Inspiring Articles & Ideas

There's been so much going on lately that I haven't had time to blog about it all. So I hope you won't mind a bit of a catch-up post here. 

++ There's a wonderful new feature article over at The Programming Librarian site--- "Meeting Needs and Making a Difference: Outcomes Based Planning and Evaluation" by Abbie Anderson, the Assistant Director at the North Bend (Oregon) Public Library. I can't entice you to read it any better than she does in her opening paragraph: 

"We’ve all been there. You plan a great program, and only a handful of people show up—or no one does. ... You’re doing everything you can think of and everything your schedule and your budget allow to promote your events to potential audiences. How can you draw people to your programs?"

There is a wealth of other helpful articles there; go take a look!

 

++ I bet you never expected to see a post on the Harvard Business Review's blog about libraries and stuffed animals! But here it is: "Innovating the Library Way" by Grant McCracken. Discussing the value that physical libraries can offer (that you can't get from ebooks or websites), he uses the fun example of "stuffed animal sleepovers" to show children that libraries are magical places. 

Look at Crowell PL's Flickr set to see how much fun the animals have when left overnight in the library! And here's an animated set of photos from Briargate PL's sleepover.  

++ You've seen bookmobiles... but I bet you've never seen one like this! An artist in Buenos Aires turned an armored tank into a mobile library and he drives around Argentina giving away books to encourage people to read. But the best part is the name: He calls the tank a "Weapon of Mass Instruction"!! See it in action on YouTube.

I loved the tank story so much that I posted it as my "Friday Fun" installment on my Facebook page for Libraries Are Essential (that's my marketing consulting business). That Facebook page is where I post lots of quick little links like these. If you like the idea of getting marketing tips, links to articles & ideas, and other interesting tidbits fed to your Facebook page every day, please Like my LAE page! (My more substantial writing will continue to appear here and in the Marketing Library Services newsletter.)

++ Finally, with February right around the corner, have you planned anything for Library Lovers' Day / Month? Librarians in New South Wales, Australia, have made it a big deal since 2006. Read all about it in a recent issue of Marketing Library Services. (Note: You are going to crave chocolate while reading this!) 

So those are just a few of the things I've been exploring and reading lately. Hope you find them inspiring.