres and types of materials
- Weekly Facebook posts to your library and personal pages summarizing the latest acquisitions
- A customizable animated widget for your library website that displays covers and titles of acquisitions
- New book lists that you can link to from your catalog, organized by genre
- Full access to a year of past newsletters and new book lists
- Easy-to-add library news, event notices, and reviews that you can insert into the newsletters and new book lists
- Easy-to-make banners for publicizing events and library services at the top of your newsletters and book lists
- Materials to help publicize Wowbrary via handouts, your website, email lists, and local newspapers
- Online real-time reports on mailings, RSS feeds, usage, and commissions
What does Wowbrary look like?
How is the Wowbrary service produced?
We automatically extract information about your newest acquisitions from
your OPAC (Open Public Access Catalog) and/or via Z39.50. Information is
collected without any effort by staff or interference with the OPAC’s function.
Wowbrary's service works with ILS (Integrated Library System) products from
major vendors, including:
AGent Verso from Auto-Graphics, Inc.
Apollo from Biblionix
Atriuum from Book Systems, Inc.
CarlSolution from TLC
Evergreen
Horizon from SirsiDynix
Library.Solution from TLC
Millennium from Innovative Interfaces
NuGen from NuGen Systems
Polaris from Polaris Library Systems
Unicorn from SirsiDynix
Sierra from Innovative Interfaces
Symphony from SirsiDynix.
Virtua/Chamo from VTLS
We add support for other systems based upon requests, so please contact us if your ILS is not on the list.
The collected information is enhanced with cover images, descriptions, user
reviews, ratings, and sales ranks from Amazon.com and provided by email, web pages, and RSS feeds to users.
Less popular items (such as government documents and more obscure titles
not offered by Amazon) are typically not included.
Does Wowbrary integrate with library catalog enhancements?
Yes. We also integrate with the following discovery and mobile products:
BiblioCore from BiblioCommons
Boopsie for Libraries from Boopsie
Encore from Innovative Interfaces
Enterprise from SirsiDynix
HybridForge Owl iLibrary from HybridForge
Does Wowbrary require any effort from library staff?
Wowbrary requires no effort whatsoever from library staff , apart
from the rare library with unusual needs. You run no software programs nor involve IT experts. If you wish, your staff can feature upcoming library programs, events and other topics on Wowbrary’s emails and web pages
via banners and inserted news items. You can easily update these notices at any time. This is an excellent way to inform your community about your services.
What does it cost?
To extend Wowbrary to your library requires that your library or others in your community sponsor Wowbrary.
As a non-profit, we strive to make this very affordable. Sponsorship ranges from $500 annually for smaller communities to a few thousand dollars for very large cities. There is no charge per recipient or for usage.
Consortia receive discounts of 20% (4 to 9 participating libraries) and 25% (10+
libraries). A commission-sharing program can
also lower sponsorship costs (details below).
Can others sponsor my library?
Yes. Your Friends of the Library organization may wish to sponsor Wowbrary’s service for your library, thereby providing a new community service and creating another channel to advertise their sales and memberships. Parent-teacher associations, community groups, local foundations and merchants are also potential sponsors. More about sponsorship.
Does my library get any financial benefits?
It can. When your library or Friends of the Library organization
sponsors Wowbrary, your library or designated entity (such as the Friends of the
Library) receives a 50% share of Amazon commissions from your patrons’ purchase
of books, DVDs and CDs from the Wowbrary emails and web pages for your library.
While this will probably not recoup the total cost of annual sponsorship, it can
help. Some libraries earn almost the entire sponsorship costs via the
commissions.
How do I learn more?
Just send an email to and let us know the library you represent. We will send you information about the compatibility of your system for Wowbrary and answer your questions. We look forward to serving your library and community.
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