Telling ‘Libraries Transform’ Stories to Celebrate National Library Week
By Doug Cataldo
After making a splash in 2016, staffers at the Huntley Area Public Library in Illinois were looking to do something different and innovative for National Library Week in 2017. Doug Cataldo, the marketing and media developer, liked the idea of ALA’s 2017 NLW theme, Libraries Transform. He found seven influential patrons who volunteered to star in short videos, telling others how the library was part of their lives. The marketers debuted one video each morning during National Library Week and extended the successful campaign both digitally and in print.

How-to

Bringing Out the Library Love
By Evelyn C. Shapiro
A negative story in the press made the promotions manager at the Champaign Public Library in Illinois think about how she could “flip the script.” Evelyn Shapiro played off the library foundation’s fall fundraiser to quickly set up a Valentine’s Day Library Love campaign. Every day for 39 days, culminating on Feb. 14, she and her team posted a different visual quote from a happy patron, with hashtags, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The analytics are impressive.

Interviews with Marketing Masters

Gregg Dodd Helps Build Libraries and Communities
By Judith Gibbons
This interview highlights Gregg Dodd of the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Ohio, which is frequently named a Star Library and is a newly minted John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award winner. Judith Gibbons’ questions bring to light this library’s most successful campaign as well as its most pressing challenge.

Special Report

Why I Recommend Content Marketing World
By Angela Hursh
Marketing pro Angela Hursh, content team leader at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County in Ohio, has been fortunate enough to attend the Content Marketing World conference for 4 years. This year, she reports on the organization that runs the show, what sorts of speakers it attracts, and why she finds it so worthwhile. Of course, she also shares “nuggets of knowledge” from the 15 sessions she attended in September.

Making Effective Infographics
In this issue, techie and tool lover Jennifer E. Burke looks at six tools you can use to create infographics (and charts, maps, presentation images, etc.). To help you compare them, she assembled a chart that shows what each platform offers in its free version and its paid version. If you’re looking to find a way to create good graphics, Burke has just done much of the work for you.

The Librarian’s Nitty-Gritty Guide to Content Marketing
by Laura Solomon
Kathy Dempsey pens a review of this short, easy-to-digest tome by Laura Solomon. It explains the concept of content marketing and how it differs from what most library promoters have done. Why is this approach powerful, and how can readers take advantage of it? Dempsey praises Solomon’s knowledge and writing style, deeming this book as good as the author’s previous ones.

This issue announces an “Academic Library Impact” report from ACRL, names the 2017 Marketer of the Year Award winner, reveals which five libraries were accepted into the Media Literacy @ Your Library pilot program, and congratulates MLS columnist Judith Gibbons for her Lifetime Achievement Award.