Get Your Patron Demographics from... Newsweek?

You should have as much info about your patrons as you can get if you intend to really market to them properly, and demographic info is incredibly important. In reality, you probably don't have time to do your own studies... but why should you? Lots of organizations gather and report on statistics. You might be thinking about Pew, the U.S. government Census, or... Newsweek?

Yes, newspapers and magazines often report on bits of demographics too. I found the Jan 26 edition especially interesting in this respect. The cover theme of "Obama's America: Who We Are Now" doesn't really explain that the issue is about the changing population of America. It's full of charts and graphs
that are really useful, and short articles about all sorts of populations.

My fave article was called "Campfire Questions" (p 66-67) and talked about how the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was trying to recruit Latinos to join b/c the BSA's membership was dwindling and Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country. Makes sense to target them, right? And if you just go speak to some community members, you could easily show how worthy the Scouts are, right? Not so fast...



Seems the Boy Scout recruiters didn't initially understand much about their Latino neighbors, and they made rookie mistakes in their pitches. One that you'll be able to relate to is the BSA simply translated a flier into Spanish and left it at that. Think it worked? (Does it work for you?) It didn't b/c the content of the flier, originally created for English speakers who already understood the Scouting concept, never actually said what scouts are or what they do. It highlighted ideals and things that scoutmasters thought were important, but it never defined BSA for a population that had no prior contact.

I recommend that you read this full article -- and study the interesting demographic info in the entire issue -- just to get a big picture of how demographics are changing and why it matters. Then look to your local government to get more specific info about your own area before you start doing any futher strategic or marketing planning. It's worth your effort to get your messages right the first time around!

John Cotton Dana Winners Announced

Congratulations to the six winners of the John Cotton Dana Award:

Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland, for “Storyville: An Interactive Early Literacy Learning Center” housed in a 2,250 square-foot child sized village. Storyville, a joint project of the Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library and the library, was designed as a catalyst for school readiness that garnered national attention and made learning fun for preschoolers and their caregivers. During an eight-month period, Storyville attracted over 50,000 visitors from more than 100 different zip codes.

Gwinnett County Public Library, for a brilliantly planned and implemented reading festival with more than 50 authors that attracted more than 4,500 people. The library collaborated with 46 community partners and garnered in-kind media sponsors totaling more than $67,000. An impressive variety of communications mediums were used to spread the word about the event including outdoor ads, blogs, and electronic and print media.

Houston Public Library, Houston Texas, for “A New Chapter,” their public relations campaign for the grand reopening of the newly renovated Houston Central Library. Recognizing that this event marked “a big step in a new direction” for the library, they leveraged this event into a successful ongoing campaign featuring striking graphics reflecting images of Houston’s diversity, earning significant media coverage, attracting 20,000 people to the reopening event and increasing usage by non-traditional customers.

The Library Foundation of the Multnomah County Library Portland Oregon, for the “Campaign for a Lifetime of Literacy.” The Foundation and the staff of Multnomah County Public Library developed a five year dual communication and fundraising campaign. They raised awareness that the library was the early literacy leader in the community and branded the library as a dynamic, vital literacy partner. They exceeded their goals by raising $12 million dollars, attracting 50,000 kids to their summer reading program and earned the support and recognition of the community and its leaders.

St. Paul Public Library, for “St. Paul-itics,” a dynamic program created to inform and engage citizens in the political convention and election season. In partnership with diverse political, arts, and religious organizations, the library served as a vibrant salon for civic discourse, presenting 40 programs targeting all age groups, featuring national political experts as well as local celebrities. St. Paul-itics revolutionized the role of the library in the community, increasing program attendance, public awareness, and online library access.

Ypsilanti District Library, for the “Second Annual Ypsilanti Songwriting Festival,” a unique public library program which used music and performing arts to appeal to non-library users, teens and men ages 18-45. Creative, nontraditional marketing strategies and community partners helped the Library reach the targeted demographic: 75% of attendees at events were men.