Here are some of the comments posted in chat during the first Town Hall on Libraries in Economic Tough Times. See also resource in the Demonstrating Impact section of a pathfinder created for the focus. And *please* add your additional ideas and questions to the comments area below.
- Show how informed people contribute to the community, ie videotape patrons explaining how the library helped them start a local small business
- Use the newspaper and radio and webpages to spread the word
- We used an email video story to raise awareness of our needs
- Don't be shy about tooting your horn wherever and whenever you can, esp in the local papers
- Watch your circ stats. Your frontline staff can let you know whats up with demand
- By listening to your community, become involved with people at all levels in the community
- Big business closures, layoffs...knowing when they're coming, supporting those impacted via library services
- Focusing on what we are good at and what we do better than anyone else - book/pamphlet recommendation on this topic : Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins
- Maine Library Use Calculator
- The original calculator worksheet is a downloadable spreadsheet, originally provided by the Massachusetts Library Association. The spreadsheet was adapted for the web by Chelmsford Public Library.
- We have this calculator on our website, people are suprised by what they learn...It went into an article in the paper
- Start a community petition, have patrons or community leaders speak for the library
- I've asked my staff to send me an email whenever they hear a significant library story which I archive in a folder
- See the slide presentation from Nancy Dowd and Paula Islett on Using Stories to Market your Library
- And check out this great ALA Tough Economy Toolkit: The toolkit contains information on how to work with decision-makers, ways to work with the media, and talking points to help libraries articulate the role of libraries in times of economic downturn. Talking points on the economic value of libraries, with return-on-investment examples; libraries and the economy; and upswings in library usage are included.
Please add your suggestions to the comments area below!
