What's Marketing Got To Do with It?

N

9

Advocacy; Librarians; Library Development; Library Funding; Library Role; Library Services; Marketing; Public Libraries; Publicity; Resource Allocation

This paper illustrates how both marketing and advocacy are crucial skills to keeping the public aware of the library's impact. If marketing is promoting an individual library to increase public use, advocacy is broadcasting the purpose of libraries and the role of the librarian to garner public support. The issue of image of must be confronted, a professional image that has been diminished by insufficient salaries and a stereotyped image that is maintained by popular culture. Libraries and librarians can position themselves through marketing, including developing a public library Web site and designing promotional materials or using ready-made materials available through sources such as the American Library Association's (ALA's) Public Information Office. Librarians can get help in marketing by participating in large-scale advocacy efforts such as ALA's Campaign for America's Libraries, known by its familiar "@ Your Library" trademark; state libraries, public libraries, and ALA chapters have created marketing slogans by customizing the "@ Your Library" logo. In addition to developing partnerships, the following tasks can be added to the "how-to list" for marketing libraries and librarians: share stories of successes; announce needs by sharing bad news along with the good; create a better online presence; see each day as an opportunity to not only tell the public what you do and who you are; and market libraries by marketing yourself. (AEF)

2004

ED482248