On November 30, 2021, at 7:00 pm, I spoke to Dr. Clayton Copeland’s Public Library Systems (SLIS 728) class for over an hour about library marketing, promotion, and communications as they relate to public libraries. They really had some wonderful questions!
What I found most interesting was the change in the student dynamics from thirty years ago when I was in library school. Back in the old days, I think there were many more full time students than there are now; however, by looking out into the gallery of zoom video streams, one thing seemed to remain the same: we still have a very white/female dominated profession.
There were many questions revolving around EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) in libraries and how we market to current and potential customers. Through graphic design and changing the view to represent inclusivity, we can do a better job of reaching out to all. While libraries have always been open to all, in the past we have not done that great a job of making sure our promotional pieces give a true depiction of the community segments we are trying to reach and we need to make a conscious effort to continue to change that.
A few takeaway resources I mentioned during the class session are as follows:
- Review other library social media policies and compare to your library – https://guides.statelibrary.sc.gov/social-media-in-libraries – has links to articles and the SCSL social media policy
- Library Marketing and Communications Conference – https://www.librarymarketingconference.org
- New Mexico State Library Marketing Plan Workbook – https://www.nmstatelibrary.org/docs/development/planning/Marketing_ Plan_Workbook.pdf
- PLA Marketing Strategies – https://www.ala.org/pla/resources/tools/public-relations-marketing/marketing-strategies
- Books and brews: Anne Arundel public libraries partner with local breweries to celebrate 100 years – https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ac-cn-anne-arundel-libraries-partnering-with-breweries-20210914-hr6zegty5nhennampr53547hma-story.html
- Books: The Accidental Library Marketer by Kathy Dempsey; Library Marketing Basics by Mark Aaron Polger; and, Library Marketing and Communications by Cordelia Anderson.
Here is a compilation of many of the questions along with my responses:
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