"This toolkit is an outgrowth of work we've done with a number of libraries and consortia to develop marketing strategies that build awareness and desire for the library's online collections," said Lynda James-Gilboe, vice president of marketing and customer support for ProQuest CSA. "We created ads and press releases, but more importantly we helped these libraries position their resources versus the--open web. We felt it was such valuable information that we're now sharing it with all libraries."
The Library Marketing Toolkit combines a wealth of "how-to" advice from library marketing expert, speaker, and author Beth Dempsey with print and digital marketing collateral designed to boost patron's awareness of their public libraries' online resources. Among the program's components are:
-How-to guide on Marketing Your Library's Online Resources
-Sample database descriptions that speak "patron" rather than library language
-Customizable promotional flyer and advertisement
-Customizable press release template
-Getting Started Demo - a digital "ad" that can be downloaded to the library's homepage
"ProQuest CSA gave me a great opportunity to 'consult' with thousands of libraries and help them break down barriers between them and their patrons," said Dempsey. "I think anyone who uses this kit and pays attention to its messages will get better at viewing the library from the patron's point of view. Once you've conquered that, it's so much easier to communicate what the library has to offer."
The Library Marketing Toolkit is currently being mailed to public libraries across the United States. The materials may also be downloaded from the ProQuest website at http://www.il.proquest.com/division/libraryadvocacy.shtml.
About ProQuest CSA
ProQuest CSA, part of Cambridge Information Group (www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com), was formed in 2007 through the merger of two leading and historic information technology firms: ProQuest Information and Learning and CSA. As ProQuest CSA, the company provides seamless access to and navigation of more than 125 billion digital pages of the world's scholarship, delivering it to the desktop and into the workflow of serious researchers in multiple fields, from arts and literature to science, technology and medicine.
ProQuest CSA's vast content pools are available to researchers through libraries of all types and include the world's largest digital newspaper archive, periodical databases comprising the output of more than 9,000 titles and spanning more than 500 years, the preeminent dissertation collection and various other scholarly collections. Users access the information through the ProQuest® Web-based online information system, Chadwyck-Healey™ electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, eLibrary®, SIRS®, Ulrich's Serials Analysis System™, COS Scholar Universe, and Serials Solutions resource management tools. Through the expertise of its business units, Serials Solutions and COS, ProQuest CSA provides technological tools that allow researchers and libraries to better manage and use their information resources. For more information, please visit www.proquest.com and www.csa.com.
