Being proactive

Today is all about being proactive.

One of the things on my PPDP is a project to promote our Library and develop a good marketing strategy, more specifically our Librarian wants to give our library a brand. Having not had much marketing experience beyond sticking up posters and handing out flyers at Univbersity this is a new and exciting challenge for me.

Due to my lack of experierence I thought I would make the use of the resources available to me in the library. One such resource was this e-book Light their fire; using internal marketing to ignite employee performance and wow your customers  it is a very interesting read as to how once you get your employees to believe in yor brand then your customers will too using loads of great examples. It seems there are a couple of key things to help your success - you need to win over your employees (or in our case the tutors) who will then sell your brand/product to the customers (the students) if they love it the students will love it. Another good thing is great communication and consitency if you push the message long enough and hard enough poeple will begin to take notice.

It's been an eye opener - whilst those things seem obvious when you know them when you see the examples of how they work it really makes sense. Next challenge though -getting Tutors/ Staff on board and loving the library. There is a bit of a spilt in our college- some tutors 'get' the library - they understand that we have great reosurces, the staff are helpful and its a good learning space. Other Staff don't ever come in or give student the impression that its a dull and 'quiet only' space, or they don't have clue what we stock we have and just say to students "oh the library will have it" having never made an order for the book or ever checking the catalogue - thus giving the students the impression we don't stock what they want and we are 'useless' and they never bother coming back.

Stage 1 then needs to be getting tutors on board (which also includes improving communication) any tips? we do have staff devlopment week coming up but  staff never sign up to learn more about the library - I was thinking maybe bribing them with drinks and bisuits? then sell the space to them.

Stage 2 will be promotion,promotion, promotion - on moodle, on facebook, on twitter, on posters on the new screens in our new build college - students won't be able to get round the fact that we have a library and they should come and use it.

Stage 3 Inductions - a lot of students have them (and hopefully more if we get staff loving the library too), make the Inductions fun and interesting so that the students know that the library isn't a stuffy silent study area but infact a place to come and enjoy the environment.

Thats as far as I have got for now. If any one wants to pass on any tips for gettting more people to love the library as much as us please comment.