Welcome to the new issue of Marketing Library Services!
This July/August issue looks at long-term and repeat programs, revealing how their promotion and outreach tactics change and grow over time.

Examples to Emulate

‘Fresh Start’ Program Grows From Local Outreach to Statewide Media, Ad Blitz
By Lisa Kelly and Tiffany McClary
This unique story explains how the small Long Branch Free Public Library designed a program to help men returning home from prison to get a “Fresh Start.” The initiative’s years of success spurred the New Jersey State Library to obtain an IMLS grant to increase its reach and to take its publicity to the next level. With those funds, state marketers gave the program its own fresh start by creating a brand and a media kit and by purchasing billboard and transit ads. The efforts garnered local news coverage, and even a national piece on NPR.

How-to

Connecting Newcomers With ‘Human Library’ Programs in Brampton, Ontario
By June Dickenson
The city of Brampton, outside Toronto, is growing rapidly as immigrants move into the area. Librarians there have used the “Human Library” concept to welcome the newcomers by connecting them to others, including people who used to be in their shoes. Between 2011 and 2021, Brampton Library has hosted five Human Library events, the latest one via Zoom. Part of planning each new iteration was looking back at the promotion and the results of the previous events in order to improve upon them. See the progression of the promotion across the years, and learn what best practices have emerged.

Interviews With Marketing Masters

Amanda L. Goodman Tackles UX, Fundraising at Darien
By Judith Gibbons
Amanda L. Goodman wanted to work for Disney, but ended up at Darien instead. And that’s a good thing (for libraries, at least) because this organized, self-taught woman has done a lot of effective marketing, fundraising, and video production. Read her ideas and advice here.

Feature

Here’s Solid Data to Help You Prove the Quantitative Value of Your Library
By Kathy Dempsey
Even if your library hasn’t commissioned its own ROI or value study, you can still drive home your point via data that others have captured already. More research is being done on library value, so there are places to turn when you need citations to show the worth of any type of library. Get up-to-speed with this list of the latest data.

ICYMI

Spotlight on Marketing Platforms, Important Publications, and a New Festival
By Kathy Dempsey
Don’t miss all of the great reading we’ve found for you: A book about strategic marketing, a roundup of vendor products, a briefing paper on community engagement, and two award-winning articles from Public Libraries magazine. Also, see what happened at a new Festival of Libraries in Manchester, U.K.