Category Marketing

Entries 37 Total Description

Selling libraries.

letting the customer shine

Jan 2, ’08 8:35 AM

When walking past my neighborhood Powell’s bookstore the other day I got the meet a bunch of their customers.

powell's

It made me stop and look. I was interested in the recommendations and the concept of the display, and others stopped to read as well.

Some libraries have done great things letting their customers shine online. See Hennipin County Library’s BookSpace, and the Thomas Ford Memorial Library’s Thommy Ford Abroad. With this Powell’s example we see a physical world example.

What a great move on Powell’s part. It is promoting the organization by promoting the customers. Powell’s gets out of the way and lets customers provide authentic interactions.

This marketing campaign consists of simply providing a means for their customers to have a voice. It is great answer to the oft cited question “How can I help my users kick ass?”

Comments (2)

cool job alert

Jan 2, ’08 8:23 AM

This is the first time I’ve seen an organization at the system or consortial level put out an ad calling for a candidate to help with web presence and social software. Member libraries will benefit from this leadership! The folks at WCCLS are great, so if you fancy a move to the beautiful Pacific Northwest you should go for it.

[Emphasis mine]

Librarian II – Web Services Librarian

Take your career to a new level with Washington County’s Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS). We have a rewarding opportunity within a collegial environment to create original web content pages, user tools and pathfinders for our website, wccls.org. This new position will work collaboratively with public service librarians to customize and enhance the website, monitor and broaden the WCCLS web presence and web reach, manage internal content and training, and implement social interaction tools and other locally significant content for users. Successful candidates will possess related experience within library sciences, MLS preferred.

Washington County offers opportunities for professional growth and a comprehensive benefits package. Pay range is $3,975 – $4,833/month. For more information on this position and to apply on-line, please visit our Human Resources page at www.co.washington.or.us.

Washington County Human Resources
155 N. First Ave., Ste. 270
Hillsboro, OR 97124

http://www.pnla.org/jobs/j93.htm

Comments (1)

this person was able to use gmail ads to find something she couldn’t find anywhere else

Dec 21, ’07 11:37 AM

I happed to be logged out of Gmail the other day and noticed a link to a YouTube (natch) video titled “What’s your Gmail story?” Interested to see what angle they are taking with this, I watched the video. It is overall your typically cute and well done advert for Google.

The last story they share is of a college student that was using Gmail to communicate with classmates about a group project. She logged into Gmail and noticed an ad related to her project. The Gmail engineer says, “This person was able to use Gmail ads to find something she couldn’t find anywhere else.”

Adverts disguised as useful information are nothing new. There are creepy “special advertising sections” in print magazines. Amazon has been doing it on the web for years with their “personalized recommendations.” What is new and different about this claim from Gmail is that it actively promoting an advert as useful information. Google wants to brand its ads as research tools.

Here’s the video.

Comments (0)

this person was able to use gmail ads to find something she couldn't find anywhere else

Dec 21, ’07 11:37 AM

I happed to be logged out of Gmail the other day and noticed a link to a YouTube (natch) video titled “What’s your Gmail story?” Interested to see what angle they are taking with this, I watched the video. It is overall your typically cute and well done advert for Google.

The last story they share is of a college student that was using Gmail to communicate with classmates about a group project. She logged into Gmail and noticed an ad related to her project. The Gmail engineer says, “This person was able to use Gmail ads to find something she couldn’t find anywhere else.”

Adverts disguised as useful information are nothing new. There are creepy “special advertising sections” in print magazines. Amazon has been doing it on the web for years with their “personalized recommendations.” What is new and different about this claim from Gmail is that it actively promoting an advert as useful information. Google wants to brand its ads as research tools.

Here’s the video.

Comments (0)

library gameshow!

Nov 29, ’07 3:41 PM

Scott Jeffries, Reference Librarian at Dallas Baptist University writes,

For four afternoons in November, the Dallas Baptist University Vance Memorial Library hosted their Are You As Smart As A Freshman? event. Patterned after the popular game show Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, this event had 2nd-4th year students competing for prizes by answering questions that university freshman should be familiar with. They were able to use a panel of Freshmen as part of their “lifelines” as well as one of the library’s reference librarians …The intent of the event was to raise awareness of the library and its resources and to offer a fun outlet for students within the library’s facilities.

are you as smart as a freshman?

Gaming in libraries does not just mean video/computer games! Nice work!

Comments (0)

“yet it is such an easy sell, if only people knew”

Nov 13, ’07 7:53 PM

aka: My Friend Discovers the Library

Two of my friends have discovered their public libraries recently and one of them told me about it via gChat the other day. Like my post about someone I know discovering reference service, this is clearly anecdotal but still interesting.

It takes a second to scroll through this transcript but it is fast to read. [emphasis mine]

#####
steve: i got a library card today
and checked out books

me: what inspired you???
(your library has a flickr account, you know)

steve: improving my coaching

me: you should start placing hold on DVDs online

steve: and i discovered a wonderworld of woodworking books

me: oh yes! nice

steve: some which i have wanted to buy but no need now

me: PERFECT

steve: tons of dvd’s
amazing

me: libraries suck at marketing.
you never knew it existed, right?

steve: so strange that i/people haven’t taken advantage of what is free at the library
i totally didn’t know
so bizarre
it really is a wonderworld now, and not the ancient old books only place
it is sad
you have a tough job
getting the word out
yet it is such an easy sell, if only people knew

me: haha, i know! if only everyone in a community was forced to walk into the library just once!

steve: that is all it would take
LOL
dvd rentals are free now for 7 days
so crazy
reserving online
so much easier than going to a video store even
and FREE

me: practically like netflix, except you need to ride your bike to get the DVDs

steve: yeah
i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along
AND I know you which should have motivated me more to get in there

me: so is there hope for everyone else??

steve: Yes, but like you said, libraries suck at marketing
everyone remembers the card catalog world
tough question how to get people in
yet so STUPID not to take advantage!
i love the library
:)

#####

Nice work Westmont Public Library for giving my friend a good experience and creating a passionate user! My other friend says of the librarians he’s encountered, “Some of the women are really nice, and some of them are crabby.” Sounds about right?

I still can’t get over what Steve said about a public library. Not the interwebs, not amazon.com, not school, not a club. The public library.

i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along

Comments (0)

"yet it is such an easy sell, if only people knew"

Nov 13, ’07 7:53 PM

aka: My Friend Discovers the Library

Two of my friends have discovered their public libraries recently and one of them told me about it via gChat the other day. Like my post about someone I know discovering reference service, this is clearly anecdotal but still interesting.

It takes a second to scroll through this transcript but it is fast to read. [emphasis mine]

#####
steve: i got a library card today
and checked out books

me: what inspired you???
(your library has a flickr account, you know)

steve: improving my coaching

me: you should start placing hold on DVDs online

steve: and i discovered a wonderworld of woodworking books

me: oh yes! nice

steve: some which i have wanted to buy but no need now

me: PERFECT

steve: tons of dvd’s
amazing

me: libraries suck at marketing.
you never knew it existed, right?

steve: so strange that i/people haven’t taken advantage of what is free at the library
i totally didn’t know
so bizarre
it really is a wonderworld now, and not the ancient old books only place
it is sad
you have a tough job
getting the word out
yet it is such an easy sell, if only people knew

me: haha, i know! if only everyone in a community was forced to walk into the library just once!

steve: that is all it would take
LOL
dvd rentals are free now for 7 days
so crazy
reserving online
so much easier than going to a video store even
and FREE

me: practically like netflix, except you need to ride your bike to get the DVDs

steve: yeah
i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along
AND I know you which should have motivated me more to get in there

me: so is there hope for everyone else??

steve: Yes, but like you said, libraries suck at marketing
everyone remembers the card catalog world
tough question how to get people in
yet so STUPID not to take advantage!
i love the library
:)

#####

Nice work Westmont Public Library for giving my friend a good experience and creating a passionate user! My other friend says of the librarians he’s encountered, “Some of the women are really nice, and some of them are crabby.” Sounds about right?

I still can’t get over what Steve said about a public library. Not the interwebs, not amazon.com, not school, not a club. The public library.

i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along

Comments (0)

knitting with the librarians 2

Nov 7, ’07 8:44 AM

In early October I posted about a knit with the librarians program I learned about at Reed College here in Portland. The librarian that made the flyer and hosts the group saw the picture I uploaded on flickr and commented on it.

I thought this was great, so I emailed her some questions about the program. She just checked her flickr mail and sent a reply.

Yes, just a random idea – I was hired at Reed through a digital initiatives grant to build digital collections to support teaching. Currently I’m uber focused on this project, don’t do much instruction (though I do work reference), and thought of a knitting group as a way to get to know students, and get more in touch with the general flow of the library and campus. That’s my side of it at least!

For students, I wanted to hone the image of the library as a warm place, librarians as non-scary compadres, encourage study breaks, and just in general…provide an opportunity to knit together!

…the group has indeed been very successful. My colleague and I (the Reed Science librarian) started it together earlier this semester, and have developed a core following of half a dozen students or so. As to spreading awareness about the library, it may be too soon to say. …but I think it has certainly spread fun in the library!

Like many good programs in the library, the knitting group is good for both staff and patrons. Joanna uses the knitting circle to learn about the students and the library as well as humanize the librarians and promote fun in the library.

Comments (2)

are our date due receipts as useful as they could be?

Oct 18, ’07 4:50 PM

Here’s a fantastic idea mentioned to me this morning by a library volunteer: book recommendations on date due receipts. As in, If you liked [item checked out], check out [related item].

If vendors made this happen I wonder if they’d use subject headings to drive the recommendation engine. I don’t like this idea. It would be much more interesting to capture and use data about patterns in how the collection circulates. This would be a more user centered approach. Ideally there would also be a URL and code next to the recommendation so patrons could rate the pairing of items, providing human feedback into the process. It would improve with use, but I’m sure it would give some hilariously interesting recommendations too.

Does anything like this exist? John, Casey, Glenn, Dave? Could you build this for me soon please? KTHXBYE.

What about promoting upcoming library events on our receipts? Surely some library is doing this?

Comments (7)

don’t you feel used?

Oct 16, ’07 8:46 AM

Here’s another conversation about libraries I didn’t mean to get myself in. This time it was with a woman that was an avid library user growing up. While growing up, she confessed, going to the library with her mom was the highlight of her weekend. She’d get books and movies and loved the librarians. This habit continued into adulthood where she developed friendly relationships with librarians at a Boston Public Library branch. “They’d even drop off items my stoop on their way home,” she said. Nice.

Flash forward a few years. She asks about what kind of stuff I do as a librarian. I mention reference work and she gets a puzzled look on her face. “Wait a minute. People can ask random questions at the library?” “Yeah, anything, really,” I replied. Her jaw dropped and she asked, “Don’t you feel used?”.

Keeping OCLC’s Perceptions of Libraries and Information Sources report in mind, I shouldn’t have been so surprised that even this active library user had no concept of the library as a place for information. There’s a disconnect between how most libraries see themselves and how others see libraries. Clearly this is only one anecdote but if we extrapolate a bit it is another indication that we have serious public relations and image issues.

With no cajoling from me, at the end of the conversation she was excited to visit her local Multnomah County Library branch to use her “own private search engine.”

Comments (11)