One of the challenges facing libraries today is adding more user services. As with other businesses, libraries have recognized the need to provide services to customers on their own terms. That means meeting customers’ needs and their schedules.

Why are ATMs successful? They are available 24/7 and meet basic customer needs. Why are there so many convenience stores? They are available 24/7 and carry items to meet the basic needs of customers.

Services developed around the realities of our modern society proliferate: services to order and deliver food from any number of restaurants - all in the same order, colleges offering nights-only degree programs, doctors taking appointments into the evening. All of these reflect a society on the move, and for libraries to reach these 24/7 people, they too must look toward innovative delivery methods. Books-by-Mail, late night hours, access to databases via the library Web site, placing holds from home, etc., are all examples of what many libraries have already implemented.

SirsiDynix constantly reviews opportunities to help our customers offer desirable and cost-effective new services. To that end, the company has partnered with MindLeaders to offer easily accessible e-learning courses - available 24/7. e-Learn It! provides anywhere, anytime, self-paced instruction available to patrons via the library’s OPAC. These classes easily fit the needs of today’s society by being “in session” precisely when the person has time, be it 10 a.m. or 2 a.m. Not only that, but the online training courses offered span everything from desktop applications to technical certifications.

The courses are currently bundled into 11 topical groups. Each bundle contains five series; each series contains between two and 12 individual courses. Overall, SirsiDynix and MindLeaders offer access to 55 series containing over 319 individual courses.

The series offered are tailored to meet a wide variety of the needs. Courses range from Introduction to PCs to estate planning; from SAT preparation to networking for end users. Users of all ages can take courses on interviewing skills or business communication to help with job prospects. Individuals can learn the basics of home finance, investing, and retirement planning. There are courses to meet the needs of almost all of your customers.

With staff time so precious, how can you add and maintain another service? With e-Learn It!, it’s easy. Mindleaders hosts all the classes, so no new hardware is required. The end user simply needs Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. There is no installation, no CDs, and best of all, unlimited access from any workstation – in the library or elsewhere – for registered patrons. It's all done over the Internet – 24/7/365.

Courses are highly interactive. Users learn by doing, rather than sitting back and staring at a computer screen. Simulations and questions about key concepts and facts keep the patron engaged in the course. Users can also interrupt the online course anywhere, any time, and the next time they sign on, a bookmarking feature of the software takes them right to the place they left off - no need to remember where they were, no need to page through the course to get back on track.

E-Learning courses meet the needs of today’s information seeker, especially those reluctant learners who prefer to study in the privacy of their own homes. Accessible from the library, home, office, or even Web-browsing phones, e-Learn It! helps libraries reach all of their users, offering a much needed, private learning experience.

And since we know these courses can’t benefit your customers if no one knows about them, SirsiDynix includes a Basic Marketing Kit CD with the purchase of an e-Learn It! subscription. The kit includes press releases, posters, flyers, Web site information, and more. For sites that want a bit more guidance, we also offer a Full Marketing Plan that includes all the items mentioned above customized with your library’s name, logo, and colors, along with three hours of consulting time from SirsiDynix Consulting Services. They will help you design a media plan and time line, as well as help guide you during the rollout.