Marketing the library

1. Marketing the library By Christine Edison http://www.theworld.org/2009/12/01/phone-booth-library/ http://hwlibrary.wordpress.com http://www.njha.com/librarysection/surfsmart.aspx http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/library/help/help/liaisons/cards/

2. What’s public relations? Public relations involves presenting a positive public impression of an organization and its products or services. http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2007/10/19/gaming-in-libraries-presentation-eh.html

3. Public relations includes: • Advertising • Promotions • Events • Publicity • Networking with the community From the ALA Store, www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=1407

4. What’s marketing? Marketing involves connecting audiences to information about products or services. From http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/

5. Marketing includes: • Advertising • Displays • Official communications • Press releases • Signage • Newsletters • Web site • Local media http://mrschu81.wordpress.com/page/14/

6. Who’s your audience? From www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/News_&_Events/EPLSurvey. • Part of marketing is finding out who your audience is. • Librarians research the community they serve and put together a snapshot of the community.

7. Who’s your audience? • Determine your target audiences and figure out what needs they might have for library services. • Brainstorm how the library could meet those needs. From theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com

8. Marketing plan Phillips, Loreen S. Cruise to Success: How to steer your way through the murky waters of marketing your library. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. p. 39.

9. Marketing plan S.W.O.T. North Penn Tactical Response Team of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, practicing Cellular Team Tactics, from Wikimedia Commons

10. S.W.O.T. • Strengths • What does your library do well? • Weaknesses • Opportunities • Threats Phillips, Loreen S. Cruise to Success: How to steer your way through the murky waters of marketing your library. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. p. 39.

11. S.W.O.T. • Strengths • Weaknesses • What barriers do you have to service? • Opportunities • Threats Phillips, Loreen S. Cruise to Success: How to steer your way through the murky waters of marketing your library. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. p. 39.

12. S.W.O.T. • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunities • What can you capitalize on? • Threats Phillips, Loreen S. Cruise to Success: How to steer your way through the murky waters of marketing your library. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. p. 39.

13. S.W.O.T. • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunities • Threats • What stands in your way to achieving success? Phillips, Loreen S. Cruise to Success: How to steer your way through the murky waters of marketing your library. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. p. 39.

14. What’s being marketed here? • Who’s the audience? • What need does this group have? http://librarymarketing.blogspot.com/2005/04/marketing-virtual-chat-reference-at.html http://askehbl.wordpress.com/2009/03/

15. What’s being marketed here? On April 7, 2008, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of “The 99” series of comic books (based on Islamic culture), talked to Jericho Middle School eighth grade classes. Al-Mutawa has created a comic book series about superheroes powered by knowledge.His primary mission is to foster the idea that we all share the same values and to celebrate diversity. From http://www.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/99.htmink/

16. What’s being marketed here? From themwordblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/library-marketing-success-story.html

17. What’s being marketed here? Seth Grahame-Smith, author of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” started his book tour at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Last month, “the museum kept a small exhibit dedicated to Lincoln’s connections with the gothic a display that even included the last ax Lincoln wielded, though probably not against vampires.” – Associated Press article from the Chicago Sun-Times, March 19, 2010 From http://bestsellers.about.com/od/newupcomingreleases/ig/March-2010-Book-Releases/Abraham-Lincoln-Vampire.htm

18. What’s being marketed here? http://www.gameguru.in/sports/2007/22/wii-bowling-becomes-a-rage-at-a-us-old-age-home/ From http://nancydowd.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/what-do-you-think/

19. What’s being marketed here? From http://www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/Adults/HomeOffice.php

20. What’s being marketed here? • Who’s the audience? • What need does this group have? http://tametheweb.com/2008/09/09/london-ontario-library-marketing-campaign/

21. What’s being marketed here? • This ROI calculator shows library users what they would have spent purchasing the same items they have taken out from the library. http://www.nsls.info/roi/?m=patron

22. What’s being marketed here? • This is a way for libraries to show what a great value they are to the community. http://www.nsls.info/roi/?m=patron

23. What can libraries promote? Atmosphere Events Collections Services http://www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/Teens/

24. How about us? http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/library/help/help/liaisons/cards/ We can promote ourselves as a library resource. http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V72N3/feature2.html

25. And one more… • A brand name identifies a product or service in the community and conveys something about what that company stands for. • What about the library’s identity? http://www.wyominglibraries.org/campaign.html

26. How do you do this? Marketing plan objective: The university library will increase the number of card holders by 5 percent (200 students). http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2006/04/rock-on-celebrating-the-library-and-learning.html

27. What does this audience want? • Help with research • Online services • Find good information sources easily • Meeting place for projects and socializing • Entertainment and food http://nancydowd.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/sneak-preview/

28. What prevents library use? • Think Google is good enough for research • Library anxiety • Don’t think of library as place to meet • Don’t know about services • Library Web site isn’t user-friendly http://libraryplayground.wordpress.com/category/information-literacy/

29. What can the library provide? • Classroom visits from “personal librarian” • Handouts and classes on resources • Study rooms, tables for group projects • More ways to contact library for services: IM, chat, e-mail, Second Life … • Retooled Web site http://www.paston.ac.uk/content/college-facilities/ • Social/fun space (café, chairs, video games, laptops…)

30. How can we get the word out? • Table in student commons • Classroom visits • Events for students • New school year open house • De-stressors during finals • Contests in or about library http://dukechronicle.com/article/library-party-canceled-amid-funding-and-planning-failures • Cross-promotions • Gift for getting library card

31. Planning ahead • Plan events 2-3 months ahead for best results. • Brainstorm for unusual and fun new ideas. • Partner with businesses. • Example: “Break the ice” event at the beginning of the year. Students party at the library with food, movies, a Rock Band contest … aw well as library card applications and library information. http://www.college.library.wisc.edu/news/featured/houseparty09

32. Publicity • Start publicizing a few weeks before the event. • Send out press releasesto local/school media before and after the event. • Publicize the event where your audience will notice it. • Radio station • Web sites • Student newspaper • Flyers • Word of mouth http://www.college.library.wisc.edu/party/ollge.library.wisc.edu/news/featured/houseparty09/

33. Measuring the event’s success • Number of participants • Number of new library card applications • Increased library usage after event • Survey students before and after event http://www.college.library.wisc.edu/news/featured/houseparty09

34. Find help here • Visit http://sites.google.com/site/marketingtipsforlibraries/ for help with this assignment.

35. Your assignment • Break into groups by the kind of library where you might like to work (archive, special library, academic library, public library or school library). • You will receive a marketing plan objective for your kind of library. • Decide what the target user group needs from your library. • Design an event to attract that user group to your library. What will you do to: • Plan the event • Promote the event • Evaluate the success of the event • Take 10 minutes now and discuss this with your group.