In that vein, I am going to present to you a summary of their top ten benefits of tough economic times in reverse order;

10. Refresh Your Organization- This is the opportunity to look at the positions in your organization to see if the needs can be met through making positions more diversified or by changing the roles and services provided by the positions. You should be asking yourself if there is a need for the position, how else it can be filled, what else can be done? How much of the work is really relevant and how much is just filler? Its important to make the positions more fulfilling and satisfying by utilizing the talent that the employees.

9. Developing Staff Skills – Tough times can give libraries the opportunity to learn and grow from each other. Instead of paying for coaches and consultants, you can utilize the knowledge of your staff to train other staff members. Its important to allow staff to cross train other staff in a various roles and positions to give them the opportunity to grow and help people on multiple levels. Allowing staff to work together to teach each other can also help staff work more effective in teams, improve moral, or to work more collaboratively.

8. Make New Friends- In the good times, all these good friends existed out there but we weren’t talking to them. Now, in the hard times, we need to renew these friendships and make new friends. It’s important that you rely on local organizations and that you encourage them to rely on you for the resources that both can share. For example, the library can supply the community space for a food or hunger organization and the organization can provide the program.

7. Finally Write That Grant – Get someone who has an affinity for writing, has attention to detail, and most importantly has an interest in writing a grant. It would be helpful to get someone on your staff to help review state and federal grants so that they get trained (for free) about the grant writing process. You can also utilize volunteers who are looking to keep their work experience solid while they are unemployed to write grants.

6. Say It Better (Improve Communications) – good old fashion face-to-face communication. These times we have gone through have created so much fear and libraries are relearning the importance of communicating effectively to staff. Simple things, like leaving your door open, can help staff change their perception of you.

5. Kill Mission Creep – The most important skill a manager has is to demonstrate confidence with a clear message and knowing what they want. You want staff to get behind your initiatives and know where the library is headed. It’s important to revisit the strategic plan to make sure that all staff is working towards the same goals. Bad things start to happen if the only thing your working towards is keeping the doors open. Figure out what is it you really want to do and do it really well instead of trying to do to many things part way. In order to accomplish this, you should figure out how to say no to things that lie outside of goals of the strategic plan.

4. Enjoy Spring Cleaning (Leaner Facilities) – There is a lot you can do to fix up and change your facility for little to no money. Take this opportunity to clean out and throw away what you don’t need and to create a leaner space. Remember the adage, there is a place for everything and everything in its place and having too much “stuff” around the building leads to less efficiency. Explain the why’s of why a leaner space is a better space. For example, decrease the number of flyers on the desks and teach staff to be better salesman with face-to-face interactions.

3. Weed’em and Reep – Many libraries are weeding significant portions of their non-fiction collections to make room for more computers and chairs or other resources that patrons may need at a higher level. Perform a turnover analysis on all of your collections and anything that is low should be considered for downsizing.

2. Meet New Needs and Create New Users – Its important to have fun and change with the needs of the community to gain a new set of users. If people had an experience that is relevant to their lives, its more likely that they will vote in favor of the library when it comes time to go to the taxpayers for funding. We have created many rules to preclude patrons from using the facilities and we should be starting to change to more welcoming spaces.

1. Adjust Your Attitude – A fish stinks from the head down. Managers and leaders who are up against the challenges of the economic downturn and are negative will not inspire staff to rise above the challenges to solve the problems. By solving the problems from a positive space the manager creates a sense of team and comradely. Even if you’re not in a leadership position its possible to lead through your attitude towards staff and situations.

http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/default.htm.

Something I’ve noticed is that single adults with no children are a market that would join the library, but there is no advertising directed toward us. When I started working for the public library, my single thirtysomething friends were all astonished that one could rent DVDs in the library. I know people cut back on spending by canceling subscriptions to audible.com, but were totally unaware that audio books, including playaways, were available at the public library.
With the current budget crisis, one of the speakers emphasized the need for library support marketing, in addition to library use marketing. She mentioned that her community had defeated a number of library bonds, and they realized that they could not simply market a few months before an election. Thus, they are gearing up now for support marketing for the 2012 elections.
There were a few specific suggestions, which included having a plan with specific goals and including Web 2.0 in the plan, considering policies on access, content creation, monitoring, measuring return and a schedule.
Another emphasis was on local marketing, including not just social media, but partnerships with local media, or taking advantage of the skills of community members, to teach classes.
There were a lot of good ideas, for both programming and marketing that came out of this section.

I mentioned at the end of my post yesterday that I was concerned by the lack of discussion about he social web as a marketing and PR tool in this forum.  It was only midway through the day today that I realized the fault in my gripe: this was not really the scope of the course.  The CPLA marketing seminar, rather than focusing on the specifics of tools used for communicating a message, focused on the way in which you can develop and use a marketing plan to move your library forward.  It was a lesson on how to effectively move a marketing plan through your library’s administration in order to accomplish specific goals.  It was not a class describing the particulars of the various communication tools: television, email, direct mail, websites, or the social web.

I’m reminded of the way I felt when I was a freshman in art school; how I stepped to an introductory drawing class feeling confident I had all the best, clever-est ideas of how to make a sweet multimedia artwork that would blow away all this charcoal drawing based still-life nonsense we were assigned.  One of the concepts we talked about today at marketing ‘class’ was that you need to consider your audience and ‘use the right medium for the message’.  For example, if you are marketing a program, product, or service to senior citizens, text messaging might not be the right choice.  Likewise, direct mail may never get to a college student immersed in their inbox.  My introductory drawing teacher made these elaborate constructions for still-lifes that were pretty interesting works of art in and of themselves, and I couldn’t see beyond that and learn how to use the charcoal as the tool that it is.  I wanted to skip that boring step, skip the learning, the planning, the rigor invovled in the training of how to draw and just slap together a heartfelt, timely piece of angsty art.  If I hadn’t wised up and gotten with the program, I would have left school minus one of the media needed for conveying a specific kind of message.

It strikes me that we run that same risk when thoughtlessly championing social media as a marketing tool for libraries.  It is so cool, so nifty, so timely, so seductive, and lets face it: we, the librarians, we freakin’ LOVE it.  This is not to say that libraries shouldn’t tweet, be on flickr, facebook, and everything else- they should- but this is really only one channel reaching one kind of audience, and frankly I think we may be fixated and obsesessed with it as some kind of savior, some kind of revolutionary communication force.

More details of the seminar coming soon…

Before I get into any the specifics of today’s goings-on, I’d like to point to PLA’s Certified Public Library Administrator program in the context of the MLS and library education.  There’s always a lot of debate and discussion about the relevance and content in the MLS/MILS/LIS or whatever name is fashionable for the degree these days.  I was fortunate to have learned from a few exceptional teachers when I was in school at Pratt, and I was even more fortunate to be working in a large, maybe even labyrinthine library system at the same time.  Still, the school lacked a clearly defined track of required coursework for those aspiring to be public librarians.  I suspect they may have lost a few potentially gifted public librarians to other fields because of this.  While I benefited from exposure to the school’s curricular strengths in art librarianship, archives, and, for lack of a better umbrella term, ‘design thinking’, I know I would have immediately utilized many of the practical bits and pieces of knowledge I’ve gleaned from the strategic planning, statistics, and marketing CPLA classes I’ve attended.  Naturally, classes like the ones PLA offer are excellent templates for library administators to follow, but in a broader sense these concepts are essential building blocks for any student seriously considering getting into working in public libraries.

Moving on….

Today was really an intro to marketing for libraries.  We haven’t gone that deep yet; tomorrow we will make a marketing plan for the hypothetical Tree County Library.  We discussed the 4 P’s of marketing:

1. Products
2. Price
3. Placement
4. Promotion

Our group of librarians came from as far as Alaska and as near as Michigan, and it seemed like despite the geographic differences everyone was able to get on board with the basic ideas.  Here’s a few of my tweets from the day as conversation and debate roared through the room… forgive spelling issues, its the nature of the medium…

For me, and it seems for many of the people who were following the liveblogging today, it seems the most valuable piece of the day were the web resources provided for doing market research.  People at home, be sure to play with these sites a bit and see just how much you can learn about your community with only a few clicks… it is impressive.

1. Claritas (persevere and use the blue sidebar for the free info)
2. ZipSkinny
3. A nice piece from the Upper Hudson Library System
4. and This We Know, from @pandmans who was following the conversation at home.

I’m looking forward to developing a marketing plan for our imaginary Tree County Library tomorrow.  I’m also pretty intrigued that according to the handouts I have here, it appears we are going to do an entire marketing seminar without really addressing the idea of channelling user’s attention via social media.  Its funny, I talk about that social media strategy stuff all the time, but in an odd sort of way it feels really healthy to back up and look at some of the fundamental principles and methodologies that marketing, as a science, is based on.  Readers, what do you think?  Can you still have a marketing class without a social web component?  Is that OK with you?

I’m going to be tweeting and blogging from the CPLA Marketing Seminar today.  Here’s a brief description:

“This two-day program will provide working librarians with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively market the library’s programs and services.  The program is interactive and it includes a variety of group exercises based on a case study about a medium-sized county library with multiple branches.  Using the same case study throughout the training will give participants an opportunity to apply what they are learning in a practical way in the “real” library – and to see the effects of the decisions they make throughout the two-day program.”

If I can type fast enough with my two-fingered hunt-and-peck approach (I really am pretty quick) I’ll keep you all informed in realtime.  Stay tuned!

For a professional web marketer, it is essential to know when people are talking about your product. Many libraries have started using Twitter to announce their programs and events. Its important to recognize that good web conversation is not one-sided. Simply broadcasting about yourself isn’t enough, you need to listen to the people who are talking about you. That is where Twitter search comes in handy, and this blog post will offer you a tool to make it that much handier.

I used Yahoo Pipes to make the ‘badge’ below that displays (every time you refresh the page) the latest Twitter search results for the term ‘public library’. Now is a good time to make it clear that I am NOT responsible for any content that shows up in that window. The content in that window is a display of what millions of users have to say about their public library at any given moment. Think about that. That could be useful information, huh?
———————————————————————————–

———————————————————————————–
The beauty of Yahoo Pipes is that it makes it easy to configure a search like this and put it anywhere convenient for you. Add it to your iGoogle. Your Netvibes. Or embed it in a blog. This can tell your library marketing professional who they ought to be following on Twitter, and it can offer real insight into what people think of your services.

Here is a step-by-step guide to how you can make a Twitter search badge or widget for your library. Have fun, and enjoy listening to what people REALLY think of your services!

Step 1 >

Create a Yahoo Pipes account (if you use flickr or another Yahoo thing you can use that ID)

Step 2 >

Visit my profile on Yahoo Pipes. You’ll see I’m totally new to this and there’s not much of anything there.

Step 3 >

Click on “Twitter Search for public library”.

Step 4 >

Click on “edit source”.

Step 5 >

In the upper left hand corner of the canvas, there is a module called “Keyword (text)”. In the “default” and “debug” boxes replace the text “public library” with the name of your library.

Step 6 >

Click “save a copy” and then click “back to my pipes”.

Step 7 >

rename it “twitter search for ______ library”, and you are done! Add it as a badge, a widget, whatever!

————————————————————————————–

On transparency:
If you are blogging about your work at Intel, use your real name, identify that you work for Intel, and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, be the first to point it out.

On perception:
In online social networks, the lines between public and private, personal and professional are blurred. Just by identifying yourself as an Intel employee, you are creating perceptions about Intel by our shareholders, customers, and the general public—and perceptions about you by your colleagues and managers. Do us all proud. Be sure that all content associated with you is consistent with your work and with Intel’s values and professional standards.

On starting conversations:
Don’t be afraid to bring in your own personality and say what’s on your mind. Consider content that’s open-ended and invites response. Encourage comments.

On sharing:
Our business activities are increasingly focused on high-value innovation. Let’s share with the world the exciting things we’re learning and doing—and open up the channels to learn from others.

On mistakes:
Did you screw up? If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you’re posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so.

On negative comments from the public:
If the content is positive or negative and in context to the conversation then we approve the content, regardless if the content is favorable or unfavorable to Intel. However if the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating and completely out of context then we reject the content.

————————————————————————————–

Things are changing rapidly in the web marketing field as the web matures into its full social glory. Formerly dependable measurements like clickthroughs, hits and page views don’t accurately describe the channeling of attention and potential distributed presence of a brand. New tools are being developed to measure new things. Libraries need to promote, widgetize and brand their hottest commodities (collections and digital projects), rather than force patrons to visit their catalog and website as if their home page is a comfortable living room.

To get yourself thinking along these lines and to expand on my earlier post about the semantic web, check out Kevin Kelley of Wired Magazine’s presentation at the Web 2.0 summit in San Fransisco. Its like 15 minutes long and sort of dull for the first 7 minutes but pretty clever in the second 8.

Libraries of all types and sizes, share your creative, great public relations efforts with your colleagues! Gain international exposure for your library’s marketing and promotional items by sending them to “Swap & Shop: Hot Ideas for Cool PR,” at ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.

The annual Swap & Shop event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 29, in the Special Events Area in Hall D of the exhibit floor at the Anaheim Convention Center. ALA attendees will have the opportunity to fill their free Swap & Shop tote bag with the very best samples of library public relations (annual reports, newsletters, reading promotions, and more). More than 950 library professionals attended Swap & Shop in 2007.

Your items must be received by Friday, June 20. All shipments (please send 50-200 copies of your items) MUST have a Swap & Shop Shipping label – [please see the link at the bottom of this post for the shipping label download].

We will display your materials proudly at Swap & Shop, which will also feature the winners of the Best of Show contest (a juried selection of the best PR materials produced in the past year), the John Cotton Dana Awards for outstanding achievement in library public relations, PR Makeovers of an academic and public library, and more.

Questions? For more information contact: Luke Vilelle, the 2007-08 Swap & Shop Committee Chair, at 540-362-6592 or .

See also:

• Swap & Shop Shipping Label (.pdf)
• Swap & Shop Printable Entry Form (.pdf)
  
• Swap & Shop FAQ (.pdf)

Yolanda Cuesta presented the first segment of the program on marketing to Spanish speakers. Yolanda’s advice was practical and very useful:

- Work with community leaders to start the needs assessment for the community; try to create a personal connection so that you will come to be trusted in the community. It is very important in this community to establish personal relationships and rely more on personal contact via phone or in person, since email or mass mailings may not be as relevant in this culture.
- Develop the “library as a brand that is culturally relevant”; a place that provides services that the community needs and wants-a place for getting help, for entertainment and fun, for learning, and for family activities- vs. the traditional promotion of the library as a provider of books and information resources.
- In the first marketing stage, translate the library card application and basic brochures into Spanish. Jump right into marketing, without over thinking it: send press releases to Spanish media outlets and start to participate in community events, where you can hand out information about the library and meet more of the leaders.
- In the second stage, start to realize the differences within the community itself, including age, country of origin, degrees of acculturation, and marital status. These factors all have a great impact on the services you provide and how they should be marketed. Also during this stage, start adapting traditional library services, such as story hours or computer classes, for the Spanish speaking community, and begin to experiment with marketing at local gathering spots such as grocery stores or pharmacies. Additionally, you should never undervalue the importance of word-of-mouth marketing.
- The third marketing stage follows a more holistic approach, where you look at the entire library and the Hispanic community in more depth, deciding which specific segments of the community you would like to target. It is hard to make this decision, since selecting one segment means you will not reach everyone, but these are necessary (hard) choices that will help the services grow well and target the marketing more specifically. During this stage, the library should also try to increase its presence in the community by organizing community events such as Dia de los niños.
- Once you have completed this process, you can start over, targeting a different portion of the community: look and learn who makes up the community, determine their needs and develop a program. It is important to keep the process going and not neglect it after the first try, as continuity is an important factor for establishing trust in the community. As the projects progress, continue to make inroads with community leaders to get a better understanding and form partnerships.

The session continued with a few stories from individuals who had participated in the workshop and the way they applied the training to their libraries. John Tull from Wallens Ridge State Prison in Virginia described the progress he has made at his prison library, including the translation of signs and procedural documents into Spanish and collaboration with the ESOL classes. Previous program participants then broke up into discussion groups to brainstorm about their different outreach projects.

To learn more about the workshops and find materials about the topic, visit Webjunction’s Spanish Outreach page: http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=10555