Have you noticed companies everywhere spinning their messages to appeal to people who are suddenly concerned about money & gas prices? And are you doing it yet?
Monday I was at my Saturn dealership getting service (love my VUE!
) and noticed that, in the sales area, they'd added large stickers to many front windows that proclaimed
) and noticed that, in the sales area, they'd added large stickers to many front windows that proclaimed "26 MPG!" or "Great Mileage" b/c they know that's what people are looking for now.
Here's what you do: start touting how your library can save people gas money. Don't see the connection? There's so much you could advertise:
- Save gas: Access the library from your home computer!
- One Stop Shopping: Get your books, movies, DVDs, and coffee right here!
- Save gas: Renew your items via phone or computer
- Save gas: Use our AskALibrarian service online!
- Librarians Are experts at being Thrifty: Let us show you how to save money!
And get ready for the next round of funding cuts that will be inevitable when townships (etc.) try to balance their budgets, which have also been blown by increasing gas / oil / shipping prices. When they're cutting back on services like the number of police cars and ambulances they can afford to gas up, you'd better have serious Return on Investment numbers to prove your continuing value. Imagine getting these headlines into the newspaper (or at least onto your website!):
- Your library gives you $6 worth of services for every $1 it gets in township funding!
- Libraries Still Best Value for the Dollar
Now go make it happen! Remember, the key is to be proactive, not reactive. So what are you waiting for?
Posts
5 comments:
Makes lots of sense. Hey why not combine the two key issues- go green and save green :-)
We started doing this in March ..and tied it back to our library calculator
Very neat! For those of you who aren't familiar with the Library calculator... it was developed by two New England libraries (Maine State Library and Chelmsford, MA) and it estimates the value of your public library materials and services. HRLC Director Joanne Roukens conducted incredible workshops here in NJ. It is really neat. Here's the link to HRLC's page: http://www.hrlc.org/valuing_libs/valuinglibs.htm
Way to go, MCL!! Very convincing reasons to get people to use your VALUABLE services. I salute you!
Post a Comment