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Marketing in Libraries
Amanda Miller
LIS 2700
Key Concepts (Nunn & Ruane, 2011 &
Bartelstein, 2013)
Branding (Singh & Ovsak, 2014)
Branding important to libraries both for creating connections with patrons
and to make known resources the library has to offer
Branding created by touchpoints, which can include word-of-mouth,
library website, social media, and service encounters with staff
Main purpose of branding is to establish emotional connection with
patrons in order to give them sense of belonging to library community and
entitlement to library resources
Both employees and managers must be committed to promoting brand
and excellent customer interactions as linked to brand
Social media sites serve as excellent source for implementing
interactions with community and helping to establish brand

Public Libraries (Clark, 2009)
Teen Services (Urquhart, 2013)
Business Libraries (Pankl, 2010)
Law Libraries (ALL-SIS Task Force, 2013)
Conclusions
Word-of-mouth promotion always best marketing strategy
Marketing plans must be adaptable and flexible; need constant
evaluation to improve
Community/patron involvement key to improving marketability; listening
to patrons needs and suggestions important
Variety in marketing strategies key to reaching widest audience
All types of libraries need to show value today due to tighter budgets
and free availability of information through the internet; marketing of
services and resources best way to showcase worth
Marketing plans should align with library mission statement and
strategic plans
Important for entire library staff to be on board with marketing strategies
Libraries need to do more than show-and-tell to market library; must
instead show how library can help patrons achieve results/benefits
Social media sites excellent source of interaction and information
Academic Libraries (Smith, 2011)
Special Libraries (Powers, 1995)
New push for libraries to market services and prove their usefulness,
especially as tight budgets and amount of freely accessible information
increase
Types of marketing: Visual, Interactive Media, Face-to-face, Word-of-
mouth
Getting patrons to share feedback and personal stories critical in
generating their interest and involvement
Library management key for creating and maintaining effective marketing
culture amongst staff
Must use variety of marketing techniques in order to reach widest
possible audience
Marketing campaigns should be simple, straightforward, lighthearted,
eye-catching, and promote understandable language
Public libraries should partner with other non-profit organizations in
creating marketing plans
Marketing should be part of organizations goal and practices
Public libraries need to go beyond traditional business marketing
strategies to concept of advocacy, which includes:
Establish role of public library in local community
Communicate why library is so important to users
Create message that is focused, repeatable, and adaptable to
wide range of audience
Important to market idea of library over specific programs/events
Outreach to schools, festivals, and other community groups good way to
find teens who may not yet utilize library
Forming teen advisory boards and listening to their opinions
Word-of-mouth promotion; testimonials from friends powerful tool
Keep information brief and accompanied by graphics/short videos
Utilize social media websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Tumblr, Vine, and Pinterest to interact with teens and peak interest
Develop librarys brand by being consistent with programming and
realistic about what teens want to use library for
Look at what works for other libraries and adapt best practices
Get all staff on board with teen programs and marketing strategies
Local businesses seeking resources and tools that library can provide
Important to establish credibility and promote library as business
resource open to all
Providing resources for businesses makes libraries more than just
cultural institutions; come to be seen as tools for measurable results
Libraries can provide businesses with knowledge to increase revenue,
thus creating a marketable image of a relevant resource, through:
Up-to-date and relevant collections
Electronic assets includes census data, law codes, product
standards, government regulations, and archives of this kind
of information
Librarians who keep current with business trends and
standards (eg. reading Business Week, Wall Street Journal)
Bringing in well-known business speakers for lectures
Offering classes for local business owners to learn about
resources available at library
Special libraries generally fall under parent organizations, and thus must
create marketing plan concurrent with their mission and objectives
Focus marketing on value of library services to many users
Attempt to predict future trends and needs of users in order to have
resources at-the-ready; predict future demands
Marketing strategies:
Market-development: developing new clients
Marketing segmentation: offer new service to existing clients
Marketing communications: advertise and promote services
and products to target audience
Marketing important to showcase resources available to students and to
plant idea of using library for future consultation
Vary marketing patterns for variety of users, including students, alumni, and
professors
Must market services, not collections; benefits, not features; and results,
not processes (Law Library Journal 528)
Align marketing objectives with librarys mission statement
Successful outreach tools include:
Social media that interacts with students and creates
conversation (eg. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr)
Hosting events, social activities, and open houses
Embedded librarians + classroom sessions to show resources
Personal librarians for every student
Use of blogs, annual reports, newsletters, and displays
Generating positive word-of-mouth endorsement t
Marketing campaign can spring directly from strategic plan
Important to consider needs of students and faculty when developing
marketing strategies
Entire staff must be aware of marketing plans and promote them in
everyday interactions with patrons
Permanent marketing committee and constant evaluation vital as change
and student turnover is constant
Common marketing strategies:
Library collaboration with faculty and classroom work
Campus newsletters, student paper, and library website
Social media pages (eg. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr)
Cosponsoring exhibits, lectures, readings, and panels
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Staff on
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`
Printing:
This poster is 48 wide by 36 high.
Its designed to be printed on a
large-format printer.

Customizing the Content:
The placeholders in this poster are
formatted for you. Type in the
placeholders to add text, or click
an icon to add a table, chart,
SmartArt graphic, picture or
multimedia file.
To add or remove bullet points
from text, just click the Bullets
button on the Home tab.
If you need more placeholders for
titles, content or body text, just
make a copy of what you need and
drag it into place. PowerPoints
Smart Guides will help you align it
with everything else.
Want to use your own pictures
instead of ours? No problem! Just
right-click a picture and choose
Change Picture. Maintain the
proportion of pictures as you resize
by dragging a corner.
References
ALL-SIS Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach. (2013). Marketing and outreach in law libraries: a white paper.
Law Library Journal, 105(4), 525-538.
Bartelstein, A. M. (2013). Over the counter help. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 53(2), 126-128.
Clark, S. (2009). Marketing the library? Why librarians should focus on stewardship and advocacy. Progressive Librarian,
33, 93-100.
Nunn, B., & Ruane, E. (2011). Marketing gets personal: promoting reference staff to reach users. Journal of Library
Administration, 51(3), 291-300.
Pankl, R. R. (2010). Marketing the public librarys business resources to small businesses. Journal of Business and
Finance Librarianship, 15, 94-103.
Powers, J. E. (1995). Marketing in the special library environment. Library Trends, 43(3), 478-491.
Singh, R., & Ovsak, A. (2013). Library experience matters! Touchpoints to community engagement. Journal of Library
Administration, 53(5-6), 344-358.
Smith, D. A. (2011). Strategic marketing of library resources and services. College and Undergraduate Libraries, 18(4),
333-349.
Urquhart, C. (2013). Top ten tips for marketing to teens. Young Adult Services, 20-23.