Library staff members from Middle Country Public Library recently joined Innovative for an inspiring and informative webinar to share how Vega Program, Innovative’s module for event management at public libraries, improved their patron registration and event management processes. [Register to watch the webinar].
Serving Centereach and Selden, New York, Middle Country Public Library offers more than 2400 programs each year. Many of these events require or recommend advanced registration and some are open to participants outside of the Middle County Public Library System.
In this session, Middle Country Library Assistant Director Ryan Gessner and his colleague James Matias, Coordinator of Computer Services and Technology, discussed how leveraging the cutting-edge technology and support provided by the Innovative team streamlined registration and management of their programs. They were joined by webinar host, Angela Nolet, Senior Product Manager at Innovative.
This session focused on:
- Event Registration and Patron Experiences: Ryan shared some of the issues faced by patrons and library workers before the implementation of Vega Program. He explained how implementing a more modern, mobile-friendly solution allows patrons to search and register for events on their phone, anytime, anywhere – and ultimately saves time for staff.
“Vega Promote has been a big success here. Patrons and staff have found it very easy to use, and a big improvement on the previous registration experience we gave them,” Ryan said.
- The Implementation Process: Angela gave an overview what to expect when a library prepares to launch Vega Program on its website. “When you choose to add Vega Program, there is a nine-week implementation plan you can use to schedule your go-live date and all of your staff trainings,” she explained.
She provided an overview of the week-by-week implementation process, led by an Innovative implementation manager who coordinates all related tasks, trainings and communications for maximum efficiency and transparency.
- APIs and How to Use Them: For more technically-inclined librarians, James explained how Middle Country Public Library uses Vega Program APIs to create additional enhancements.
He said many of the features they thought they’d be able to configure in Vega Program using APIs were already “baked into” the product. However, he shared additional functions they were able to create for staff pages on their intranet site, in the patron accessible program calendar and for registration back-up.
The webinar concluded with Angela highlighting some of her favorite features in Vega Program and the roadmap for upcoming developments, including multilingual support, mobile push notifications, enhanced consortia support and more.
For additional information, watch the webinar recording or read the Vega Program product brochure.