On outreach and library programs, a quick note
Posted on: June 30, 2010
I saw this post out of the Programming Librarian blog, and it was something I wanted to jot down. It's basically some brief notes on some ALA Conference session on library programming. To be honest, if I had gone to ALA, this may have been a good program for me, mostly to hear what other librarians are doing. When I think about it, there are not that many blogs and librarians writing about the programs that they do. If there, I have not found them, and it is not for lack of trying. Sure, there are library blogs that announce programs, mostly public libraries, but something a bit more reflective seems to be lacking.
At any rate, since I am in the middle of writing a marketing plan for our library (an ongoing project of mine that gets constantly interrupted), I thought the list of things to consider was a good one. I do keep one or two of these in mind, but the reminder is good. The list:
The panelists discussed five things programming librarians needed to consider:
- your audience (i.e., book groups);
- community hooks (i.e., firefighters);
- national tie-ins (i.e., National Novel Writing Month);
- current events (i.e., energy conservation); and
- thinking outside the box and the library (i.e., community festivals or farmers markets).
We have done some pretty good things here at my library, but I know we could be doing a lot more. I am specially thinking in terms of thinking outside the box, so to speak.
(Update note, 7/2/2010): Another post from Programming Librarian, this one with hints and advice for us who do outreach.
