[LM_NET] HIT: Marketing the School Library to Teachers and Administrators

[Mary Raphael George <notgonnabestressed@YAHOO.COM>]

Happy Online Monday!

Here was a listing of replies on my topic of marking
the school library to administrators and teachers.

If anyone has any additional comments, I would love to
read them.

I will post my paper and presentation on this
important topic too.

:)

Thanks,

Mary Raphael George
School Library Media Specialist Certification Program
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06830

Enjoy the following tips...


What I did this year is I threw a "New Editions" party
for the faculty. 
Since my collection is old and I am in the process of
ordering 100's of 
new books, I decided to invite them to a party to view
the books - it 
was on one of our inservice training days. I set up
four banquet size 
tables and displayed the books (like in a book store)
by category 
(Reference, Fiction, Biography, etc). Bought cheap but
nice autumn 
tableclothes and bought some autumnal decorations for
the tables, but most of all 
I provided refreshments - cheese, crackers, cider,
apples, beef log - 
and two desert trays. I created a flyer to announce
this and invite 
them, I sent around an email to the staff and then
personally invited as 
many as I could. I included everyone, from the
Principal to the custodial 
staff who helped set up the tables.

It was attended by pretty much everyone who was in the
building that 
afternoon, and while they gobbled up the food, they
did spend lots of 
time looking at the books. I circulated among them,
reminding them that 
they need to know what resources are here so that they
can use them 
(hint, hint...). The feedback I got indicated to me
that this was a success, 
so I will probably do this once a year.

It also gave me an opportunity to just sit and talk to
my colleauges as 
everyone was eating and drinking. Who says running a
library can't be 
fun?

Susan Speranza,
Library Media Specialist
Bellows Falls Union High School
Bellows Falls, VT  05101
(802) 463-3944 x 210
Castleriggpekes@adelphia.net
-----------
From: "todd duncan" <yellowmatter@cox.net>  Add to
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To: notgonnabestressed@YAHOO.COM 
Subject: Marketing Your Library 
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 19:43:50 -0500 
    Hi Mary, The first things regarding marketing your
library that come to mind are holding an informational
meeting with your PTA and perhaps holding another
meeting with your school Principal, grade level
administrators and Instructional leaders.  You could
put together a Powerpoint presentation tying together
school goals (SOLS, academic progress) with library
use and library resources.  Show your peers what
you’ve got to give as a Library Media Specialist (your
special talents/skills, various aspects of your
library collection, etc.) and how your library
collection can be a valuable tool in achieving success
for your students.  Be positive, creative, colorful,
fun and energetic in your presentations!  Hope things
go well for you.  Take care. Todd DuncanSyms Middle
SchoolHampton, Virginia
----------------
Mary
 
You'll find some relevant links at
http://www.shambles.net/librarian/
 
Look in the 'Library Policies' section or use the site
search facility.
 
Also have a look at the list at
http://www.shambles.net/pages/staff/marketing/
 
Hope this helps.
 
Chris
 
===================================================== 
"It's out there somewhere - the trick is finding it"
www.shambles.net 
The Education Project Asia : Chris Smith
csmith@csmith.info 
A consultancy designed to support International
Schools in S.E.Asia 
===================================================== 
Online Calendar events+recruitment:
www.shamblescalendar.net 
Shambles Newsletter archives:
www.shambles.net/newsletter 
===================================================== 

-------------
Mary,
I took a great "Marketing Your Library" class at
Syracuse University a summer ago. Although I don't
have my class folder home to review, a few key points
stick in my mind. Of course, a marketing plan should
key in on a program or specific goal, such as wanting
to increase fiction circulation, or initiate a
booktalking program. We practiced 'public
speaking,'made slogans and estimated timelines. I
tried an experimental marketing plan to increase
circulation and it worked!
I thought in terms of a "Barnes & Noble" approach: 
     -Attractive displays in high traffic areas. 
     -Weeded dusty and tattered titles. 
     -Graphics and signage that encouraged browsing,
such as "Chick Lit," "Bestsellers," and "Guys     
Read."
     -Set up displays outside the library, such as the
teacher's room or main lobby.
     -Adopted a "may I help you?" personna and smiled
more...a lot!.
     -Became less restrictive. Everything circulates.
No limit on sign outs.
     -Occassionally serve hot chocolate
w/marshmallows. My B&N Days, which I promote heavily.
Circulation is up 25%!!!

Vicki Reutter, LMS
Cazenovia (NY) High School
vreutt@aol.com
vreutter@caz.cnyric.org
---------
My target audience over the last couple of years has
been the parents 
of the pre-schoolers and
Kindergarten children because if I can make them aware
of the critical 
importance of reading aloud
to their children, I will have a population of readers
and library 
users from their first day of
"big school".
Barbara

Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON ACT 2913
AUSTRALIA

T. 61 2 6205 6162
F. 61 2 6205 7242
E. barbara@iimetro.com.au
W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
"Together we learn from each other."
------------------
From: "Edwards, Kristi Leigh" <KLE0824@mail.ecu.edu> 
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To: "Mary Raphael George"
<notgonnabestressed@YAHOO.COM>

            -hang up posters of new books
        - go to individual classrooms and share a
paragraph/page out of 
a new book
        -whenever a new shipment of books arrive, have
teachers to come 
in after school and leave them out on tables for them
to view(offer 
cookies and a drink)
        
Kristi Edwards
ECU student
-----------
From: "Adrienne" <arachgold@comcast.net>  Add to
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To: "Mary Raphael George"
<notgonnabestressed@YAHOO.COM> 
Subject: Re: Marketing library to students, teachers,
principal, adminsitrators, school boards, etc. 
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:35:35 -0500 
    At our middle school, the Box Top for Education
box is located in the 
Media 
Center, on top of a small bookshelf in the midst of
books on display.  
I 
never thought about it from this perspective, but it
actually 
encourages 
teachers and students to visit  the Media Center.
-------------
From: "Eric Potter" <epotter@SALEMPRESS.COM>  Add to
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Subject: Re: Marketing library to students, teachers,
principal, adminsitrators, school boards, etc. 
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU 
    Well, one of things that we are doing here at
Salem Press, in regards 
to
"spicing-up" the awareness of the library, and
reference studies, is
promoting "Reference Is Cool"...it's a marketing
campaign that we 
created to
let everyone know that going to the library, and doing
research for 
school
reports is a great thing! We're trying to put some
'fun' into the idea 
of
our studies. We send lapel buttons to librarians and
everyone that 
believes
"Reference Is Cool". Feel free to visit our website 
[www.salempress.com] and
see the "Cool" contests that we run, and the free
button that we send 
out to
all that want to help bring awareness to Reference,
Reading, and the 
idea of
going to the library, itself.

Enjoy,

Eric Potter
---------------
Are you a library science student? Are you planning on
being a MS in a school? I was just looking at the ALA
page for accredited schools and Fairfield was not one
of them. I don’t know if you know this but if you can
take classes at FSU (ranked #2 for Library Media-
though it should probably be ranked #1 based on the
fact that it has formed such an impressive online
community) online and get a tuition waiver so you only
pay instate fees. The classes are awesome and you come
out of the program with NCATE certification. Just
thought that I would pass on the info. Anyway- to
answer your question… I find that by approaching all
learning styles I kill two birds with one stone. I
routinely create handouts for students who are more
visual learners. These handouts range in topic from
online resources to MLA/APA citation cheat sheets to
“how to use PPT, etc”. I have them available for the
students but I also hand them out to teachers. This is
great advertising for the library because it tells the
teachers that I really care. I always add a note or
tell them that I would love to make a handout for
their classes- it could include websites that their
students could use, etc. Many teachers have taken me
up on it. It is great. I also make a brochure for the
students to take home with them. This brochure has all
the online resource websites and their passwords, how
to search the online card catalog and a brief bio
about me (I have found that this is really important
because the kids want to make a connection with you
but it is hard because you don’t have them everyday).
Good luck with the paper and have a happy
Thanksgiving! 
 Stephanie E. Powell, Media
Specialistispowell@palmyra.k12.nj.us Palmyra High
SchoolPalmyra, NJ 08065Phone: (856) 786-9400
ext.245Fax: (856) 786-3014"The Librarian, whose job is
to heal ignorance, to keep life safe for poetry and to
put knowledge smack dab in the middle of the American
way."
---------------
Hi - 

Contests are good!!!!!
Name That Book Character
Dog Gone (matching fictional dogs with their owners)
Who Lives Here?    (fictional addresses)

Current events 

General Reference

Guess how many check-outs this month
How many books in the library?


Prizes - no money$   poster handouts from vendors
                     copy passes
                     pencils
                     books from donations or book
sales
                     

Offer prizes for staff and students


"Get Caught Reading" was a hit here.  A SLMS student
did it for a class project.  You can even encourage
people to bring in their own photos of people reading.

Match the Teacher with the book.  I did this with
school days photos of teachers.  Had the teachers list
their favorite book as a kid.  Students had to name
the teacher and the book.

Lunch (or breakfast or after school) displays of new
and old material, book talks, review sources (this was
a big hit for me) for teachers.  Food, of course. 

Anything to have fun!

Jill Brown, LMS
Nardin Academy
Buffalo, NY
buflib@yahoo.com
-----------------
From:  "Linda Rogde" <greenquilt2003@yahoo.com>  Add
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Subject: RE: marketing ideas 
To: notgonnabestressed@yahoo.com 
    Hi,
this is a continuing issue with school libraries
today.
 
Book displays - Attractive book displays located near
entries or in prominent areas. Change regularly. New
books, different genres, or seasonal such as
Christmas, winter theme, Poetry for April etc.
 
Attractive bulletin boards help too.
 
Activities - Sponsor an author visit or career day or
some other activity related to reading, have clubs
meet in library after school, offer study sessions.
 
Minimize the rules to the bare minimum. Respect
yourself, others & the property in the library. Avoid
being a "stereotype librarian" always "Shssing".
 
Have computers in the library. Teach Internet skills
whenever the opportunity arises: searching, keywords,
etc. & encourage the use of the library's online
databases whenever you can.
 
Work with teachers, cultivate new teachers, try to
respond promptly with requests for materials, etc.
Someone is browsing?-- offer help.
 
Be friendly, smile & greet students & teachers as they
come in whenever you can. Be as flexible as you can
within reason.
 
Reading contests --- keep trying with them although
sometimes they aren't that successful.
 
Have a library webpage. Keep working on it -- keep it
as up-to-date as you can. It's a great marketing tool.

 
Good luck,
Linda Rogde
------------------------
From: "Chris Olson" <chris@CHRISOLSON.COM>  Add to
Address Book  Add Mobile Alert 
Subject: In the September issue of Marketing Treasures

To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU 
    Hi!

In case you missed it, the September issue of
Marketing Treasures 
includes tips on conducting focus group research,
insights into 
conducting an open house if you are a solo librarian,
and ideas for 
promoting library services to teachers.

Of course, there's more at....
http://www.chrisolson.com/marketingtreasures/mtcurrent.html

To receive the free newsletter automatically each
month, please sign up 
at:
http://www.chrisolson.com/marketingtreasures/mtsignup.html

enjoy!

. . . . .
Chris
............................
Chris Olson, M.L.S., M.A.S.
Publisher
Marketing Treasures
The electronic newsletter with marketing ideas
for information professionals.
http://www.ChrisOlson.com/marketingtreasures
------------------



        
                
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