One Week Left to Enter TED's 'Ads Worth Spreading' Challenge!

I just discovered the "Ads Worth Spreading" Challenge, one of the projects from TED. If your library has an ad or a PSA, enter ASAP.

Not familiar with TED? OMG, go to the site! Go now! TED is all about sharing the world's most important ideas. It says it is "Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world." And they are available in different languages. 

A few contest details from the site: 

Online video is the focus of this challenge, and we'll accept video submissions that vary in length from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. However, we will also accept and consider non-video (or contextual video) submissions that introduce new online advertising solutions. Please note that non-video submissions are not eligible to win all of the prizes listed below. (See our guidelines and judging criteria for more on what we're looking for.)

TED invites the business community to submit their most forward-looking campaigns to the contest by February 7, 2011. A judging panel will select up to 10 winning videos and ads, which will premiere at TED2011, February 28-March 4, 2011, for the gathered audience of 1,500+ thought leaders, and will appear on TED.com for free for one week in March. Winners will also appear on the YouTube homepage and as ads across YouTube content.

During the week of March 21-27, 2011, the winning campaigns will occupy every available post-roll ad space on TED.com, garnering nearly 2M free advertising impressions. In addition to appearing as post-roll after TEDTalks videos, each ad will also have a permanent page on TED.com, allowing the ad to be rated, shared, commented on and linked to, perhaps earning large numbers of additional views. (Read more about what you win.)

What are you waiting for? Enter by Feb 7!!

A new beginning

Life is a delicate balancing act for those of us who are living life at full throttle. We all only have 24 hours in a day and so we are continually bartering for minutes from one area of our lives to spend in another. I had too much on my plate when I decided to add a few more things ... that last straw finally broke the camel's back and my projects fell into chaos.

So I've reorganized and reassessed and I'm back. I know Kathy is happy :-) Hopefully, you will be too.

I started this blog almost five years ago. Much has changed since then. More libraries have marketing departments, conferences have marketing programs, there are plenty of marketing blogs and our readership has grown.

But much hasn't changed. Marketing is still viewed by many libraries as an afterthought. Many departments purpose is to create posters and write press releases rather than help a library know their customers and help to create relevant programs, products and services. Rather than establish interactive communication paths for staff to use to communicate with customers, we hear complaints that the staff is too busy to "do our work." I'm sure you can add your own story to this list.

Kathy began an important conversation in her book, The Accidental Marketer, when she outlined and defined each step of true marketing (see image here). Mary Evangeliste, Jonathan Silberman and I wrote our book about ways you could break those steps into Bite-Sized pieces. But even with those two books on the shelves, there is still a disconnect between theory and reality.

The book I am working on now is about that disconnect and I'd like to enlist the help of my friends on this blog, my Twitter feed and Facebook account to help ensure this book can help us do a better job of marketing in the library field.

So here's the deal. I have traveled extensively and interviewed some of the best people in our field. I'll share a passage or idea from the book and then ask you for your thoughts, examples, etc. You can write comments here, or email me directly. I'll also be tweeting and creating a Facebook page.

I need your help to make this book truthful, practical and relevant so that it can be used to enact the changes needed for libraries to take advantage of marketing and help them make the changes needed that will position them as essential organizations to fund.

I will credit anyone who contributes, unless you don't want to be included. I look forward to hearing from you in the next few months. -Nancy

Fantastic 30-Second Library Promo Video

I adore this video! It proves that something can be very simple and short, yet still effective and memorable. 

Kudos to the Finnish Library Association, which created this as part of its 100th anniversary celebration. 

2011 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award Winners Announced

The winners have just been announced! As many of you know, the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award is the biggest one in North America. So the annual announcement of the winners is big, big news! Here's the list for 2011, courtesy of ALA:

Loudoun County Public Library, Leesburg, Va., for “Try Poetry” - a year of building community through the borderless conversation of poetry. The program developed a long partnership with the public school system, created a unique relationship with the juvenile detention center and offered a variety of captivating presentations to the community. Extensive media coverage in the Washington Post and other outlets, as well as highly respected authors, poets and actors helped to inform and excite all ages of the community.

Anythink Libraries of Adams County, Colo., built a “library of the future,” responding to a voter-approved funding increase. A new customer service philosophy and branding increased population awareness and use in all areas, including a 42-percent increase in cardholders and 66-percent increase in visitors. The district Anythink name and orange swirl has become a nationally recognized signature for the library.

The University of California Santa Cruz Library for its hugely successful campaign surrounding its acquisition of the Grateful Dead archives. In addition to coverage in many national newspapers and magazines from the Wall Street Journal to Rolling Stone, the library’s Facebook page for this archive has more than 48,000 friends - second only to the Grateful Dead’s own Web page - and they have received $1.5 million in donations.

The Edmonton Public Library, Edmonton, Alberta, for “Rebranding the Edmonton Public Library,” a masterful blending of the work of professional designers and library staff that let each do what they do best. The simple, stylish logo and the slogan “Spread the words” were taken by library staff and customers and used in a guerilla marketing strategy that was impossible to ignore and hard to resist. The success of this campaign was built on a strong foundation of shared values, clear assessment, strategic marketing and a committed and enthusiastic library staff. The result was a colorful, adaptable, effective campaign that also happens to be a lot of fun.

Worthington Libraries, Worthington, Ohio for the “Find Yourself Here” rebranding campaign, a unique, informative and fun way to position the library as an information source and inviting destination. Beginning with staff communications guidelines and expanding to service provision, the library was positioned as a place where everyone belongs and is accepted. The net result was a 35-percent increase in online homework usage and a 36-increase in the circulation of downloadable books. 

The John Cotton Dana (JCD) honor has been awarded continuously since 1946 and is sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Co., the H.W.Wilson Foundation and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is considered the most prestigious of all library awards in the field of public relations.

“This  was a very difficult judging year,” said JCD committee Chair Kim Terry. “The quality was outstanding. We had entries from a variety of libraries - several academic libraries applied with fabulous campaigns. Many of the submissions came from small- to medium-sized libraries. It’s amazing that in these challenging economic times how wonderfully gifted libraries are at leveraging what they have to produce effective marketing campaigns. Libraries have come a long way.”

Hearty congratulations to all the winners! 

(More info about the award and a list of past winners is here.)

Back to NPR, Cupcakes, and Libraries

As you may remember, there was a big buzz last summer about a blog post from NPR. The  post's title was, "Why The Next Big Pop Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries." Well, the author just looked back at all her 2010 posts, and guess which was the most popular of the year?? That one!

At the time, I blogged about the NPR post. I said it was great publicity, but we shouldn't be happy to let it end there. It's nice to get that "15 minutes of fame," but how would we harness that to gain longterm support and funding? I think that's an important question to ponder, still. Every once in a while libraries get hot news coverage, but do we just smile about it or do we use it as a tool to improve our situation? Read my post and ponder... and let me know if any of you have found ways to do just that. 

OCLC Delivers Valuable Data on Library Usage & Public Perceptions

A new report on American libraries is about to be released by OCLC, and everyone who's in this country should read it. It's the follow-up to the extremely insightful and helpful report that OCLC published 5 years ago, which was called "Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources." This new edition is named "Perceptions of Libraries, 2010." Anyone who makes decisions about how to reach users and what to offer them needs to use the data that was discovered during this study. 

OCLC describes it this way: 

OCLC's newest membership report, Perceptions of Libraries, 2010, a sequel to the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, will be available soon. The new report provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online habits, preferences, and perceptions. Particular attention was paid to how the current economic downturn has affected the information-seeking behaviors and how those changes are reflected in the use and perception of libraries.

What makes this valuable info even better is that it's free. (Thanks, OCLC!!!) If you go to this page, you can read more about it. On the right side, click the link that says "Register now to download this report" and, after giving your most basic contact info, you'll be able to download two advance PDFs of fascinating info right away. Once the full report is ready, you'll get an email telling you how to download that for free as well.

I can't say enough good things about these OCLC reports and how important this info is. (We've covered one related report before, here.)  I still have my print copy of the 2005 Perceptions report at my desk. The 2010 one will deliver real data such as this: 

More than a third (37%) of economically impacted respondents said they are using the library more often than they did before the economic downturn. Increased library use is substantially 

higher than any other lifestyle activity increase measured. 13 million economically impacted Americans—that is more than the populations of New York, Chicago and Houston combined—are using the library more during the challenging economic time.

Note how the authors made the large number (13 million) easier to grasp by comparing it to something more tangible. This is very important to help readers understand the magnitude, and you need to do the same when you share this data with your funders, administrators, and citizens. 

These reports offer a wealth of data that you can use to prove your value and make your case for funding. They also give you the big picture, giving you a glimpse of the whole country. It's very valuable to have view of the industry outside of your own area. 

Thanks to the folks over at ResourceShelf for spotting this news first. That's a great service to help keep you on top of what's happening in the info industry. Sign up for their free newsletter!

Map of UK Library Closures

For those who want to keep track of public library closures across the UK, here's an interactive Google Map.

There's a wealth of information here. If you click on any of the red pins, you'll get info about the library itself and sometimes links to articles or further info. 

I learned about this map from Voices for the Library, which describes itself this way: 

A group of dedicated librarians and information professionals have set up Voices for the Library, a campaigning website to share positive stories from public libraries and librarians, provide factual information about library usage in the UK and draw together the fragmented responses to the many attacks on UK public library services. 

This campaign is an opportunity for people to discuss why libraries and librarians are so important, and why it is vital that they are run well and serve their communities effectively.

You can also follow Voices for the Library on Facebook. It seems like a wonderful group, and even though UK culture is somewhat different from that in the US and elsewhere, I'm sure you'd find ideas that you could adapt for your own usage. 

All Together Now: Keynote by Pete Bromberg

All Together Now: Keynote at the NJLA Adult Services Forum, October 18, 2010 from Peter Bromberg on Vimeo.

I this keynote by Pete really sets the tone for a new year. Enjoy!