ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 202 / C&RL News Academ ic library public relations: A week of celebration By Marilyn Von Seggern H ead o f R eference Owen Science & Engineering Library Washington State University and Elizabeth P . Roberts D irector Owen Science & Engineering Library Washington State Uniυersity Awards and fr e e searches as incentives fo r library awareness. T h e implementation of library public relations is narrowly considered by some to be in the public li­ brary arena. A look at the facts of life for libraries argues against this notion. An effective library must be responsive to and gain support from its constituents, whether members of a community, company, or institution. Though the development of good relations with its constituency is something no library has the luxury to disregard, the paths to this goal are numerous. At Washington State University, a grassroots li­ brary staff group came together in 1979 to consider some public relations aspects that fall outside the range of regular administrative concerns. This group wanted to raise the library’s visibility on campus and improve relations externally with uni­ versity administration, faculty, and students, and internally with library staff. This energetic com­ mittee (the Public Relations Interest Group, later called PROMO) has activated many plans to carry out the group’s mission and goals, including a talk on censorship by a regionally known local colum­ nist, a series of summer outdoor readings,1 work­ shops on effective communication with campus 1Transplanted from Kansas State University by Paula Elliott. See her description in C&RL News, May 1984, pp. 228-32. media groups, and a library photo-display for fall home football game gatherings. PROMO has also been involved in publicizing the library’s online public access catalog by running a contest to name the catalog (Cougalog) ‚ and by designing a logo for the catalog. Early in their existence, the members also decided that observance of National Library Week would provide a framework for some major public relations activities. L ib ra ry aw areness week The celebration got underway in 1980 and was planned to coincide with the ALA-sponsored Na­ tional Library Week in April. It has been a campus event every April since, though after several years of observance the name was changed to Library Awareness Week to give it more local emphasis. National Library Week graphics, posters, and oc­ casionally themes, have been used to advantage whenever possible. Every year the celebration has a different com­ plexion, but two major activities have remained as the foundation: 1) the Faculty Library Award for a member of the teaching/research faculty who has provided outstanding support to the library, and 2) free computer literature searches by drawing of submitted names. Other events throughout the April 1988 / 203 Credit: The Record, WSU Maureen Pastine, director o f WSU Libraries, presents the 1987 Faculty L ibrary A ward to John E lw ood, chairm an o f the English Departm ent. years have been free film showings from the collec­ tion of the Instructional Media Services, the above- mentioned name-the-database contest with a cash prize, a talk by a well-known regional author who is willing to speak on behalf of the libraries, special exhibits, a surplus book sale, and receptions for the campus community in the libraries’ foyers. Em ­ phasis has been on those activities which are low­ expense and, increasingly, on those that do not re­ quire intensive planning and time. Faculty Library Award Adopted from Texas A&M, the Faculty Library Award, more than any other event, has become the backbone and mainstay of the week’s plan. It has also developed for the Libraries a group of faculty who can be identified as strong supporters and who have a p p recia ted m ore than we could have guessed, recognition of the energy and commit­ ment they have afforded the library. Suggestions for candidates are requested from the entire cam­ pus along with documentation of their library- related activities. A committee of library staff members reviews the submissions and selects the faculty member to be honored, based on six crite­ ria: personal use of the libraries, efforts to encour­ age students to use the libraries, interaction and co­ operation with libraries’ faculty, service on library committees, and evidence of appreciation for and a positive view of the WSU Libraries. The award, which includes two plaques (one for their office and one for the main library’s foyer) and cash gift, is presented at a special recognition ceremony during the week of celebration. The pro­ gram includes an address from a notable campus figure, presentation of the award by the library di­ rector, and a wine and cheese reception for col­ leagues, friends, and library staff. Press releases and photos are distributed to campus and commu­ nity news media both after the selection of the fac­ ulty member and after the ceremony. Free computer literature searches Several formats for advertising the Libraries’ lit­ erature search service were experimented with un­ til a sa tisfa cto ry solution developed. Four libraries— social sciences and humanities, educa­ tio n , h ea lth scien ces, and scien ce and engineering— participate by running free litera­ ture searches during all or part of one day during the Library Awareness Week. Reduced or free demonstration rates are provided by the database vendors for the scheduled times. Interested parties fill our their name, phone number, and proposed search title on forms and deposit them in boxes in the libraries; those drawn receive approximately 20 -30 minutes of search and printout time. Coordination of activities In the fall, the public relations group appoints a ch air who in turn organizes 5 subcom m ittees (Budget, Publicity, Faculty Library Award Selec­ tion, Faculty Library Award Ceremony, and L it­ erature Search drawing) to design and carry out plans for the celebration. Committees are made up of PROMO members and other willing library staff. Special exhibits and visiting library speakers, 204 / C&RL News w hich in recent years contributed greatly to the fes­ tivity of the week, are coordinated through existing library channels. As would be expected w ith an undertaking of this sort, a thorough and conscientious job by the Publicity Com m ittee can make a larger success of the work done by every other com m ittee and indi­ vidual. The flyers, program s, newspaper ads, con­ tacts w ith news agencies, and photos of notable oc­ casions d u r in g th e w eek c a rry th e e ffo rt a substantial distance tow ard the project’s goal of in­ creasing positive awareness of and support for the Libraries. Publicity costs always elevate the celebration’s budget, but the library adm inistration has consist­ ently supported the plans. The inclusion of the sur­ plus book sale in L ibrary Awareness Week events is appropriate, for the proceeds from the sale cover a portion of the expenses. Project evaluation Every year PROM O reviews the project in a post-Library Awareness Week critiquing session and collects com m ittee reports and docum ents. One recom m endation, forw arded annually, is th a t it would be wise to start planning earlier, but it seems never to be soon enough to prevent critical details from piling up a m onth before the week be­ gins. Perhaps th a t is to be expected w hen extrane­ ous activities, done volunteer style, come second to the press of job responsibilities. The full effects of library publicity, and specifi­ cally a project of this nature, are not easily deter­ mined. PROMO has not attem pted to measure, for exam ple, how m any lib rary users w ere gained, how much positive influence was exerted, or the disposition of resources in the library’s favor be­ cause of higher visibility on cam pus. T here are those who feel th a t such auxiliary activities cannot be su p p o rted in lig h t of present b u d g et crises. PROMO members continue to act on their belief th a t there is m uch to be gained in the public rela­ tions arena, and not much to lose. Editor’s note: For further information contact the authors at Owen Science and Engineering Library, W ashington State U niversity, P ullm an, WA 99164-S200. ■ ■ N a tio n a l Library W eek activities fo r a ca d em ic lib raries By Michael Binder Director of Libraries Western Kentucky University Last year was the “Year of the Reader” at Western Kentucky. E a r l y in January 1987, m any of us a t the W estern Kentucky University Libraries becam e aw are of the designation of 1987 as “The Year of the Reader’’ by both the Congress and the C enter for the Book, and th a t ALA would be prom oting National Li­ b ra ry W eek w ith tw o them es, “T ake T im e to Read’’ and “The Year of the R eader.” Also, we had been encouraged by the Kentucky L ibrary Associa­ tion to develop plans for 1987 to prom ote both “The Year of the Reader” as well as the Kentucky