Advocacy (adapted from ALA) 2 Support for a cause or course of
action Informing and persuading Communication Two kinds: 1.
Reminding people on an ongoing basis of services, activities, and
value 2. Communicating a specific message or advocating for a
specific outcome
Slide 3
Challenges 3 Economy and soaring prices Increased access and
irrational expectations Decreasing usage and more competition
Libraries seen as institutions rather than tools
Slide 4
Facing Challenges 4 Marketing it is not selling; it is
satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and
the whole cluster of activities associated with creating,
delivering and consuming information and information services
Public relations promoting what we do Advocacy build campus
alliances and partnerships
Slide 5
Facing Challenges 5 Most librarians are not trained in
marketing, PR and advocacy And, information and information
services is a unique type of goods it is not inherently scarce it
may not exhibit decreasing value of returns to use, but often
increases in value the more it is used it is self-regenerative; the
identification of a new piece of knowledge immediately creates both
the demand and the supply although information has obvious
value-in-use, it is difficult to establish its market value because
it is not scarce
Slide 6
Marketing and PR Communication and Education 6
Slide 7
Marketing 7 Customer-driven orientation: asks who are the
users, what do they want, how can the library deliver it, and tell
them about it learn about customers needs, values, perceptions and
attitudes use questionnaires focus groups secondary research
(demographics) Customer focus is the relationship between the
customer and the library It requires a two-way dialogue with the
target audience
Slide 8
Marketing 8 Process internal assessment: availability and
strengths of library resources external assessment: political
climate; demographics; partnerships with others; funding creating
options: identifying new programs and services narrow the selection
of options: prioritize based upon importance, likelihood of
success, and sustainability implement the program: promote it
thoroughly gather feedback: observations; statistics; surveys;
focus groups; interviews revise implementation if necessary
Slide 9
Public Relations 9 Intent is to increase the awareness of
library services This is who we are, this is what we do tells the
librarys story; it is getting the message out Helps to develop the
librarys image Tends to be one-way communications from the library
to the target audience
Slide 10
Public Relations 10 Effective PR tools disseminating
information about the library through newsletters brochures e-mail
and e-mail newsletters (membership- or functional-based listservs
and mailing lists have been found to be very effective) the Web
annual reports bookmarks news releases
Slide 11
Public Relations 11 Effective PR tools (continued) library
orientations receptions to celebrate events special events, such as
guest speakers PR positively affects external fund-raising Every
library should develop a public relations plan Library directors
should get some basic training in public relations
Slide 12
Advocacy Building Networks and Support 12
Slide 13
Advocacy 13 What Understand patron needs and perceptions of the
library & inform patrons of the librarys value and needs
Promotes the symbiotic relationship between/among institution,
library, & community Saying to stakeholders (decision-makers,
funders, etc.) your agenda will be greatly assisted by what we have
to offer Attempts to influence the attitudes of a group or
individual, more than just lobbying for support; you also want to
advocate organizational principles and values Who Everyone within
the library, esp. those with direct patron contact Patrons
themselves Spreads responsibility- not just
directors/administrators involved
Slide 14
Advocacy 14 Why Combat decreased funding and competition from
the Internet From an October 2002 McGraw-Hill Ryerson survey
Web-based technology is considered by higher education faculty to
be the most effective institutional resource in encouraging student
success, outweighing the library and tutoring Continuing fallout
from the Deserted Library and decreased traffic/usage When
Continuous and ongoing
Slide 15
Planning for Advocacy Formal and Informal Approaches 15
Slide 16
Advocacy 16 Encouraging and supporting frontline advocacy Be
sure all staff members understand: What frontline advocacy is and
why its important that they find their comfort level and practice
it What some strategies for doing this might be. How and why they
are valuable to the library. How and why the library is valuable to
the college or university and to the community too. How many small
positive actions by frontline staff make a big impact on library
users and non-users alike.
Slide 17
Advocacy 17 Planning Undertake a SWOT analysis- identify:
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Based on SWOT, develop
goals, objectives, and strategies Identify your audience
Slide 18
Advocacy 18 Crafting a message Based on your goals and
objectives, outline a specific message you want to communicate The
message should be clear, specific, and brief Know what you want to
do, why you want to do it, and how you could accomplish it All
staff should know and understand the message
Slide 19
Advocacy 19 Communicating your message Identify effective
communication paths/tools Remember that different audiences might
respond better to different methods Consider Face-to-face Online
(email, blogs/news, SMS, etc.) Traditional print (signs, newspaper,
brochures, etc.)
Slide 20
Advocacy: Ingredients for Success 20 Understanding your
library: environment, mission, value, issues Work within your
comfort zone, but be willing to stretch Identify, recognize, and
seize opportunities Get involved Involve others Say thank you
Slide 21
Library Initiatives Facing the Challenges 21
Slide 22
Library Initiatives 22 Rethinking Roles: Think of the library
as an information center rather than a traditional library Attract
students back to the physical structure with comfy chairs,
Starbucks, book groups, author readings, galleries, piped-in music,
and information commons. the library as a hospitable environment
for reading and studying doing what the users want, not what the
librarians want people still need/want community -- the library can
provide that does any of this help students learn?
Slide 23
Library Initiatives 23 Collaborate with faculty because: hard
to track how students are using electronic resources, and whether
they are getting useful and valid information faculty = the
academy
Slide 24
Library Initiatives 24 Taking the Business of the Library
Outside of its Walls Librarians need to progress from the basically
passive liaison model to the proactive consulting model, getting
out of the libraries and becoming information consultants.
consultants work closely with students and scholars in their
offices, laboratories, and classrooms. conferring and collaborating
with faculty as full partners philosophy of continuous learning
culture of learning, and culture of assessment
Slide 25
Library Initiatives 25 Taking the Business of the Library
Outside of its Walls Changing roles for librarians as
collaborators, integrators, instructional designers, and
information consultants as well as new models of instructional
delivery not only increase faculty-librarian contact, but also
dramatic changes in the nature of librarian-faculty relationships
emphasis on information literacy and the role and responsibilities
of the academic librarian in teaching and learning in the academy
emphasis on assertive communicators who listen well still, the
overall faculty-librarian relationship tends to be information- or
resources-based
Slide 26
Library Initiatives 26 Taking the Business of the Library
Outside of its Walls New role characteristics technologically savvy
pedagogically experimental crosses traditional functional lines
media savvy (uses varying means to disseminate information such as
web pages and zines) comfortable with varied or multiple
perspectives collaborative progression from analysis to synthesis
and a progression from control to integration, with learning as the
critical organizing principle
Slide 27
Library Initiatives 27 Information Literacy Information
literacy is one of the most current advocacy efforts now underway
Collaboration with faculty concerning teaching and learning The
model suggested by Ken Smith at Arizona library develops offerings
that are then publicized to the faculty as ready-made modules
Slide 28
Library Initiatives 28 Information Literacy Library must build
an image and reputation as a partner in learning we have something
to offer -- information seeking, retrieval and evaluation skills
which will improve the productivity of the student, and result in
increasing quality of submitted work If we offer information
literacy without faculty involvement, it will fail because faculty
own the classroom, and the course content. We are assisting them,
not usurping their educational and professional
responsibilities.
Slide 29
Library Initiatives 29 Information Literacy Faculty need to be
convinced of a library role concerning information skills. faculty
equate computer skills with information literacy Librarians can be
helpful by proactively helping faculty check suspected citations in
student papers. We can also help the faculty member meet the campus
requirements for student learning outcomes assessment because we
can measure an affect from the application of information literacy
modules
Slide 30
Library Initiatives 30 Distance Education (taking the library
to its users) MITs Open Window use of MITs OpenCourseWare project
http://www.ocw.mit.edu/ Expand access to educational materials,
making them free and without restriction for noncommercial use
Includes: course outline, lecture notes, assignments and reading
lists Intellectual; philanthropy in the world of learning
Slide 31
Library Initiatives 31 Distance Education (taking the library
to its users) Voluntary faculty involvement Principle some faculty
believe that MIT is also obligated to make knowledge freely
available in the world and to champion the idea that knowledge is
more than just a commodity Promotes exchanges between faculty as
they put together their own courses. MIT hopes other universities
will follow their lead
Slide 32
Library Initiatives 32 Distance Education (taking the library
to its users) Problems?: ambitious (2,000 courses by 2007) unknown
costs copyrights and other permissions time consuming
Slide 33
Library Initiatives 33 Distance Education (taking the library
to its users) DSpace Archive Electronic archive for preserving the
digital works of MIT faculty members Long-term safekeeping of older
versions of professors course materials with their embedded links
Also serves as an electronic filing cabinet for course components
created by MIT professors (accessed by other professors looking at
simulations, tools and syllabi that are deposited into DSpace. will
use metadata
Slide 34
Library Initiatives 34 Distance Education (taking the library
to its users) Summary increased accessibility of knowledge,
especially pedagogy and content collaboration among faculty
facilitates and gives structure and content to groups outside of
MIT
Slide 35
Library Initiatives 35 Campus Alliances and Partnerships
Students using the library form a student advisory committee
Faculty as advocates of the budget the librarian as a partner in
instruction via information literacy faculty curriculum committee
(they determine the courses to be offered)
Slide 36
Library Initiatives 36 Campus Alliances and Partnerships Anyone
who affects your infrastructure Staffing Human Resources Department
payroll Technology academic and administrative computing network
services
Slide 37
Library Initiatives 37 Campus Alliances and Partnerships Anyone
who affects your infrastructure (continued) Facility physical plant
department campus master planning department Collections faculty
and do not forget the bookstore
Slide 38
Library Initiatives 38 Campus Alliances and Partnerships Public
Relations Departments Dean of Students Institutional Research (they
have the numbers) Development Office (fund raising and grant
writing) Alumni Relations Business Office
Slide 39
Library Initiatives 39 Campus Alliances and Partnerships
Corporate Education Office they provide courses to businesses be
part of the package Corporate Ed can take to a business Some
relationships are, of course, more important than others
institutional culture will have much to do with who you should be
building alliances and partnering with
