Examples to Emulate

Prioritizing and Strategizing Our Public Library’s Marketing
By Natalie Newville
This case study shows how an everyday public library can improve and grow by making its marketing a priority instead of an afterthought. Missouri River Regional Library put effort into creating a marketing plan and a strategic plan. From there, management opted to put more staff time and money into marketing. Natalie Newville details the process of auditing the library’s print materials, website, social media strategies, and ad placement. This librarywide shift in priorities was successful all around, and it increased online reference database usage by an amazing 265%.

How-To

Using Google Forms to Manage Publicity Requests
By Josh Lintereur
Mead Public Library wanted to host more programs, but needed to change the way it planned and promoted them to make that possible—especially since author Josh Lintereur was its one-person marketing “department.” The key was implementing a simple, accessible, online form that required all the information necessary for him to prepare the publicity. Library management supported the procedural change, which brought most staffers on board. But it took more to get the most persistent procrastinators to meet his deadlines for publicity requests. Read his story to see what “nuclear option” Mead implemented and how it worked out.

Interviews With Marketing Masters

NPL’s Andrea Fanta Started in the Newsroom
By Judith Gibbons
Andrea Fanta is an “accidental marketer” who was a reporter before going to the “dark side” of marketing. She traces her journey from the newsroom to the governor’s office to a Fortune 500 company to Nashville Public Library. NPL won the Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year Award in 2017, and Fanta details the community campaign NPL ran afterward to draw its citizens into the celebration.

ICYMI

Welcome to the Informal, Occasional ‘ICYMI’
By Kathy Dempsey
In this new column, named after the social shorthand for “In Case You Missed It,” MLS editor Kathy Dempsey shares short items of interest that you might not have seen. In this first column, she points to library-related articles in Nonprofit Quarterly (on the role of libraries) and Psychology Today (on drag queen storytimes). She announces the release date for Emilio Estevez’s library movie, the public. Finally, she explains how Google is giving money to libraries via two initiatives: Grow With Google and Google Ad Grants.

Intentional Marketing: A Practical Guide for Librarians, by Carol Ottolenghi
This book assumes that readers know the basics of marketing and that they have marketing plans, reports reviewer Jennifer E. Burke. The title focuses on whole library marketing, she says—“promoting the library as a concept, space, and relevant community organization.” Author Ottolenghi sees “intentional marketing” as a long-term, integrated strategy, and her book works multiple tactics into the big picture of demonstrating library value.

This issue announces that Melinda Gates will serve as honorary chairperson of National Library Week 2019, shares information on how to enter this year’s PR Xchange Awards, and points readers to a new book by the leaders of EveryLibrary, called Before the Ballot: Building Political Support for Library Funding.