Case Study: Pioneer Library System

Pioneer Increases the Usage of Its Databases With the Koios Ads Service

Location: Norman, OK

System Info: 12 branches; four (soon to be five) 24-hour library kiosks; one seasonal, full-service shopping mall kiosk; eight “information stations”/”community places” and book boxes (The latter are outposts in rural areas of our three counties where customers can request and have materials delivered.)

Service Area: Pioneer Library System (PLS) serves a diverse tri-county area in central Oklahoma with branches in communities ranging from small towns with populations of less than 5,000 residents to urban libraries, including a branch located in Oklahoma City. Total population of the service area is just short of 400,000 individuals according to the 2015 U.S. Census. Demographics run the gamut from the rural and urban poor to wealthy suburbs to the major university town where the system is headquartered (Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma). We serve diverse communities which include several American Indian tribes (Kickapoo, Absentee Shawnee, Citizen Potawatomi, Chickasaw) as well as significant ethnic populations which include Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Mandarin.

Library URL: pioneerlibrarysystem.org

Library Situation

We are fortunate to be situated in an area that has a history of strong support for public libraries. We are funded primarily by ad valorem taxes, which voters in all three counties approved to be assessed at the highest rate allowed by state statute. Our application for the Google Ad Grant came through the serendipitous meeting of Koios and myself at LMCC 2017 during a time when I was actively considering ways to use Google Ads—but didn’t have sufficient staff to dedicate to the significant Google Ads workload. Nor was I aware that PLS, as a public library system, was eligible for $10,000/month in free ads—a significant consideration.

What type of product / service have you promoted with your Google Ad Grant?

Mostly databases and e-resources

What challenges was your library addressing? What goals was it trying to meet?

PLS, like other library systems, has long offered services such as Brainfuse, Mango Languages, EBSCO’s Military & Government Collection, and other databases and e-resources, but we have been frustrated with low usage. I personally attribute that to the tendency of eyes to glaze over at the use of the word “database” as well as an ignorance of the offerings of the modern library. How many times has any library marketing professional heard the phrase, “I never knew the library offered that”? I personally have lost count.

Why did you decide to try Google Ads?

PLS experimented with Google Ads on a very limited basis, and marketing staff realized the potential benefit, but was unable to dedicate the time to make it work. For an innovative system like PLS, the prospect of showing up first in a Google search for “ESL classes”—and being able to include in the ads that the classes are offered at no charge—was a very attractive one. But, again, there was just no way to integrate the significant outlay of time into the workflows of those responsible for marketing system offerings.

What did the start-up process look like at your library?

Koios made it easy to implement in a short amount of time. I worked with the team to identify the areas we wanted to hit hardest and first, and they picked up the ball and ran with it. Since then we’ve continued to increase the number of offerings we advertise. And the evidence is in the analytics: These ads are being seen and the click-through rate is extremely high.

What sorts of results have you seen from using Google Ads? Have you resolved the challenges and / or met the goals that you started with?

It is a process. We are seeing results—but at the same time, we are only a year into this and it takes time. But we are seeing enough ROI that we are sticking with Koios. They allow PLS to implement these ads at a fraction of what it would cost us to hire a person for a position that would mostly consist of the services offered by Koios.

We have seen an increase in people using the Brainfuse HelpNow databases. We are seeing an uptick in the number of people using our literacy classes (which include citizenship and ESL). And as we analyze the monthly data, we observe that every month, higher numbers of people are clicking on our ads and then following through to sign up.