in General, Libraries/Info Sci

Library Marketing Ideas

Had another productive class of Library Instruction tonight!

We branched out into the idea of marketing your library, because as an instruction librarian you are often one of the more public faces of the institution.

Here’s some creative ideas for services that we brainstormed up. Some are more geared toward public libraries, and others academic:

  • “Beer & Boox”
  • Drive through book return & pickup
  • Tool checkout
  • Book cart drill teams
  • Activity bags for family trips
  • Prom dress checkout
  • Coffee bars
  • Branded mugs and other items
  • Book carts on the beach
  • Day care
  • Outdoor patio w/ wireless internet access
  • Film screenings
  • School textbook collection
  • Yoga classes
  • Trivia contests
  • Portable whiteboards for patron use
  • Video game tournaments/collection
  • Customizable catalog interfaces
  • Sleepovers
  • Housecalls and tech support
  • Convenience store
  • Pizzeria
  • Art exhibits/cultural events
  • Keychain version of library card

I’m sure I missed a few as we went around the room. But there’s a lot of good stuff in there! Some of these were even examples people gave of services their workplace already offers.

Tomorrow we have to give a 3 minute (ungraded) talk on a topic of our choice to work on public speaking skills. I’m thinking I’ll talk about my blog 🙂