Marketing Basics for Libraries

Marketing Basics for Libraries

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Course Dates and Session Times

PLEASE NOTE: Unlike our other courses, Marketing Basics for Libraries requires you to attend class online at specific dates and times as listed above. Register only if you can sign into the class at these times. All times are CENTRAL STANDARD TIME (Chicago).

Register online now! Or, register by mail or fax by downloading the registration form (PDF format.)

Course Objectives and Description

According to Philip Kotler, "Marketing is the human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process." This course will be designed as an introduction to marketing. Rather than focus on theory alone, this course will focus on the use of marketing, explaining basic marketing tenets using the framework of libraries.

This course is appropriate for both public and academic librarians and library staff who are asked to market library services. Librarians who may feel intimidated when faced with marketing assignments in their jobs because they do not have a background in business are also excellent candidates for this course.

The class will be broken into five weekly sessions that will provide the framework for understanding marketing tenets and resources. The final product of the class will be a marketing plan that individuals will create based on their own library environment/needs.

Course Outline

• Week 1: What is marketing? (1 hour) This class will provide an overview of the course content. The nature and role of marketing will be discussed. The distinction between for-profit and not-for-profit marketing will be made. This introductory week will provide context for the remaining weeks. The following weeks will provide details and examples of how marketing is used everyday in organizations, as well as providing the necessary framework for preparing a marketing plan.
• Week 2: Creating a marketing plan and determining marketing mix (2 hours) This week will cover the reason for creating marketing plans and the use of a marketing mix within a marketing program. Participants will be encouraged to consider their own organizations' needs as we begin to create a mini-marketing plan.
• Week 3: Market research and using marketing research in the marketing plan (2 hours) This section will highlight the resources that provide background on target audiences. It will include information on how to obtain information on your own about your audience (including surveys and focus groups). Students will use the research to update their marketing plans.
• Week 4: Evaluating marketing efforts (2 hours) This class will cover methods of evaluating marketing efforts. Students will integrate this information into their individual marketing plans.
• Week 5: Wrap-Up (1 hour) A real example of a marketing plan will be provided at the beginning if the course. In this session, we will discuss how the concepts discussed in the earlier weeks look when brought together into a marketing plan, using student work and the marketing plan the instructors provided. Time will be allotted to answering any lingering questions students may have.

Instructors

Allie Carr is the Outreach Program Coordinator at the Social Sciences & Humanities Library at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She completed her first marketing plan for the Social Sciences & Humanities Library's (SSHL) Outreach Program in the summer of 2005. The plan has since been implemented and is successful in increasing use of the library's services and increasing user's perceptions of the library. She is also completing her MLIS at San Jose State University, with an emphasis in Instruction and Outreach in Academic Libraries. She is the intern for the RSS User Education and Information Literacy Committee.

Elisabeth Leonard is an adjunct instructor at San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science. She has an MBA from Wake Forest University, an MLS from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is working toward a PhD at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Leonard has spent most of her career helping students, faculty and staff with business reference, including answering marketing questions. She also has worked for major corporations conducting marketing research and has completed marketing plans for publicly traded companies. She is a member of the BRASS Education Committee, author of Core Competencies: Company and Industry Research and Best of the Best: Business Ethics, and Chair of the CODES Liaison with Users Committee.

Registration Information

Registrations for this session will no longer be accepted once the 30 student limit is reached.

Registration Fees:

• $130 for RUSA members
• $175 for ALA members
• $210 for non-ALA members
• $100 for student members and retired members

How to Register:

• Online
• By Fax: download, complete, and fax form (PDF format) to (312) 280-1538
• By Mail: download, complete, and mail form (PDF format) to American Library Association, ATTN: MACS/Online CE Registration, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611