Libraries are in a constant budget crunch. With local and state governments eliminating their funding and slashing their budgets, librarians are constantly looking for cost saving and fund raising ideas that don’t break the bank. Here are some ways that flash drives can be a multi-use investment for your library.
1. Fundraising
Fundraising with flash drives is easy and is a proven success. Selling customized flash drives at every desk, from check out to the computer lab, can be an easy way to raise some extra money for programming or book purchases. Putting your library’s logo on a flash drive will be a constant reminder to the user of what is available at your library (and when to return their books). Because many people use their flash drives every week or day, they can be a great reminder to visit the library. CFgear, a leader in the custom flash drive industry, can create a flash drive in any shape and color you need.
2. Giveaways
2. GiveawaysEveryone loves a free gift, so why not encourage reading or following your library on social media by giving away free flash drives? You could give away a flash drive to a randomly selected person who shared a Facebook post, or re-tweeted for you. In the library, you could do a drawing for a free flash drive every day or give a ticket for the drive with every checkout. The possibilities are endless, but flash drives make a practical and much-appreciated giveaway gift.
3. Programs
We know programming is an important way of getting patrons into your library. Using flash drives during your programs, whether it’s during computer classes or children’s programs, can be an easy and paperless way to save money. If you’re doing a computer based program, load up any files that everyone will need, and pass them out at the beginning of class.
4. Summer Reading Club
4. Summer Reading ClubWe know that printing those thousands of pages of paper for summer reading club is costly! You could save tons of money on paper, printing costs and time by having CFgear load up your information onto flash drives instead. You could even have logs on the flash drives for participants to record how many minutes or books they read. If you don’t want to have to replace the drives every year, encourage participants to return them at final programs or when receiving their prizes. You could even advertise your summer reading club as going green!
5. Staff
Oh, no! A staff member’s computer crashed? Instead of risking the loss of your most important data, distribute flash drives to your staff to back up important documents and files. Portable flash drives are also a convenient way for staff to have necessary documents on-hand at all times.
CFgear can make a flash drive into anything- books, animals, e-readers (to advertise your e-book selection), buildings, and even people! Your imagination is truly the limit when using flash drives in your library. CFgear offers reliable, warranty-backed custom flash drives at affordable bulk prices. As an added bonus, CFgear is located right here in America (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to be exact). For more information on CFgear and all they have to offer, visit their website at cfgear.com today.
When I worked at my local library we sold custom flash drives in the computer labs as a fund raiser. It worked very well!