Tomorrow I'll be presenting at the Summer Reading workshop in Charlotte focusing on marketing the summer reading program to the Hispanic/Latino populations. An overview of my thoughts: Before we can improve our marketing efforts we must understand our audience. Many Hispanic cultures view libraries very differently. There are several misconceptions that affect how Latinos use the library. In my presentation I share these six misconceptions.1. Libraries are for the educated.
2. The English term for library is confusing.
3. Libraries cost money, you have to pay for service.
4. There is a huge fear that libraries will pass on Personal information to governmental agencies.
5. Libraries have only English books.
6. Library use only -materials cannot leave the library.
Taking this and some of the cultural differences into consideration we can carefully plan our marketing efforts to the Hispanic community.
Tips On Preparing Marketing Materials
- Emphasize the visual. Use color.
- Emphasize the 4 F's - Free, Family, Food, Fun
- Use their language
- Get it down to basics
- Get help reviewing translations
Much more information can be found on library services for the Hispanic/Latino populations in the Spanish outreach section at WebJunction. The attached poster was done by the Moline Public Library and does an excellent job demonstrating the marketing tips.
