Join ALCOP, the New Library PR Association

Last fall, I introduced you to ALCOP with these words: 

ALCOP holds its conferences at
Arcadia University's Castle Conference Center

Are you tired of seeing library conferences just for technology, management, and other specialties, but none just for the PR and marketing folks? Well I've got good news! There's going to be a 2-day conference in Philadelphia next month that's been custom-built for us. It's the Inaugural Conference of a new organization called The Association of Library Communications and Outreach Professionals (ALCOP).

A month later, I posted a report on the group's Inaugural Conference. Now it's high time for an update.

Over the winter months, ALCOP built a website and began putting together its offerings. Earlier this spring, it officially opened for members. Info about joining is here. I've already signed up, and I hope you will too! (U.S. residents only at this point) The organizer, Bob Kieserman, realizes that prospective members might want to get a taste of the new association before they join, so he is offering an option to "sign up for a 60-day risk-free trial" before paying the annual dues of just $45.

So, what do ALCOP members get? 

• The space and opportunity to meet, network, and learn from others who do the same work: librarians or non-librarians who do public relations and outreach work for all types of libraries and info centers.
• A free electronic subscription to The Library Communications Journal
• Entry to a specialized discussion forum
• Discounts on the ALCOP annual conference and other learning opportunities as they're created
• Their own blog to read & to write for
• Opportunities to contribute to marketing publications
• More benefits are still being negotiated ... stay tuned! 

This organization is young, and it has lots of potential. I've spent a good bit of time talking with the founders. They are very keen to give the PR / marketing / outreach / communications people in libraries their own group, and to keep it affordable. Kieserman and his crew realize that these folks often don't get money to go to the big conferences, and that much smaller, more affordable, more customized meetings are necessary to grow their skills and professional network. 

If I've just described your situation, then ALCOP is for you. Plans for this fall's conference near Philadelphia, Oct. 14-15, are underway. And the group hopes to hold other small meetings in other parts of the country in the future. To make this happen, it needs dedicated members--and officers, which it will be seeking soon. Now is the time to join this fledgling association!