Published by the State Library of
PART
THREE: MARKETING LIBRARY SERVICES
INTRODUCTION
The
library staff and board should consider how to market the library’s most basic services.
These can include the facility, the collections, information access, community
information, programs and extra services such as public telefax or public
Internet access. None of these will have adequate visibility to the public
without marketing and public relations.
A
marketing review of the library usually moves from the general to the specific.
Marketers speak of designing an environment or presenting a facility. Neither
term really implies the amount of work it can take for a community to have a
beautiful public library.
Marketers
speak of showcasing a collection. In small library terms, that usually means
publicizing a specific collection or displaying part of the collection so it
can be discovered by the library users.
Programs
and services primarily need effective publicity so that the public will become
aware of them and can take advantage of them. Since this is traditional public
relations, it is more familiar territory for most library directors. But most
people underestimate the amount of publicity it takes to make the public aware
of what the library has to offer.
For
all of the library’s materials, services and programs, the questions to be
asked are:
-
Who needs to know about this?
-
Why will they care about it?
-
What is the best way to tell them about it?
MARKETING THE
FACILITY
INTRODUCTION
A
good library contributes to the quality of life offered in the community,
making it a good place to live. A small
public library is three different, but equally important, things:
1.
It is a community center. It should be a nourishing environment, one that
people enjoy using because it is comforting and attractive.
2.
It is a recreation center that people should regard as an active source of
pleasure, whether their taste is for genre fiction, popular science, local
history, magazines, videos or programs.
3.
It is an information center where people should be able to find and use
resources effectively.
The
key to marketing the library facility is to study it as objectively as possible.
Sometimes, when this is done, there is one obvious conclusion: “We have
to have a building program.” A remodeling, expansion or new library program is
a major undertaking that usually involves years of patient effort. The
marketing of a building program could well be a separate publication. *
But
there are often improvements that can be made to the facility that don’t
involve such drastic measures. Sometimes a coat of paint, a landscaping, a
change of lighting, a redecorated children’s department, a computer lab or an
improved signage can result in a library that is more appealing, more useful or
easier to use.
The
thoughtful review of the library facility should take place annually, for the
sake of maintenance and repair. But the staff and the board should also keep
asking: How can this library be more attractive and more effective? The
importance of the question never goes away.
*
For small libraries that need a building program, the state library and the
regional library systems have published Designing a Fine Library, 2000.
It is available from the Kansas State Library.
HARD
QUESTIONS
The
questions that should be asked about the facility include but are not limited
to:
- Is
this a building people enjoy visiting?
-
Are the grounds attractive and well maintained?
- Do
exterior signs make it very clear that this is the public library even
to those with impaired vision?
-
Have the library’s hours been effectively publicized through the community?
- Is
there adequate parking?
- Can
the building be used by those who are disabled, fragile or elderly?
-
Does the library have good signage with large print and maximum contrast? Do
these signs clearly identify departments and services and guide people easily
through the collections?
-
Are collections and services arranged logically? Are they easy to find?
- Is
the library overcrowded and cluttered?
- Is
the library’s decor attractive and welcoming?
- Is
the furniture comfortable and attractive?
- Is
the color scheme dated?
- Do
different groups such as children, young adults, magazine browsers, video
users, genealogists and computer users have defined space that they can use
with reasonable comfort?
- Is
the library able to support effective, up-to-date library technology that meets
the community’s needs?
-
Are the restrooms clean, strongly-lighted and as barrier-free as possible?
-
Does the library have any individual touches that give it character, such as
artwork, antiques, local history, special displays or a clever children’s play
area? Non-readers frequently take visitors to the library “because I want you
to see this.”
CHANGES FOR
THE BETTER
There
are many examples of fairly minor changes that have given the library higher visibility
and appeal in the community. Part of these examples are from
-
Fredonia Public Library changed their dated and worn color scheme for a new
tweed carpet, yellow walls and stenciling and artwork in the children’s
library.
- A
number of libraries report that bicycle racks are becoming almost as important
as parking.
-
Manhattan Public Library took advantage of their Flint Hills heritage and
acquired some decorative limestone signs. The library is also planning a very
distinctive interior sculpture.
-
One community garden club gave a small library a garden, which became a
favorite gathering place (almost a second meeting room).
-
One community with an active garden club was given plants, arrangements and decorated
evergreens to decorate the library all year round.
- Ness City Public Library rearranged their
main lobby, moving the circulation desk back and creating an open area where
the copy machine, catalog station and Internet stations could be easily seen.
Then they added art displays, book border and shelves of knickknacks to add
character. The community had a powerful reaction to a nearly cost-free
rearrangement.
-
One library moved to separate the children’s area from services used by seniors
and found that both groups were much happier.
-
One library painted their cold-blue meeting room a soft yellow and put in
quilt-blocked curtains. The community gave the change rave reviews.
-
-
One library established a tradition of lavish Christmas decorations and started
a Christmas tree contest. A number of community groups began holding their
Christmas celebrations at the library, since it was the most beautiful place in
town.
-
One library replaced their dim restroom lighting with strong lights and light
paint. To their amazement, restroom vandalism ceased.
-
Newton Public Library took advantage of the community’s history as a railway
center and gave their children’s department a railroad and agricultural theme.
-
One community carpenter gave the library a large castle to be used as the
children’s playroom.
-
One community turned the library into a permanent gallery for local artists.
-
One local artist did special comic illustrations for every part of the
library’s collection.
-
Morrill Public Library in Hiawatha created a Young Adult Area that had
attractive, homelike furniture, clever decoration and improved materials. “Kids
like the area just fine. Adults really like it!”
-
Kensington Community/School Library bought furniture and a silk tree to create
a comfortable reading area. “The library is warmer and friendlier and more
welcoming to the public.”
-
One cluttered and storageless library had a local craftsman build a whole wall
of storage cupboards.
- De
Soto Branch Library in
CONCLUSION
The
library building is the most obvious presentation of the library to the
community. A library that is shabby, overcrowded, dated, institutional or hard
to use is sending the wrong message to the community. A library that is
attractive, distinctive, comfortable and easy to use is more likely to become a
vital part of the community.
MARKETING THE
COLLECTIONS
INTRODUCTION
When
a library user has a specific need for information or entertainment, modern
information retrieval should allow access to what the library has. Modern
information retrieval involves not just the catalog, but space use, collection
maintenance, excellent signage and labels on books and other materials.
Marketing
a collection goes beyond easy access to showcase segments of the collection and
bring them to the public’s attention. This increases the circulation of the
collection and increases the value that will be placed on it.
NONFICTION
Small
public libraries can make very effective special displays of non-fiction
material. This is most often done by tying such displays to holidays, national
observances, national events or local events. But there are many possibilities:
- If
the library has a special display or exhibit, any relevant materials should be
pulled from the collection so people can learn more about it.
-
Any major recreational or social interest of the community can be turned into a
display. These might include:
-arts
-music
-genealogy
-local history
-water sports
-hunting
-recreation animals
-recreation vehicles
-home management
-gardening
-sewing crafts
-
Displays of the most readable of the popular science books are often
surprisingly effective. For example, space events that are in the news can be
tied to displays of materials.
-
Displays of lifeskills books under such titles as “Self-Sufficient Living” or
“Simple Abundance” can tie together such things as gardening, home management,
cooking, home decorating, money management and self-help philosophy. Any one of
these can also be an effective small display.
-
Displays of fine art materials are often both fascinating and beautiful. These
can include painting, drawing, jewelry, decorating and flower arranging.
The
purpose of nonfiction displays is to highlight parts of the collection and give
library users a chance to discover them.
A
staff member with a taste for the project can have a great deal of fun with it.
One library did a “You Won’t Believe What We Found In This Library” display
after completing their inventory. Another did a “Future that Never Was” display
of outdated science materials that they had weeded from their collection. Still
another collected all the vampire books they could find to go with the
community blood drive.
Many
creative pairings of library exhibits and citizen interests can be moved into
the community. If the actual materials cannot be used, book jackets, posters,
flyers and bookmarks can make people aware of the potential of the library
collection:
- banks/money management
- hardware stores/home repair,
gardening
- camera stores/photography
- computer stores /computer books
- travel agencies/travel
- music stores/music
- museums/historic bestsellers, social
history
- sports equipment/sports
- florists/flower arranging
- service garages/motor manuals
- annual fairs/agriculture, crafts.
This
can also work in reverse. In spring, a garden center or hardware store might
bring an exhibit of flowers and plants to the library to pair with appropriate
library materials.
FICTION
Showcasing
parts of a fiction collection can be even more successful than showcasing
nonfiction. It has the added benefit of taking some of the pressure off the
constantly besieged new book displays. Adult patrons can get a lot of enjoyment
out of displays of older bestsellers, older genre fiction, older inspirational
fiction, older comedies, children’s classics or novels that were once
considered controversial or scandalous.
The
small public library often starts with its role as a recreational facility and
places top priority on the acquisition of popular and genre fiction. Because
this is the most visible and successful part of their library service, the
staff doesn’t think of the benefits of marketing it. In fact, it can build
excellent support for the library to market mysteries to mystery readers,
westerns to western readers and popular bestsellers to those who gravitate to
the new book displays. Ways to do this include:
-articles in the newspaper
-interviews and/or programs on
particular types of fiction
-special book displays
-posted book reviews
-posted fiction trivia
-posted URLs for fiction Internet
sites
-websites for the library’s strong
fiction collections
-bookmarks
-drawings by local artists on
fictional series or characters
-book talks
-book discussion groups.
Public
librarians often do not realize that many people don’t know how much popular fiction
costs the library. Community fundraising to support fiction can often raise
public awareness of entertainment costs even if it doesn’t raise a large amount
of money. Ways to do this include:
-memorial book programs
-adopt-a-book programs
-wish lists and wishing trees.
Some
libraries have annual campaigns to strengthen a particular collection,
publicizing the need for new children’s books, new romances or new westerns.
Some
small library staff are skeptical about investment in classic fiction. But new and replacement classics should be put
into the New Fiction Display with the other new books. Unless they are easily
recognized as a “heavy” like War and Peace, they usually do quite well.
The idea that classic fiction won’t circulate is often a self-fulfilling
prophecy and an unintentional insult to the community.
NONPRINT
COLLECTIONS
One
of the hardest tasks for smaller libraries is to balance the different media
that have become increasingly important in recent years. Small libraries are
expected to carry not just books and periodicals, but videotapes, audiobooks,
local history, genealogy records and access to electronic information. A
library staff can only decide how strong the emphasis on a format should be by
knowing the needs of the community.
Many
small public libraries have worked very hard to build their video and audio
collections because these are popular services that raise the library’s
circulation. Recently, small libraries have been faced with the development of
DVD, which is rapidly increasing in popularity. They have often found it
necessary to supplement the library’s tax dollars with grants or fundraising to
support these services. It makes no sense to put so much effort into an
additional collection and then fail to market it effectively to the community.
The same techniques that the library develops to market print collections can
be used to market nonprint collections.
Small
libraries have had circulating collections of many things: toys, games, stuffed
animals, artworks, cameras, video players, jumper cables, sewing patterns, cake
pans, tools, fishing equipment. Any such choice, no matter how unusual, can be
right for such an individual community.
Marketing
a non-traditional collection can be very successful because it is interesting.
It can appeal to the media as an interesting story or a good photo-op. One
library had a hilarious demonstration of their fishing poles by local
fisherman. Another used a cake decorating class to get some publicity for their
collection of cake pans.
Non-traditional
collections can be both fun and genuinely useful. But it is sometimes wise to
make it clear that tax dollars are not supporting the service.
CONCLUSION
Librarians
usually underestimate the amount of publicity it takes to make the public aware
of even the most welcome collection. The number of citizens who go into mild
shock when they realize they can have popular movies for free and for a
reasonable loan period, is both funny and sad.
MARKETING
PUBLIC SERVICES
COMMUNITY
SERVICES
There
are a range of information services that the library can offer the public in a
small town. These might include:
- a coin operated copier
- a public telefax
- tax forms
- maintaining government records
- distributing community information
- public use computers and
typewriters
- training sessions for computer use
or Internet searching
- community website maintenance
- outreach services to residential
homes, prisons, hospitals and homebound library users
- access to local history and
genealogy materials.
What
services the library chooses to make a priority depend on a number of factors.
These include:
- the size of the community
- the interests of the community
- the library’s financial
resources
- the interests and aptitudes of the
library staff and volunteers.
A service is most effective when it is being
offered by someone who believes in the service and enjoys the work. A poor
service being halfheartedly pursued by an inadequately trained staff member is
certainly not worth marketing. When a service is not successful, it should be
reviewed and either improved or eliminated.
Many
small libraries offer such services and then take no steps to get credit for
offering them. It is worth listing such services when the library is doing
reports or publicity to funding authorities or community leadership.
Some
information services, such as outreach services or genealogy materials, should
be marketed directly to the target audience.
ACCESS TO
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
There
is a section on using electronic information for marketing in the chapter
called Tools for Marketing. But electronic information should also be
mentioned as a critically important library service.
Every
But
the obligation of a modern public library does not stop with providing public
Internet access. The library staff has to be able to offer the public a
reasonable reference service that includes searching skills with both print and
electronic resources.
COMMUNITY
INFORMATION AND REFERRAL
Many
times people have information needs that will be best met by other agencies or
services in the community rather than by the library’s collections or by access
to electronic information. Some small libraries keep a database of community
services, others keep a simple card file. Community information tends to be
most effective when the library staff is trained to think in terms of community
resources and partnering and when there is some mechanism for reviewing and
updating the information. It can also help if staff members share what they
have learned about community resources at staff meetings.
Community
information and referral can be labor intensive, but it can also result in some
very pleased information consumers. It is part of having an exceptionally
helpful and user-friendly library staff. If it is one of the library’s
strengths, it should be marketed with other library services. If this
information can be placed online, it is an ideal candidate for a link with a
library or community website. Even if the information is not available online,
its existence should be publicized there.
Since
community information is labor intensive, yet very valuable, it is often a good
project for a good volunteer. A volunteer can check and update community
information and also help the community become aware of the service.
MARKETING
THROUGH PROGRAMS
THE BENEFITS
OF PROGRAMMING
Well-designed
and implemented programs can be one of the most effective library services,
resulting in greatly increased visibility for the library. Programming in
public libraries is a big field. Programs can offer valuable information or
they can be pure entertainment or they can meet a cultural need in the
community.
Programming
can have several marketing benefits for the public library:
- Programs can make the library more
visible to the total community by bringing the library into the news.
- Programs can make the library
collections more visible, if displays form part of the program.
- Programs can introduce the library
to community residents who don’t usually use it.
- Programs can help give people a warm and friendly feeling about the
library, either as a place that has
helped them or as a place that has given them pleasure.
SUCCESSFUL
PROGRAMS
Programs
that have been successful in public libraries have included:
-presentations on life skills such as home buying, money management, time management, computer use, electronic
information access
-presentations on recreational interests such as hunting, fishing, gardening, sewing crafts, cooking,
current fashions, drawing, local
attractions, local recreation areas
-presentations on community
interests, concerns or local history
-presentations by musicians,
storytellers, entertainers, local theatre groups.
Sometimes
these programs are for children. One library sponsored an annual “Tea for Teddy
Bears.” It was comparatively frivolous
but the media loved it. It was creative, colorful and very photogenic.
Other
libraries have sponsored annual pet shows or Halloween costume parades or
Easter egg hunts. The annual summer reading program can be a designated
priority that becomes a lavish celebration.
But
often these programs are for adults. One
Other
libraries have sponsored Christmas events such as home tours.
Some
public libraries have taken the ordinary library book sale and turned it into a
lavish annual party that becomes a cherished community tradition.
One
library used Veterans’ Day to have a program by veterans on their experiences
while serving their country. It turned out to be an extraordinarily moving
program.
The
programs chosen by the public library depend on many of the same factors as
other library services. What does the community need? What are the library’s
resources? What would the staff, trustees and Friends like to do? Is the
purpose information or entertainment?
PUBLICITY FOR
A PROGRAM
For
a small library, it is better to restrict programming to the programs that the
library can do well. If a program is worth the library’s time and effort to
sponsor, it is worth adequate publicity to make it a success.
The
library should use some combination of small town publicity:
-
Good coverage in the local newspaper is one of the best ways to publicize
a program.
-
Public service announcements on the radio will reach an additional audience.
- In
a small town, paper publicity can be critically important. Striking, colorful
flyers should be posted in the library and through the community. Flyers should
be taken to local gatherings so that only a very brief announcement of the
event needs to be requested.
- Book
displays can call attention to the program and showcase materials from the
collection at the same time.
- A
targeted mailing can be sent to people who would have a special interest in the
program.
- If
the speaker is from a club or organization, the organization should be asked to
publicize the event to their own members. They are usually glad to do so if
they are given reasonable lead time.
Library
directors have a tendency to underestimate the amount of publicity a program needs
before the public really becomes aware of it. It is heartbreaking to hear a
regular library user bemoaning the fact that they didn’t even know an event was
taking place.
MAKING THE
EVENT A SUCCESS
There
are several critical rules for all program planners:
- Plan carefully
- Make checklists
- Put all arrangements and
agreements in writing
- Check all publicity for typos,
inaccuracies and incorrect information
- Double check everything
- Verify time and place and
arrangements with presenters at least 24 hours in advance or earlier if they
are coming from out of town.
- Make sure the meeting room and
available restrooms are clean and that everything is in place.
- Make sure the speaker is warmly welcomed and well cared for. They
should have water, sound system if necessary, and anything else they need to
make their presentation a success.
- Take advantage of the opportunity
to distribute library publicity or check out relevant materials.
- Have refreshments. Food and drink adds a friendly, social note that
will make the audience more receptive to the event. It is an excellent
investment of even slender resources. Have food set up and ready to go before
the event.
- Take advantage of the networking opportunity.
Mingle with the crowd and get to know people.
- Arrange to have specific people
help with cleanup or expect to do it yourself.
Make
the speaker(s) feel appreciated. It is sometimes appropriate to pay program
presenters but many are doing it as a contribution to the library. They should
receive a small gift, an honorary membership in the Friends of the Library or
some other token. They should always receive a personal thank-you letter within
a few days of the event. A small library must have a reputation for
appreciation.
SHOULD
PROGRAMMING BE A PRIORITY?
Most
public libraries choose to make programming a priority but some do not. It is
better to have a few high-quality programs than a multitude of poorly marketed,
unsuccessful ones.
Some
public libraries are located in lively, active communities where the residents
have many demands on their time. They have chosen not to make library programs
a priority but to concentrate their efforts in other areas. That can be a
legitimate decision.
However,
public library programs most often fail because they have not been
effectively marketed to their target audience. That possibility should be
carefully considered before programs are eliminated as a priority library
service.
Note: Much of
the material in this section was adapted from a KPLACE program presented by
Carol Ann Robb, Reference and Adult Services Librarian,