Bite‐sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian

Citation

Bain, S. (2010), "Bite‐sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian", Library Review, Vol. 59 No. 7, pp. 558-559. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011065145

At a time of global economic crisis libraries have a vital role to play in offering people free access to information and entertainment. Unfortunately, this is also a time when libraries are facing increasing cuts in funding and staffing, or even the threat of closure. To ensure their survival, libraries need to be visible and contemporary, engaging with the public in ways compatible with current lifestyles and offering the services that people really want. Bite‐sized Marketing is an ideal starting point for libraries wishing to re‐evaluate how they promote themselves within the communities they serve.

Nancy Dowd, Mary Evangeliste and Jonathan Silberman have produced an easy to understand guide covering all methods of library marketing, from the traditional posters and local media coverage, to emerging promotional tools such as blogs and podcasts. Each of the book's ten chapters examine a different topic, including “Word‐of‐mouth Marketing”, “Outreach” and “Branding”. This means it is perfect to dip into for ideas to meet your requirements at a specific time, but Bite‐sized Marketing can just as easily be read from cover to cover for an all round approach to promotion in a modern library.

On page four we are asked “How many times has your library offered a program, product, or service that excited the staff but never caught on with the public?”. Throughout the book we are reminded about the importance of researching what people require from their library in order to provide services that meet those needs; no amount of promotion will turn an event nobody cares about into a crowd‐puller. Among the tips onto how to conduct such research is a sample questionnaire for non‐users; this is one of several occasions where the authors provide practical examples that can be easily adapted for use in your own library.

Bite‐sized Marketing contains many quotations from professional librarians; their personal experience providing a wealth of advice and guidance on the dos and don'ts of library promotion. There are a number of occasions when we are told what to avoid when marketing, such as these wise words – “There is nothing that screams amateur quite like clip art”. Interspersed throughout the book are links to useful websites and online articles; most of these are American but should still be helpful to library workers in all locations. The authors make good use of lists and bullet points making the relevant information easily retrievable without having to read through lengthy passages of text.

With Web 2.0 becoming increasingly important as a marketing device Nancy Dowd and her co‐authors provide clear and concise introductions to Twitter, Flickr, and other Web 2.0 services, offering suggestions as to how these devices can be used in a library context. One of the key strengths of this book is the means by which it encourages librarians to try new things and not to be wary of new technology; we are shown how Web 2.0 can provide invaluable promotional aids for modern libraries, which are not only easy to use but cost little in terms of money or staff time.

The sub‐title of the book is “realistic solutions for the overworked librarian” and that is exactly what the authors have come up with; the recommendations and information contained in the ten chapters are straightforward, practical, and can be easily implemented regardless of library size or budgetary constraints. Those who have little or no knowledge of library marketing will gain a huge amount from the advice contained within the pages and those who have previous experience in this field will have their eyes opened to new ideas and methods. Bite‐sized Marketing is an essential title for all librarians wishing to promote their organisation.