Publicity and Marketing LIS 2970 Special Topics Library Instruction June 18, 2004

Marketing for Libraries Libraries must understand the nature of competition facing them – environmental scan Identify and categorize your libraries ’ clients/customers/users/patrons – User Needs Assessment! Obtain practical techniques to collect, organize, and analyze customer data. Use e-business strategies to create customized and targeted services using the data.

Understand the Nature of Library Competitors All libraries face competitive forces. Competing is not bad, just inevitable. Can you identify your competitors? Do you have a competitive strategy? Be a student of emerging technology trends.

Develop a Strong Customer Focus Whom does our work serve? What do they want, need, and expect? How do we know? How do they think we are doing?

Whom Does Our Work Serve? Know our clients deeply. Define and describe our clients groups. Document our clients understanding. Focus on those new served, then unserved and underserved.

What do they want, need, and expect? How do we know? 1.Use standard and proven tools: -Interview visiting clients -Focus groups -Comments cards -Library statistics and data -Electronic Feedback/survey

How do they think we are doing? Use multiple feedback opportunities Make them simple and frequent Find out where else they get their information and services? And Why? Build a customer knowledge base.

Steps to get Started Right Involve all levels of staff in identifying clients Study the habits and characteristics of key client groups. Select of few high use/high payback client groups. Visit/study other libraries with similar segments.

Some practical techniques to help collect and organize client data Create a local client database Do at least one client feedback project a month SERVQUAL/LIBQUAL Take advantage of demographic information Start small: Learn a lot of about a few groups.

Create Customized and Targeted E-Services Borrow e-business techniques – adapt freely Communicate electronically with key clients. Put your biggest efforts into the 20% of service that is most effective and popular. Figure out what is working now, do more of it, and move it to the web.

What is Library Marketing? Marketing, public relations, outreach, publicity … interchangeable? Marketing: series of activities that begin with a community analysis to determine the needs of the clients and ends with the library communication to the clients relating the products created to respond to those needs.

More Definitions Public Relations: influencing perception, attitude, and opinion by transmitting information about the benefits of using the library ’ s products and services. Outreach: Distribution of facilities and services which embodies the concept that service must be proactively extended beyond the walls of the library building to the actual area of need.

Yet More Definitions Advertising: calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements. Promotion: communicating to present and potential clients that the library has identified community needs and developed cost-effective products and methods of distribution that respond to those needs.

How it comes together:

Instructional Outreach Taking library instruction to the client at the point of need Reaching our to those clients who are not normally your clients Instruction beyond the traditional

Trends Outreach is increasing in importance – as libraries and services evolve, so must instruction methods Job descriptions are starting to reflect the need for instructional outreach ie. Having an Outrearch Librarian position

Types of Instructional Outreach A talk to local community group or organization Employee instruction in the workplace Instruction in a faculty office, or campus dorm, or computing lab, or.. Outreach to the disabled Roving Instruction/Reference Chat reference or Web tutorial