Marketing a Library – Methods, Challenges & Value [Event Ref. No. TG4/MARK]

This exciting event is aimed at academic library staff seeking to gain a better understanding of marketing opportunities in our sector. The day promises to be of great value to all libraries, particularly in the academic environment, in a time of budget constraints and inevitable emphasis on ‘value for money’.

Through expert advice and opportunities for exchange of experience and best practice, all delegates should expect to leave the day better equipped to understand how both to identify the needs of their stakeholders and to ensure that their strength and value in meeting those needs is fully understood and acknowledged.

Rather than being a lesson in marketing, the key aims of the day are to:

· Encourage proactive thinking about marketing opportunities

· Tackle the problems associated with our captive market

· Share experiences and use the event as an ideas lab

We are extremely fortunate to have for our keynote speakers:

· John Cox, University Librarian, National University of Ireland, Galway. John will be speaking based on his head of service aspect of marketing and ‘selling’ the library to a range of stakeholders

· Melinda Kenneway of TBI Communication will bring her wealth of experience in this area, together with a comprehensive understanding of the HE sector, to provide a range of ideas for staff when approaching the concept of marketing their libraries

· Sarah Hardman from British Library – an exemplar in marketing in the information environment – Sarah will be discussing ‘What is marketing’ and advising on how to put a marketing campaign together

* Both Melinda and Sarah are keen to ensure that the day offers the maximum value to delegates and are inviting attendees to help shape the programme by specifically indicating areas of interest or concern when signing up *

Programme:

9.30 – 10.00: Registration & tea/coffee

10.00 – 10.05: Introduction and welcome. Chair – Sally Faith,Head of Library Planning and Administration, University of Sussex.

10.05 – 11.00: Library Marketing 101 – Melinda Kenneway, TBI Communications
Just what does marketing mean in an academic library context? Melinda will open our day with a presentation that looks at what marketing is and why it is becoming ever more important that libraries embrace marketing strategy and tactics to help their communities get the most from the services the library has to offer. Melinda will build on this introduction to look in detail at the 7 Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion, place, physical environment, process and people; examining the relevance of each to good library marketing practice.
10 minutes for questions

11.00 – 11.30: Richard Collings, Service Development Manager and Jo Taplin-Green, Services Manager, LSE Library, will be talking about their experience of taking the Library ‘Out and About’ across campus – to promote services and gauge user opinion both in terms of service expansion and current facilities provided.

11.30 – 11.50: Break – Tea & Coffee

11.50 – 12.20: Show & tell –speaker from an HE Library – Annette Moore,Technical Services Librarian, University of Sussex will talk about their Facebook campaign ‘Suggest a book for the Library’

12.20 – 12.45: Panel discussion; Melinda Kenneway, Richard Collings, Annette Moore and John Cox with Sally Faith to chair.

12.45 – 13.30: Lunch

13.30 – 14.15: Sarah Hardman, Head of Audience Development and Brand at the British Library will outline how to plan and deliver a marketing campaign. With a focus on defining measures of success and meeting audience needs, Sarah will share examples of some of the successful digital marketing initiatives that the Library has recently run, as well as some campaigns that are planned for the future.
5 minutes for questions

14.15 – 14.40: Breakout groups, to be facilitated by our speakers and to discuss innovative ideas and the key issues to consider: Sarah Hardman, John Cox, Jo Taplin-Green and colleague

1) Induction and introducing services (facilitators – Antony Groves, Lending Services Supervisor, University of Sussex and Annette Moore)
2) Marketing existing collections (faciltator – Jo Taplin-Green)
3) Identifying stakeholders needs (facilitator John Cox)
4) How to develop your skills and put them into practice (facilitator Sarah Hardman)
Attendees to opt for preferred area of interest in order of preference

14.40 – 15.00: Break – Tea & Coffee

15.00 – 15.30: A representative from each breakout group to summarise and give feedback for 5-10 minutes.

15.30 – 16.15: John Cox University Librarian, National University of Ireland, Galway. John will give the closing speech based on his head of service aspect of marketing and ‘selling’ the library to a range of stakeholders and a summary of the day.
15 minutes for questions.

Venue: The Hardy Room at the London Mathematical Society, 57-58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS; Website: www.lms.ac.uk

To book a place please use our online booking form or email the administrator via cpd25@lse.ac.uk

Cost: £125 for cpd25 members and £190 for other institutions.

Cancellations less than one week before the event will be charged a 50% cancellation fee. In the event of a ‘no-show’ on the day, the full fee will be charged.

Spaces will be strictly limited to this event so early sign-up is strongly recommended.