New ACRL award to recognize best practices in marketing
June 11th, 2004From the ALA Press Release:
“The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is offering a one-time Best Practices in Marketing Academic and Research Libraries @ your library® Award to be presented at the ACRL National Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. in April 2005. Sponsored by the ACRL Marketing Academic and Research Libraries Committee and funded through the ACRL Friends Fund Committee, the award will be given to the academic/research library that demonstrates an outstanding best practices marketing program. Programs must have been in place for one year and selection will be based on the most complete documentation.”
Good move on the part of ALA and ACRL. Librarians don’t do enough to market themselves. We have so much to offer, yet some of us don’t show it to the world. I am a big advocate of marketing the librarians as professionals (especially through weblogs - because it is so easy to do so), but libraries themselves need to do this as well, for many reasons. How many library systems have a marketing person on staff (for those than can afford it)? How many have hired outside marketing firms to help spread the word (again, if they can afford it)? If they haven’t, then it needs to be done internally. We are creative people and can get the word out in other ways. Use the Web. Use weblogs to make it easier. Use something. Show off your talents, successes, and, most importantly, your achievements, both as librarians and as a library as a group.