Promoting the Library, SPEC Kit 306, Published by ARL

Washington DC. September 15, 2008. --The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Promoting the Library, SPEC Kit 306, which provides an overview of the promotional efforts that ARL member libraries are undertaking.

Research libraries expend considerable effort to communicate why they are vital to students, faculty, and researchers. They continually promote their potential to enhance teaching and learning, to facilitate research with appropriate resources and expertise, and to gain credibility in a world that competes for the information consumer's attention. But exactly what promotional activities and objectives are today's research libraries pursuing? Who organizes them, how are they evaluated, and what challenges do they face? This SPEC survey sought to answer these questions.

The survey was distributed to the 123 ARL member libraries in February 2008; 87 libraries completed the survey for a response rate of 71%. All of the responding libraries indicated that they currently engage in some form of promotional activities. Sixty-four percent of the responding libraries indicated that they have at least one library staff member with "promotion" as part of his/her position description. These positions typically report to library administration and are charged with strategic planning, media relations, and guiding the communications vision. However, they are usually not involved in the day-to-day promotional activities of their libraries.

The survey responses indicated that day-to-day promotional activities are handled by a wide array of committees, task forces, and ad hoc groups. These teams tend to be interdepartmental and focus on hosting events, developing print and Web materials, fundraising, and other outreach-related duties. Similarly, respondents indicated that individual departments and branch libraries typically produce their own material to increase awareness and explain particular services.

The survey results also show which skills these staff need, how they decide which promotional activities to pursue, what their objectives are, how the activities are funded, and more. Descriptions of a wide variety of promotional activities are included, as well.

This SPEC Kit includes documentation from respondents in the form of marketing plans, job descriptions, and promotional materials.

The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec306web.pdf.

Ordering Information

SPEC Kit 306, Promoting the Library
Brian Mathews and Jon Bodnar
September 2008 * ISBN 1-59407-805-X * 196 pp. * $45 ($35 ARL members)

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SPEC Kits Exchange Information

Designed to examine current research library practices and policies and serve as resource guides for libraries as they face ever-changing management problems, each SPEC Kit contains a summary analysis, survey questions with tallies, pertinent documentation from participating libraries, and a reading list and Web site references for further information on the topic.

Subscribe to SPEC

2008 SPEC Kit subscription (ISSN 0160-3582): $220 ARL member/$290 nonmember, six issues per year, shipping included (additional postage may apply outside North America).

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The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.

Recuerden visitar:

http://egcti.upr.edu ; http://egctianauprblog.blogspot.com

Saludos cordiales,

Luisa Vigo-Cepeda, investcreatinnova@gmail.com