When I started my blog in 2006, I named it The ‘M’ Word, because marketing was considered to be taboo for many in the library field. While the latest survey by Library Journal would indicate the needle has moved a bit, there is little doubt that many libraries still have a long road ahead of them. In that survey, fewer than 20 percent of all libraries have a marketing plan in place, and only 11 percent report that it is up-to-date. If that number doesn’t shock you, let’s talk about what it means not to have a marketing plan.
Career Advice: 2012 Mover & Shaker Michael Russo
By on March 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
LJ’s Career Insights reaches out to our Movers & Shakers and asks about key moments in their careers. Michael Russo, who helped form LSU’s faculty union, is one of our change agents.
Advocacy is a Must for Public Library Trustees | Advocate’s Corner
By on March 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Libraries need more vocal advocates than ever. It seems clear that trustees, as some of a library system’s more visible volunteers, need to make their voices heard with regard to advocacy as well.
Urban Librarians Unite Plants Mini Libraries, Plans Conference
By on February 13, 2013 Leave a Comment
Urban Librarians Unite (ULU) collected more than 20,000 children’s books to help replace library collections damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The library advocacy and support group, founded by 2012 LJ Mover & Shaker Christian Zabriskie, also placed Mini Libraries in front of libraries that were closed by storm damage. Locations include Queens Library branches in [...]
The Results Are In and They Aren’t Good | Library Marketing
By on February 5, 2013 4 Comments
Public Libraries: ALA Releases “E-Book Business Model Scorecard”
By on January 25, 2013
From the American Library Association Digital Content Working Group:
The report, which was created by the ALA Digital Content & Libraries Working Group (DCWG), can be used by librarians to weigh ebook contract variables most important to their library. The report assesses 15 ebook contract variables of importance to libraries, ranging from ebook title inclusion, to ebook pricing, to immediate patron access. These variables include important ebook lending characteristics, such as ebook revenue streams for publishers and ebook accessibility for people with disabilities.
Texas Study Shows $2.4 Billion in Benefits from Public Libraries
By on January 21, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) released a study which found that in 2011 alone, the economic benefit from Texas public libraries totaled $2.407 billion. Collectively the libraries cost less than $0.545 billion, for a return on investment of $4.42 for each dollar spent.
Top Four Things Library Supporters Can Do To Make a Difference | Advocate’s Corner
By on January 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
If you work in a library, sell to a library, support a library, or have ever walked into a library, your life has been impacted by policymakers who often have no idea who you are or what you do for the community. Perhaps more important, they will continue to have no idea unless you tell them.
Update: Vermont Library Lays Off Whole Staff; Librarians Protest
By on January 8, 2013 2 Comments
On December 3rd, 2012, the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum Board of Trustees announced it would lay off its entire library, docent, and information technology staff, then “ask them to consider applying for the newly formed Athenaeum positions,” Bill Marshall, chair of the Athenaeum Board of Trustees, said in a letter.
Top Ebook Distributors, ILS Vendors to Have Sitdown With ReadersFirst Library Coalition
By on January 3, 2013
The top distributors of ebooks to public libraries along with some of their counterparts among ILS vendors are going to sit down with leading librarians from the U.S. and Canada at the end of this month to discuss how the technology and business model for electronic lending should develop.
The January 28 gathering at the Seattle Public Library will coincide with the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association, although the roundtable discussion is not part of the conference.
