PsychiatryOnline Premium — American Psychiatric Association Publishing

Both publishers and librarians are invested in a successful launch of a new electronic resource, so we decided to start the conversation with librarians who have recently added new resources in order to learn more about this process and the best practices for a successful launch. We talked with one librarian about the launch of PsychiatryOnline Premium at her institution.

Contact: Suzanne Hinnefeld, MLS, Librarian, Coordinator of Collection Development
Institution: Cushwa-Leighton Library, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN

How was the new product communicated to users?   

The collection development coordinator librarian emailed the specific faculty members who had requested PsychiatryOnline Premium. We also put a story on the library’s homepage in the section, “What’s new at the Library?” (Screenshot below.) The social work and psychology liaison librarians communicated its availability during library instruction sessions. The social work liaison librarian collaborated with a social work faculty member on an instruction session on how to use PsychiatryOnline Premium.

How far in advance of the launch was this communication?

We waited until the subscription began and the URL was proxied (for off-campus access).

Did you have any specific goals for marketing/promotion?

We want users to know that the online subscription is available — they do not have to come into the library to use the print DSM-5 shelved in the reference area. Our renewal decision will be based on use, so a specific goal for promotion of the resource is to increase use.

How successful was the launch, and what factors help you determine the success?

The launch has been fairly successful. We have one technical issue with our link resolver we are still working on fixing.

Any lessons learned or advice/best practices to offer fellow librarians?

Communicate early and often with your systems’ librarian so that links for online access are named what you want them to be named.