Today I am promoting and demonstrating NHS Scotland eLibrary at the “NHS Better Health, Better Care” 2008 conference at the SECC, Glasgow.

I have come equipped with a set-to-purpose computer hub, a nice big plasma screen and a superfast Internet connection (which also makes for a very convenient and pleasant live blogging experience).

All very high-tech and clever but I find that the best way of capturing people’s interest at events like these is to hand them one of my give-away eLibrary biro pens. Since it contains the URL of the website, it functions as a business card and one which is likely to stay close to the potential user. Simple and effective. Time is limited at these functions: with only a 45-minute lunch break and limited coffee breaks, delegates only have so much time to network and to see the other exhibits. To get them to take a pen is to get them to take a Trojan Horse back to basecamp and then they can explore the website at their leisure.

Demonstrations provide a great dimension to a conference stand though so I still like to keep the option available. In particular today I am demonstrating a new facility of eLibrary; the ‘Web 2.0′-style My Community Space which allows registered eLibrary users to interact with each other based on their shared interests and to tag their own resources, generating tag clouds, for easy future access.

At conferences, a risk is always that there will be a problem with the local wifi connection and so it is best to come prepared with offline alternatives but when your main product is web-based, it is always vexing when connectivity fails you. Despite some teething trouble early this morning, things mercifully went according to plan and I have been able to provide live demonstrations to a surprising number of the delegates.

I’m accompanied by a representative of a library service from a particular NHS health board and she has been charged with the task of promoting her library service to potential users. Since the only people relevant to her promotional efforts are people working within her own health board she is having a hard time identifying interested parties. I think this is another important lesson to learn when promoting library services. Rather than adopting a blanket catch-all approach, it is worth spending some time identifying users to whom your service is relevant and useful. Remember that library services aren’t a hard sell and that ‘awareness raising’ is simply a way of telling potential users that your service exists. You are not fighting for souls and so a successful sell or an unsuccessful sell does not equate to a win or a loss.