Recently a new term has exploded into library vernacular - Marketing! Oh, it was there before under a different guise, but ignored by many who considered marketing appropriate to the corporate world, but out-of-place in the professional academic environment. No longer. Reality has hit. Many in the library profession now recognize that their livelihood and future depend on successful marketing. We are no longer the only research/resource game in town; and unless we play to the crowd, at least a little, we may soon be out-of-town. Mark Clayton in the Christian Science Monitor, 2002, pointed out that the quiet world of the college library has been thrown into a state of flux. Legislators and even college administrators are looking for proof that libraries still matter to students, who would rather use a search engine than hike to the library. According to the Association of College and Research Libraries, book circulation and the number of questions asked of reference librarians at the nation's top university research libraries dropped in 1999-2000 to their lowest level in a decade. Rivkah K. Sass in Library Journal, June 2002, says "Librarians do not promote library services well and often are reluctant to borrow from the private sector, although that may be the only thing that will guarantee a viable future." Marketing has arrived!

A perusal of the literature reveals that the concern for successful marketing crosses library boundaries. Medical libraries, corporate libraries, public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries - all want to know what they can do to draw users in. Kristine Dworkin in Online, Jan/Feb 2001, says that it is necessary for libraries "to shed their stodgy traditional image and utilize creative methods in marketing their services or be lost in the crowd." American Libraries, May 2002, carried an article with the thought-provoking title "Are We Sabotaging Ourselves with Our Professional Image?" A recent book, The Visible Librarian: Asserting Your Value with Marketing and Advocacy, by Judith Siess, shares practical strategies for librarians to connect with their customers and make their services visible and valuable. In the ASDAL Action, Spring 2002, Wolfhard Touchard, Reference Librarian at Andrews University, reported on a workshop titled "Marketing is Everything: Applied Marketing for Libraries." This workshop, sponsored by the Michigan Library Association (MLA), included seven sessions conducted by experts, which shows how vital the MLA considered marketing. Marketing is a current, relevant issue in librarianship. An interested librarian could do a lot of reading about marketing, a lot of talk about marketing, attend a lot of sessions on marketing, and never really do much about marketing.

In this article I will address marketing from a personal perspective. I will share what has worked for me. From 1997 - 2000, I served as the Instructional Services Librarian for the University of Texas Pan American. This involved coordinating a team of five instructional librarians and two assistants. Among other things the team was responsible for marketing the library's instructional program to the campus and community. During that time classes offered by the instructional team increased by 10%, while student and faculty participation increased by 40%. Enrollment for the university remained stable, so the increase in participation could not be attributed to more students on campus, but rather to successful marketing of the instructional program.

In July of 2000, I became Assistant Librarian at Walla Walla College's School of Nursing Library in Portland, Oregon. Many students and faculty were choosing to go elsewhere (there are many library choices in the Portland area) to do their study and research. My main goal was to effectively market the library and its services to the students and faculty. The marketing strategy has been successful as the library is now the first research choice of students and faculty. The 2002 report from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and Universities evaluation team states the following: "Everyone at the Portland Campus has high praises for their library and staff. Students perceive the library as dynamic and personable. Students and faculty laud the service and access to resources." So, what has worked? What worked at the University of Texas and is working at the School of Nursing?

To succeed specific strategies must be implemented. These could be stated in a more professional, academic way, but strategies that work are remarkably simple; thus, Back to the Future. A creative re-application of old service principles to the library environment provides the most positive results.

Get Active:

Develop a plan for marketing the library and its services and implement it. Seek student and faculty input and revise as needed. Some schemes implemented at the University of Texas to get faculty and their students in were:

1. Early each year department chairs, new faculty, and library liaisons (each department had a faulty member appointed as liaison to the library) were invited to a bread, cracker, and cheese luncheon at the library. When it comes to drawing people in, food works wonders. Faculty would be introduced to the bibliographers for their departments and introduced to the instructional program emphasizing how the program could aid them and their students. Most faculty will buy into a program that they feel will aid them and help their students succeed and involves a minimal amount of effort or change on their part.
2. The campus administration presented one day orientation for all new faculty and staff. After some negotiation (making friends with the right people), the instructional service department was invited to be part of the orientation. We were given a ten minute shot, so we made it as upbeat and entertaining a possible. More than anything we wanted to leave a good taste so the listeners would want to visit the library.
3. We courted the English department until they were wholehearted supporters of the library and its instructional program. This courting took time, but in the end each freshman English class would come to the library for a two to three day instructional session timed to fit with the beginning of an assigned research paper.
4. Each year an instructional librarian would target a department that had not been using the library instructional services. One librarian targeted the PE department one year, communicating with and building a relationship with teachers and the department chair. Result: some in the PE department starting bringing classes over for a one-shot library introduction. The focus always was to develop a positive working relationship and let faculty know what we could do to serve their needs and the needs of their students.
5. The instructional librarians made themselves available to participate on university committees; thus, becoming visible and valuable. Exposure works wonders.
6. Involvement on a committee positioned us to know when the university was moving toward implementing a new campus-wide email system. We offered our services and were teamed with the technology department - they implemented the program, we did the faculty and student training. One result was that the instructional service staff was given special commendation, the Meritorious Service Team Award, at the yearly awards assembly. Again, exposure!
7. We revised all formal written communication to be positive and friendly and to emphasize how we could serve. A welcome letter with brochure went out to each faculty member at the beginning of each academic year. Previous letters included an invitation from the instructional services department, and then a list of what the faculty member should do to prepare their students for a profitable visit to the library. We deleted the "what you need to do" part and expanded the "what we can do for you" part. Get them in the door first, and then, when the moment is right, talk about how they can help you provide a meaningful library session.
8. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise. We instituted a formal, consistent, appealing process for getting word out about instructional programs. This involved a spot on the library web page; brochures; posters in the library, on campus, and in the community; a library newsletter; and, most important, direct invitations to faculty and students. For example: if a reference librarian noticed a student struggling with a database or information resource, the librarian would say, "If you would like to learn more about ________ we have a half hour open class this Thursday at noon. You are welcome to come." A list of classes was posted at the reference desk.
9. We surveyed students to determine their greatest research/resource needs, and then planned open classes around those needs and student schedules. Classes that had a wider appeal, such as locating medical information on the web, were advertised in the local community. Those completing a session where given a certificate of completion. When we started giving the certificates we noticed an increase in the number of those returning for another class.
10. The advancement office arranged campus tours for local groups (schools, organizations, clubs). Previously the tour guide, usually a student, would only walk the group through the library lobby. We contacted the advancement office and made arrangements for an instructional librarian to handle the library portion of the tour.
11. We made every effort to collaborate with faculty to optimize student learning. In requesting a library instructional session for their classes, faculty would fill out a form. The form was all we needed to schedule the session, but an instructional library would contact the professor either by phone, or in some cases a personal visit. Working together, we would plan the best learning experience for the students.
12. The university sponsored a student outreach fair at the beginning of each year. The instructional services staff managed a table on behalf of the library. Various goodies were given away to attract students interest. Of course, the goodies were handed out with library information.
13. We sought out new faculty. Each semester we would get a list of the new faculty and an instructional librarian would make contact welcoming them to the campus and inviting them for a brief tour of the library with an emphases on their area of interest.

All of this, of course, had its disadvantage. When student and faculty attendance at instructional sessions increased by 40%, the work load also increased. Some students and faculty began associating the library with a particular librarian, and would seek that librarian out when they had a resource need. Student and faculty evaluations indicated that the extra work was well worth the effort though. One student reported at the end of an instructional session, "I thought this was going to be boring, but this library rocks!"

When I moved from the large university library to a small college branch library, marketing took on a different flavor. The principles remained the same, but the applications changed. Library space was redesigned to be more student friendly and to eliminate or minimize barriers to service. The reference collection was moved to be near the library computer lab. Videos and periodicals were moved to be more accessible to students. A portion of the reference desk was removed to open the area up more and eliminate a barrier between library workers and students. Comfortable chairs, a leather couch, and appealing art were all added to give the library a new, student friendly look. But all these physical changes would have been useless without the active inclusion of the other two marketing principles: Get Positive and Get Personal.

Get Positive and Get Personal:

Marylaine Block in "The Secret of Library Marketing: Make Yourself Indispensable" states, "Marketing is an ungodly, complicated problem for librarians . . . we offer an immense range of products . . . to an immense range of audiences. We need to define which product we want to sell, and to which audience." I disagree with Marylaine. The bottom line in good marketing is essentially very simple, and what you are selling, more than anything else, is yourself. To sell yourself, you must get positive and personal.

Becoming customer obsessed underlies all successful marketing. You must believe the following. If you don't, then your marketing efforts will have a disappointing taste.

1. The student or faculty member is the most important person in your library or office, whether that individual enters in person, by phone, or by email.
2. The student or faculty member in not an interruption of your work; he is the purpose for it. You are not doing a favor by serving him; he is doing you a favor by giving you the opportunity to serve.
3. The student or faculty member is not someone to argue with or match wits with; you will never really win this argument.
4. The student or faculty member brings you his wants; it is your job and privilege to handle them profitably to both him and you.

How can you let students know that they are number 1 in your library? Tell them regularly and frequently. Focus on their needs; lose what is comfortable for you and focus on what is comfortable for them. Get to know them by name. This can be challenging if you have 2000 students on campus, but work on it. Each year I give serious study to the Mask, the Walla Walla College student mug (picture) book. I cut out the pictures of the new students and past them on the bulletin board above my desk. If you are the bibliographer for a particular department, then you should know the names and research interest of each faculty member in that department. Seek them out - be a prowler on the constant watch for the struggling, frustrated look - and then offer to help. When you see students or faculty both in and out of the library, greet them by name with a smile. Smile, smile, smile. The most important item you wear to the library each day is your expression. Your eyes and facial expression say much more than anything you actually say. Good old fashioned positive friendliness works marketing miracles. This is the grand secret of successful marketing, and so easy to implement.

Dare to be a little creative. This helps produce a positive atmosphere in the library and will draw students in. Food and music have long been kept out of the library, but the reasons don't always make sense. For instance, it is commonly believed that students learn best in a perfectly quiet environment, but this belief is not supported. Research indicates that subtle, not overpowering, background music, especially classical, heightens retention and recall. I have experimented with music in my library with extremely positive results. Students have repeatedly said that they learn better with soft background music; it relaxes them and eases the tension. As we move into the Christmas season, share a little Christmas music and a little Christmas cheer? Surprise the students in your library with music and treats occasionally. I ran across a phenomenal buy on fresh satsuma mandarins, and put them out for students along with a bowl of pistachios. Aside from a few pistachios hulls that missed the waste can and ended up on the carpet, everything was kept neat and clean. The word spread. Students came to the library to get a treat, and they would visit a little before heading back to class more satisfied and less tense.

An important aspect of successful marketing that is often overlooked is to provide training in customer service. I have been through orientations in five different libraries (two small college, two large university, and one high school), and not one of the orientations included a component on quality customer service. It is often assumed, incorrectly, that a professional will know the basics of good customer service. There are specific skills that can be taught, and training in good customer service should be a major part of any orientation for a professional, para-professional, or student library assistant. Customer service skills should also be regularly reviewed. A program of training all new student workers was instituted in my library, along with a program of reviewing every other quarter the qualities of good service for the returning workers. Encourage all service employees to have a positive attitude, and perhaps even make it a part of their job description.

Archbold, Stewart, and Hornbrook (1998) in their research on quality and excellence in service in the health care field identified three distinct areas:

1. Skill: necessary knowledge, skill, and resources to provide the needed service.
2. Enrichment: a manner of endowing activities with meaning and/or pleasure.
3. Predictability: regularity, dependability.

These same apply to the library, but I sometimes fear that we stop at number 1. We have the skill - the knowledge and resources to provide good service, but without regular enrichment the service will never be complete or truly satisfactory.

Marketing has found a home in the library, and it is here to stay. Treat it well and you will reap rich rewards. It's not complicated - get personal, get positive, and get active. A sign hangs on the wall above my desk reminding me constantly of what is most important: "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." If your library is a place that people dread, all the outreach and marketing in the world will be useless.

References

Block, Marylaine. The Secret of Library Marketing: Make Yourself Indispensable. American Libraries 32:8 (Sept. 2001) 48-50.

Clayton, Mark. Food for Thought: Campus libraries add cafes and meeting spaces to lure students away from their computer screens. The Christian Science Monitor, January 22, 2002.

Dworkin, Kristine D. Library Marketing. Online, Jan/Feb 2001, Vol. 25(1), p52, 3p. Schumacher, K.L.; Stewart, B.J; Archbold, P.G. "Theory, Conceptualization and Measurment of Doing Family Caregiving Well." Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 30:1 (1998) 63-69.