ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 62/C & R LN ew s National Library W eek at w ork B y J a n is A p ted Use this a n n u a l event to y o u r advantage T his is a critical tim e for libraries— indeed, a w atershed time w h e n libraries are at great risk. Part o f the reaso n o u r libraries, including th e academ ic libraries, are suffering is that w e are so invisible o n o u r cam puses an d in our com m unities. At th e University o f Michigan, w e k n o w that this is n o t th e time to be a multi-m illion-dollar invisible elephant. W ithin th e last 18 m onths, w e have co m p leted a m ajor u ser study that in­ clu d ed three different series o f focus gro u p s w ith o u r various target audiences. W e also actively sought th e advice o f m ar­ keting, PR, a n d strategic plan n in g specialists. From all this w e ’ve co n clu d ed that th e library is n o t w ell-positioned to attract an d m aintain 44% o f A m erican adults do not read even one book in the course o f a year. —U.S. Dept. o f Education th e financial su p p o rt req u ired to tak e it suc­ cessfully into th e 21st century. It m eans w e m ust g et the attention o f u n i­ versity adm inistrators, deans, faculty, students, an d potential donors— a highly diverse group, to say th e least. It also m eans that in a m arket highly com ­ petitive for dollars, the library’s PR is going to have to b e d arn good. T hat’s b ecau se o u r m es­ sage— a n d the w ay w e deliver it th ro u g h p u b ­ lications, ads, brochures, an d m edia coverage— m ust com pare w ell w ith w h at o th er units on cam p u s are doing, including the professional schools o f law, m edicine, a n d business. W hat has this got to d o w ith N ational Li­ b rary W eek (NLW)? G o o d strategic thinking m ean t that w e h ad to d ecid e w h at kinds o f PR w e w e re going to d o th ro u g h o u t th e year, and w e selected NLW as a n excellent opportunity to create som e terrific m edia attention. T he advantages o f celebrating NLW are enor­ m ous. B ecause o f th e su p e rb m aterials p ro ­ d u c e d b y ALA, including th e press m aterials a n d m erchandise, putting to g eth er a series o f events is relatively easy a n d painless. H ere’s w h at w e typically do: W e g e t th e A LA/Library C a m p a ig n B ook early in the year an d design a m ajor exhibit u sin g material from the kit. T he exhibit goes u p in th e lobby of the G raduate Library during N ational Library W eek. We p ro d u ce som e o f o u r o w n materials u s­ ing ALA clip art for design help. W e print th o u ­ san d s o f bookm arks, adding inform ation o n the b ack that w e think w o u ld interest o u r users. For the READ/SUCCEED cam paign w e did a series o f three different b o okm arks— o n e on th e ex ten t o f illiteracy, an o th er o n th e cost of illiteracy, a n d a third o n literacy an d th e global perspective. We prepare signage with pertinent facts about reading, literacy, and libraries. [Ed. note: examples are shown as pull-quotes in this article.] W e also pro d u ced fabulous buttons that sim­ ply said READ/SUCCEED in black w ith re d let­ ters (they w ere a take-off o n th e ALA buttons b u t w e ’ve fo u n d w e can p ro d u c e o u r o w n cheaper). Buttons are a hu g e hit w ith students o n any cam pus; ev en faculty like them an d pick th em u p w h en th ey ’re in th e library. Ja n is A pted is head o f library development a n d external relations a t the University o f Michigan, A n n Arbor February 1 9 9 3 /6 3 We u se lots o f colorful ALA posters in our exhibits including the “Celebrity READ” p o st­ ers an d the N ational Library W eek m aterials. But d o you k n o w w h at attracts the m o st attention? It’s the ALA children’s posters! W ho w o u ld think that o n a cam pus like the U niver­ sity o f Michigan, professors an d students w o u ld stop to gaze at children’s posters? But they do. To capture th e m edia’s attention, it’s n eces­ sary to create som e fun. O n e of o u r best events for the READ/SUC- CEED w e e k w as a raffle in w hich th e prizes w ere a n assortm ent o f ALA m erchandise from “B orn to R ead” T-shirts for infants to sports bottles, stuffed anim als, a n d posters. W e h a d a n entire glass exhibit case filled w ith this stuff. O n th e raffle card w e said (this is straight from the ALA C am paign Book)-. ‘“T he ability to read a n d u n d erstan d rem ains the m ost basic skill for success in life. Yet, illiteracy is d ev as­ tating o u r society. It costs the U.S. an estim ated $237 billion annually in w elfare paym ent, crime a n d loss o f tax revenues. T he lack o f reading skills is an even greater handicap in an increas­ ingly service/technology-based econom y.’ H elp us celebrate READ/SUCCEED w e e k a n d w in o n e o f o u r great prizes—T-shirts, b o o k bags, an d more!” In addition to nam e an d address, the raffle card ask ed for th e nam e of the e n tran t’s favor­ ite b o o k an d the title o f o n e b o o k h e or she in ten d ed to read th at sum m er. We h a d close to 1,000 entries th e w e e k before final exam s. As raffle cards cam e in, w e p o sted a list o f favorite b o o k s an d sum m er reading in the exhibit case. W o r k in g w ith th e m e d ia A long w ith exhibits an d handouts, w e p ro d u ce half-page ads for th e student new spaper. Usu­ ally, these are rep ro d u ced from cam era-ready art o r b ased o n inform ation from th e ALA/Li- brary C am paign Book. All these things are part o f o u r NLW p ro ­ g ram th at w e th e n outline to the press. We k n o w o u r local press w ell— a basic p art o f any effective PR program . W e sen d th em a m edia pack et th at includes a fact sheet b ased o n the ALA’s sam ple press m aterials in th e cam paign bo o k , ad copy, buttons, bookm arks, a n d infor­ m ation a b o u t the exhibit. We include a com pelling letter that says w h y w e think the issue deserves coverage, an d w e list th e nam es o f library staff w h o can sp eak o n th e issue being addressed. T hen w e always follow u p w ith a p h o n e call. This p ast year w e personally delivered our p a c k e t o f “Right to K n o w ” m aterials to the u n iv e rsity ’s m ajo r ra d io sta tio n . W e ta lk e d th ro u g h program m ing o p tio n s w ith th e station m a n a g e r, w h o w a s e x tre m e ly e x c ite d a n d ag reed to ru n th e Public Service A n n o u n ce­ m ents w e su p p lie d straight from ALA. T he station m an ag er urg ed us to have one o f o u r professional librarians do a five-minute com m entary w hich Anne B eaubien, o u r head o f cooperative access services a n d im m ediate p ast-president o f ACRL, d id beautifully. The average kindergarten g ra d u a te has already seen more th a n 5 ,0 0 0 hours o f television. This is more time th a n it takes to obtain a bachelor’s degree. — The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease G etting th e attention o f the m edia is easier if y o u rem em b er th e following: 1) K now y o u r local press personally and feed th em lots o f go o d story ideas. W e k e e p in regular contact, faxing releases a n d sen d in g all o u r publications. W e also invite th em to lec­ tures, receptions, an d o th e r special program s. 2) Be excited a b o u t y o u r library an d its ser­ vices. In dealing w ith the m edia, it h elp s to h av e conviction. If y o u ’re excited a n d know w h a t y o u ’re talking about, it helps in getting th em interested. 3) W e’ve to u red m edia p eo p le through som e o f o u r really exceptional collections. T hose per­ sonal to u rs p ay off continually. Y ou c a n ’t go w ro n g using th e N ational Li­ brary W eek a n d o th er ALA-sponsored them es. T he materials are great, th e press pays atten­ tio n to them , an d yo u can save y ourself a lot of tim e a n d effort by using w h a t’s already b een beautifully prep ared by ALA. The issues selected b y ALA are im portant o n es w hich com m unities are interested in. You w ill get coverage. Ed. note: R eprinted w ith perm ission from th e 1993-94 Libraries C hange Lives C am paign B ook p u b lish ed b y th e ALA Public Inform ation Office. Available from ALA G raphics ($8). Item #905. ■