A Short‐cut to Marketing the Library

Citation

Calvert, P. (2009), "A Short‐cut to Marketing the Library", The Electronic Library, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 354-355. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470910947737

In the introduction to this slim volume the author describes it as “a simple one‐hour handbook” (p. 2) on the subject of marketing libraries. If you feel you need a very basic primer on marketing your library, then this could a good place to start. For those with rather more knowledge then the contents found here will offer little.

What this book can do is burst a few bubbles surrounding the marketing of libraries, and perhaps convince some doubters of its necessity and its value. It explains in a very clear way why librarians must market their services and products and why using some traditional marketing ideas is a good way to start. Marketing theories are described very briefly, and key concepts such as branding are also mentioned though in a similar concise way. I like the references to new technologies and how they can be used in library marketing, but the content remains at a very basic level.

There are no practical examples or case studies of libraries actually marketing. This is an introduction to the subject but not a text book. This book may struggle to find a readership. If you want to read a new book on library marketing then turn instead to Rossiter's Marketing the Best Deal in Town: Your Library (Chandos, 2008). Same publisher; better value.