National Library Week, It is Only the Beginning... (04/07)
By Danielle Francis
We hear a lot about National Library Week each April but I want to take a new spin on it. Many libraries hold special events during this one week each year, but otherwise stay fairly quiet. I want to suggest using NLW as a jumping-off point for ongoing initiatives. It is a great time to introduce something with fanfare, but make it clear that it will be continuing. Although there are many possibilities (multi-session training program, quarterly marketing games, library staff profile series …) I want to concentrate on one, starting a Library Newsletter.
Newsletters are a great way to get patrons information, and do some internal marketing as well. They are also useful if you have a limit on the number of e-mails you can send out to your patrons. A newsletter allows you to send out 1 e-mail monthly that includes any changes to vendor offerings, new staff appointments, library event announcements, or other information that would otherwise require multiple e-mails. You can start off by running a contest to name your newsletter, or hold a launch party for it.
Here are some tips and suggestions:
- Send out the newsletter at the same time each month (or however frequently makes sense to your library), and in the same format. I would recommend sending it in the body of an e-mail so it can be easily read. You can also print a few copies to leave at the reference and/or circulation desks.
- Brand it with any firm, school, or library branding so it is instantly recognizable.
- Put what you really want read at the top!
- Don’t just send to attorneys (or faculty), but make sure to include administration and paralegals. They also use the library; and if they do not maybe they will start!
- Create a template in word that is easy to edit so you do not have to worry about formatting each time. Include a list of your possible section headings in the template so you do not forget them.
Possible Section Headings:
- Reference Questions of the Month (Use this section to highlight your capabilities. Market yourself by showing examples of less obvious request types. This section is great for generating requests. One firm I worked at gave away a small prize {a good use of all those freebies from AALL} to anyone whose question was used).
- Source Spotlight (Want your patrons to be using a source you have already paid for? Want them to know you have access to sources that they do not? Highlight those here, but be sure to let them know if it is for use by library staff only, so they know to call you with requests.)
- Did You Know? (Use this for anything and everything! Did you know that the library staff can read, write, and/or speak 5 languages fluently? So please send us your German legal questions.)
- Web site of the Month (A great way to let people know about free resources on the Web that have been evaluated for accuracy, content, and functionality.)
- New Titles, Editions, and Newsletters (List new additions to your print collection.)
- Upcoming Events (Offering a CLE? Having an ice-cream social?)
- Staff News (Did one of your staff author an article, complete a degree program, get a promotion, etc.?)
- Vendor Training Schedule (If you have vendors come in on a regular basis for training include their schedule and contact information here.)
- Library Contact Information (Include name, title, and extension. You may want to consider including whom to contact for reference, ILL, administrative questions etc.)
Promoting your services is an important part of any librarians’ duties, but it does not always need to be an aggressive campaign. Newsletters are a great way to do low key marketing (many people will not even view it as such), and keep your patron base informed and thinking about you. For more information on promoting your skills and services, for NLW or all year round, please visit our Promoting Yourself and Your Library section of InfoPro here.
