Purpose – This paper aims to identify which marketing activities libraries are using to promote electronic resources and to examine how libraries are measuring the successes or failures of their marketing plans.Design/methodology/approach – The research analyzes the literature published in library science on marketing techniques for electronic resources in use at libraries; the corpus is composed of 24 documents published from 1994‐2009. The literature is qualitatively analyzed to determine the techniques in use, the libraries' goals, targeted groups, budgets, and assessments of their marketing plans.Findings – A total of 38 unique marketing techniques were discovered in the 24 documents consulted for this research. The four most popular techniques were patron training in a group setting, flyers/brochures, e‐mails to patrons, and surveys. Libraries were generally unclear about stating the goals for their marketing plans but were able to easily identify the target of their marketing efforts. Budgeting was ...

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What are we really doing to market electronic resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the responsibilities and challenges faced by academic librarians whose major responsibilities include the overall promotion of the library.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent to seven library listservs asking respondents to describe their work duties, promotional activities, academic background, and professional challenges and concerns.Findings – This study garnered 215 responses. Respondents who completed the questionnaire identified as academic librarians whose major responsibilities include the overall promotion of the library. Librarians who promote face a plethora of challenges, including time restraints, lack of funding and limited support for their promotional efforts. These barriers place a strain on promotional work in academic libraries.Practical implications – The paper illustrates the roles and responsibilities of librarians who promote and the challenges and obstacles they deal with on an institutional and departmental level...

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Who's spinning the library? Responsibilities of academic librarians who promote

The development of marketing activities for an academic library as an outgrowth of an overall library strategic plan can assist in clarifying which key resources and services should be promoted and in developing the optimal activities for communicating their benefits. Marketing as an ancillary process to strategic planning can increase awareness and use of library resources and services among targeted user groups and can present a clear, consistent image to students, faculty, and administration as to what the library offers to the life of the university community and validate its continued funding. A permanent library marketing committee is the best means for coordinating library marketing activities.

Strategic Marketing of Library Resources and Services

Factors predicting the importance of libraries and research activities for undergraduates.

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the creation of a workshop series designed to help graduate students obtain the needed library research skills.Design/methodology/approach – Using feedback from graduate students, a library user education series of workshops was developed and later revised. Significant effort was made to apply effective marketing strategies to enhance the programs' success.Findings – Graduate students are eager for workshops that are focused on developing the needed library research skills.Practical implications – When developing a workshop series, feedback from the intended audience enriches the program. Furthermore, repeated fine‐tuning of content and publicity improves the final product.Originality/value – This paper describes an innovative approach to develop and implement a graduate‐focused library instruction workshop series. The creative use of marketing strategies to incorporate ongoing user feedback and advertise the availability of sessions can significantly enhance the effic...

Development of the graduate library user education series

The importance of marketing library services and programs to users is indisputable, but developing an effective library marketing plan can be daunting for individuals new to the task. Much has been written recently about ways to market the academic library, but there is more to marketing than simply hanging a flyer or distributing a bookmark. Now, more than ever, marketing should be a part of the library's overall strategic planning process. Libraries must develop a marketing plan that incorporates the library's strategic plan as well as the mission and vision statements. This article provides a step-by-step overview on how to develop a comprehensive marketing plan, from both a public and a private institution's perspective.

Lynda M. Duke Ms

Papers

How to Develop a Marketing Plan for an Academic Library