A Shortcut to Marketing Your Library (Chandos Information Professional Series)

Product Description

Summary Technological changes mean that the role of libraries is now not as obvious or assured as in the past. This means that to survive, they must actively market their products and services to their users and to their funding sources. Librarians tend however to be averse to anything which smells of selling and anyway are usually too busy with 'more important' activities. This is a simple handbook which spells out the critical need for marketing for libraries. More important, it provides a series of easy tools to achieve success, and encourages all librarians to make the necessary time available. Key Features Brief description of classical planning and marketing techniques Easy to follow marketing tips geared to libraries and their offerings and working practices Encouragement for librarians to believe in their overall ability, and that they can make time for marketing, and that they will succeed Based on the authors' wide experience of libraries from many perspectives, and especially of Zuzana Helinsky's experience in recent years as a lecturer and consultant helping libraries in several countries to market themselves successfully The Authors Zuzana Helinsky is a qualified librarian who has worked with academic and public libraries; she set up and managed for many years the major Swedish subscription agent, and is now a consultant and lecturer, arranging courses in marketing in Sweden, England and the Czech Republic. Readership Above all, practising librarians in all fields. Also a valuable training tool for LIS students, and of significant interest to publishers who need to understand the issues facing their customers. Contents Introduction Why is marketing so important? Does successful operation need marketing? Or isn't the library needed any more? The problems facing librarians - make them opportunities; how to make time; is there such a thing as bad PR? Marketing tools. Analysis techniques - SWOT, PEST etc; Boston and Ansoff's Matrices; strategic and marketing plans and the underlying calculations; actually doing it, then getting feedback. Marketing in practice. Owner marketing; we are each other's customers; user marketing; some suggestions for marketing actions; media and publishing; activities and events; new technology trends are here to help us in marketing; more thoughts on marketing Who else can help us? Publisher's marketing suggestions. Elsevier, MetaPress, OCLC, Taylor and Francis Conclusion References Further information Index