Archive for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ Category

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Navigating the New APU Libraries Web Site

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

If you’re a veteran library user, you may have noticed a few changes to the University Libraries site this fall, thanks to the fabulous web developers in the Office of University Relations. Here in the APU Libraries, our mission is to help you find the resources you need to be successful in your research. We think our re-designed web site is a huge step forward in that mission.

With the re-design, we’ve streamlined the look and feel of the site, made it easier to get important information, offered you more ways to connect with the University Libraries, and introduced several new research tools. Our overall goal was to make it faster and easier for you to get the books, articles, media, and library information you need.

Screen shot of the newly redesigned University Libraries web site

Screen shot of the newly redesigned University Libraries web site

Here’s a quick tour of some of the features of our new site:

Fun and useful information

  • Current hours are posted daily for all three libraries.
  • Instant access to your library account is provided right on the home page, so you can renew items electronically.
  • Newly-added library items are featured each day (you can also subscribe to the new items feed).

More ways to get help

  • Get instant, 24/7 research help from librarians via live chat through the “Ask a Librarian” widget. APU librarians monitor this service on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons; at other times you will be sent into a nation-wide research help center, where you can chat with a non-APU librarian.
  • Learn about the best resources for your assignment by checking out our new LibGuides system. These guides are tailor-made by APU librarians with resources and research tips specifically for your class or major.
  • We also have LibGuides devoted to helping you start your research project and cite your sources in MLA or APA style. There are shortcuts to the guides right on the home page.

New ways to connect with the Libraries

And, best of all, faster access to the books and articles you need!

  • If you need books that are located in different campus libraries, or if you just don’t want to take the time to fin your books on the shelf, you’ll love our new requests system. When you find a book or video you want to borrow in our catalog, just hit the “Request” button and let us know where you’d like to pick up the items (make sure they’re listed as “Available” in the catalog before you request it). You can even add multiple items to your book cart and request them all at once to save even more time. In about 24 hours, you’ll get an email notifying you that your items are ready to pick up. Regional Center and online students can use the requests system, too–just choose “By Mail” as the pickup location, and we’ll mail the items free of charge, with return postage included!
  • You can now search many of our research tools right from the home page, including our library catalog, LINK+, the Periodical Finder (a list of every journal, magazine, and newspaper in the Libraries’ collection), and two new tools called Quick Search and Multi-Database Search.
  • Using the Quick Search box on our home page, you can find books and videos from our library catalog, plus articles from 5 of our article databases, all with just one search. For example, look at the Quick Search results for a search on the Dead Sea Scrolls–you’ve got books and videos on the first page, plus you can click the “Articles” link to see articles on the Dead Sea Scrolls from 5 of our online databases.
  • Finally, Multi-Database Search allows you to search multiple article databases simultaneously. You can use the Multi-Database Search by typing your search terms into the box on our home page and choosing “Multiple Databases” from the drop-down menu, or you can click on “More Search Options >> Multi-Database Search” if you’d like to choose a custom set of databases for your search.

We hope you’re enjoying the new site, and that it helps you get access to the research you need. Remember, if you need help with your research, or with using any of these tools, we’re available. Oh, and we’re always looking for ideas and suggestions, so let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see on the site!

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APU Professor Reports on the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Twenty Years Later

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

One of the exciting things about my job here at APU is sharing the stories of what our faculty are doing inside and outside the classroom. Eager students themselves, they are always learning and further exploring their fields to bring new knowledge back to the students they teach.

Jim Willis, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Communication Studies, is one of those professors. He is currently on sabbatical (a time when professors take a semester away from teaching for professional and teaching development including researching, writing, etc.), and at this moment reporting from Berlin, Germany on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A former journalist, Willis brings experience in the field back to the classroom to give students a firsthand account of what it is like to report on history in action. While working as a journalist for The Oklahoman newspaper, Willis reported 10th anniversary of the fall of the wall. He’s excited to return, to Berlin and his journalism roots, and once again blog his experience at this historical commemoration.

Here’s an excerpt from his blog at The Oklahoman. Follow along for continued updates from Willis on the anniversary events at http://blog.newsok.com/berlinwall/.

Ever tried to erase ink from the printed page?  Pretty hard to do. That image remains, no matter how hard you try to scrub it away.

Some events in world history are like that, and one of the most indelible images is the fall of the Berlin Wall. Like a singer who labors for years in obscurity and then lands the break making her an “overnight success,” the menace of the wall vanished on the night of Nov. 9, 1989, in the blink of an eye that took almost three decades to shut.

This is the 20th anniversary of this world-changing event.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be writing about this anniversary, the event that it marks, and the impact the fall of the Wall has had on Germany, Europe, the United States, and the world.  I hope you will come along with me as we travel to Berlin and a couple other cities in the former East Germany. (Continued here.)

We also interviewed Willis on the history of the Berlin Wall and the anniversary events. I have a feeling he’s going to have some exciting stories to tell students when he returns, on the anniversary itself, and on journalism’s impact on history. YouTube Preview Image

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Behind the Scenes of a Chapel Video

Monday, October 5th, 2009

So last week while I was having lunch with Kathie, Sean Beck came up and was like “Hey guys, wanna help us with a Chapel Programs video!?” And All I could think of was “OH MAN! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be in a Chapel Video!” I love the randomness of Cougar Walk.

So we went out and I decided to get some behind the scenes footage!

YouTube Preview Image

YouTube Preview Image

Check out the video this Friday in Chapel!!

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The New Online Campus Map

Monday, September 14th, 2009
Ye Olde Map Interface

Ye Olde Map Interface

Last week marked the launch of our new “online campus map” interface—now with 100% more Google integration!

While our previous map viewer served its purpose well, it was completely custom-built, and therefore wasn’t the simplest thing to update or add features to. Therefore, based on the fact that Google Maps are at this point a fairly standard way for websites to present their map-based data, and because Google continues to expand the available capabilities of the system and makes sure it’s up to date with current technology, we decided it was time to upgrade.

The New Interface

The New Interface

Thanks to some foresight a couple of years back, our entire database of campus building locations was actually already based on GPS coordinates. Because of that, no major reworking of the data was required to make the upgrade to a Google-based system. We simply needed to build a new front-end (using Google’s tools) that interacted with the database in almost exactly the same manner as our previous map interface did.

The only downside at the moment is that Google’s current satellite images don’t include some of our newest additions to campus—most notably the Segerstrom Science Center, which I had to add manually by drawing a rough placeholder-simulacrum over the satellite image.

Just like Google!

Just like Google!

On the other hand, the switch to Google Maps also included one major benefit that we’d been wanting to include for a while: driving directions. Now, any time you’re viewing information on a particular building or area of campus, simply enter your starting address in the field provided, and the system will output a set of standard Google directions. (Note: Since they are driving directions, they’re designed to get you to the most appropriate university entrance; it’s assumed that you’re not already on campus.)

Well, here it is: APU Online Campus Map. Go ahead and way-find to your heart’s content.

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Marketing Higher Education as a Commodity

Friday, September 11th, 2009

The landscape of higher education has changed dramatically the last 10 years. Some might argue that the last five years have been even more monumental as education is becoming commoditized like many other industries. When a product reaches that point, marketing and advertising become major players in determining your niche and creating value for customers. Unfortunately, advertising/marketing costs money.

The Office of University Relations fields questions all the time regarding our marketing strategy and the venues we choose. Even with new and social media outlets, there has been a shift back to traditional advertising channels. Because of this, we evaluate daily, via various metrics and tools, what is working and what type of marketing are causing customers to take notice of Azusa Pacific and its offerings.  To complicate matters, our product has a 6-18 month buying cycle. This means we have to be in front of our customers in various forms for more than a year.  At that point, our goal is to be in their top three choices for school, giving us a 33% chance to get their business.

The only way this is possible is to be aggressive in all media, as people have different preferences for receiving information. This proves challenging as we are bombarded daily by more than 4,000 messages. To date, we have been aggressive in television, radio, search, paid search, natural search, college newspaper, traditional newspaper, e-blasts, direct mail, targeted websites, social media outlets, billboards, movie theatre ads, and targeted trade publications.

Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t a silver bullet. Rather, the recipe for success is stretching your dollars to utilize all media, as one size does not fit all. Further, mixed media messaging types compliment each other.  For example, I might hear a radio spot numerous times, then see a billboard or a print ad, but it was a conversation with a co-worker that drove me to apply. However, that referral alone wasn’t the driving factor rather it was the marketing mix combination that resonated over time helping me to reach that decision.

Students have a variety of options when making the decision of where to go to school. We need to shift our thinking in academia and understand that we are selling $25,000 graduate products or a $120,000 undergraduate experiences. Think about your large purchases and the amount of thought you put into them, as well as the value you expect from them. To quote Warren Buffett, “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

In my next post, I will try to share how we use television to promote the Azusa Pacific University image.

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Social Media: Push vs. Pull

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

It seems everyone you talk to has a different perspective or view of social media. They may love or hate it, consider it a waste of time, or maybe even think it’s the only part of the marketing strategy that matters. Regardless, I’m a believer in social media. The more I engage in the different mediums, the more I find that a high majority of interaction comes from a very specific approach or strategy. There are two different ways you can communicate: a push strategy or a pull strategy. Push and pull strategies are not new to the world of marketing, but the introduction of social media at such a high level has definitely added a new dimension to the ways we go about our advertising.

Push
Some marketing is right there in your face. You may get direct mail postcards, email blasts, phone calls, etc. for information you never signed up for in the first place. It is not uncommon for companies to buy lists of names that fit a specific audience they think will want their product in an effort to gain more market share. That is more of a push strategy in that they push the information to you, whether you are looking for it or not. These strategies are typically used for quick sales and awareness, or to promote a new product or service the consumer may never hear about otherwise. A good example of this would be a direct mail postcard advertising a special interest rate for a Labor day weekend sale, or a new perfume that has yet to hit the market.

Pull
Some marketing relies exclusively on valuable content, promotions, and convenience. Often you find this type of marketing on social sites where people monitor their own content feeds. In social media, you typically have the ability to choose who you want (and don’t want) to receive content from. You choose to follow someone on Twitter, or maybe become a fan of a company, organization, or educational institution on Facebook. You might see a status update, tweet, or something similar saying, “Sign up for our newsletter and get a free shirt” or, “5 sideline passes for tonight’s game to the first 5 people who show up to the athletics office.” Many of the big corporations you receive push marketing from often have a presence on these sites as well, offering a completely different type information as these consumers (and rightly so) tend to be more fickle.

If the consumer has decided to receive your content, they have already decided two things: First, you offer something valuable, and second that you’re trustworthy. So long as you continue to do these two things, they’ll be loyal. This can best be described as a pull strategy, where you pull people to you through reliable content distribution.

The Balancing Act
The challenge continues to be finding the balance between push and pull strategies. Because of the privacy/invasion of space issues, I believe it’s important to work the pull angle in social media. If they choose to follow you on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or reply to your blog, they’re essentially giving you permission to keep providing them with valuable information. It will always be about having the right content in the right places, where people can find you and get the answers they need.

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