For immediate release | November 12, 2010

New online course for public libraries: “Bite-Sized Marketing”

CHICAGO—ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association (ALA), is making available “Marketing Public Libraries eCourse.” This eCourse is adapted from the bestselling ALA Editions book “Bite-Sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian,” by Nancy Dowd, Mary Evangeliste and Jonathan Silberman. This Web-based, self-paced tutorial offers a succinct overview of social networking, interactive information sharing and other technology ideal for marketing public libraries. Comprising an estimated three and a half hours of instruction, the seven lessons in the eCourse are:

  • Word-of-Mouth Marketing;
  • Preparing a Toolbox;
  • What is Your Library’s Story?;
  • Advocacy;
  • Public Relations;
  • New Marketing Tools--Web 2.0;
  • More on Web 2.0 Tools.
This eCourse is also available as part of a bundle, which includes enrollment in the eCourse and the companion e-book.
Dowd is director of marketing for the New Jersey State Library, where she incorporates her career experiences as an editor, writer, presenter and marketer to produce effective and replicable marketing strategies for libraries. Her marketing campaign featuring the Easy Readers calendar transformed the image of librarians and received international attention. Her work has received awards from the American Library Association and the New Jersey Library Association. She is the author of two blogs, The M Word and The Best of Library Videos.



Evangeliste has more than 15 years of experience in the fine arts and in libraries. She has taught, lectured and presented in the areas of art history, librarianship and marketing for local and national groups, including the State Department, the Maryland School of Art and Design, Prince George’s Community College, the University of Pittsburgh, the Library Administration and Management Association (LLAMA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the ALA. She is the cofounder of Fearless Future and the director of user services and outreach at Musselman Library, Gettysburg College. Evangeliste has been honored with two national library marketing awards, 3M Check-It-Out Yourself Day and Best Practices in Marketing Academic and Research Libraries @your library® Award.


Silberman is an award-winning graphic designer who helps nonprofits and educational institutions develop marketing and identity systems. Before cofounding his design and marketing consulting firm, Fearless Future, he worked as a freelance designer for more than seven years. His first experience as the main designer for the marketing team at American University Library was honored by ACRL with the 2005 Best Practices in Marketing Academic and Research Libraries @ your library Award. Silberman’s designs have been used in international and national library presentations on marketing, such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, ACRL, LLAMA and ALA. He was interviewed for the May 2006 volume of Print, a leading graphic design publication.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.

Contact:

Jill Davis