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Developing A Library Marketing Plan

Have you told residents about a new service or resource your library offers, but still are frustrated because so many people seem not to know? That is not uncommon, and there may be many reasons this occurs. Perhaps people missed the message, they ignored it because it wasn't of interest at the time, or perhaps you used language that didn't resonate with them. Marketing Library Services (May/June 2009) gave the example that a brochure may say something like "We have an online catalog," but that language doesn't translate to laypeople, who want "a list of library books on the internet."

This is the core challenge of marketing, and why it's so critical that your library develop a marketing plan. How involved the plan becomes will be dictated by many things, but each library should at least develop a basic plan that can be expanded in future years.

The resources below are the initial step to provide this online service. It is a work in progress and will evolve over time, so it's important that we receive your input. Let us know what is helpful, what isn't, and what is missing.

For more information about developing a library marketing plan, contact Mark Ibach.

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