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Back in the early 1990s, if someone asked me which technologies librarians could use for promotion, I wouldve thought about large-format printers to make professional-looking posters. That was before the internet was widely available, so there was very little email usage and no social media. (Simpler times!) Libraries didnt really need to advertise, because they were still one of the only places in town that people could use to get specific information. But if there was something important going on, librarians would spread the word via newspapers, newsletters, fliers, posters, and word of mouth.
When I began producing the Marketing Library Services (MLS) newsletter in 1994, there was almost no mention of technology. I unearthed some pre-tech quotes in early MLS issues that almost made me laugh out loud. For instance, the cover story of the March 1995 issue reported on a talk by Carol Ginsberg, a well-respected special librarian and an SLA fellow. One piece of advice that she shared was this: The basics of marketing are brochures, logos, handouts, orientations, welcome letters, consultations, meetings, and newsletters. They are vital. And a second piece of advice was this: Regarding the Internet, [Ginsberg] advised info pros to get on the bandwagon and to learn everything they can about it. Get an account, get training, and be the one who brings the Internet to your company. (Notice the capital I in Internet back then.)
As the years went by, technology began to creep into library promotion. Intranets emerged as a useful way to communicate with colleagues. In the March 1997 issue, MLS published an article by Stephen Abram called Transforming Your Marketing With the World Wide Web. (Notice the three full words, all with initial caps. This was really new stuff.)
In the late 1990s, Christine M. Koontz of Florida State University started to integrate geographic information system software with library data. That GeoLib project allowed a data-savvy librarian to take a list of cardholder addresses and overlay them onto a local map, showing them which neighborhoods had the fewest patrons. This concept caught on in the early 2000s, and Koontz published widely about it in publications such as Library Hi Tech News (emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/07419050510588269/full/html). Geographic mapping was a very practical way to do early targeted marketing...