Reaching out;; Book: "Blueprint for Your Library Marketing Plan"

News August 31, 2007 (mp3 file: 5.2 MB, 5:41 min.)
Reaching out; Banned Books Week; Book: "Blueprint for your library marketing plan"

A young, brand-new colleague and I were talking yesterday about many things, but quite a bit about community and libraries and making a difference.

There is so much to do in the library building that it’s a stretch to find time to reach out, yet taking the library out is an important part of belonging to the community---and of getting people to feel that the library is theirs. For those who can’t get to the building for one reason or another, or those who just don’t, for one reason or another, the library can still be a part of their lives. The library building, as “place” is important to a community; so, too, is the library as a concept, a service, an idea, really.

Libraries take programs to daycares, presentations to clubs and organizations, books to care centers. And it doesn’t always have to be the librarian who does those things—volunteers can help with that outreach.

It is also increasingly easy to reach out virtually, so the library is open and available 24/7. If you aren’t automated you can still show your patrons the new books, using Library Thing or a page on a website. (And you have 2 options for free webhosting now, plus the assistance to build and maintain a website.) If you don’t want to maintain a website you can do a blog—or, you can do a blog AND a website. You can do a book discussion online, or an author visit in a chat. In fact, earlier this week I talked to an author whose fifth book just came out and she’s building an online presence; she says she’d like to do an online chat with her readers. And I say, why not a library as the host for it? (If you think your library might be interested let me know and I’ll see what I can do about getting you connected, and setting up a simple—free—chat.)

You all do outreach. What do you do? Who does it? Please share your experiences and ideas in a comment on the blog. And keep reaching out! --Karen

Links from today's podcast:

Library Thing

Book reviewed by Marcia:

Blueprint for your library marketing plan: a guide to help you survive and thrive, by Patricia H. Fisher and Marseille M. Pride, ALA c2006