Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Books are our brand.
OCLC has done several reports on how people perceive libraries. The overwhelming fact is that most people do identify libraries (and librarians) with books. I've heard a lot of talk about how libraries are so much MORE than books and we have to CHANGE peoples' perceptions of us as "only" book depositories. Have you ever tried to change someone's opinion about something? It's danged hard. (I can't even change my opinion about lima beans even though it's been 26 years since I've eaten them.)
Instead of wringing our hands and thinking how awful it is that people associate libraries with books, why don't we use this to our advantage? At least we have a brand, and it's not something that people automatically hate. As a public librarian, I love nothing more than recommending a good book to someone. I'll talk to people about books in the grocery store. I'll stare offensively until I can see the spine of the book someone across the train from me is reading. I love books.
And I also have enough marketing savvy to adjust my spiel depending on what the people I'm talking to seem to want. Meredith and I talked to a bunch of second graders yesterday. We asked them what they would find in the library to check out. Books and videos were top contenders, but so were comic books. So you know what? We're going to make sure we beef up our collection of comic books (aka graphic novels), and then we're going to spread the word in our community that not only do we have books, but we have comics too.
And I can't help wondering -- did the "good old days," when books were books and you didn't have to convince people that libraries were necessary, ever really exist? Fact is, we can't go backwards so we can only stay where we are and stagnate, or we can move forward.
So what? We have to work hard to market our libraries and our services. Yes, we have to pay attention to what's going on around us, and yes, we have to try and balance the needs of the people who still prefer utter quiet in a library with those of people who prefer to use it more as a community gathering place.
No, it's not easy being a librarian. But I love my job and I love libraries and I will not stop talking about how wonderful we are and what great things we can do for people until everyone in the entire world is convinced. (Or until I'm dead, whichever comes first.) ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 8:53 PM
Instead of wringing our hands and thinking how awful it is that people associate libraries with books, why don't we use this to our advantage? At least we have a brand, and it's not something that people automatically hate. As a public librarian, I love nothing more than recommending a good book to someone. I'll talk to people about books in the grocery store. I'll stare offensively until I can see the spine of the book someone across the train from me is reading. I love books.
And I also have enough marketing savvy to adjust my spiel depending on what the people I'm talking to seem to want. Meredith and I talked to a bunch of second graders yesterday. We asked them what they would find in the library to check out. Books and videos were top contenders, but so were comic books. So you know what? We're going to make sure we beef up our collection of comic books (aka graphic novels), and then we're going to spread the word in our community that not only do we have books, but we have comics too.
And I can't help wondering -- did the "good old days," when books were books and you didn't have to convince people that libraries were necessary, ever really exist? Fact is, we can't go backwards so we can only stay where we are and stagnate, or we can move forward.
So what? We have to work hard to market our libraries and our services. Yes, we have to pay attention to what's going on around us, and yes, we have to try and balance the needs of the people who still prefer utter quiet in a library with those of people who prefer to use it more as a community gathering place.
No, it's not easy being a librarian. But I love my job and I love libraries and I will not stop talking about how wonderful we are and what great things we can do for people until everyone in the entire world is convinced. (Or until I'm dead, whichever comes first.) ¶ posted by Mary Martin @ 8:53 PM
