Grassroots and Shoestrings: Successful Marketing Campaigns Library Stories at Lincoln Public Library Kae Elgie Waterloo Regional Library ekae@region.waterloo.on.ca (519) 575-4590

Who is the non-user? Research  your own survey Or someone else’s  Wilson Library Literature & Information Full Text (search it free with OLA membership) Compare library member demographics with local census data

Who is the non-user? Jefferson County Library, Colorado, study found non-users were 50+, college education, $50,000-80,000 household income “too busy to come to library” 29% “prefer to purchase books” 23% “unaware of what library offers” 13%

How to reach non-users? Public Relations Getting the library’s message across This is who we are and what we do, this is when and where we do it and for whom...

How to reach non-users? Marketing finding out what the customer needs who are you, and what do you need, how, where and when can we best deliver it to you [and what are you willing to pay?]

How to reach non-users? Advocacy your agenda will be assisted by what we have to offer support and awareness are built incrementally Target = decision makers

Advocacy is about RESPECT understand what makes the other person “tick” - speak their language be brief be specific be informative be courteous

Advocacy is… Telling a library story The personal is powerful

Library Stories video produced by New York State Library Association www.nyla.org 1-800-CALL-NYLA

Library Stories at Lincoln Public Library Lincoln - municipality of 20,000 people in the beautiful Niagara Peninsula Surrounded by vineyards, orchards and greenhouses, comprised of the town of Beamsville, villages of Vineland and Jordan Lincoln Library Stories were written in 1998

Lincoln Library Story # 1

Lincoln Library Story #3

Lincoln Library Story # 4

Lincoln Library Story # 5