Looking for a quick way to distribute a large number of books in a short amount of time? Try the index card method! It takes a bit of time to set up the morning of, but the ease of the actual distribution process is well worth the time spent on the front end. Here’s the plan one school followed to distribute over 700 books in less than an hour!
Check that list for your best customers
Throughout the year and more frequently as yearbook distribution day draws near, check your sales list report in StudioBalfour for duplicate orders. Often you will find that a parent places a second order later in the year, forgetting the first order. If you find duplicate orders, email the parents and ask if the second order was intentional or not (who knows, maybe they’re just your best customer and want a second book!) Include options to rectify the situation like this:
If the second order was made in error, please let us know which of the following options you would like to take:
1. Donate the second yearbook to a student in need
2. Give the second book to you to keep / give to a friend
3. Request a refund
You may be surprised how many people are willing to donate the extra copy of the book to another student!
Prior to Distribution Day
Email teachers a link to a list of students who purchased a yearbook. This works well as a link to a live document so you can update the list as needed without sending out a new document. Divide the distribution time evenly between grade levels and create a schedule for teachers to send students to pick up their books. You may want to consider allocating more time to grade levels who purchased more books. Include this schedule in the email with the link to purchasers.
Distribution Day Morning
Print your distribution list and pass out the pages to yearbook staffers who are on hand to help with set up. Have them write the name of each student who purchased a book on the narrow end of an index card. If a student purchased more than one book, add (1 of 2), (2 of 2) after the name. Be sure to keep these cards in alphabetical order.
Open your boxes of books and use both the bottoms and tops of boxes to stand the books up. Place the boxes of books in two long rows on tables that have been lined up in your staging area.
Insert one index card in each book so that the name on the card is visible, keeping them in alphabetical order. If you have books with printed names on cover, insert those books alphabetically as well. If students ordered a nameplate, you can staple the nameplate to the index card. Insert the envelopes you receive with other accessories inside the books as well.
Post signs above the tables to show where books can be found alphabetically for when students come in.
Distribution Time!
As students arrive to pick up their books, have yearbookers stand on both sides of the tables of books equipped with plenty of pens. As students head to the tables in their area of the alphabet, have them show their student ID to a yearbook staffer who then finds that student’s yearbook. BEFORE handing over the yearbook, give the student the index card and a pen and have him or her sign and date the index card acknowledging receipt of the book. The yearbook staffer takes the index card and pen back and then hands over the book. Keep these index cards for your records as to who picked up a book.
Advantages of the Index Card method
If you’ve ever used clipboards with a printed list that students sign for pickup, you know the woes that accompany this process…students forgetting to sign even though they’ve received a book or signing on the wrong line or putting their John Hancock so large it covers multiple lines. These drawbacks can make going through the lists to see who has not picked up a book difficult. With the index card method, after distribution is over, the books that remain will still be clearly marked, so you will know exactly how many books have not been picked up and to whom they belong.
You will also avoid long lines of people waiting to sign a list. The more yearbook staffers you have to help, the quicker the books will be passed out.
Another perk is making sure that students who have a name engraved on their book receive the correct one instead of a book with no name on it.
Try this method of distribution to make your big day run smoothly.
