Contact: Larra Clark
Media Relations Manager
312-280-5043
lclark@ala.org
For Immediate Release
July 20, 2004
ALA, PLA to launch "Smartest Card" campaign
during Library Card Sign-up Month
CHICAGO -- This September, during National Library Card Sign-up Month, the American Library Association (ALA) and Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, will introduce a new advocacy campaign to make the library card the most valued and used card in every wallet.
Observed since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month is a time when the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all. The message this year is that the library card also is the smartest card a child can own.
The new campaign will officially kick off at the Brooklyn Public Library with the theme, "The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library®." Starting in September, libraries across the country will use the campaign to promote library card use and enrollment, including teaming with local elected officials in media events and other activities.
Key messages of the new campaign are that public libraries are...
- partners for vibrant and educated communities;
- essential for a free people;
- places of opportunity;
"This campaign is all about the tremendous value our libraries offer," said PLA President Clara Nalli Bohrer, director of West Bloomfield (Mich.) Public Library, in announcing the campaign. She noted that at a time when the role of libraries is evolving and there are increased competition and budget cutbacks, it's more important than ever to fill the information gap about the value of libraries.
A primary objective of the "Smartest Card" campaign is to involve the whole library "family"-staff, trustees, Friends and supporters-and to provide training and tools to help them deliver the message. The PLA Spring 2005 Symposium, to be held March 7-9 in Chicago, will feature two half-day workshops on building a marketing communication plan and how to develop and deliver a powerful library message.
In addition to the library community, the first year of the campaign will focus on families and influentials-the business community, policymakers and elected officials. A poster, bookmark and other promotional materials aimed at families will be available in the Fall ALA Graphics Catalog.
PLA has made a multi-year commitment to the campaign and will focus on additional key external audiences each year. Key audiences in future years will be "20-30 somethings," seniors/baby boomers, new Americans and teens.
3M Library Systems is a sponsor of the PLA initiative and a Founding Partner in The Campaign for America's Libraries. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA), and the American Library Trustee Association (ALTA) have given the PLA advocacy campaign their support.
Advocacy is a fundamental goal of the PLA Strategic Plan. The campaign theme "The Smartest Card. Get it. Use it. @ your library" was selected based on the work of the PLA @ your library Task Force, focus groups with public librarians, library PR specialists and members of the public and other research.
Members of the @ your library Task Force are: Kathleen Reif, St. Mary's County Memorial Library (MD), chair; Luis Herrera, Pasadena (CA) Public Library; Clara Bohrer, West Bloomfield Township (MI) Public Library; Susan Hildreth, San Francisco Public Library; Peter Persic, Los Angeles Public Library; Sallie Johnson, Memphis-Shelby (TN) County Public Library; Jan Sanders, Spokane (WA) Public Library; Kathy Coster, Baltimore County (MD) Public Library; and Marilyn Barr, Philadelphia Free Library.
For more information about the new campaign, visit the PLA Web site at www.ala.org/pla or The Campaign for America's Libraries Web site at www.ala.org/@yourlibrary and click on the Public Library Campaign icon.
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