The 'M' Word - Marketing Libraries

Beautiful Library Calendars

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Do you need a great gift for a colleague, library lover, or bibliophile? One of the best I've come across is the Renaissance Library Calendar from ISIM in Stockholm. The group is set up to take orders from the US or Europe.

The calendar contains 12 of the most beautiful and famous old libraries in the world. With the 2010 edition we celebrate the 10th year with this unique calendar. The front cover of the 2010 edition of the calendar shows the Vyssi Brod Abbey Library, Theological Hall (1750), in Vyssi Brod, Czech Republic.

I have ordered these before and they are really quite beautiful. Price depends partly on quantity ordered, and runs from $13.95 US for one to $12.00 US each for 50. (Then add shipping, which is specified on the site.) When I bought them they arrived in perfect condition.

The organization that produces these products goes by ISIM: Information Strategy & Information Management. "We are an information strategy and information management consultancy, and a small publishing company, based in Sollentuna, a suburb of Stockholm, in Sweden."

ISIM also sells library posters and greeting cards. It will sell in bulk so you can use the products for fundraising, and when you do this you can even customize the calendars with your logo and more. Check it out today!

Need Stock Photos? Try These Sites

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Many librarians need stock photos for their brochures, websites, posters, etc. I recently did a little research and created a list of various sites that provide stock images, and you can find it here, on the Resources section of my website, Libraries Are Essential.

Some of the sites offer free photos but many require subscriptions. Still, those organizations let you choose from various levels of subscriptions, from just a few photos a year to thousands. My list includes a few details about each site to help you choose which ones to click on. Also included is a link to one other blog post about stock sites and one extensive article of 25 sites.

Plenty of places for you to try out! You may even find a better deal than you have now.

ALA Puts Library Promo on Cereal Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

ALA just released this news yesterday:

The American Library Association (ALA) is working with Safeway Inc., on a roll-out of the first two of five Safeway-brand cereal boxes with back-panel content about libraries and librarians. The boxes will launch this October and will be available at Safeway’s 1,500 stores across the nation.

“We want to thank Safeway for presenting us with a unique opportunity,” said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “The cereal boxes will bring information about some of the exciting ways to enjoy libraries – and about the value of libraries -- straight into people’s homes.”

The first boxes to feature the library-related content are Toasted Oats and Honey Nut Toasted Oats. There will be a staggered launch for the rest of the panels.

The panels focus on five content areas:

1. Get rich @ your library lists free resources available at libraries and encourages readers to add up how much they save by using the library’s resources.

2. Learn for a lifetime @ your library features the ways that school and public libraries encourage lifelong learning.

3. Great mysteries answered @ your library contains fun facts about libraries, including the number of questions answered weekly by reference librarians at our nation’s academic and public libraries.

4. Discover the world @ your library positions a library card as a passport to the world.

5. Discover your family tree @ your library encourages readers to go to the library to research their family tree.

All feature the @ your library® brand of ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries and links to resources available at www.ilovelibraries.org, ALA’s advocacy and public awareness Web site for the public. The first panels focus on genealogy and international libraries.

Visit ilovelibraries.org/safeway to preview the back panels and learn more.

Click here to find which Safeway stores are near you.

AL Direct

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:42:00 +0000

I have to share because I am sooooo exited about the book I wrote with my friends, Mary Evangeliste and Jonathan Silberman. The latest AL Direct highlighted it and I just got my advanced copy. It has some really great tips by some of the best in the business and it's that kind of book that you'll really enjoy reading. Mary is an academic librarian and Jonathan is a designer and of course, I'm out of the public sector so it's a nice mix. I've heard so many academics say they have unique marketing challenges but I think having both academic and public strategies in the same book will benefit everyone. Depending on where you're coming from, there might be some controversial points of view too. I shared it with an executive director of a non-profit and she wanted a copy!

Pepsi challenge WOM

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:05:00 +0000

From WOMMA ....

At PepsiCo, they have committed to achieving business and financial success while leaving a positive imprint on society - delivering what they call Performance with Purpose. If you are a nonprofit or company and think you've got a worthy case study, then take the challenge. Tell us how you used word of mouth marketing to help a worthy cause in the area of Human or Environmental Sustainability.

The key criteria for winning an award are:
1. A clearly identified business problem
2. A well articulated insight into the problem
3. A creative solution taking with a caused-based initiative
4. Results that relate back to these business problems:

-	Human Sustainability: Teach consumers about positive nutrition, fitness, wellness and/or healthy lifestyle behaviors and choices; make the healthy choice an easier choice to make.
-	Environmental Sustainability: Conserve our natural resources; encourage recycling, operate in a way that minimizes our environmental footprint with the goal of reaching a net-neutral impact.

We're accepting submissions through October 30, 2009.
The chosen case study will have the opportunity to present their case study during the WOMMA Summit 2009 in Las Vegas November 18-20 during the WOMMY Awards luncheon. PepsiCo is sponsoring the winners registration to the conference with one complimentary registration.

2010 IFLA International Marketing Award

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Have you conducted an outstanding marketing campaign? Why not consider applying for the 2010 IFLA International Marketing Award? The winner will receive airfare, lodging and registration for the World Library and Information Congress: 76th IFLA General Conference and Assembly in Sweden in August 2010, as well as a cash award of USD 1,000 which must be used to further the marketing efforts of the recognized organization. Full details here.

Nancy's new book is published!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:37:00 +0000

My new book, Bite-Sized Marketing; realistic solutions for the overworked librarian, has been published by ALA Editions.

I wrote it with Mary Evangeliste, and Jonathan Silberman and I am so proud of it. We wanted to create a marketing book that made sense of the new media, web 2.0 tools, Word of Mouth techniques and other marketing trends but we know how busy you are, so this book is not meant to be read cover to cover, instead it should be picked up and read in “bite-sized” pieces to get you on your way.

Chapters Include:

Word-of-Mouth Marketing
How to Market Electronic Resources
Public Relations 101
Outreach
The New Marketing Tools
Design
Branding
Marketing Best Practices

We think you'll be glad we wrote it for you!

Crazy Good Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:01:00 +0000

We just celebrated the winning videos for the State Library's "Tell Us Your Story" contest here in NJ and what an event it was!

A little background... we've spent the past year working with librarians to help them create strategic stories to use for advocacy. We used the key messages outlined in the OCLC report and conducted lots of workshops throughout the year. As the stories were collected we used them to create media releases, commercials, PSAs, promotional boards and booklets shared with elected officials. One part of the campaign was a contest encouraging libraries to create a digital story depicting how their libraries are transforming the lives of their customers. Read details of the campaign and prizes here.

We went all out for the award ceremony with live singers, great awards and lot's of stories. But what were most impressed with were the stories by our libraries. The amazing judges for the contest were Kathy Dempsey, Susan Conlon, Amy Kearns, Erik Boekesteijn and myself. Erik even filmed a special video congratulating the winners. Hat's off to the following libraries for their outstanding participation in the competition:

1st Place - Cape May County Library for their video “Get Your Game On at your Library”

2nd Place - West Deptford Public Library for their video “Hector Zapian”

3rd Place –Cranbury Public Library for their video “Finding Love at the Library”

3rd Place - Ocean County Library for their video “Ocean County Library’s Sparks BFF”

3rd Place - South Orange Public Library for their video “South Orange Photo Story”

Honorable Mention – Mount Laurel Library for their video “Bret’s Story”

Honorable Mention - West Orange Library for their video “Bright Ideas.”

Dreaming About the Future of Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:18:00 +0000

Dreaming about the future... isn't this something we all do? What will our personal lives be like in the future? Our families? Our libraries?
If you're like me, then you think about the future of libraries a lot -- maybe a little too much. The possibilities are vast. But we need to do more than dream about them -- we need to think hard, study, and then act to create the future of libraries.

**photo of Michael Stephens and Kathryn Greenhill at Library Camp2009, Uploaded to Flickr on October 3, 2009 by rosehortonau, borrowed from Kathryn's blog**

There is a lot of blog & conference chatter out there about this topic. But at the moment I want to point you to a particular post that I liked. It's on Kathryn Greenhill's blog Librarians Matter. If you don't know of Kathryn or her work (she's an Aussie), it's well worth checking out. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past spring and shortly afterward, speaking at a conference with her in Delft.

At any rate, this post, called "Community Dreaming at Library Camp Perth 2009" is full of food for thought. But my personal favorite section is titled "What do we need to stop doing so we can do other things in the future? What to drop." I point to this one on The M Word because, whenever I talk about true marketing and all the work it involves, the message I get back is "we don't have time for that. we're too busy already." My answer is usually, "well then, drop some of the unimportant things you do, because marketing is essential."

So what might librarians drop to make time for more important work? That was something that the folks at Library Camp Perth talked about, and what's in this post. Suggestions include "bean counting" and "recataloging." I can add things like "shelving" (at the risk of sounding snarky -- let the non-MLS folks, student workers, & volunteers do that!), "endless committee meetings" (where little is accomplished), and "filling display cases." Seriously, if you want to have collections and activities that really appeal to your users (and potential users), if you want to convince important people of your value, if you want to keep your funding, then marketing is essential. Is recataloging or shelving as important? Think about it...

What else would you like to give up so you'd have more time for marketing??? Let's discuss!!

Free Marketing Toolkit from ProQuest

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

You know how your library has scads of amazing information in all sorts of great databases... but the average person doesn't know about them, understand them, or use them? Well, database vendor ProQuest is sending help! It's created a new toolkit to help you to publicize all the info goodness that's in the ProQuest Historical Newspapers collection.

Here's the news, direct from ProQuest:

ProQuest has launched a free library marketing toolkit designed specifically to help librarians create awareness about and usage of their ProQuest Historical Newspapers collection, other historical resources, and the library itself. The Historical Newspapers Marketing Toolkit includes ideas for reaching out to the user community — from the local genealogy society members to student groups on campus — and driving them to the rich resources available at the library.

“Many users start and end online research sessions with the open web,” said Lynda James-Gilboe, senior vice president of marketing and customer care for ProQuest. “Our goal is to help librarians draw users to a better starting point for relevant, reliable, and vetted information: the library, and its carefully selected e-resources.”

The Historical Newspapers Marketing Toolkit combines a wealth of "how-to" advice and print and digital marketing tools that are easy to customize. Among the program's components are:
* A white paper for ideas on how to use online historical resources to promote the library.
* Tips for using blogs, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to promote online historical newspapers and the library.
* Customizable ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ poster
* A guide to searching ProQuest Historical Newspapers
* Descriptions of the types of content within ProQuest Historical Newspapers and examples of types of research possible within each.
* Sample Searches that demonstrate the research potential of your ProQuest Historical Newspapers collection.
* “Plain language” descriptions of ProQuest Historical Databases.
* A flier of “Five Fascinating Things to Do with Historical Newspapers”
* “Free Subscription” flier for Retroview — an entertaining quarterly e-newsletter that explores history as captured in the pages of historical newspapers.

The Historical Newspapers Marketing Toolkit is part of ProQuest's larger mission to understand the core tenets of librarianship, standing shoulder to shoulder with libraries in support of their goals. ProQuest is committed to investing in library education, honoring great educators with awards and sponsorships, supporting schools with free resources, and sharing its marketing expertise and research with libraries.

NOTE THIS (emphasis mine): The Historical Newspapers Marketing Toolkit is the seventh in a series of marketing kits from ProQuest, which include kits tailored for public, academic, corporate, K-12, and military academic and military base libraries.
The toolkit is available for free download

HERE

.

Although the company itself will obviously benefit from having more people use its databases (therefore keeping them off the list of dbs that get cut from the budgets), ProQuest is still doing busy librarians a favor by showing them how to increase database usage. It's a lesson that can be carried over to other under-used online resources as well. Thanks, ProQuest!!

Is Outreach "UnDead"? Just in Time for Halloween...

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:31:00 +0000

I'd like to point you all to a thought-provoking post over at In the Library With the Lead Pipe blog. Emily Ford started a good discussion on the word and idea of "outreach" and titled it "Outreach is (un)Dead."

A tiny piece from the post:

Kill your notion of outreach. We should demolish the body of outreach, but keep outreach activities alive. We should disallow outreach a separate body, but fold its spirit into our daily work and activities, for it is this spirit of work that is the very kernel of what makes a library.

To understand, you need to read the whole post. And the 20-some comments add a lot to it. What's your definition of "outreach" and "marketing"? Do they happen in a coordinated, useful fashion in your organization? Go contribute to the discussion!

Deadline Extended for Apps for National Library Week Grants: Now Due Nov. 6

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:53:00 +0000

This news comes directly from ALA:

The deadline for the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week grant has been extended to Friday, November 6, 2009.

U.S. libraries of all types are invited to apply for a $3,000 grant that will be awarded to the best public awareness campaign that promotes the theme “Communities thrive @ your library” during National Library Week (April 11-17, 2010).

The 2010 grant application form and the guidelines can be accessed from the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Web site.

All proposals must use the “Communities thrive @ your library” theme, which incorporates The Campaign for America's Libraries’ @ your library brand, on promotional and publicity material supporting National Library Week activities. Guidelines for using the brand are available on the campaign Web site under the “download logos” section.

The grant is sponsored by Scholastic Library Publishing, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company and is administered by the Public Awareness Committee of the American Library Association (ALA).

ACRL Wants to Review the Literature on the Value of Academic Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:41:00 +0000

This news comes directly from the Association of College and Research Libraries:

ACRL is seeking proposals from experienced researchers for the development and delivery of a comprehensive review of the quantitative and qualitative literature, methodologies and best practices currently in place for demonstrating the value of academic libraries. The request for proposals is available on the ACRL Web site . Responses are due by 4:30 p.m. CST on Nov. 2, 2009.

The current economic climate and the increased emphasis on assessment and outcomes have forced academic departments’ higher education administrators to make tough decisions regarding the funding of programs and units at their institutions. The relevance of libraries is under question. Now, more than ever, there is a need for libraries to demonstrate their value in clear, measurable ways to leaders in higher education, information technology, funding agencies and campus decision makers in order to secure adequate funding for their operations.

The primary objective of the comprehensive review is to provide ACRL leaders with a clearer understanding of what research already exists and where gaps occur in research about the performance of academic libraries. Additionally, this review will provide ACRL members with tools and strategies to demonstrate the value of academic libraries to their institutional leadership.

Direct questions to Mary Ellen K. Davis, ACRL executive director, at mdavis@ala.org or (312) 280-3248, or to Kara Malenfant, ACRL scholarly communications/government relations specialist, at kmalenfant@ala.org or (312) 280-2510.

Living Library Concept Spreading Worldwide

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:36:00 +0000

I couldn't resist this photo. It's from Denmark's Living Library event. Are any libraries working hosting a Living Library? It sounds like a really cool idea and could be a great program for diversity teams, teen groups, or a library project.

Here's how they describe it:
The Living Library is an innovative method designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding.The main characteristics of the project are to be found in its simplicity and positive approach.

In it’s initial form the Living Library is a mobile library set up as a space for dialogue and interaction. Visitors to the Living Library are given the opportunity to speak informally with “people on loan”; this latter group being extremely varied in age, sex and cultural background.

The Living Library enables groups to break stereotypes by challenging the most common prejudices in a positive and humorous manner. It is a concrete, easily transferable and affordable way of promoting tolerance and understanding.

Sounds like a world changing project. Let me know if you're planning on hosting one.

Future of libraries: Appealing to the self actualized customer

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:26:00 +0000

We've all been talking about what the future of libraries are going to be and what do we need to start putting into place to make sure we are where we need to be. I just read an article that really resonated with me called, "Why Johnny Doesn’t Read Anymore".

Excerpts:

“Bookstores are in danger of becoming dinosaurs if they don’t pay attention and respond to consumer changes,” says Ken Nisch, chairman of JGA Inc. (Southfield, Mich.), which has done consulting and design work for Borders. “There are fewer and fewer books in bookstores, just as there are fewer CDs in music stores and fewer DVDs in movie rental stores.”

The cause: a proliferation of new media that are replacing the printed page in people’s lives. More and more people today read their newspapers on the Internet and download their reading materials onto Blackberries and iPhones. So two months ago, to get into the game, Barnes & Noble paid $15.7 million to buy Fictionwise, an online retailer of electronic books.

It’s not the first time the superstore chains have had to peer into a future being reshaped by technology. In the 1990s, Amazon.com changed the face of book retailing when it began selling books online. Today, the technology that threatens bricks-and-mortar bookselling is the dissemination of digital books and other electronic reading devices. And once again it’s Amazon, which makes and sells the Kindle electronic book reader.

Nisch envisions a store of the future that fills empty spaces like that with educational seminars, travel services, product demonstrations, cooking classes and new-product launches, research tools, financial advice, movie screenings and musical concerts.

“The bookstores’ most valuable asset is their customer base,” he says. “There may be fewer customers, but they tend to be well-educated, affluent, loyal and intellectually curious. Their bookstore dwell-time is above average and they see books as a way to actualize their lives. So they may read fiction in some digital form, but they’ll likely continue to buy coffee table books or reference books on cooking, travel, arts, design, etc.”

They also tend to nurture and encourage their children. Children’s books are one of the few growth areas, though that might have been part of the now-ended Harry Potter phenomenon. Independent children’s bookstores have been resilient. They’ve been smart in tying their book offerings to movies, TV shows and video games with which children are already familiar. They have large selections of foreign-language books, a nod to the increasingly multi-cultural U.S. population. And they fill their stores with colorful, fun reading areas. Both Barnes & Noble and Borders have been increasing the size of their kids’ books departments and introducing reading programs and movie videos.

“It’s a worthwhile activity that parents and children can share,” Nisch says. “And while the parents are in the store with their children, the retailers hope they’ll wander over to the books, or greeting cards, or calendars or gift items, or just get a cup of coffee.”

Okay, so we know the bookstores are chasing after the same programs and services library have worked to develop but if we were doing it well in the eyes of our customers, we wouldn't be at risk of loosing them. Do you feel your library would be safe if the B&N store started offered the same programs as your library? If not, then you have a beginning point to start thinking of what you need to change or upgrade.

If people are going to bookstores and libraries want to feel affirmation of living a self actualized life, then the question that begs to be answered is whether we are creating the environment where people can achieve that feeling.

Many libraries are already there or well on their way. Ideas include merchandising practices like running travel videos in the travel section of the library, offering free online postcards and greeting cards that are designed to let customers share their experience with friends while waiting for their child, drop-in speaker discussion sessions, product demonstrations, concerts or author series conducted on the main floor rather than a meeting room. Download sections, newsrooms with TV screens and games or comprehensive educational programs. Live streaming comment boards where people can write inspirational comments that run continuously on a screen. What else have you been seeing?

Thinking 'Outside the Barn' @ your library

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:43:00 +0000

An interesting tidbit from this week's ALA news:

There was something unexpected at this year’s Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill.: libraries.

The Decatur-based Rolling Prairie Library System designed its Farm Progress Show booth with the theme “Think outside the barn @ your library” to promote the value of librarians, libraries and their services to the residents of agricultural communities.
...
Catching people’s eye is the key. The Farm Progress Show is the nation’s largest agricultural show, with an annual attendance of 300,000 people from 20 states and 10 countries. For the Rolling Prairie staff and its volunteers, it’s the perfect time to talk about the importance of rural and small libraries.

This is a fun usage of the "@ your library" brand that really fits its target audience. And it's working! You can read the full press release here and see a video interview about it here. There are more pics here.

And, as someone who grew up in a farming community, I can tell you two things for sure: 1) Rural libraries need to promote their value to farmers, who often don't see a need to have or to fund them, and 2) This would get their attention!

A Fun Promo Poster

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:29:00 +0000

I just wanted to share this fun promotional poster that I saw on a campground bulletin board in Pennsylvania. It says, "welcome to pennsylvania -- now get out." It's a good play on words that got my attention while making its point that there are lots of great areas in PA for outdoor recreation. Cool!

IL 2009 is almost here!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Have you registered for Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey October 25 - 28? If not, there is still time. Il 2009 has a special feel to it that is impossible to describe. It's cutting edge, exciting and makes you feel as though you are standing in the middle of change and that you are part of it all.

I'll be giving a pre-conference workshop on the 25th. So many people have asked to learn about the story bank I spoke about last year that I've put together this workshop as a follow up. If your library s facing funding problems, then this workshop is sure to help you.

I'm also presenting on the mobile marketing pilot we are conducting here in NJ as part of the Mobile Trends and Practices track that includes sessions on Dreaming, Designing, & Using Mobile Library Platforms; Putting Your Library on a Mobile Phone and When Students Go Mobile. See the whole write up for the conference at the Information Today site.
'
Our Dutch Friends will be there s well. Here's a little video from Jaap and Erik:

Internet Librarian Conference 2009 from Jaap van de Geer on Vimeo.

A Way-Cool Video Promo

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:10:00 +0000

If you haven't seen this this video promotion yet, watch it! It's way too cool on so many levels. Not only is the Collingswood (NJ) Public Library making a 5k race part of its Book Festival this fall, but it's turned that into a fundraiser with a twist. From its website:

Last year’s Collingswood Book Festival kicked off with the Friends of the Library-sponsored “Meet the Director,” a discussion with new library director, Brett Bonfield. To kick off this year’s Book Festival, the Friends are sponsoring a 5K race around Knight Park at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 26.

Registration is $25 and the proceeds from the race will be used to set up a new teen area in the Library. However, if runners finish ahead of Brett—if they “Beat the Director”—they’ll be given $10 back.

Here are some of the things I like about this, from a promotional aspect:

* the continuity: last year was "meet the [new] director" and this year is "beat the director." hmmm, what could that mean for next year??
* the registration fee for the race goes right to creating a teen space in the library.
* there's a big challenge: do well enough and you can get some hard-earned cash back.
* it shows the whole organization, esp the director, in a non-traditional light.
* it demonstrates a great sense of humor.
* it uses popular technology (well-made video on YouTube) to promote the race, the book festival, the library, and its dedication to teens.
* it is funny as heck!!

Readers, what do you think? And how could you use an idea like this to promote your own libraries?

New technology - new ads. But will it work?

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:01:00 +0000

A new ad term is emerging, VIP- video in print. Will it take off and become a standard? That remains to be seen but Wired Magazine reports CBS is embedding a video player in a print ad in Entertainment Weekly that plays a full-motion video at a crisp resolution. The ad works like an audio greeting card. "Opening the page activates the player, which is a quarter-inch–thick screen seen through a cutaway between two pages concealing the larger circuit board underneath."

The author of the article, John Abel, says "The audio quality is equally good (extremely poor video shot by this reporter notwithstanding), but beware: There are no volume controls, and in a quiet environment, it’s quite loud. This is surely a intentional design feature, aimed at getting the attention of people nearby."

While this may be a fun and creative use of technology that could bring the dollars back to print ads, I dread the idea of listening to a bus filled with people listening to the sound blast of different ads at the same time. Maybe the next invention will allow people to plug in their headphones to listen. But this is interesting because we are seeing the emergence of ideas to bring video and audio in disposable formats - the QR code comes to mind as well. [A code is generated and printed in ads that can be scanned by a cell phone and will communicate information to it.] Does this play into the "information needs to be free" concept? Will we begin to see an effort to try to get video and audio content into the hands of consumers without requiring them to own a device such as an iPod or video player? Stay tuned ... the future is coming.

Handouts Available from ALA's PR Forums

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:47:00 +0000

From ALA's Public Info Office:

If you can't afford to go to ALA Annual, or get there but can't attend every session you want, here's great news that I just became aware of: You can download the handouts from the annual Sunday-morning PR Forums at this site.

Handouts are there for the PR Forums at the conferences from 2005 - 2009. What a great resource! Thanks, ALA, for making these freely available!

NYPL Fights Cutbacks -- And Wins

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:38:00 +0000

From The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

The New York Public Library successfully used an online fundraising and advocacy campaign to fight the city’s plan to slash its municipal support by $28 million this year—and now it has won back $23 million in subsidies. Key to the library’s success was an urgent alert message that the institution used to replace what viewers typically see when they visit its main website....

(Make sure to read the first comment under the article -- this surely was not as easy as getting people to write in support of NYPL for a couple weeks.)

Then NYPL thanked its supporters and encouraged donations. Nicely done.

MJ: 'Pop' Culture in the Library

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:11:00 +0000

From Channel 13, WJZ TV:

As millions watched the Michael Jackson memorial service on TV around the world, hundreds of people gathered at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore), where the memorial was streamed live on big screens.

Talk about being aware of pop culture & public interest! Enoch Pratt drew in people by showing Michael Jackson's televised memorial service on its big screens -- and got TV coverage itself for doing so. This also demonstrates how flexible the organization is (arranging something quickly) and how empowered decision-makers are (I doubt they had to hold 10 meetings and wait for Board permission to do this).

Doing what interests the public, creating a sense of community, using their technology & space to full advantage -- wow.

What does your library contribute to the bottom line?

noreply@blogger.com (~Kathy Dempsey) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:44:00 +0000

From the National Network of Libraries of Medicine:

Cost Benefit and ROI Calculator

How much benefit does your institution, your user, receive for every dollar spent by the library? What's the annual return your institution realizes on what you spend on your collection? Cost/Benefit Analysis and Return on Investment are measures often used by financial managers to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of their budget policies.

If you haven't looked into value / ROI calculators yet, you need to. Using them is one of the best ways to prove your value to the people who control your money. Don't wait till they're trying to cut your budget!! Start using value calculators now! They don't take perfect measurements, but they can be quite eye-opening to those who wonder why libraries should continue to eat up precious funding: Libraries historically have greater ROIs than many other organizations.

This particular calculator measures the library's value to each medical employee who uses it. This site also has a link to:

* a Retail Value Calculator to demonstrate the benefit of all library services and resources
and
* a Database ROI Calculator that shows the value of your book and journal collections

It's important that you be using tools like these and collecting data to defend your budgets!

Mobile phone wallet of the future?

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Dowd) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Interesting article from CNN:
Wallet of the future? Your mobile phone
-Analysts say mobile phones in U.S. may act like wallets in 5 years
-Phones in Asian countries are scanned to make payments and serve as ID
-Idea has been tested here for a decade but never adopted
-Technology could cause privacy, security and logistical concerns

Some analysts say that within five years, mobile phones in the United States will be able to make electronic payments, open doors, access subways, clip coupons and possibly act as another form of identification.

These futuristic uses for phones are becoming reality in countries like South Korea and Japan, which typically are ahead of the United States when it comes to mobile technology

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