PR Forum 2017: Learn to tell your library story with Ben Bizzle

CHICAGO – Is your library telling its story? Ben Bizzle, library advocate, marketer, author and entrepreneur, believes every action a library takes from programming to purchasing, from the website to the reference desk, is an opportunity to share its story with users and the communities they serve.

Bizzle will discuss the stories libraries tell, how we tell those stories and ways to enhance the stories libraries are telling their communities at the 2017 PR Forum: “It’s All About the Story,” which takes place 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, in Room W185d at McCormick Place at the American Library Association Annual (ALA) Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

During the session, Bizzle will provide storytelling strategies and tips that libraries can use to turn everyday interactions into successful connections and engagement. Bizzle’s insights will also help libraries showcase the transformative nature of today’s libraries and elevate the critical roles they play in the digital age.

Bizzle is founder and CEO of the marketing and web development firm, Library Market. He’s a 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker and John Cotton Dana Award winner; author of the book, “Start a Revolution: Stop Acting Like a Library;” and for over seven years, served as the director of technology and head of the creative team at Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library in Jonesboro, Ark.

The annual PR Forum is coordinated by the ALA Public Awareness Committee and is part of the new PR Sunday Spotlight, which showcases innovative library public relations programming and events at the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition. The PR Sunday Spotlight offers library staff communicators and marketers the opportunity to attend a series of public relations-focused sessions all on the same day. For more information on the PR Forum and PR Sunday Spotlight, please visit http://2017.alaannual.org/.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.