NCLA Conference

Currently attending the North Carolina Library Association conference in Greenville. Today was a busy day - starting out with our morning session with Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director. Keith shared his thoughts about the future of libraries. I loved his comment," if we predict the future we can create the future." So let's make positive predictions! And of course what I liked was his focus on the importance of increasing public awareness for libraries. Following along the same lines, David Singleton, Director of Customer Experience at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, spoke in the afternoon about the challenging times facing our libraries, emphasing the importance of communication not only to our customers, but also our staff. David shared the following quote, "during challenging times, make asset scarcity a source of innovation, not enervation." by John Ulmschneider.
Tomorrow I plan to continue collecting video clips of great pr ideas from out participants at the Swap and Chat - so watch for more postings.

Dewey or Do We Not?

I just returned from the Association of Rural and Small Libraries Annual Conference (www.arsl.info) in Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg's new library, the Anna Porter Public Library, is a beautiful building on the outskirts of town and is the pride of all residents. Kenton Temple, Director, hosted a preconference and shared the Gatlinburg Story. It was fascinating how they involved the community to raise funds to build this new library. Another interesting fact is that their library arranges their nonfiction like a bookstore - not by dewey numbers. They still use the dewey classification, but the nonfiction is arranged by topic - ie: health, money matter, self help, etc. It's an interesting concept and one that is working very well for them - the community loves it! Included in their catalog is an extra column that lists the location of the book by topic.

Check out the library's website for more information. http://www.annaporterpl.org/

Promotional Video

I was thinking about our new category in the Best of Show this year - videos. This one from the Colingswood Library is fabulous - funny, creative, promotional! What a great way to advertise a fundraiser. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Wx25Mk-Ek

Fictional Interview - Great Way to Market

Steve McKinzie, Library Director at Catawba College, shared an interview recently posted in Against the Grain. It was a fictional interview. The names of the library, its director, the issues involved, and the project are real and accurate, but the interview itself never actually happened. Steve actually wrote the questions and the answers as a way to highlight and explain the Catawba Library renovation experience. This could be a great way to highlight a new service or program at your library. Here's the link if you'd like to check out the interview.
http://www.against-the-grain.com/TOCFiles/v20-6_SteveMckenzie.pdf

Clunkers for Cash

Today I was thinking about the Clunkers for Cash project. Might this be a great time for libraries to publicize their online resources - ones that help folks select what car to buy. The newspaper might even write up a story. Just a thought for a very hot day here in NC.

A Place for Great Ideas!

Swap and Chat once again returns to NCLA. Tables will be set up in the exhibit hall giving conference participants an opportunity to view publicity materials and share ideas with their colleagues. All types of libraries are encouraged to submit samples of their public relations materials for swapping - the more participation the better the swap.


Be sure to enter the Swap and Chat Best of Show. Submit your favorite publicity promotional piece in any of the following categories: annual reports, bibliographies, booklists, calendars, fundraising materials, general brochures, newsletters, program and event materials, web site promotional materials and this year's new category promotional video. The video entry must be submitted on a flash drive. Judges will select winners based on content, originality, design, format and effectiveness. I've attached a file with some of last year's winners. Thought you might enjoy!

Bestofshow07

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Show Your Support | geekthelibrary.org

You might find this interesting. A new campaign by OCLC on developing support for public libraries. The fact section could be really helpful in developing key messages. http://geekthelibrary.org/index.html