One of the first things on my list — handed to me seven years ago when I started at Columbus Metropolitan Library — was to promote our online databases. I remember being so baffled by that. First off, (being new to libraries) what are they? Second, why is it so hard to find them?
We have a special bookmark for staff to write down the lengthy urls for customers. That’s not anything anyone can promote.
Well the people at Gale understand much of this and are working hard to find ways to help libraries showcase these offerings. They understand that they need to partner with libraries, not just hand the promotion over to them. In fact, they’ve helped us develop a widget that doesn’t need to be housed on our website, making access super easy. They are trying to find innovative ways to solve the problem.
Now they are asking for your input. If you haven’t taken this survey on marketing tools and support, please do so. It won’t take but a minute. And when it comes to these databases, we all float together: what helps one of us helps us all.
About Alison Circle
