Marketing & PR for Friends Groups

Join me for a two-part webinar series.

I’m pleased to present a two-part webinar series on marketing and PR tips for library friends groups hosted by ALA’s United for Libraries.

WHEN: Tuesdays at 2 pm on June 13 and July 11, 2023

WHERE: Online

WHAT: You don’t have to be a graphic designer, webmaster, or user experience designer to effectively promote and market your friends of the library group events, but it is a good idea to have a basic marketing plan and to know a few other basics before you get started promoting your next book sale or other membership events. We’ll review additional resources to get your Friends group pointed in the right direction.

REGISTRATION: https://www.ala.org/united/training/learning-live

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions occur on the second Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal members of United for Libraries and those with statewide access.

Seeing the Signs

Customer service and library signage go hand in hand.

When was the last time you walked around your library and really looked closely at all of the signs? Is it time for a signage audit?

More than likely, you don’t even have the time or are able to take the time to look critically at each and every sign in your facility. Those signs were placed there for a variety of reasons: policies, procedures, clarification, assistance, and more. Are all the signs easy to understand? Do your patrons (maybe some of whom haven’t stepped into a library in years) know what YA, OCLC, OPAC, ILL, J Easy, and other library acronyms actually mean? Are the signs in your library simply making things worse by making everything more confusing?

Does your public service desk have a “signage barrier”? This is the term I use when I see a row of acrylic holders with 8.5″x11″ signs announcing events and programs side by side with multiple brochure stands full of out-of-date information. How does this affect customer service and interactions with patrons?

Are you paying attention to grammar, abbreviations, font size, colors, branding, and consistency? We all need to think critically about how our customers see the signs in our facilities. We also need to think, less is more!

I can provide your library system a one-hour webinar all about library signage. I have also conducted more than 70 library signage audits. Feel free to get in touch with me to discuss your library training needs when it comes to library signage and I’ll be happy to help.

Be a Presenter!

Share your Library Marketing and Communications knowledge at the LMCC Conference.

The 2023 Library Marketing and Communications Conference (LMCC) Programming Committee invites you to submit presentation proposals for consideration for this year’s conference, which will be held in Indianapolis on November 7-8, 2023.

We want you to share your knowledge of the tried and true, the latest trends, and the best practices in library marketing and communications. We are looking for speakers with demonstrated professional experience who can share their knowledge and best practices and discuss your marketing and communications topic’s strategy, actions, and results.

Successful proposals will provide practical tips and takeaways that can be immediately applied to any library’s communications and marketing efforts. Accepted presentations will apply to other types and sizes of libraries and could be scaled to work for library marketing staff and teams that are full-time, part-time, and everything in between.

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, May 5
Notification of Acceptance: Friday, July 7

Learn more at the LMCC Conference website and submit your proposal today!

Focusing In on Focus Groups

When was the last time your organization hosted a focus group?

Focus groups can be intimidating to plan, coordinate, and host, but you don’t have to do it alone. Is your library or nonprofit interested in gathering quality input from your current and/or potential patrons or clients? A focus group can help.

Your library or organization is probably required to collect data to put into an end-of-the-year report, but how much of that data is qualitative? Yes, numbers play a large part in determining what areas need improvement, but so does direct input from actual human beings.

You can host a focus group, but sometimes it’s better to have an unbiased facilitator so that attendees feel more comfortable being frank in their opinions.

I’m in the process of developing a one-hour webinar all about focus groups, but I’m also available to conduct them for your organization either in-person or virtually. If you’re interested in learning more about focus groups, get in touch with me at curtisrogersconsulting@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to discuss it more with you!

Meeting Facilitation

Do your meetings need some sprucing up?

Sometimes meetings can be too long, too boring, and not even necessary. If you need some meeting advice or even a webinar for your management team on how to conduct meetings, let me know and I’ll be happy to help!

Meetings should be productive and have a purpose. Many times staff members dread meetings and would rather do anything but attend them. My webinar session will introduce and reaffirm various components of hosting and attending meetings. We will discuss group dynamics, active listening skills, conflict management, how to create an inclusive environment, and how to communicate clear meeting guidelines, instructions, and outcomes. Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss methods to avoid and what works well in their library settings.

So if you need to start the new year with new meeting skills, contact me today at curtisrogersconsulting@gmail.com.

Staff Day Learning

Personality tests combined with my Effective Communication Skills webinar can make for a great staff development day!

Are you looking for a great staff development day learning tool for your library or non-profit staff members?

Here is an excellent idea for your next staff development day: arrange for each employee to take a personality test such as 16personalities or the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised and then host my Effective Communications Skills webinar. This is a great opportunity for your library or non-profit employees to not only learn about their own personality types, but also learn about how their colleagues prefer to interact in meetings, training sessions, and even one-on-one.

My Effective Communication Skills webinar can be 60 minutes or 90 minutes. By learning some simple skills and techniques, communicating with colleagues in person or online doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating. In this session, attendees will take a close look at various personality types and communication styles. The more you know about personality types and communication styles can make almost any interaction a pleasant one. Online resources will be provided and there will be opportunities for Q&A and discussion. You can also record the session for your staff to review later.

Contact me at curtisrogersconsulting@gmail.com if you’d like to discuss hosting me for your next staff development day. Happy learning!

The 2023 Southeast Collaborative Conference is coming soon

Apply to be a presenter by December 9 at 5pm ET

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE – MARCH 14-16, 2023

The 2023 Southeast Collaborative Online Conference is a collective effort by multiple state libraries in the southeast to offer innovative and valuable online learning experiences for library staff at all levels through a convenient online conference. The online conference is made possible in part by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the State Library of North Carolina and the South Carolina State Library.

Interested in presenting? The planning committee accepts presenter submissions until December 9 at 5pm ET. Visit the conference website to submit your presentation application today!

Down the Road to Online Training

Is your library providing staff with enough online learning opportunities?

Online training is an integral part of any strategic plan. Providing educational opportunities for your library or non-profit’s employees ensures they keep up with their personal learning objectives and their skills up to date.

Do your library’s managers work on an annual personal learning plan with each staff member? If not, then check out my free template that helps managers work with staff members to figure out what skills they need to address during the coming year.

Please visit my list of online training classes and get in touch with me about scheduling one or more for your library system. These sessions can be customizable based on your library’s needs and can address specific issues your staff members may be dealing with. Through online education, your library staff members can engage, learn, and think forward to new and improved services and programs.

New Consultants Directory

A great place to find great library consultants.

Recently I was looking through my LinkedIn feed and noticed that Cordelia Anderson, a fellow library consultant, mentioned she was soon to be providing a webinar for Consultants for Libraries. I thought I was familiar with this online directory, but after I visited the site, I realized it was a new consultant directory, so I thought I’d do some more investigating.

It turns out that it’s an online directory of library consultants created and maintained by Jami Yazdani, MLIS, (Founder of Consultants for Libraries & Chief Consultant at Yazdani Consulting & Facilitation). According to the About Us section, she states, “I wanted a directory that allowed me to manage my own listing and highlight my library-specific experience and expertise. I wanted to connect with a supportive community of consultants doing similar work. And I wanted to make it easy for folks from libraries, museums, and archives to find the right consultants.” This made me really want to sign up.

I have to admit that the look and feel of the website pulled me in! I am happy to say that I’m now listed in the directory along with a growing group of like-minded colleagues who want to get their names out there to provide consulting services to libraries.

Webinar Series for State Library of North Carolina

Join me for three great webinars!

If you’re in North Carolina and would like to learn more about library marketing and communication-related skills, my webinar series is for you! Feel free to join me for 1, 2, or all 3.

Each session will take place online at the comfort of your computer or mobile device and will be from 10:30 am to 11:30 am.

Wednesday, October 26 – Communication Skills for Library Staff

Wednesday, November 2 – Thinking Forward – Revitalizing Your Keeping Up Habits

Wednesday, November 9 – Meeting Facilitation Skills for Library Staff

Check out the State Library of NC Continuing Education calendar for more information or contact Lauren Clossey at lauren.clossey@ncdcr.gov.

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