Note: This news post previously indicated that a single phone number would be used to send all SMS messages from the MessageBee system. We have learned that this is not that case and have provided access to a spreadsheet listing each library's unique SMS send-from number.
On Wednesday, April 26th, SWAN will switch SMS notifications to our MessageBee notification platform for the full SWAN membership. The notification schedule will remain unchanged. Patrons will receive the same notification types they are used to at the same time of day. The only differences patrons will notice are:
- Text - Message text will be more concise and include a link to Aspen My Account portals for patrons to view available holds, checkouts, and outstanding items. You can view the wording here: Notice Wording - MessageBee SMS
- Language - SMS messages will be sent in Polish or Spanish if patrons have either set as their preferred language.
- Phone number - SMS messages will originate from a different phone number for each library. You can find a spreadsheet of all the phone numbers in our documentation: Processing SMS Notice Errors - MessageBee
- Location - Drive-up window and locker pickup locations are not specified in the message text.
Changes for member staff include:
- Manual SMS notices will no longer be available.
- You will receive a daily "MessageBee Report Digest" containing a downloadable spreadsheet of SMS errors sent to alias e-mail addresses. This message contains a login link. We will cover logging into the MessageBee portal during training. Do not attempt to log in before then.
SMS messaging represents Phase One of our MessageBee notification rollout. Phase Two will be the migration of e-mail notices to the new platform. This will take place at the end of June.
Before that migration, we scheduled two training sessions on the MessageBee platform:
- Tuesday, May 9th, 11:00-12:00
Register on L2 - Thursday, May 11th, 2:00-3:00
Register on L2
Both training sessions will be the same, so it is not necessary to attend both. We will provide a recording on our support site for staff who cannot attend. We recommend this training for:
- Staff who process notification errors
- Staff who respond to patron questions about notifications
- Marketing staff who wish to incorporate promotional images into MessageBee's e-mail notices
Please send a ticket to help@swanlibraries.net if you have any questions.
