In 2008, the University of Toledo Libraries formed a marketing committee as part of its strategic planning initiatives. Over the years, positive strides have been made in promoting both the main and health science campus libraries. The most beneficial thing I’ve learned as cochair of the committee is how to turn a daunting task like marketing into a manageable, efficient, and rewarding process. Working as a team, creating a solid brand identity, and engaging patrons through events are just a few things you can do to improve your marketing efforts.

Partner Up

With library marketing, there is truth to the adage that there is strength in numbers. Put a call out for coworkers interested in joining your team. There could be that English major with a flair for words, a colleague with an MBA who has a solid understanding of marketing principles, or a graphic designer who is well versed in Photoshop and Illustrator. Also, reach out to your institution’s marketing department. Colleges and universities might even have a devoted marketing liaison assigned to work with your library who can help you develop a marketing plan and assist with publicity. If you create promotional materials in house, a marketing professional at your institution can provide advice and ensure that you do not violate any policies when using your institution’s logo.

Brand Yourself

When meeting with your institution’s marketing representative, the first item of discussion will most likely be branding. A brand identity goes further than creating a logo and a tagline. It results in the emotional connection that users feel when they think of your library. A well-thought-out brand is the cornerstone of what you communicate and will inform the design of your promotional materials.

Starr (2013) emphasizes the importance of “brand love” for health science libraries. She notes that as librarians, we tend to concentrate on the extrinsic rewards of our services and resources. To create true brand love among a devoted patron base, focus on intrinsic rewards (pp. 168-169). We know that mediated literature searches save time for busy healthcare professionals, but how does that service make them feel? They may feel appreciation for your time and effort, relief at the speediness of your turnaround time, or a sense of security in knowing they can count on you to provide high-quality search results. These are all things that create loyalty among your patrons. Think about some of your favorite products or services. What keeps you coming back?

Engage and Connect

Events are an effective way to bring patrons into the library, while at the same time promoting resources and services. Libraries are cultural hubs of intellectual and creative activity, and events help to highlight that sense of community (Harris, Mayo, Prince, & Tooey, 2013). For example, hosting a traveling National Library of Medicine exhibit can create instant programming at your library and leverage your resources (Auten et al., 2013; Faricy-Beredo, 2013). One tradition at the Mulford Health Science Library is our annual student, faculty, and staff art show. For the opening reception, we feature a speaker with a connection to the arts and medicine. We recently began celebrating National Medical Librarians Month and National Library Week, complete with fun activities, speakers, displays, READ posters, and more. Library faculty and staff also host an educational and interactive table at the annual Halloween-themed campus health fair, Welloween. In addition, we participate in Ohio Library Snapshot Day, an advocacy initiative that demonstrates a day in the life of libraries through photographs and stories.

Keep Learning

No matter what stage you are in your career, take advantage of professional development opportunities. Recently, the Medical Library Association offered a CE course (now available as an on-demand recording) entitled, Making Your Library Promotion Pop! Practical Design Principles and Tools for the Non-Designer. Taught by April Aultman Becker (Education Coordinator at the Research Medical Library of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center), this course is a useful introduction to simple, easy-to-learn design techniques that can vastly improve your posters, flyers, newsletters, handouts, displays, and more. When your creative juices are low, get inspired by perusing library marketing and design blogs. Be sure to visit librariandesignshare.org and librarymarketingtoolkit.com.

You may not even realize it, but you promote your library each day. Whether it’s showing a patron how to find a book in the catalog, advising a researcher on databases to use for a literature review, or even posting new library hours, you are creating awareness about resources and services. The key is to be consistent and creative in promoting your library. A strong marketing plan, combined with some of the tips and advice shared in this article, may help streamline that process.

References

Auten, B., Norton, H. F., Tennant, M. R., Edwards, M. E., Stoyan-Rosenzweig, N., & Daley, M. (2013). Using NLM exhibits and events to engage library users and reach the community. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 32(3), 266-289.

Faricy-Beredo, B. (2013). Blowing up Harry Potter: Leveraging an NLM exhibition to your advantage. Public Services Quarterly, 9(1), 34-45

Harris, R., Mayo, A., Prince, J.D., and Tooey, M.J. (2013). Creating shared campus experiences: The library as culture club. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 101(4), 254-256.

Starr, S. (2013). Creating brand love for libraries: Can we be a kind of paradise? Journal of the Medical Library Association, 101(3), 168-170.