I Geek Marketing Libraries

By now you've probably seen the new OCLC campaign, Geek the Library. I love the bones of this campaign and look forward to hearing from the pilot cities as to whether the concept of using geek as a verb resonates with the public and if the public is connecting "Geeking" to the value of libraries, especially those members of the community who may be advocates yet don't use libraries .

Here's a news clip from WSAV NBC 3 in Savannah. The connection is made here beautifully.



Here's a gorgeous video made for the campaign called, I Geek Opening Night. This I'm not so sure makes the connection.

Kathy's Podcast Interview on Longshots

Kathy is happy to report that she was recently interviewed by Sarah Long for her series of "Longshots" podcasts about library stuff.

We talked about my new book, The Accidental Library Marketer, and about library marketing in general. We also discussed that annoying question, "why do we still need libraries when we have the internet?" and I suggested some snappy comebacks for you to fire at those who dared ask. I hope you'll take a listen to the podcast and leave a comment.

And if this entices you, remember that I'll launch the book with a signing at ALA in Chicago on July 12. (It'll be part of the Swap & Shop in the Exhibit Hall, Sunday, 11am-1:30 pm.)

Nine Signs of a Losing Organization

Ideas Managements System blog found an article by the Indonesia Professionals and Entrepreneur's Club entitled, The Nine Signs of a Losing Organization.
Here's the list:

1. Fuzzy Vision
2. Lack of Leadership Skills
3. Discouraging Culture
4. High Bureaucracy
5. Lack of Initiative
6. Poor Vertical Communication
7. Poor Cross-functional Collaboration
8. Poor Teamwork
9. Poor Idea and Knowledge Management

How's your library doing?

Whew! Chris Penn tells it like it will be!

Chris Penn makes some predictions about social networking in his latest post. This piece jumped out as completely relevant for libraries:

"You have a very limited period of time right now when everything is in the open, when you can openly and plainly see influencers, when you can openly and plainly see how people are networked together. Study the networks now! As privacy continues to evolve, this period of Wild West openness will fade away, and suddenly the job of being a marketer will become a nightmare for anyone who relies on mass marketing, because the consumer simply will not let you in, not to their whitelist, not to their inner circle, not to their sphere of influence, unless the consumer actually wants what you have.

Takeaways: Spend time, invest time now in making connections with influencers, with superhubs in the social networks, because you’ll need their help later on to reach their trusted networks when you no longer can. Focus intensely on search, as that will be the one open mechanism for consumers to find you.

Above all else, maintain your focus on making products or services that don’t suck, because the tolerance for mediocrity will continue to decrease. No one wants mediocre in their social circles. They want awesome. They want to talk about awesome, share awesome, and be both consumer and purveyor of all things awesome. 

If you are not awesome, if your company’s products or services are not awesome, then the best advice I have is to keep your resume up to date."

QR Tags

Helene Blowers shares  how they are using QR tags her blog post. Be blown away ....

"Concept leadership is one of areas that my department, Digital Services, tries to focus on. It’s important for us to continuously keep on top of new and emerging technologies and explore ways that the library and our customers can benefit from them. 

QR tags is a technology that has actually been around for a few years. But until the mass adoption of smartphones with cameras, there wasn’t a dominant market yet for their use. When we launched our mobile text-based catalog early this spring we began to think of ways that we could use technology to market it smartly. QR tags seemed like a natural choice, since they are specifically designed for mobile devices. While we’re still playing with this idea some and refining the concept, the idea of placing QR tags strategically within the stacks on informational signs does have a lot of merit for it not only introduces the public to a new technology, it also tells those who are already familiar with mobile QR tags that the library has a mobile catalog." Read full post at Library Bytes.

Great point - Twitter for advocacy

The NY Times has an article in today's edition, Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned,  that included an idea that could easily transfer to advocacy efforts your library may be conducting. 

Twitter Can Be a Potent Tool for Media Criticism

Just as Twitter can rally protesters against governments, its broadcast ability can rally them quickly and efficiently against news outlets. One such spontaneous protest was given the tag #CNNfail, using Internet slang to call out CNN last weekend for failing to have comprehensive coverage of the Iranian protests. This was quickly converted to an e-mail writing campaign. CNN was forced to defend its coverage in print and online.

You laughed when I said we'd be mind melding ....

During a recent Battle Deck I suggested librarians would be mind-melding with their customers and wouldn't you know it, Ellyssa Kroski blogged about Mike Laurie's latest post on Mashable, 7 Technologies Shaping the Future of Social Media where the possibility of mind-melding was discussed.  It is a great post that will excite your imagination. Here's his list. Go to Mashable to read the details. 

1. Arduino - a small circuit board commonly used to prototype electronics

2. RFID Tags & Transponders

3. Geomagnetic Sensors in Mobile Devices

4. Optical Pattern Recognition & Augmented Reality

5. Open ID, OAuth and the Identity Graph

6. Mind Reading

7. Natural Language Processing

Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users

Check out this report from South Carolina State Library's communication director, Curtis Rogers.

Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users

View more PDF documents from Curtis Rogers.

Big News: My Book Will Be Out on July 1!!

From Kathy Dempsey-

Drumroll please...

I've written a book on library marketing! It's being printed now and will be out in 2 weeks. It's called The Accidental Library Marketer, and I wrote it especially for all of you out there who did not intend to get involved in marketing and promotion (which, in libraries, is just about everyone who does these tasks).

Following my usual writing and speaking style, I made sure my book is very useful, practical, and interesting. It is most definitely not another dry, academic tome full of theory and citations. It's a very reader-friendly companion that starts at the beginning, explains why marketing matters, differentiates it from promotion and its related pals, and then walks you, chapter by chapter, through all of the preparation and steps of true marketing. It explains why what you've "always done" might not work, and what you can do differently to get real results.

And, as a demonstration of how to reach a target market effectively, I've chosen a very special time & place for the book launch and signing: at the ALA Annual Conference's Swap & Shop event, which is where all the marketers go to find helpful examples from colleagues and to see award-winning work.

Here's a bit of the press release that just came out:

The Accidental Library Marketer fills a need for library professionals and paraprofessionals who find themselves in an awkward position: They need to promote their libraries and services in the age of the internet, but they’ve never been taught how to do it effectively. In this results-oriented A-to-Z guide, Dempsey–long-time editor of the Marketing Library Services newsletter—reveals the missing link between the everyday promotion librarians actually do and the “true marketing” that’s guaranteed to assure funding, excite users, and build stronger community relationships. The book combines real-life examples, expert advice, and checklists in a reader-friendly style. It includes chapters on getting buy-in for projects, using websites for publicity, and working with the press.

The Accidental Library Marketer is written for all library supporters, whether they’re directors, front-line staffers, volunteers, board members, or students. Since so few library schools have full-semester courses to prepare students for the real marketing they’ll need to do during their careers, the title is also designed to fill the need for marketing education. It could accompany a grad-school course or serve as independent reading for students who don’t have an option for a class. In fact, one prominent educator is already using pre-publication copies to supplement a marketing course at Simmons College. Ernest A. DiMattia, Jr., an adjunct faculty member at Simmons and a visiting associate professor at Pratt Institute, calls the book “a no-nonsense marketing guide that is comprehensive in scope and professional in style.”

You can read the full press release here, on my brand-new website! This site (still under construction) will support the book and will also be the home for my consulting business, named Libraries Are Essential. As such, the hopefully memorable URL is LibrariesAreEssential.com.

At the site, you can find more info about the book, including the full TOC, the Intro I wrote, and the Foreword by the experienced, award-winning marketer Judith Gibbons. You can also find my full CV, fascinating info about me, a slideshow of pictures, and lots more. Keep checking back as my ace webmaster and I keep building it up and adding more helpful library marketing resources.

Oh, and just in case you want to order the book, you can do that too. :-)

Questions, comments, thoughts?? Let me know, either here or at my new email address, Kathy [at] LibrariesAreEssential.com. I'd like to hear from all of you "accidental marketers" out there! I'm on a mission to make your marketing more effective.

SLA Members Creating Customized Marketing Plans

I'm following up on SLA as promised in my last post. I ran a workshop there over the weekend called Create a Customized Marketing Plan to Target Your Info Center's Clients. I spent the morning with 11 interested and engaged info pros who were committed to learning how to do good marketing, and I really enjoyed it.

I had attendees from varied organizations: insurance, medical, financial, food manufacturing, pharma, government, and agriculture. Despite their diversity, they shared many of the same concerns, particularly in proving their worth to retain funding and in attracting enough customers to support their organizations' goals but not so many that they can't keep up or can't do quality research for each one. To address those concerns, we talked about asking clients to comment on the value of the info centers' research reports, and on keeping track of comments and evaluations so the librarians would have their own data when it came time to prove their Return on Investment or to ask for more staff members.

Before we worked through the process of writing these mini marketing plans, I did several things:

* explained the differences in oft-confused terms
* talked about how to use everyday items as promotional tools
* warned the class about avoiding library lingo
* encouraged everyone to come up with a few useful soundbites to explain why library info is better than what's on the open web (at least for serious research)

This is a workshop I've taught a number of times, and the audiences always seems to get a lot out of it. One of my main goals is to get people to think about going through the steps of true marketing, not just doing bits of promotion for the products and services that they want customers to use. It's a whole new way of thinking for many in this industry.

This was a major conference for SLA because it was celebrating its 100 anniversary. There's no better time for special librarians to start fresh campaigns to prove their value to their parent organizations. I was honored to spend time with some who have the drive and desire to do just that.

SLA Gets a Nod from 'Fast Company'

There's a nice little blurb in the calendar section of Fast Company about the SLA Conference.

I'll be heading to SLA tomorrow, because on Saturday morning I'm teaching a workshop on marketing. I'm excited! I'll report back here afterward...

Sesame Street Does Its Research

Mayor Bloomberg meets new Muppet Bloomberg when the furry one presented the live one with an award at a recent anniversary gala.

Most of you know the children's show Sesame Street, with its counting muppets and furry friends. Some of you might be aware that the show just celebrated its 40th anniversary. But I bet that few of you realize how much this non-profit spends to prove its worth and to stay on the air.

According to an article in the June 1 issue of Newsweek, the show's producer, Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop), plans to spend $770,000 this year on its department of education and research. This is how it proves how valuable the show's education is to children. The Workshop does research to prove how its show raises early-childhood knowledge and test scores. So, even tho its TV ratings aren't high today (compared to so many other children's shows), it can confidently say that it has an amazing positive impact on early childhood education and literacy. Doesn't this sound like something that libraries should be a part of?

You can learn more about Sesame Workshop's initiatives and funding partners on its website. Some librarianas might look to Sesame Workshop for meaningful partnership opportunities.

Libraries are integral part of a community's infrastructure

This fantastic video from Minnesota talks about the impact of cutting LGA (local community funding) and places libraries right there with firefighters. This is what OCLC's report meant when they said we needed to demonstrate how libraries are an integral part of the community infrastructure and a tough but essential tax cost.

You can view the video and hear other stories at the LGA web site.

Metadata Can Save the World!

This video is just too fun not to share. It shows "Team Digital Preservation saving the world from nuclear disaster caused by the work of Team Chaos...."

I guess if I'm posting this, it should have something to do with marketing or promotion, right? Well... ummm.... Next time someone wonders why libraries are still important in the digital age, tell them that it's the highly skilled librarians who will preserve the metadata that'll save the world someday. There, that oughtta work...

Darien Library- transparency in action

I am always touting the need for transparency in our communication with the public and often I hear that libraries are deathly afraid that horrible things will happen if they allow our customers to voice their opinions publicly.  Here's a great example of how transparency plays out when people don't agree with a policy.

Not only are they green, but Darien Library is transparent.  After posting signs for preferred parking for hybrid cars, they heard feedback that people were confused and maybe even a little upset over the new arrangement.



Of course it never helps when the NY Times runs an article with these kind of comments:

"Some people thought the library was making a political statement and did not understand it was part of the model for LEED application,” Ms. Berry said. “I think they thought we were making more than a green statement.”
Zengo, 74, who has lived in Darien for 36 years, said he was outraged by the library’s decision to designate special spots for hybrid vehicles. A retired banker who drives a 1994 Cadillac, he said the spots were discriminatory.


“Why should someone who can afford that kind of car suddenly get special treatment?” Mr. Zengo said. “I have no problem with parking spaces for the elderly or for a young parent with an infant or handicapped drivers. But this is over the top. What about somebody who can’t afford to go out and buy a fuel-efficient car or somebody with a large family that has to drive an S.U.V.? They suffer. It’s not fair.” 

But Darien isn't only about new ideas, they are also about being responsive to feedback and sure enough posted this to their blog that same day:

"Today's Connecticut section of the New York Times features an article about Darien Library's hybrid parking spots.  The article references the feedback on our website about the spots and the confusion surrounding the types of vehicles that our users are encouraged to park in them.

After considering the feedback, we'd like to clarify several issues and make you aware of some of the changes we've made in response.

• The preferred parking spots are not exclusively for hybrid cars, even though the sign says so.  They are meant to be used by environmentally-friendly vehicles.  Please see the list of 474 cars that are LEED certified for eligibility for preferred parking.
• No punitive action is taken when a non-preferred vehicle parks in a preferred spot.
  
  
  If no other parking space is available, we invite visitors to park in those spots, regardless of the type of vehicle they're driving.
  
  The preferred parking spaces are part of a larger "green building" initiative that includes a number of proactive steps that the library has taken to benefit the environment. 
  
  
  
  Dot Kelly, one of our board members, recently wrote an article that explains the LEED gold certification process. In response to comments and feedback, we have already moved three preferred parking spaces away form the building into the middle of the parking lot.  Additionally, because of the confusion caused by the wording of our current signs ("Preferred parking for hybrid vehicles"), we have ordered new signs that will simply say "Preferred Parking" and feature a car with a green leaf (see image).  The signs are designed to allow our visitors to make the determination as to whether they are entitled to park in those spots.  Though we hope that our users will respect the preferred parking, we want everyone who comes to the library to feel welcomed and apologize if our current signs sent a message to the contrary.
  
  
  Our new signs will be installed before the end of the month..."

Ah the beauty of authentic, responsive communication. For any library worried that being transparent will create problems, this a perfect example of how in fact it helps to resolve problems. Hats off to Darien Library! 

A Wonderful Example of Asking Users What They Want

Everyone who decides what libraries look like and how they work should be spending lots of time asking their patrons and potential users what they want the libraries to be before taking any action. Today I want to point you to an amazing example of that. Check out this post over at Designing Better Libraries. It explains the many things that libraians at Georgia Tech did to get input while redesigning their much-used second floor.


Library planners used not only focus groups and surveys but also mind-mapping, open forums, storyboarding, and furniture demos while asking students what they wanted the rennovated space to be like. The post author, Brian Mathews, also did something that's as simple as it is rare: He grabbed his laptop, left his office, and went out to "live among" his users. He found the experience very worthwhile:

Living, working, and going native was a tremendous benefit for me—not only with this project but for a richer understanding of students and their library usage. It’s one thing for us to talk about the library, but another to actually use the spaces and services that we provide.

Why am I mentioning all this on The M Word? This, my friends, is the essence of the True Marketing that I preach. The first step is getting to know users, asking what they want (thereby starting to get their buy-in), and designing your products and services specifically to fill their needs. What Brian and his colleagues are doing at Georgia Tech is a shining example of true marketing in action.

And even if you claim not to have the time, money, support, or whatever to do such in-depth studies, there's no reason you can't simply "go native" like Brian did. It's easy and it's free! Grab your laptop and your mobile device, disguise yourself by trading in your nametag for a baseball cap, and go use your space like a patron does. Can you find a power outlet in the area you want to sit? Is the furniture comfy? Is it too loud or too quiet? Look at how others are working around you. Watch and learn.

How Marketing Can Save You Money

In the latest issue of my Marketing Library Services newsletter, I have an article called "Five Ways You Can Save Money By Marketing." I thought it was important to make this point now. And in fact, yesterday I got a lovely email from a reader saying that she felt the same way, and that the article "really cemented" the way she was thinking about this topic.

It begins like this:

Everyone knows that times are tough now, especially in America but also in other countries that are feeling the effects of the faltering U.S. economy. I’m tired of hearing and thinking about it, as many of you probably are too. But I wanted to address it here in Marketing Library Services because there’s an important message you should hear: When you’re low on money, marketing is one of the last things you should cut from your budget.

You might be shaking your head right now and thinking that either I just made a mistake or that you read that sentence wrong. But no, I meant it. This is the time to do more—and more careful—marketing and promotion than ever before. In fact, if done right, these actions can even help your library save money. Let me explain how.

If you're uncertain about this point, or if you need something to help convince colleagues not to take your marketing money and use it on other things, this might help.

Any stories to share? Comment here!