How to integrate SMS messaging into libraries?
Most librarians must have experienced the difficulties of this profession. Probably there are cases when patrons do not return books in time or you cannot notify all the others about new services or available books. Would you like to introduce a more efficient communication method that will help you reach a wider audience? SMS services in your library is the solution of your choice.
In libraries the greatest problem originates from the fact that librarians cannot contact with patrons effectively. Therefore if there is a book needs to be returned usually you send out a notification in e-mail. But it is not sure that patrons read this e-mail in time. If there is a delay in returning a book then others have to wait longer times...
To avoid these situations you need to introduce a solution that allows real-time notifications and it is cheaper than telephone calls. sms for libraries solution in SMS technology that can be easily implemented in libraries. After you introduced SMS messaging into your librarie's IT system you will be able to send (and receive) SMS text messages to mobile phones. SMS notification functionality then will provide greater flexibility and will improve your communication. Read more in this article.
How SMS messaging into libraries works?
If you would like to offer a wide range of SMS services in your library then introducing SMS technology is the best method to do so. As SMS messaging is a two-way communication channel it will highly increase the effectiveness of your communication. To solve book returning delays you can introduce SMS notifications to patrons.
It can be realized with E-mail-to-SMS functionality. In practice it means that you write your notification in your mail server (like MS Outlook) and send out as an e-mail message but the patron will receive it as an SMS text message on his mobile phone. He can send a response SMS that will appears as an e-mail message in your incoming mail box due to SMS-to-E-mail functionality.
This solution ensures that patrons will read your notifications as 94% of SMS messages are read furthermore it is the most discreet communication method today. SMS messages are not intrusive as the recipient can decide about the proper time to read the message.
Further SMS services can also be adopted after you implemented SMS technology. Please find some of them in this list:
- Send SMS reminders and notifications to patrons before they need to return books.
- Send them SMS newsletters about your new services/books, etc. Let your patrons provide their phone number during the registration. But there is an another possibility let them subscribe to your various newsletters on your web site. Please see an example how patrons can subscribe to SMS news on these pages: Subscribe to SMS content or Node notification module.
- Launch SMS voting to know the exact needs of patrons.
- Send SMS greeting messages on special occasions.
- Introduce automated SMS services: it allows patrons to send an SMS containing a keyword and your SMS system will send back an automatic response. It can be a confirmation or an enquiry about available books. If he sends the title and the author of the requested book, it will be searched for in the database and the response will be sent out.
- Allow renewals or reservations of book via SMS.
How to implement SMS technology?
To provide the above mentioned services you need to build your SMS system. To start to build this SMS system you need to download and install SMS JOSH Gateway to your computer. This is a software product that will ensure SMS functionality in your IT environment. If you wish a system that is able to handle great numbers of messages it is the software of your choice. SMS JOSH Gateway has an outstanding capacity so you can work with lots of messages and it will ensure a reliable service. It supports E-mail-to-SMS and SMS-to-E-mail functionality as well. If you want to send longer messages that 160 characters (this is the maximum of SMS text messages) SMS JOSH Gateway is able to treat multi-part messages in a professional way.
Conclusion
If you decide to implement SMS messaging in your IT system based on SMS JOSH Gateway you will receive a stable and well-functioning system. With this solution you will be able to introduce various SMS services that will make your work easier. SMS services allow you to reach a wide audience in real time but in a discreet way. This is the right solution to engage more patrons with your library as comfortable solutions will save them valuable time.
Find your industry in the list and learn how you can utilize SMS solutions!
