Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository

Librarian Scholarship at Penn Law

2013

Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper

ALL-SIS Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach

Amanda Runyon University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, [email protected]

Carol A. Watson University of Georgia School of Law, [email protected]

L. Cindy Dabney Maurer School of Law - Indiana University, [email protected]

Liz McCurry Johnson Wake Forest University, [email protected]

See next page for additional authors

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/librarian_scholarship

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Repository Citation Repository Citation ALL-SIS Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach; Runyon, Amanda; Watson, Carol A.; Dabney, L. Cindy; Johnson, Liz McCurry; Lawson, Emily; Megerman, Shira; Sommer, Jamie; Striepe, T. J.; and Thomas, Michele, "Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper" (2013). Librarian Scholarship at Penn Law. 3. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/librarian_scholarship/3

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Authors Authors ALL-SIS Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach, Amanda Runyon, Carol A. Watson, L. Cindy Dabney, Liz McCurry Johnson, Emily Lawson, Shira Megerman, Jamie Sommer, T. J. Striepe, and Michele Thomas

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525

LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL Vol. 105:4 [2013-28]

Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper

ALL-SIS Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach*

In recent years, libraries have turned to marketing and outreach to better educate library users about services and resources while gaining an understanding of their needs. Marketing and outreach are relatively new concepts in academic law librar-ies, and librarians tasked with these functions have found resources and examples of this type of work to be lacking. Though focused on academic law libraries, the article identifies the challenges facing all law libraries, explains why libraries need market-ing and outreach plans, and provides examples of marketing and outreach successes.

Introduction

¶1Lawlibrariesarechargedwithprovidingservicesandaccesstoinformationtoawidevarietyofusers, includingstudents, faculty, lawschoolstaff,attorneys,andthegeneralpublic.Librariesconstantlyevolveinresponsetochangesinteach-ingandlearningstyles,theformatofinformationresources,methodsofscholarlypublishing,andthepracticeoflaw.Thesechangesmustbeinformedbytheneedsofourusers;inturn,weneedtoinformusersoftheresultingimprovements.Ourservicesandresourcesareonlyvaluabletoourusersiftheyareawareofthemandable to use them successfully. While this white paper was originally written foracademiclawlibraries,withservicestolawstudentsinmind,mostofitsideasandsuggestionscanbeapplied toany typeof law library. It identifies thechallengesfacinglawlibraries,explainswhylibrariesneedmarketingandoutreachplans,andhighlightsexamplesofmarketingandoutreachsuccesses.

Why Libraries Need Marketing and Outreach

Librarymarketingisoutreach.Itismakingpeopleawareofwhatwecandoforthem,ina languagetheycanunderstand. . . .Weneedtotellpeoplewe’rehere,

* Themembershipof theALL-SISTaskForceonLibraryMarketingandOutreach includedAmandaRunyon,ReferenceLibrarian,UniversityofMichiganLawLibrary(Chair);CarolA.Watson,Director of the Law Library, Alexander Campbell King Law Library, University of Georgia (ViceChair);L.CindyDabney,AssistantLibrarianforOutreachServices,IndianaUniversityLawLibrary;Liz McCurry Johnson, Reference Librarian, Professional Center Library, Wake Forest University;EmilyLawson,LawReference/ResearchLibrarian,O’QuinnLawLibrary,UniversityofHouston;ShiraMegerman,StudentServicesReferenceLibrarian,LawtonChilesLegalInformationCenter,Universityof Florida; Jamie Sommer, Research and Instructional Services Librarian, Pritzker Legal ResearchCenter,NorthwesternUniversity;T.J.Striepe,FacultyServicesLibrarian,AlexanderCampbellKingLawLibrary,UniversityofGeorgia;andMicheleThomas,Catalog/ReferenceLibrarian,WilliamH.BowenSchoolofLawLibrary,UniversityofArkansas–LittleRock.

526 LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL Vol. 105:4 [2013-28]

explain to them how we can help, and persuade them to come in through thedoors,physicalorvirtual.1

¶2Conversationsaboutwhether librarieswill thriveorevenexist inanothertwentyyearsareubiquitous.ThankstotheInternet,usersnolongerseelibrariesasthepredominantsourceofinformation.ItisassumedthateverythingisavailableonlineorthatGooglesearchingleadstomoreefficientandeffectiveresearchthanusingalibrary.Asaresult,“[p]ublicperceptionisatleasttenyearsbehindthereal-ityofwhatwedoandhowwedoit.”2Changingthisperceptionwillonlyhappenthroughthehardworkoflibrariansindesigningandimplementinghigh-qualitymarketingandoutreachprograms.

¶3Students’easewithlocatinginformationintheireverydaylifeusingGoogleorWikipediadoesnotalwaystranslatetosuccessinscholarlyresearch,astheydonot have the same familiarity with navigating scholarly information resources.Many, though, overestimate their research abilities. For example, Ian Gallacher’s2006surveyofincominglawstudentsfoundthat37.1%were“veryconfident,”and44%were“somewhatconfident”intheirresearchability.3Yetreportsfromsuper-visory practicing attorneys and law firm librarians indicate that new attorneys’researchskillsneedimprovement.4PatrickMeyerconcludedthatinorderfortheresearchtrainingoflawstudentstoremaininsyncwiththeresearchneedsoflawfirms,lawschoolinstructionshouldincludeprintresearchcomponentsandensurethat students have“a thorough understanding of the database hierarchy, searchqueryformulation,searchstrategy,andoverallonlinenavigation.”5Academiclawlibrarians’opportunitiestoincreasestudents’informationliteracycanbelimited,however,becauseofstudents’reluctancetoseekouttheassistanceoflibrarians.

¶4Recentstudiesofcollegestudentshaveshownthatundergraduatestudentsarenotlikelytoseekhelpfromthelibrarywithresearchtasks.Thesestudiesarerelevanttoourunderstandingoflawstudentsaswell,sincemostlawstudentsareofthesamegenerationasthecollegestudentsevaluatedinthesestudiesand,unlesstheyhaveothergraduateschoolexperience,arenotlikelytohavegainedthefamil-iaritywithacademiclibrariesthatwouldotherwiseshapetheiropinionofscholarlyresearch.

¶5ThenationwideProject InformationLiteracy (PIL) study surveyedcollegestudentsabouttheir information-seekingbehaviors.Eightoutoftenrespondentsreported rarely, if ever, seeking assistance from a librarian with course-relatedresearch assignments. Even when librarians provided initial training sessions onlibraryresourcesandusingscholarlydatabasesduring freshmanorientation, stu-dentsdidnotreturntolibrarianstoseekresearchhelp.6Studentsturntoinstructors

1. neD potter, the library MarketinG toolkit,atxiv–xv(2012). 2. Id.atxv. 3. IanGallacher,Who Are Those Guys? The Results of a Survey Studying the Information Literacy of Incoming Law Students,44cal. w. l. rev.151,178(2007). 4. SeePatrickMeyer,Law Firm Legal Research Requirements of New Attorneys,101law libr. J.297,305–06,2009law libr. J.17,¶¶25–27(summarizingsurveyresults). 5. Id.at321,¶72. 6. alison heaD & Michael b. eisenberG, lessons learneD: how colleGe stuDents seek inforMation in the DiGital aGe 3 (2009), available at http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2009_Year1Report_12_2009.pdf.

527MARKETING AND OUTREACH IN LAW LIBRARIES: A WHITE PAPERVol. 105:4 [2013-28]

rather than librarians forassistancebecause instructorsare seenasexperts in thefield and they grade the assignments. Instructors were also valued for providingcomprehensiveassistancethroughouttheentireprocess—fromdevelopingatopictowritingdraftstoeditingfinalpapers.7

¶6ApositivefindingfromthePILprojectisthatwhilestudentsmaynotcon-sult librarians,theydouselibraryresources.Ofthestudentssurveyed,84%usedscholarlyresearchdatabases,and78%usedtheirlibrary’sonlinecatalog.However,eventhoughstudentsreportusinglibraryresources,theyalsoexpressfrustrationswith their use, beginning with difficulty knowing which database or resource toselect.8 Other reported difficulties include a general sense of“information over-load,”andaninabilitytolocateneededinformationinanonlinesearch.9

¶7TheEthnographicResearchinIllinoisAcademicLibraries(ERIAL)projectinvestigated the research habits of university students with the goal of adjustinglibraryservicestobettermeetstudents’needs.Thestudyfoundthatstudentsdidnot consult librarians for assistance with research projects for many reasons,includingnotwantingtobotherlibrarystaffandbeingfearfulofappearingigno-rant or foolish for not knowing how to do research. The study also found thatstudentsdidnotunderstandwhatkindofhelplibrarianscanoffer,andthatstu-dentsassumedthatlibrarianscouldonlyhelpwithfindingknownitemsorprovid-ingdirectionalassistance.10

¶8Oneexplanationforthisreluctancetoseektheassistanceoflibrariansistheself-reliantnatureoftheMillennialgeneration.Thisgenerationofstudentsismorelikely to attempt to help themselves or to seek answers from the Internet beforeconsultinganexpert.11Ifastudent’sself-teachingbehaviorprovesinadequate,hernextstepislikelytobetoseekhelpfromapeer.Studentsturntotheirpeersfirstbecause they have established relationships and are working on similar assign-ments, allowing them to compare progress on and understanding of coursematerials.12

¶9Theneedforadditionalresearchtrainingpresentsanopportunityforlibrari-ans. The current national spotlight on legal education is forcing law schools toaddress the high cost of attendance and the lack of jobs for new graduates. Lawschoolsareunderpressuretoprovidepracticaltrainingandtolowercosts,andthesetwogoalsareoftenatodds.Librariescanbepartofthesolutiontothisdilemmabyofferingtheirexpertiseandservices,whichinturnreinforcethelibrary’svaluetothelawschoolcommunity.Legalresearchcourses,taughtbylibrarians,maybeoneofthemost cost-effective ways for a law school to increase students’ practical skills. Anaddedbenefitofbuildinglibrarian-taughtlegalresearchcoursesintothecurriculum

7. See id.at29–30. 8. Id.at22. 9. Id.at9. 10. See colleGe libraries anD stuDent culture: what we now know 53 (Lynda Duke &AndrewAshereds.,2012)[hereinaftercolleGe libraries]. 11. See id.at63;DebbiA.Smith,Strategic Marketing of Library Resources and Services,18c. & unDerGraDuate libr.333,341tbl.1(2011). 12. SeecolleGe libraries,supranote10,at58–60.


is that students will see librarians as an integral part of their legal education andrecognizethemasaresourcethatcanbeconsultedinthefuture.

Changing the Conversation about Library Marketing and Outreach

Outreachhastobemorethansimplyshowingandtelling.Wehavetocastasidethelibrarian-knows-bestmentality...andinsteadtreatourusersaspartnersintheeducationalprocess.Ourgoalshouldbefocusedontheobjectiveofstudentsuccess.13

¶10Whentryingtochangehowtheyareperceived,itiscriticalforlibrariestofocusonbecoming“user-sensitiveorganizations.”14Reachingusers inawaythatdemonstratesthatlibraryservicesarevaluabletothemrequireslibrariestomakeuserstheir“partners intheeducationalprocess” insteadofmerely“spectators.”15Userscannottrulybepartnersunlesslibrariesunderstandwhotheyareandwhattheyneed.Animportantfirststepistobegintodistinguishbetweenthedifferentkindsoflibraryusers.Itisimportanttomakethesedistinctions—amongstudents,professors,alumni,andso forth—becausewecannotmarket toallofourusers,evenallofourstudentusers,inthesameways.16

¶11Librariansfrequentlyrelyonanecdotalevidence,surveys,suggestionboxes,feedback forms, and focusgroupswhen trying todetermineusers’needs.Whilevaluable,thesemethodsdonotcreaterelationshipswithusersormakethelibrarypersonal.Insteadofmakingassumptionsaboutwhatusersneed,librariansmustengageinrealconversationswithusersandcollaboratewiththemtosolveprob-lems. By fully engaging in this process, librarians are more likely to get a bettersense of the nuances of a user’s situation and to identify gaps in users’knowledge.17

¶12Anotherimportantstepinbecomingauser-sensitivelibraryistofocuslessonlibraryprocessesandmoreoncreatingalibrarythathelpsuserssucceed.18Itisimportanttorememberthatusersareexperiencingaconstantbarrageofinforma-tion and are “less inclined to investigate something on the off-chance that it’suseful.”19 As information experts, librarians can contribute to users’ success byshowingthemthatwecanhelpthemdotheirworkbetter—which“mightmeanquicker, more efficiently, more comprehensively, more cheaply,” or somethingelse.20Inshort,librariansmustshowuserswherevaluelies.

¶13 In this way, marketing and outreach are natural extensions of what wealreadydoaslibrarians;itisourjobtofigureoutwhat“better”meansforourusers,andtoexplaintothemexactlyhowthelibrarycanhelpthemachievebetterresults.Inordertoaccomplishthiswemustmarketservices,notcollections;benefits,not

13. brian Mathews, MarketinG toDay’s acaDeMic library8(2009). 14. Id.at2. 15. Id.at8. 16. Id.at12–13. 17. See id.at2. 18. See id.at8. 19. potter,supranote1,at2. 20. Id.


features;andresults,notprocesses.Wemustalsomarketourselves as theexpertswhohelpusersfindtherightinformation.21

Marketing and Outreach Solutions

¶14Nowthatwehaveidentifiedwhylawlibrariesneedtomarkettotheirusersand thechallenges inherent in suchaprocess,wewilldescribebestpractices formarketingandoutreach.Thoughonthesurfacemarketingandoutreachmayseemtobethesamething,theyarequitedifferent.Theprimarydifferenceisinthepur-poseorintentbehindeachmethod.

¶15Thegoalofoutreachistoconnectwithusersinameaningfulmannerthatencouragesfutureinteractionswiththelibrary.Outreachisgenerallydonewithaspecificcauseinmind,suchasmeetinginstructionalgoalswithinthelegalacad-emy.Outreacheffortstypicallyelicitpersonalresponsesfrompeople.Anexampleofanoutreacheffortwouldbetocreatepersonalorembeddedlibrarianprogramstomeetindividualstudents’needs.

¶16 Marketing is promoting library resources and services more generally.Marketingcanbemoredifficult,becauseitiscriticaltocreatetherightmessageforeachusergroup.Itishighlyunlikelythatasinglemessagewillbeeffectiveforalltypesofusers.Ifagroupofpeopleisalreadyinterestedinyourlibraryanditsser-vices, it is more effective to focus your marketing efforts toward that group onspecificservicesorbenefitsthatwillkeepthemcomingback.Buthowdoyougetyourmarketingmessageacrosstothosewhoarenotyetinterestedinyourlibrary?Marketingstrategiesandmessagesmustbeuniqueandpresentsomethingtothatuninterestedgroupthat theywouldbenefit fromindividuallyorbemotivatedtosharewithothers.

¶17Whilestrategiesusedinoutreachandmarketingoftenoverlap,thegoalorpurposebehindthemethodsareoftencompletelydifferent.Todeterminethebestmethodstomeetyourspecificgoals,yourlibraryshoulddevelopamarketingandoutreachplan.Thisplanisablueprintofalibrary’smarketingobjectivesandstrate-gies for itsbrand,services,andresources.Theplanhelps to identify the targetedaudience(s),assessandidentifyeffectivestrategiestobeimplementedbyalllibrarystaff,developmetricsforevaluatingthesuccessofmarketingcampaigns,andsavetime and money for targeted projects. Having a strong marketing and outreachplancanmake thedifferencebetween success and failure inmarketingandout-reachinitiatives.

Define Your Marketing and Outreach Objectives

¶18Yourlibrarymissionstatementshouldbethefoundationofyourmarketingandoutreachobjectivesbecauseitdescribeswhoyouare,whyyourlibraryexists,yourlibrary’sprimaryfunctionsandactivities,whoyourstakeholdersare,andwhatyourlibrarydoestoaddresstheneedsofitsusers.Reviewingandrefiningyourmis-sionstatementwillhelpyoudeterminewhatyouwantyourlibrarytobeknownfor.

21. Id.at2–3.


Yourmarketingandoutreachobjectivesoperationalizeyourmission.Samplemar-keting and outreach objectives might include increasing the number of patronvisitstothelibrary,thereferencedesk,orthecirculationdesk;encouragingrepeatvisitorstothelibrary;promotingresourcesorservices;anddevelopingorimprov-ingyourwebsite.Whenidentifyingobjectives,makesuretheyare“SMART.”22

• Specific:Yourobjectivesneedtobespecific.EachobjectiveshouldaddressthefiveWs(What,Why,Who,Where,andWhich):Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishwiththeproject?Whyareyousettingthisobjectiveandwhydoesitbenefitthelibrary?Whoisgoingtobeinvolved?Whereisitgoingtotakeplace?Whichconstraintsmightyoufaceintryingtoachievethisobjective?

• Measurable: Your objective needs to be measurable. That is, it shouldspecifyhowmuch,howmany,howoften, and so forth, so that youwillknowwhethertheobjectivehasbeenaccomplished.Intheeraof libraryjustification,itisextremelyimportanttobeabletoshowgrowthinconcreteterms.

• Attainable:Howwillyouaccomplishtheobjective,andwillyoubeabletoaccomplishit?Yourobjectivesmustberealisticandattainable.Youwanttosetyourlibraryupforsuccess.Youdonotwantyourobjectivestobeimpossibleorextreme.Toreachyourobjectives,youmayneedtodevelopnewattitudes,abilities,andskills.Determinewhethertheneededskillsareavailablein-house,canbeacquiredthroughprofessionaldevelopment,orrequireoutsidehelp.

• Relevant:Objectivesmustberelevant—theymustmatter.Objectivesthatare relevant to your boss, your library as a whole, and your law schooltakepriority.Askthesequestionsinevaluatingtherelevanceofyourgoals:Doesthisobjectiveseemworthwhilegiventhefullscopeoftheproject?Isthistherighttime?Doesitmatchourstrategicplanorgoalsofthelargerorganization?

• Time-bound:Finally,youneedtomakesurethatyourobjectivesarecon-tainedwithinaspecifictimeperiod.Astrongcommitmenttoadeadlinewillhelpateammaintainfocusandultimatelyfacilitatecompletion.Yourobjectivesshouldanswerthefollowingquestions:Whatcanwedotoday?Whatcanwedosixmonthsfromnow?

BelowwehavedetailedhowtoachieveSMARTgoalsasyouthinkaboutcreatingamarketingandoutreachplaninyourlibrary.

Gather Research and Background Information

¶19AsyouarecreatingSMARTgoals,startbylistingandevaluatingyourcur-rentmarketingstrategies.Areyournewgoalsattainableusingyourcurrentstrate-gies?Whataretheprosandconsofthestrategiesyourlibraryhasinplace?Decide

22. For more information on SMART goals, see Locke’s Goal Setting Theory: Understanding SMART Goal Setting, MinDtools, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm (lastvisitedAug.5,2013);WritingSMARTGoals,Univ.ofVa.HumanResources,http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/Writing_SMART_Goals.pdf(lastvisitedAug.5,2013).


whetheryourcurrentmarketingtacticsarefurtheringyourobjectives,anddonotbe afraid to discontinue practices that have been successful in the past but haveoutlivedtheirusefulness.Identifyyourtargetaudienceanddescribeitsdemograph-ics. Make use of surveys, focus groups, and even circulation records to gatherdescriptors.Engageinrealconversationswithyourusers.Also,determinewhetheryoucantweakyourcurrentgoalstomakethembetterandSMARTerratherthanstartingfromscratch.

Brainstorm New Marketing Tactics

¶20Setasideyourlistofcurrentstrategiesandhaveabrainstormingsessiontocomeupwithnewmarketingtactics.Herearesomeideastogetyoustarted:

• Collectandusepersonalanecdotesfromyourpatrons.●● Offervirtuallibrarytourstoreachnewtargetaudiences,suchasuserswho

arenotlocalordonotusethephysicallibrary.●● Linkinstructionalprogramstolawschoolevents.●● Providewelcomekits for incomingstudentsso they immediatelyexperi-

encethefriendlynatureofthelibrary.●● Create aYouTube video or channel that is used solely to educate people

aboutandpromotelibraryservices.

Establish a Time Line and Budget; Assign Responsibility

¶21AsyouaresettingSMARTgoals,makesuretosetacompletiondateandassignastaffmembertoberesponsibleforeachmarketingstrategythatyouadopt.Create an itemized budget for marketing items such as giveaways, printing, anddesign.

Create a Marketing Checklist

¶22Itishelpfultocreateachecklistoftasksthatshouldbecompletedforeverynew marketing initiative. Following a checklist ensures that new programs orresourcesarepromotedinaconsistentmanner,viaeveryavailableavenue.Sampletasksmightincludedesignatingapersontoe-mailabroadtargetaudienceaboutspecialevents;clearly identifyingwhowillpostevents toall socialmediaforumsandwhen theywilldo so; establishinga task force forcreatingandpostingnewlibrarysignage;orcommittingtoaddingalllibraryeventstoanopenlyaccessiblelibraryorlawschoolcalendar.

Develop Measures for Success

¶23Asyouarecreatingnewobjectives,makesurethatyouestablishmetricstoevaluatewhetheryourtacticsareworking.Herearesomesampleobjectiveswithmeasurementsbuilt in: Improveawarenessof the library’swebsiteby increasingtraffic by five percent in six months. Gather and analyze survey feedback oninstructionalsessionsfromthestudentsorfacultywhoattended(eithervirtuallyoronpaper).Comparedatabaseusagestatisticsatsix-monthintervalsasyouusewebandin-personstrategiestopromoteyourdatabases.

¶24 After reviewing your library mission statement and creating marketingand outreach objectives that are Specific (S), Measurable (M), Attainable (A),


Relevant(R),andTime-bound(T),youareready todevelopspecific strategies toachievetheseobjectives.Todothat,considertheexamplemarketingandoutreachstrategiesthatwehavecompiledbelow.

Ideas for Successful Outreach

¶25Overthecourseofthedevelopmentofourprofession,librarianshavedis-covered many ways to reach out to the community. Some use new technologiessuch as social media. Another possibility is integrating librarians into the legalacademywithinclassroomsandwithinthelawschoolculture.Overtime,thepro-fessionhasevolvedtoestablishlibrariansasnetworkersandcollaboratorsofinfor-mation,andthestrategiesthathavebeenfoundtobemostsuccessfulcapitalizeonthose expert skills. Examples of outreach ideas can be found in the ALL-SISMarketingandOutreachToolkit(allsistoolkit.wordpress.com).

Social Media

¶26Becausealmosteveryoneusesatleastoneformofsocialmedia,itisalogi-calwaytopromotelibraryservicestopatrons.However,librariesshouldnotjustpost announcements to Facebook and Twitter regarding programs or newresources.Socialmediasitesaremeanttobeforumsforcommunication,sotheyareusedmosteffectivelywhenmorethanonepersonistakingpartintheconversa-tion.Librariesshouldstrivetousesocialmediaasatooltoengagetheirpatrons.Forexample,inadditiontoposingtriviaquestionsforprizesorsolicitingsugges-tions from students, libraries should also listen to what is being said about thelibraryandthe lawschool.FreeprogramssuchasHootSuite(hootsuite.com)orBuffer (bufferapp.com) allow you to create alerts for when a name or phrase ismentionedinapost.AnaddedbenefitofaservicelikeHootSuiteorBufferisthatyoucanscheduleposts inadvanceandpost tomultiplesocialmediasitesat thesametime.A librarypresenceonLinkedInmayalsobeagoodidea,since it isamoreprofessionalsite.Manycareerservicesdepartmentsuseitasameansofcon-necting alumni with potential employers and building the department’s profes-sional relationships. Social media accounts are easy to set up, and staff can beresponsibleforaddingnewcontentperiodically.

¶27A librarymightalsoconsiderengaging inmoredirected formsof socialmedia.LibraryeducationalandpromotionalvideoscanbeuploadedtoalibraryYouTubechannel.LibraryphotoscanbehostedonFlickr.Allofthesecanthenbelinkedtothelibrary’sFacebookpage,sothatyouonlyhavetopostinonelocation,andyourcontentisautomaticallypublishedtoallyouraccounts.Promoteagive-awayfromyoursocialmediasitestogaugeuse.Forexample,postamessageaboutafreeprizeatthereferencedesk.Ifnooneclaimsit,thennoonesawit,andyouneedtoreevaluateyourmarketingtechniques.

Hosting Celebrations, Open Houses, or Receptions

¶28Librariesoftenhavelargephysicalspaces.Ifthatisthecaseinyourlibrary,considerhostinganeventinyourspacethathighlightsthecollection.Oroffertoletotherdepartmentsusethespace: thiswillnotcost the libraryanythingotherthanthetime it takes tohelpsetuporcleanup.Inadditiontobeingaplaceof


learningandprovidingeducationalservices,alibrarycanalsoserveasasocialhubforaschool.Librariesseektocreatespacesthatareconducivetolearningandthatfostercreativityandcollaboration.Organizingsocialactivitiessuchasorientationfestivals,coffeehappyhours,icecreamsocials,snacksduringfinals,moviescreen-ings,yogaclasses,andevenstress-relief“puppyhours”areallwaysthatlibrariescanhelppromoteamorehumaneandhealthylawschoolexperience.

Embedded Librarians

¶29Embeddedlibrariansareanewhottopicofdiscussionwithintheprofes-sion.Thinkaboutyouroutreachgoals;perhapstheyshouldincludestartinganewprograminwhichyourlibrariansareavitalpartoftheclinicalexperienceatyourlawschool.Embeddinga librarian intoaclassroomorclinicalexperienceentailsmaking in-class presentations on research issues, incorporating research assign-mentsthatcorrespondwithcurricularandclinicalstructures,andprovidingone-on-one research consultations for students.23 Within this model, librarians cansupplementtheinstructionalexperienceinmultiplemediumsandformats,suchasgrouppresentations,groupwork,andindividualizedattention.

Personal Librarians

¶30Providingindividualizedservicetostudentsandfacultyisaspecializedandtargetedwaytoincreasethevisibilityofyourlibrary.Theideaofpersonallibrariansmovesawayfromtraditionalreferencedeskinteractionandinvitesthepatronsintoone-on-one conversations with information experts. Under such a program, allincomingstudentsareassignedalibrarianwithwhomtheywillhopefullydevelopaprofessionalrelationship.Librariansmaketheinitialcontactwiththestudentsastheybegintheirlawschoolcareers,aswellasatstrategicpointsintheiracademicexperience. Implementing a personal librarian program can have huge positiveeffectsonthereputationofyourlibrarywithinthelawschoolcommunity.24

Classroom Sessions and Targeted Training Sessions

¶31Givingaguest lecture ina substantive lawcourse isaveryusefulway toinformstudentsoftheresearchresourcesthatareavailabletothem.Studentswillbemorereceptivetolearningaboutresourcesiftheresearchinstructionisrelevantto what they are studying in class. It is even more beneficial if you can tie yourinstructiontoaspecificcourseassignment.Donotassumethatifprofessorswantyoutospeaktotheirclasses,theywillask.Effectiveoutreachinvolvesbeingproac-tiveandinformingfacultyaboutwhatyoucanoffer.

¶32Youmaywant to startby targetingprofessors teaching seminarorpapercourses,becausethekindofscholarlyresearchandwritingrequiredinthoseclassesis not typically covered in a traditional first-year research and writing program.

23. SeeBrittanyKolonay&GailMathapo,Experimenting with Embedding: A Law School Library Embeds Librarians in Clinics and Seminars,aall spectruM,June2012,at18(describingexperienceswithembeddinglibrariansincoursesattheUniversityoftheDistrictofColumbia).See alsoKarenWestwood,Deals and Dispute Resolution: Teaching Research Skills in a Short-Term Simulation Class,aall spectruM,July2012,at12. 24. For more on personal librarians, see John B. Nann, Personal Librarians—The Answer to Increasing Patron Contact May Be Simpler than We Think,aall spectruM,June2010,at20.


Offeringtheseinstructionalsessionsisakeyopportunitytoteachstudentstricksandtechniquesfordoingtheirownresearch,anditalsoallowsstudentsandfacultyto get to know the librarians. People will be more likely to seek help from thelibraryinthefutureiftheyhavealreadydevelopedarelationshipwiththelibrarystaff.

¶33Inadditiontoreachingouttofacultytoofferresearchinstructionlecturesinafor-creditclass,librarianscanreachouttospecificpopulationsofstudentstoprovideresearchtraining.Groupsofstudentsforwhomspecializedtrainingses-sions may be appropriate include faculty research assistants, candidates for lawreviews and journals, students working in a clinic, and persons competing in amootcourtortrialadvocacycompetition.

¶34 Some academic libraries currently offer research certificate programs tosupplementtheinstructionprovidedinlegalresearchcoursesoringuestlecturesinsubstantivelawcourses.Thesecertificateprogramscanbeshortclassesorexer-cises for which participants are awarded a certificate of completion. The libraryshouldalsoconsiderpartneringwithotherdepartmentsinthelawschooltopro-videinformalinstructionsessions.Forexample,thelibrarycanworkwithcareerservices to show students what resources are available to help them in their jobsearchand interviewpreparation.Or the librarycanworkwith theInformationTechnologydepartmenttodemonstratenewtechnologiesorsoftwarethatstudentscanuseintheirclassesorinlawpractice.

Ideas for Successful Marketing

¶35 Marketing in libraries has changed drastically as new technologies haveflooded the information-management community. Good marketing strategiesincludebothweb-basedandin-personapproaches.Usingacombinationofthesemethods may help you reach your marketing goals for the library. Examples ofmarketing ideas can be found in the ALL-SIS Marketing and Outreach Toolkit(allsistoolkit.wordpress.com).

Blogs

¶36Blogsareubiquitousthesedays.Agreatmanyof themlanguishwithoutreadership,butifblogeditorsspendthetimeandenergynecessarytomakeablogreallygood, itcanbeaneffectivemarketingtool.Beforestartingablog,thefirststepyoushouldtakeistodeterminewhatyouhopetoaccomplishwithit.Willitbeasourceforpostinglibrarynewsandinformation,orwillthecontentbemorein-depth?Oncethisdecisionismade,thenextstepistomakesurethatthelibrarystaffreallydoeshavetimeandenergytodevotetotheblog.Makeaplanwithstaffthatincludescommitmentsforupdatingtheblogandstandardsforentries.

¶37JordanSteeleandEdGreenleehavewrittenabouttheprocessofplanningtheBiddle Blog at theUniversityofPennsylvaniaBiddleLawLibrary.25Thestaffthere“decidedthatallofthepostsontheBiddleblogwouldprovidesubstantiveandthoughtful commentary and would not merely link to external information

25. Jordon Steele & Ed Greenlee, Thinking, Writing, Sharing, Blogging: Lessons Learned from Implementing a Law Library Blog,103law libr. J.113,2011law libr. J.6.


sources.”26Afterdecidingonafocus,theydevelopedalistoftopicsthelibrarystaffcould use when writing blog posts. The list included book reviews, reviews ofonlineresources,highlightsofspecialcollectionswithinthelibrary,abehind-the-sceneslookatthelibrary,specialexhibitsorevents,newsitemsrelatedtothelawschoolcommunity,andlegalresearchtips.27Tofacilitateregularposting,theeditorsoftheblogcreatedascheduleforthelibrarians,withthegoalofpostinganewentryeveryonetotwoweeksduringtheacademicyear.28

¶38Afterthosecommitmentshavebeenmadebylibrarystaff,thenextstepistochoosethebloggingplatformthatbestsuitsthelibrary.Itisentirelypossiblethatthelargerentityofwhichthelibraryisapart,particularlyinacademia,willalreadyhaveaplatformthatitfavors;itmayevenhostitsownplatform.Ifthatisthecase,staffcangettrainingandlearntheropesfromin-houseITstaff.Ifnot,therearemanychoicesofplatform.Afewofthemajorblog-hostingservicesareWordPress,Blogger,BlogSpot,andTypePad.Someplatformsoffermorecustomizationoptions,makingiteasiertomatchtheblogtothelibrarywebsite.Otherbloggingplatformswillbeeasiertogetstartedonwithouttoomuchfine-tuning,ifyouwanttohitthegroundrunning.

¶39 It is also important to consider which widgets to feature on the blog.Widgets are applications, or parts of a web site, that enable a user to perform aspecifictask,suchaslookingatthearchivesofablogorreviewingaTwitterfeedfromanewspaperwebsite.Youcanusewidgetstoinsertabannerwithlocalnewsortoscrolljobpostingsalongthebottomoftheblog.Differentbloggingplatformswillprovidedifferentwidgets,anditisagoodideatoreviewthewidgetsthateachplatformprovidesbeforedecidingwhere tohostyourblog.Takea lookatotherinstitutionalblogsaswellaspersonalfavoritestoseewhatkindsofwidgetsaremostusedandmostuseful.SomeexamplesoflawlibraryblogsareavailableintheALL-SISMarketingandOutreachToolkit.Amorecompletelistof lawlibraryblogsisavailableontheCS-SISwiki.29

Annual Reports

¶40Anannualreportisacomprehensivereportonalibrary’sactivitiesoftheprecedingyear.Annualreportsare intendedtoshare informationwithinterestedpartiesaboutthelibrary’saccomplishments.Libraryannualreportsaresimilartothose of public companies, which provide information to stakeholders. Manylibrariesalreadyhaveinternalannualreports,buttheymaynotcoverthelibrary’smarketingefforts.Addingstatisticsaboutlibrarymarketingevents,giveaways,andpatronresponsescanhelplibrarieskeepontopofmarketingbyfiguringoutwhicheventsorpromotionalproductsarepopularandwhicharelesssuccessful.

¶41Additionally, annual reports themselves can be an excellent way to com-municate with library users. Users might be interested in the library budget or

26. Id.at117,¶15. 27. Id.at117,¶19. 28. Id.at117–18,¶20. 29. Law Library Blogs, aall coMputinG services sis, http://aallcssis.pbworks.com/w/page/1189465/Law%20Library%20Blogs(lastupdatedJuly23,2013).


statistics,andanannualreportwouldbeagoodplacetohavearecapofimportantlibrary events. Including photos is a good idea, particularly of events in whichpatronstookpart,sopeoplecanlookforthemselves.Annualreportsarealsoanexcellentwaytorecognizestaffachievements,orevenjusttointroducestaffmem-berstolibraryusers.

Newsletters

¶42Newsletterscanhavesomeofthesameeffectsthatagoodannualreportdoes.Theykeeppatronsuptodateonlibraryeventsandprograms,areagoodwaytomakecontactdirectlywith librarypatrons,offer remindersabout library ser-vices,andletpeopleknowwheneventsofinterestarehappening.Therehasbeena trend away from library users actually wanting to speak with librarians andlibrary staff. Offering personalizing information such as short biographies andphotosinnewsletterscanmakelibrariansseemmoreapproachable.Therearealsolessseriousoptions,suchasincludingbiographiesandphotosofthepetsoflibrarystaff, favorite movies or books, or baby photos. Newsletters can also be a goodvenueforwritingaboutlibraryparticipationinstudent,attorney,orlocalgroupsandevents.

¶43Manynewslettershavebeenmovingonlinerecently,andthereisanargu-mentforreplacingthemwithalibraryblog.Butsomethingthatcomesdirectlytotheuseronarecurringbasis,eitherelectronicallyorinhardcopy,canbevaluablebecause it serves as a reminder to those who might not otherwise remember tocheckablog.

¶44Itisagoodideatohaveastandardtemplateforanewsletter.Thiscanbeaheadingandlayoutforaprintnewsletter,orastylesheetforane-mailnewsletter.Therearemany resources for librarianswhowish todesignapersonalized stylesheet, but chances are that some basic HTML coding skills will be required.Remember that a newsletter should be designed to display properly in differentformats,anditispossiblethatthelibrarywillneedasecondstylesheetfornewslet-terstobedisplayedonsmartphonesortablets.

Displays and Exhibits

¶45 Libraries are often commended for their displays. In addition to beingeducational,displaysareanexcellentway topromote libraryresourcesandpro-grams. Library users can be shown interesting and unusual library books, orremindedoflibraryservices.Displayscanbeusedtopromoteaspecialcollectionofthelibraryortoadvertiseanewdatabaseornewlyarrivedbooks.Displayscanalsobeanopportunitytoworkcollaborativelywithothergroups.Thelibrarycancreateadisplayofrecentfacultypublications,hostanexhibitofphotosofarecentstudentorganizationeventortrip,orputtogetherashowcaseofmaterialsrelevanttothesubjectmatterofafamousorimportantcase.Offeringtocreateadisplaypromotingaprogramsponsoredbyadepartmentorstudentorganizationcanbean initial outreach effort that may lead to more meaningful interactions in thefuture.

¶46ThinkaboutincorporatingQRcodesintoyourdisplaystodirectuserstoyourresearchguides.Sincetheyaremultidimensional,QRcodescancontainalot


ofinformation,includingaddresses,text,andtelephonenumbers.30Aspeopleusecellphonesmorefrequentlytoaccesswebsites,theyappreciatenothavingtotypeinawebsiteaddress.Additionally,withaQRcode,usersdonotneedtosearchfor(or write down or remember) the web site address for what they are viewing,becausescanningthecodetakesthemdirectlytothewebsite.31

¶47Whencreatingadisplay,donotjustthrowtogetherabunchofbooksonatheme.Creatingdisplaysandexhibitsisjustlikedesigningastorewindowor“mer-chandising.”Afteradisplayisfinished,observetheresponsetoitandmakenotes.Rememberthatlocationcanbecritical.Thinkaboutwhereyougetgoodfoottrafficandwhatthedisplaymaybenear.Repurposebookjacketsand,most important,applyprinciplesofdesignsuchasbalanceandsimplicity.Readabilityisimportant.Drawaplanorlayoutforyourdisplayinadvance.Grabattentionbyaddinglight-ing,objects,orcolorifpossible.

Flyers, Banners, Posters, Signs, Brochures, and Pamphlets

¶48Brochuresandpamphletsareanexcellentwaytointroducethelibraryandsomeofitsmostimportantservicestousers,andassuchcanbeasimplewaytogetstarted in your marketing.While they may seem to have been overshadowed bydigitalmarketingoptionsthesedays,itisimportantnottounderestimatetheuse-fulnessofagoodbrochure.Theyaddcolorandappealtoalibrarydesk,arerela-tively simple to make, and are easy to travel with and give out. Potential libraryusersmayforgetwhattheyreadaboutonlineorhaveheardofbywordofmouth,but they can be reminded by a physical item like a brochure. If you are lucky, amemberofyourlibrarystaffmightalreadyhavesomeexpertiseindesigningbro-chures,buttherearealsoplentyoffreeorlow-costalternativesavailableonlinefordesigning a personalized pamphlet, including several templates from Microsoft.Rememberthatbrochuresandpamphletsshouldnotbetootext-heavy.

Promotional Prizes and Giveaways

¶49Giveawaysarealwayspopular.Anyoneishappytohaveafreepen,andifthepenremindsthemofyourlibraryitisawin-winsituation.Whenselectingpromo-tionalgiveaways,choosefunctional itemsthatfillaneedorserveapurpose.It ishardtogowrongwiththestandardgiveawayoptions—pens,pencils,Post-itnotes,water bottles, and so forth. Other things to consider include highlighters, coffeemugs,earplugs,coasters,USBdrives,mousepads,andscreencleaners(alloftheseitems are often cheaper in bulk). Edible items are another favorite: chocolatesadornedwiththelibrarylogoareasure-firehit.Puttingahigh-qualityprintofthelibrarylogoontoastandardlabelmakesiteasytodecoratechocolatewrappers,andyour bonbons can look surprisingly professional. The best kind of giveaway issomethinguniquethatwillgetpatronstalking.

¶50Inadditiontosmallergiveawayitemsthatlibraryuserscansimplytake,itisalsoagoodideatohavelargeritemsthatcanbewonorearned(e.g.,giftcardsor

30. DarlaW.Jackson,Standard Bar Codes Beware—Smartphone Users May Prefer QR Codes,103law libr. J.153,154,2011law libr. J.9,¶5. 31. Id.at155,¶9.


studyguides).Forexample,studentscouldreceiveprizesforansweringreferencequestions,findingahiddenclueinthestacks,ortrackingdownaspecificresource.Such a competition could be advertised on the law library blog, Twitter feed,Facebookpage,orinthenewsletter.Thecostofgiveawaysmaybehardtojustifywithtight librarybudgets,soconsidersolicitingcouponsorvouchersfromlocalbusinessestouseasprizes.

Word of Mouth and Reputation

¶51Oneofthestrongestmarketingstrategiesavailableisyourlibrary’sreputa-tion as it is spread by word of mouth.32Word of mouth marketing, at its core,meansthatyourservicesaregivingpeopleareasontotalkaboutyouandrecom-mend your products and services. Word of mouth and reputation are built onstrongrelationshipswithyourusersandwithyourinternalteam.Developastrongteammessagethatyouwanttoguideyouraudienceinspreading.Youmayhaveamissionstatementthatyoucanprominentlydisplayinyourlibrary;alternatively,you could create a customer service statement to be posted throughout yourlibrary.Talkupyourlibrarytoyourconstituenciesandtellthemaboutyoursuc-cessstories.Tryaddinga“walloffame”inyourlibrarywhereuserscanposttheirownstoriesofsuccessfulencounterswithlibrarystaff.Thekeyistomakethecon-versationeasysothatthepositivesofyourlibraryflowfromonemouthtoanotherwithoutinterruption.

Conclusion

¶52TheALL-SISTaskForceonLibraryMarketingandOutreachandthiswhitepaperwerecreatedbecauseofacallfromacademiclawlibrariansforacomprehen-sive discussion of marketing and outreach. We hope that we have contributedmeaningfully to this discussion while providing all types of law librarians withideasandstrategiestouseinmarketingtheirlibraries.Ourprimarygoalsweretoidentifythechallengesthatacademiclawlibrariescurrentlyface,todivedeepintotheliteratureandanecdotalconversationstofindoutwhylibrariesneedtodevelopmarketingandoutreachplans, and to compile andoffer examplesofmarketingandoutreachsuccessestoallowotherlibrarianstolearnfromoneanother.Wehaveattemptedtoblendatheoreticalapproachtomarketingandoutreachwithpracti-calexamplesprovidedinthetoolkit.Thoughthiswhitepaperisinnowaycom-prehensive,webelievethatitprovidesasolidfoundationforadynamicconversationthatbeginsnowandadaptswithourprofession.Readersshouldbesuretolookatthetoolkitonourwebsite(allsistoolkit.wordpress.com)forspecificexamplestohelpthemintheirownlibraries.

32. SeeCindySpohr,Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About—Word of Mouth Is an Important Campaign to Add to Your Marketing Mix,aall spectruM,May2008,at10.

Documents

Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper