ALA Grant Available for 2010 NLW Promotion

Libraries across the United States are invited to apply for the $3,000 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant, which will be awarded to a single library for the best public awareness campaign incorporating the 2010 National Library Week theme, “Communities thrive @ your library®.”

The grant is sponsored by Scholastic Library Publishing, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and is administered by the Public Awareness Committee of the American Library Association (ALA). This year’s application deadline is October 16, 2009. National Library Week is April 11-17, 2010.

All proposals must use the “Communities thrive @ your library” theme, which incorporates The Campaign for America's Libraries’ “@ your library” brand, on any and all promotional and publicity material supporting National Library Week activities. Guidelines for using the brand are available on the campaign website. 

A grant application form and guidelines are available on the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant website. Information is also available from the ALA Public Information Office at 800/545-2433 x2148 or via email to Megan McFarlane.

The winner will be notified and announced following the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston. Last year’s winning application from Moline (IL) Public Library is on the grant website.

Public Libraries Featured on Today Show!

On Thursday, June 11th, the Today Show ran a segment on the important role libraries play during the recession, using data and resources provided by the American Library Association (ALA) and public libraries.

Libraries Lend a Hand in Tough Times

The ALA Public Information Office worked with the Today Show on this segment and has followed up to encourage NBC affiliates to take up the story locally. But you can help extend the reach of this positive story in several ways:

Include the Today Show link on your library's website.

Reach out to your local media with your local story (particularly NBC affiliates), complemented by national data from the ALA. Two key data points from the Today Show were: 73% of public libraries report they provide the only free access to the Internet in their communities. This rises to 83 percent for rural libraries. More information is available in this press release from September 2008 and the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study. Also, according to a September 2008 Harris Poll, 68 percent of Americans have a library card.

Take advantage of free ALA resources to help tell your story to media, elected officials and funders:

Job-Seeking in U.S. Public Libraries
Using data from the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, the issues brief discusses the range of library resources available to job seekers and the challenges to maintaining these services. Additional briefing reports are on the ALA website here. Get a free copy of the PDF by emailing Larra Clark.

Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit
Get tips, tools and messages that work.

Get the word out!

For questions or support around media outreach, please contact Macey Morales or Jennifer Petersen in the ALA Public Information Office.

For questions or support around advocacy tools, please contact Marci Merola or Jaclyn Finneke.

For questions or support around statistics and research, please contact Denise Davis or Larra Clark.

What's the Value of YOUR Library?

DLS found this great example of a special library at the National Safety Council that features a testimonial on its home page to demonstrate the value of the library. The site also clearly states "what we are," "what we have," and "what we can do for you."  

See "Why is the library of value? What our users say" on the library's website.

Share how your library demonstrates its value with DLS e-News at dlsnews@dupagels.lib.il.us.

OCLC Seeking Libraries For Community-Based Public Awareness Campaign

Supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OCLC is developing a new community-based public awareness campaign designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries in today’s challenging environment and to increase local library support.

OCLC is partnering with libraries and library systems in parts of Georgia and Iowa, and will work in conjunction with library directors and staff to launch the awareness campaign in summer 2009. The campaign will run through December 2009, followed by a transition period of three months after which communities will have the opportunity to use the campaign strategies and materials for subsequent public awareness initiatives.

OCLC is also accepting Interest Forms from individual libraries and library systems in other parts of the U.S. interested in participating in the program. OCLC will select six to twelve participants based on a variety of criteria, including local need for increased library support, library funding structure, available resources, and readiness and commitment to implement an awareness campaign. Selected participants will receive modest financial assistance from OCLC, support from an OCLC field manager, and select materials and survey tools to manage the campaign over a minimum period of six months.

Only libraries and library systems with no expected library ballot initiative, such as a local government funding levy or referendum, between June 2009 and June 2010 can be considered.

OCLC will review candidates using the following basic criteria. Candidates should be willing to:

• Provide modest funds and project staff to manage the awareness campaign
• Implement the program in their community for a minimum of six months
• Measure the impact with assistance and tools from the field manager and OCLC
• Share findings and experiences with OCLC and the library community following completion of the awareness campaign.

Interested participants should complete the Interest Form no later than June 5, 2009. Expect to hear from OCLC by the end of June. OCLC will review submissions and may contact the library for further review to inform final selection. OCLC will announce the final selection in July.

More information about this opportunity is available on the OCLC website.

DLS Member Libraries in the News

DLS libraries are always making news! Here are links to several recent articles that demonstrate the value of libraries.

This Naperville Sun article, Library Portion of Tax Bill More Than Worth It, is written by the director for the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation, and is a wonderful endorsement of the Naperville Public Library and what it takes to keep libraries funded.

Library's Book Delivery is Lifeline from the Beacon News offers a heartfelt testimonial to the delivery service provided by the Aurora Public Library.

Interested in tracking your library in the news? Hardly a DLS Marketing Roundtable meeting passes without a mention of Google Alerts. These email alerts are a great way to learn when your library is featured in the news. You'll receive email messages containing links to articles in newspapers and blogs based on the key words that you supply.

Buff Hirko on Marketing Virtual Reference Services

Buff Hirko will be the special guest at the next AskAway Virtual Reference Best Practices Web Conference on Thursday, April 16 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Hirko, the former Washington Statewide Virtual Reference Coordinator and co-author of Virtual Reference Training: The Complete Guide to Providing Anytime, Anywhere Answers (ALA, 2004), will be discussing strategies for marketing your virtual reference service. Buff would like to tailor the session to your questions.  Please email any topics or questions you would like Buff to discuss to Natalie Tagge at ntagge@ilsos.net by Monday, April 13. 

You can register for this event at: http://www.uwex.edu/ics/wlwreg/wlwwelcome.cfm. This session is made possible by the Illinois OCLC Users Group (IOUG).

Information received from the Illinois State Library.

iREAD: Summer Reading 2009, Promotional Video Available

Youth services librarians who are using the iREAD 2009 "Read on the Wild Side" theme can use the PSA (Public Service Announcement) posted on the iREAD page of the ILA website to promote their summer reading program.

This thirty second video can be used free of charge to assist in spreading the word about this years summer reading program theme: "Read on the Wild Side." This is the very first year the iREAD Committee has provided a free PSA for promotional purposes. Be sure to take advantage of this new promotional tool.

Promotional Tools Now Available for New Season of Step Up to the Plate @ Your Library

The American Library Association (ALA) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum have teamed up for Season Four of Step Up to the Plate @ your library®. This national program brings together two American classics - libraries and baseball - to promote information literacy and the library as an essential information resource.

Librarians can now visit the program website to register for free promotional tools to help promote the program locally. Tools include program logos in both English and Spanish and a toolkit that includes sample press materials and programming ideas. The first 100 libraries to register will receive a Jackie Robinson "History Lives" poster from ALA Graphics.

Beginning National Library Week (April 12-18, 2009), when the program launches to the public, people of all ages will be encouraged to use the print and electronic resources available at their library to answer a series of trivia questions designed for their age group (10 and under, 11 to 13, 14 to 17, and 18 and over) and inspired by the history and diversity of our national pastime. Questions will be available in both English and Spanish. The program will run through September 1, 2009. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip for two in October to the Hall of Fame's World Series Gala event in Cooperstown, N.Y., including a behind-the-scenes tour of the library and archives.

Many DLS libraries already participate in the program. Two years ago, the winner of the contest was from a school in Roselle!

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a partner in the Campaign for America’s Libraries (http://www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types - across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The campaign is made possible in part by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations, and foundations who advocate the importance of the library in American society.

Other partners are Carnegie Corporation of New York, Dollar General, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Univision Radio, Verizon, and Woman's Day magazine.

Marketing Workshop for Public Librarians

Dates: April 21 to 22, 2009
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Speaker: Wayne Piper

The Kansas City Metropolitan Library and Information Network is partnering with the Public Library Association (PLA) to offer a two-day marketing workshop. This in-depth, interactive program will provide public librarians with the practical skills and knowledge they need to effectively plan and implement marketing initiatives at their libraries. Participants in the marketing workshop will learn:

• The importance of marketing the public library.
• How to draft an outline of a marketing plan and link the marketing plan to the library's strategic plan.
• How to develop a strategy to measure the success of the library's marketing efforts and evaluate the impact of marketing materials and methods.
• How to select library products and services that meet community and customer needs.

This workshop will be held at the Linda Hall Library of Science in Kansas City. More information, including course fees and description, registration, and local information, is available online.

Completion of the marketing workshop can be used as credit toward the Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) program. This voluntary program is designed for post-MLS public librarians with at least three years of supervisory experience, but you do not need to be enrolled in the CPLA certification program to take advantage of PLA/CPLA courses. For more information about certification, visit the ALA-APA website.

For further information about PLA's full 2009 schedule and to register for courses see the PLA website.

Library Marketers Invited to Take Survey

Attention Marketers!

You are invited to participate in this short eight question marketing survey. Created by a MLS student who was striving for more engaging coursework regarding marketing, this survey will get you thinking.

More information and background is included in the Bubble Room on Library Journal's website.

Friday, February 20 is the last day to participate.

Thanks to Joyce Fedeczko and Nancy Maloney from BP for passing this information along!