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This article originally appeared in the March 2002 issue of Alki: The Washington Library Association Journal. Included by permission.

Libraries often begin the marketing process by thinking about how to "get the word out" about the library and its services. Libraries assume that if people are not using the library, it must be because we have not done a good enough job of telling them about the library and the many services it provides.

For example, if the library has a large Hispanic community and the Spanish-language collection is not circulating well, you may decide that you need to tell the community about the collection. Typically, you start to develop a Spanish-language brochure describing the collection, or send out a press release about the collection to target-group media.

But if the Hispanic community you serve is primarily low-income, with many recent immigrants, their day-to-day survival needs and concerns may be so critical that the promotion of a Spanish-language book collection will not seem relevant to them at all. Or they may not understand that the collection is available for loan, or that the service is free for everyone in the community.

In serving diverse communities, the marketing process begins long before the library starts thinking about how to disseminate information about the library and its services. The marketing process begins by learning about the community you want to reach, and by designing a service or product that meets its specific needs. After that, the library will be ready to think about the message it wants to communicate and the ways it wants to communicate it.

MARKETING AND THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The first step in the marketing process is the needs assessment. If you have not conducted a needs assessment or in some way interacted with the community, then you are not ready to begin marketing. Conducting a needs assessment is the only way to find out the specific characteristics and attitudes of the people you want to serve. This information is critical to marketing activities.

Arranging community leader interviews or focus groups are two of the most effective ways to conduct a needs assessment. These techniques rely on interaction with the community, and provide a picture of the community that comes directly from the community itself. You collect a wealth of information about the composition, perspective, and unique life situations and needs of your target community. This is the beginning step in determining what services you will market and how you will market them.

One of the biggest mistakes we make in marketing the library to diverse communities is viewing the target group as a general group with one characteristic in common (e.g. language, country of origin, educational level, etc.), rather than as the complex, diverse community it may be. For example, if you are serving a Hispanic community, your community could be predominantly Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Spanish, or Latin American. Culture, language, food, and history of a Hispanic community will vary, depending on its country of origin. The community could be composed of recent immigrants who speak little or no English and depend on Spanish-language communication to get information. Conversely, there could be many second- or third-generation residents who speak Spanish but feel more comfortable reading in English. The community may reflect a combination of these factors.

All these factors make a difference in perceptions and attitudes that members of the community have about the library, the needs and problems of the community, the types of services you might develop to meet those needs, the messages you would want to deliver to the community, and the language that would be most effective in reaching its members.

To effectively reach diverse communities, marketing activities focus on the specific community's needs and interests, and must be communicated in the language and media most used by the community. Conducting a community-based needs assessment is the most effective way of gathering this information about your community/target group.

SETTING PRIORITIES/FOCUSING YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

The second step in marketing library services is to identify the segment of your target group that you want to reach. Everything else in your marketing effort flows from this decision.

The needs assessment process will usually identify a long list of pressing community needs. Where do you start, and how do you start to market library services? Your library's resources may be so limited that you hesitate to begin marketing efforts because you are afraid that you will disappoint the community with what little you have to offer. Or you may be afraid of being overwhelmed with the demand for services.

Most underserved communities and their leaders understand the concept of limited resources. They live with limitations every day, and they understand that you will need to set priorities. The only way that you will disappoint the community is if you do nothing at all or if you are not willing to stick with it for the long term.

Here are some factors to consider in narrowing down the focus of your initial marketing efforts:

• Size of the group within the community or emerging group within the community: To have the greatest impact at first, the specific focus of your marketing activities may need to be the largest or the fastest-growing segment of the target group. For example, the community may be experiencing a large influx of limited English-speaking immigrants from a specific country.
• Urgency of need: The results of your needs assessment may show that a specific segment of the target group has pressing needs that deserve immediate attention. For example, recent immigrants or refugees may need basic survival information about where to find adequate housing, how to get a job, or how to access medical services.
• Library resources available: Find a match between the needs assessment data and already-existing services or strengths of the library. For example, the data may show that parents are very concerned about the educational opportunities for their children. If one of the library's strengths is the variety and depth of children's services provided, this may be the focus of your initial marketing effort. Other strengths to capitalize on may include staff expertise, language ability, and size and depth of collection.
• Community or political concerns: The community may be facing a particular issue or problem that is of critical interest or importance. For example, community leaders may need immediate help in distributing current and reliable information about upcoming deadlines and changes in immigration policy that could result in deportation for many members of the community.
• Partnering opportunities: Other agencies and groups in the community may already be addressing a pressing need in the community, such as the need for information about changes in immigration policy mentioned above. The library's willingness to collaborate and be a part of this effort will help the library build trust within the community.
• Demands for service: There may be segments of the community that are particularly vocal and pressing for attention to their specific needs.
• Existing community contacts or strengths: The library may already have well-established contacts within a community that can serve as the focus of an initial marketing effort. For example, in the course of their general outreach activities, children's librarians may have made connections with a variety of different groups and agencies serving the target group.

Define and describe your target community or segment as specifically and completely as possible.

EXAMINING OUR ASSUMPTIONS

The third step in marketing library services to diverse communities is to look at the library and its services from the perspective of the target group or segment you have selected. But before you do that, you need to examine some of your own assumptions about the library and its place and role in the community.

One of the first lessons to learn in serving diverse communities is to recognize and accept the very different perspectives and understanding that others may have about the public library. We often assume that the concept of the "public library" is universal. Since the public library is such a fundamental part of U.S. society, we take it for granted that others coming into this country will know what a public library is, what services it provides and that the services are available to them for free as members of the community. This is not always the case.

The new language and cultural groups moving into your communities may have very different needs and different perspectives or attitudes about the library. There are many factors that will impact how a culturally diverse community views the library.

• Recent immigrants often have to work two jobs to make ends meet. Their jobs are often physically demanding and may require that they work nights and weekends. Recent immigrants are focused on survival, and the library may be viewed as non-essential.
• Many immigrant families may have only one car, which the breadwinner uses to go to work. The rest of the family may rely on public transportation or have no other means of moving around the community. Getting to the library may be very difficult if not impossible for many people in your community.
• Some ethnic and cultural groups may come from countries where public libraries, as we know them, are not available. In some Latin American countries, for example, public library materials are for in-house use only, so people from these countries may not expect to be able to check out books from the library. Some of the basic concepts of using a public library, such as borrowing privileges, loan periods, or overdue fines, may not be familiar to them.
• Many recent immigrants hold public libraries in very high regard but may see them as serving only those with an education. Public libraries in Mexico, for example, are often used primarily by students working on school assignments or by adults doing research. Many adults may think the library is not available to them because they are poorly educated or not able to read well.
• Some recent immigrants may come from countries with a history of government abuse and persecution and may view the library with suspicion because public libraries are part of government. Recent immigrants will not know that the public library does not disclose information about them or the materials they check out. Public library traditions of open access and confidentiality will not be familiar to many people in your community.
• People with limited English speaking or reading skills may be embarrassed or even afraid to come into the library. For many people, the library is an intimidating institution. Public libraries are often large and confusing. Staff members are often too busy to welcome those coming into the library. People with low educational levels may feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable and may not view the library as a comfortable place for them.

If you conduct a community-based needs assessment, you will learn this information about your community directly through interviews or focus groups or indirectly through conversations with people involved in the process.

ANALYZE THE LIBRARY'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Now you are ready to look at the library from the perspective of the target segment you have selected. To complete this process, you must put yourself in the shoes of a member of the target community.

Everything that your library is or does communicates with the target community and impacts your marketing activities, whether you are aware of it or not. And everyone in the library, from the library director to the library page, has a role in the library's ability to market itself to the target community. If the target community is not mentioned in the library's long-range plan, what are you communicating? If your target community speaks a different language but the signs directing people to the library are posted only in English, what are you communicating? If a member of the target community walks into the library, will they be greeted and welcomed, or be made to feel that they do not belong?

Since it is difficult for most of us to step back and identify everything that somebody else may see or think about the library, we have developed a checklist to help you in this analysis (see the end of this article). Together with the results of the needs assessment, checklist results will give you the information you need to determine the following:

• what library services you should develop or market to respond to the needs expressed by the community;
• what messages you need to communicate about the library and its services;
• what changes you must make to be sure the entire library organization is communicating the right messages; and
• what languages or media are most appropriate for reaching your target community.

Once you complete the checklist, you will have the basic information you need to develop a marketing plan to reach your specific target segment.

Even though you have not written a single press release or contacted anyone in the media, your marketing objectives and activities will flow naturally from this foundation.

CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING AND REVIEWING YOUR LIBRARY

Rate your level of success in providing each item listed: L for low, M for medium, or H for high. Make the statements more specific to your target segment as appropriate.

Planning: Services to culturally diverse communities are integral parts of all library planning efforts. The library's mission, goals, and objectives specifically address services to culturally diverse communities.

1. __ Library director and library board are involved and committed to serving all segments of the community.
2. __ Services to all segments of the community are included in the library's long range/strategic plan.
3. __ Library management and staff understand why serving all segments of the community is important.
4. __ Library staff are provided opportunities to learn about cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and customer service.
5. __ Library staff across all departments and classifications are involved in planning services to all segments of the community.
6. __ Library has revised existing policies and procedures that impact delivery of services to all segments of the community.

Facilitating Access/Signage and Welcoming Environment: Access to library services by culturally diverse communities includes delivery systems and bibliographic processes that reflect cultural and linguistic differences.

1. __ Language-appropriate city signage directs people to the library.
2. __ Language-appropriate signage on the exterior of the building is easily visible.
3. __ Language-appropriate signage welcomes people to the library at or near the front door.
4. __ Culturally sensitive posters, art, and displays help create a welcoming environment.
5. __ Language-appropriate signage is at the collection site, as is signage directing library users to the collection.
6. __ Counter signage or nametags are used when bilingual staff is available (e.g. "Se Habla Español").
7. __ Bilingual library forms, cards and brochures are available and prominently displayed.
8. __ Library is open at hours convenient to all segments of the community.
9. __ Library provides language-appropriate options for locating information (Spanish/Asian/Russian-language subject headings, bibliographies, book catalog, reading lists, bilingual Website).

Collection: The library's collection provides materials in all formats and reflects the needs, language, and cultural preferences of culturally diverse communities.

1. __ The collection is in an easily visible and accessible area of the library with seating available to encourage use of materials in the library.
2. __ A collection development policy specific to the target group has been written.
3. __ Alternative methods for accessing the collection are available (subject headings, bilingual materials catalog, bibliographies, book lists, and Website are bilingual).
4. __ Library has schedule/process in place for ongoing community input to collection development.
5. __ Collection displays and materials are in areas where people gather.

Programs/Services Offered: Services to culturally diverse communities include a wide variety of programs to meet specific needs and interests of the communities.

1. __ Programs/activities are offered in the library (e.g. bilingual programs/assistance, use of meeting room space by ethnic community groups).
2. __ Library programs/activities are offered in the community (e.g. library booth at ethnic community events, visits to schools, speaking to ethnic community groups).
3. __ Bilingual staff is available.
4. __ Staff is culturally responsive (e.g. eye contact, smiles, level of communications).
5. __ Additional activities of interest to the target group are available (other programs and/or grants).
6. __ Methods for tracking programs and number of attendees are in place.
7. __ Library participates in target group community fairs, celebrations and civic forums.
8. __ Library delivers services in the community at target group community centers (e.g. migrant camps, senior centers, etc.).
9. __ Library coordinates/collaborates on library services/programs with other agencies working in the target group community.
10. __ Library programs encourage/facilitate participation by members of the target group.
11. __ Library has schedule/process in place for ongoing community input.

Internal Communications: The library makes sure that staff, volunteers, Friends, and trustees are informed and/or involved in the design and implementation of library plans.

1. __ Library staff, volunteers, Friends, and trustees are aware of the plan and its impact on library services, staffing, promotion, and budget.
2. __ Library staff, volunteers, Friends, and trustees have been asked for input on how to best to implement the plan.
3. __ Contributions and achievements of staff and volunteers in helping to establish and implement the plan have been recognized.

Staff Development: The library provides encouragement and opportunities for staff to develop skills in serving diverse communities.

1. __ A schedule/process for providing cultural sensitivity training for all staff is in place.
2. __ A schedule/process for encouraging staff to participate in activities in the community is in place.

Community Involvement/Connections: The library is involved with its communities. Community representatives are involved in the design and evaluation of library activities.

1. __ Library staff meet with key community leaders and groups regularly to review and revise the service plan.
2. __ Library staff have identified public relations activities with which key community leaders and groups, etc., can assist.
3. __ Library staff have participated in one or more ethnic or community event.
4. __ Library staff have developed a list of current and potential community partners and collaborators.
5. __ Library staff have developed a process for tracking community connections made and a schedule for following up and staying in touch.
6. __ A schedule/process is in place for library staff to participate in community events.

Publicity and Media Relations: The library develops and maintains connections with key media contacts for all segments of the community. Library monitors the impact of its marketing activities to all community segments.

1. __ Library staff have developed a thorough list of media with emphasis on target group contacts.
2. __ Library staff have met with each major media contact for the target group at least once to begin the relationship.
3. __ Library staff, volunteers, Friends, and Trustees are aware of promotional strategies.
4. __ Language-appropriate press releases and public service announcements have been developed.
5. __ The library Website includes language- and culturally appropriate features.

Yolanda J. Cuesta is a consultant: her firm is Cuesta MultiCultural Consulting. Gail McGovern is an independent consultant.