Marina Neal

Alison - I need to start this reply by saying, "The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect TCPL policies and procedures." As a lifelong communications professional with only 6+ years of library experience, I think part of the success of public libraries will require that they stop thinking of themselves as somehow separate and/or different from their communities. Tippecanoe County is a fortunate and proud community. In TCPL customer materials and communications, I try to capture that same combination of gratitude and optimism. As often as possible, I try to connect library advances directly back to the customers, local corporations, and institutions that make this all possible. When you to explain marketing/communications for other libraries to emulate, it loses something in the translation, so I'll give you an example of this morning's discussion. Mango is expanding its language offerings, so I was asked to send a press release. I had received an e-mail with this information two weeks ago and had had time to really think through what would be most effective. Since our local newspaper has been impacted by economic and industry downturns, there are less pages per edition. Senior staffers are also leaving. Rather than send a "boilerplate" press release to less experienced reporters, I realized they needed a human interest story from TCPL. So, I put out the word to library department heads that we are looking for customers who are using Mango. Could be home school families, high school students, and/or adults. If people some are using it from home, that adds another layer of interest to the story -- technologies. In marketing, this approach is called "testimonials." The TCPL release will not be a complete article, but it will be enough to capture the attention and imagination of a writer or editor. If all goes well, in mid-January, I will receive a call and our library will be assisting our local media. we will have names of customers willing to be interviewed about Mango. It may then run as a human interest story about local citizens (of all ages?) who are enterprising enough to learn languages on their own time and with the assistance of TCPL/Mango offerings. For me, this approach exemplifies in multiple ways why Tippecanoe County is a proud and fortunate community. We are aware of and responsive to a variety of local needs. We try to be proactive and creative in our responses to these needs. We are grateful our library budget and private donors provide enough for us to be able to offer the community a variety of resources, and acknowledge local generosity as often as possible Turning a routine release into a human interest story takes time and experience. Helping public libraries through this transition can sometimes seem overwhelming. But it sounds like the group in the Palmetto State is asking the right questions. Sorry if this response sounds a bit like a Beatles anthem or Pollyanna story, it's because I really enjoy the work!

Posted : Jan 05, 2013 12:41