Old wine in new wine skin: marketing library services through SMS-based alert service

Purpose - Short Message Service (SMS) is an application which is widely used in mobile telephony. SMS messaging through mobile phones is very popular among young and old. This study aims to look at how SMS technology can be very effectively used in library and information services with a glimpse into a pilot project conducted by University of Swaziland and Emerald Group Publishing Limited and the subsequent need for creating a prototype for the SMS-based library alert services and marketing of library services.. Design/methodology/approach - Following the pilot project conducted by the University of Swaziland and Emerald Group Publishing Limited for a period of two months (March-April 2009), the findings and the methodology used for the project prompted further research. Data and experience gained during the pilot project is predominantly used in the paper. Findings - This study finds that the library users can be successfully motivated and engaged to use the resources through SMS messaging and have the potential to market library services. It also finds out that there is a need to have a prototype for essential services for the benefit of the users as well as to market the library resources. Research limitations/implications - The pilot project was a short project with specific user base. This project was not tested on heterogeneous user base. The prototype model also works on certain assumptions and limitations. At the prototype level different files are suggested and they are handled separately because of which an open ended script method is suggested. Longer SMSs, which cannot be sent by the SMS server, need to be either split up into several messages or stored in the server as a webpage and sent as a hyperlink in SMSs. Practical implications - To implement the prototype, various steps highlighted in the paper are to be followed and since each action needs to be operated separately, it cannot be claimed as a single click SMS-based alert service. Originality/value - This study presents a method for implementing SMS-based alert service in libraries. With the experience gained in a similar practical environment, an attempt has been made to create a prototype. This may serve as an important milestone in integrating such a service into the future integrated library services (ILS).