At every conference I’ve ever attended there always seems to be questions raised about how we can better promote our libraries. Here’s a couple of ideas to help inspire those of us involved in developing advocacy campaigns:
New York Public Library campaign: “Shout it Out for your Library”:
OCLC (& Leo Burnett USA) campaign: “Geek the Library”:
Both campaigns are excellent examples of how to promote the value of public libraries, simply and effectively; I’d love to see more stuff like this coming out of the UK too! 
[...] (via: libraryofdigress) [...]
I’ve been trying to work out what is niggling me in all of this. I think it goes something like this – me, I have involvement with arts, sports and libraries. The first two are names for what people do, for activities: the 3rd is the name for a type of building. There is something in there about too much of the librarian focus being on libraries, as some kind of end in themselves, and not on what libraries do. Nobody agonises about the value of sports centres, they talk about the importance of sport.
A colleague was speaking about the new Birmingham library, and said “it shows how much they value libraries”. I can see what he means, but it still seems to me to be partly missing the point – it shows that they understand what libraries can deliver.
That for me isn’t semantics, it is an important distinction: it is partly why too many librarians so often come over as introspective and defensive.
There does seem to be a lot of focus on the library as ‘the building’ and this sometimes means that we overlook the importance of the contents of the building and the potential of these contents in delivering social value. For example, it is not just ‘the library’ or ‘the building’ that contributes to community engagement, social cohesion, improved life chances, informed citizens, etc….it’s the resources and services delivered WITHIN the library (real world & virtual) that deliver social value.
That said, I wouldn’t undervalue the importance of the existence of the ‘building’ in delivering these social outcomes. Some studies have revealed that the mere presence of the ‘library building’ in a community can lead to reduced crime rates and an improved ’sense of place’ for residents…look at the impact of the libraries in New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina & Rita in 2005. Many people were unaware of the myriad resources on offer within the walls of the library, yet they felt safer knowing that some of the library buildings had survived the impact of the hurricanes…
Sure, some of it is semantics, but it’s important that we recognise the value of the public library as ‘a building’, and thus, as a brand; and its potential as ‘a beacon of hope’ for our communities.
You might want to take a look at this programme: http://tinyurl.com/pz2dpt : for the IFLA pre-conference on ‘Libraries as Space & Place’, which I’m speaking at in Torino (Aug 09)…lots of food for thought!
I’m not putting this particularly well, and will in all probability continue to do so. Don’t argue at all with ” it’s the resources and services delivered WITHIN the library (real world & virtual) that deliver social value.”. It would seem to me to be a lot better to hear librarians talk about social value, and transmission of culture, and creating community capacity, and supporting learning and …. and … than endlessly talk about libraries as some end in themselves, as if they are an endangered species with an inalienable right to survive.
The world will be a much better place with active vibrant rich libraries … and with a slightly less introverted profession running them.
Long time ago, the consultants doing one of the myriad of DCMS or its predecessor reviews of libraries reported on their slow progress with the review. They attributed it to, and I quote “the defensive world view of librarians”. They claimed they couldn’t get the (senior) librarians they spoke to to consider alternative futures at all – they just kept arguing that libraries were different.
No doubt that was partly consultants making excuses and blaming someone else – but the comment has stayed with me a long time.
There are excellent outstanding librarians working just now, but far too many of us/them (not quite sure which) think that we are owed a living.