King County Library System, a PR Powerhouse, Is Named 2011 Library of the Year by Gale and Library Journal

The annual announcement of Library Journal's Library of the Year (sponsored by Gale, part of Cengage Learning) is always big news. Today I was especially excited after I got the email, because the 2011 winner is a library system that I know & respect. Congrats to the King County Library System in Issaquah, Washington!! 

If you haven't ever read anything about KCLS, you're missing great stuff. And marketing is a major part of its success. The press release makes that clear early on (emphasis mine): 

KCLS is one of the busiest libraries in the U.S., serving 1.3 million county residents with its 46 branches and 2,131 square miles of service area. Patrons have visited the library 10.2 million times in the last year, and KCLS’s unique marketing efforts and innovative programs have helped get them in the door.

Oh, and over the last year, there have been more than 30 million website visits. (The press release shares some of the reasons why.)

If KCLS sounds familiar, you might have read about it here or in the Marketing Library Services newsletter that I edit. Here at The M Word, we've highlighted these projects: 

Started "Look to Your Library" for job search advice in 2009

Partnered with a homeowner's association to open an unstaffed "branch" where people could pick up their books at times convenient to them in 2009

Won a John Cotton Dana award in 2010

Also, in the March/April 2011 issue of Marketing Library Services, KCLS's PR Specialist Marsha Iverson was highlighted in the column "Interviews With Marketing Masters," written by Judith Gibbons.

(The full text is not online, so find a copy on your shelves or your colleagues' shelves. Or order a back issue from custserv@infotoday.com.)

Finally, back in the November/December 2007 issue of MLS, Marsha wrote a How-To article called "Improving Our Media Relations via Strategic Communications Planning." I thought it was so valuable that I later got her permission to include it as an appendix in my book, The Accidental Library Marketer.

 

But coming back to 2011's news... 

You can see Library Journal's full article, along with photos, here. I love how it opens: 

For decades, the King County Library System (KCLS), Issaquah, WA, has earned a reputation as a model for libraries throughout the nation and the world. The surprise is that it has not won the Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year Award until this year.

So if you want to know more about media relations, great marketing, good strategic planning, and community-building, then get to know this multiple-award-winning library. Reading these articles and studying King County Library System's website can give you a free crash course.

Director of First Impressions

 I'm really getting excited about tomorrow’s keynote speech for the NJ Library Assistant Association Conference. I was thinking about library assistants and realized how much I hate calling them that. The terms paraprofessional or paralibrarian doesn't do it for me either. Why? Because I think the job stands on it’s own.

Library assistants play an important part of the workings of the library. Public service assistants are usually the first person customers see when they come into the library. Most customers think they are the librarian -even after they say they aren't! 

They set the tone for the library, reinforces the look and feel of the library's brand. Library assistants are knowledgeable of the activities the library offers. They know the latest books and usually know what's hot because they see which books are being checked out. Every time they make a recommendation for a book, suggest a program or talks about volunteer opportunities, they are helping a customer to grow. Depending on the size of the library they can do anything from stacking the shelves to running programs. Sometimes they are the only human connection customers have with the library. And this title includes people who have technical service, automation, administrative and managerial roles as well!

Anyone who looks at the certificate requirements for the Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) will get a better idea of the knowledge and expertise library assistants provide to libraries.

Not that I am suggesting we reclassify civil service titles but  I was thinking it's time for some different in-house titles and here's what I've come up with:

• Director of First Impressions
• Transformationalist
• Customer Optimization Specialist
• Chief Evangelist

Any thoughts are additions?

A Short Interview with a Presentation Expert

I'm getting ready to give a keynote tomorrow for the NJ Library Assistants Association Conference and came across this short clip. In it Mark Ragan interviews presentation expert Tom Mucciolo. Things you probably already know but a nice review.

Notes:

• Hand gestures: When you ask the audience a polling questions an  expansive gesture includes the entire audience
• The last person you look at will be the person who thinks they should answer
• Careful of "up blocking",the action of blocking the most vulnerable part of your body such as  crossing arms. Keep those arms open - demonstrates your self confidence
• Use virtual space and move your hands to show how you think
• Use hands to anchor a point
• Careful: The time line should be pointed out in reverse so the audience see the natural time line
• Don't conversationalize your hand gestures -hands can distract.

The Six Principles of Influence

Kathy- love the post about  Ken's presentation.  In the talk he mentions Dr. Robert Cialdini's
six principles of influence:

1. Reciprocation. People are more willing to comply with requests (for favors, services, information, concessions, etc.) from those who have provided such things first. 

2. Commitment/Consistency. People are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing or recent commitment. Consider how small that commitment can be and still motivate change forcefully.

3. Authority. People are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of a communicator to whom they attribute relevant authority or expertise.

4. Social Validation. People are more willing to take a recommended action if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking it.

5. Scarcity. People find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability. Even information that is scarce is more effective.

6. Liking/Friendship. People prefer to say yes to those they know and like.

They struck a chord with me. I keep hearing from librarians who don't see themselves as "schmoozers" but when you start to look at the principles of influencing people, you can see that it's really just about building genuine relationships. Sure, the politicians have pumped these principles with steroids, but they can work effectively on a personal level. And as more and more headlines scream about the threats to library funding, no one in our field can ignore these principles.

As I read the list, I thought about a a director I know here in Jersey. Joe is a soft spoken man with an easy going personality.  When this guy walks through his town, he knows just about everyone he sees. And they know him.  Why? Because he has spent years building relationships. Not all at once, but over time, he has played a valuable role in just about every organization in town. He doesn't show up when he needs something, he comes to give. Time mostly, because let's face it, that's what most local organizations need. He likes these folks and they like him. He's their number one supporter. He offered space in his library for literacy volunteers and then added another space right next door for ESL classes. Before budget cuts started hitting his library hard, he invited influential community members to form an advocacy committee. They volunteered. He's on his way to ensuring a voice for his library will be at the table when budgets are being discussed.

Another director I know heard parents were worried about their kids not getting in college, so the library hired a part timer to help kids with the applications and essays. When he heard people talking about how complicated the funding process was, that same part timer started offering sessions to help parents understand how to apply for financial aid. When that part timer started working she didn't hang posters, she "hung out" and got to know the kids. She built trust and responded to their needs. She wasn't looking to push kids to come to a program to fill out a college application; she was pushing kids to talk about what their dreams were and pumping them up a bit with hope. She wasn't expecting a lot of kids; she just wanted a couple of influential members of the group. Once they were on board, she knew the rest would follow. 

My old boss spent 25 years working hand-in-hand with a freeholder to build one of the best county library systems in the country. Every time that freeholder saw her, he'd talk about her as if she was his "daughter." The libraries he fought to fund were his "babies." I think my boss felt the same way about him. Families work together to help each other.

Advocacy on a local level is tough is because it is all about building those relationships with people who may not be using our libraries or who may be in different social circles, but it's easier if we keep in mind that the connection is always the community.



 

Wondering How to Influence Politicians?

Many library advocates around the world wonder about the best ways to influence politicians. How can we get our points across and convince them that libraries are worth funding and voting for? As is often the case, there is actual data out there to help you so you don't have to guess or "reinvent the wheel" by going through your own lengthy trial-and-error process. 

I just discovered this post, called "Advocacy and Influence," from the new-ish blog of Ken Haycock & Associates, Inc. Dr. Haycock has had a long & distinguished career, so I trust his recommendations. 

His post begins:

A team of researchers from three countries is examining how elected politicians and their senior administrators make decisions about funding and policy. We started looking at the effectiveness of advocacy for libraries and soon realized that our examination was backwards—we should look at why and how decisions are made and then match advocacy efforts to that context.

What a concept! He goes on to discuss the real meaning of advocacy, and links to a two-part presentation that details the results of the research (so far). He ends by saying this: 

Our presentation includes what generally works for library funding, in addition to these principles, as well as what has not traditionally worked, according to the research.The basic question is why we keep doing the same things when the research and evidence suggests a very different approach.

Sounds like all of us advocates had better go read the research so we can learn to make our efforts more successful!! Don't wait; go there now!