Elisabeth Leonard on Libraries

Odd marketing choice

So today I discovered that some of my favorite Mad Men characters have accounts on Twitter!  I was delighted to hear from Betty for example.   To figure out who else I might befriend, I headed to Google, only to find that AMC originally asked Twitter to remove the accounts, because they had been created by fans!  Now, I'd understand if the fans had the characters saying things that were, well, out of character, but instead, the entries I've read really are an homage to the show. 

I mention this here because we should all think carefully about the relationships we have with our customers -- and how our actions can not only impact the person you are directing that action to, but how our actions are perceived by others.  There's no need to create an unpleasant situation!  Be happy when you have found your audience -- and then try nurturing them.

Comic book sales

Not only are profits good, comic books are proving that interest in reading PRINT and in shopping PHYSICALLY is also alive and well!

As many librarians could tell you, comic books and graphic novels are alive -- not only are sales in that "archaic" format, the bookstore up, I have rarely seen both librarians and patrons so interested in comic books!  Tour the vendor aisle at ALA and you now see a graphic novels area!  It used to be just one or two booths! 

I don't know too many libraries that tout their comic collection though, and that's something I hope will change.  While an exhibit inside the library might help increase use for those patrons who are already inside, I wonder if we would get NEW patrons if we were willing to promote comic books.  Does anyone else remember the study that showed that literacy increased for boys who were taught using comic books? 

Spoiler alert: Comic books are alive and kicking - Oct. 13, 2008.

At Marvel Entertainment (MVL), the industry's largest player, revenues for its print wares have been growing in double digits for the past three years and profit margins have been running at close to 40%.

Thinking about the community read

According to the LOC, "The "One Book" movement began in 1998 when Nancy Pearl, executive director of the Washington Center for the Book in the Seattle Public Library, initiated "If All Seattle Read the Same Book." With funding from the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund and several local sponsors, she invited members of the public to read the novel "The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks, and brought the author to Seattle for three days in December to discuss his book in a series of free public programs." (http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0601/cfb.html)
In the last 10 years, that movement has really taken hold in cities and on college campuses.  What I wonder: how involved are libraries AND how much do libraries involve their communities in the planning?  It seems like on many college campuses, the library plays a minor role.  The book is chosen by faculty or by students, the events are hosted around campus, with the library maybe involved by providing circulating copies of the chosen book.
Alternately, in some public libraries, the book is chosen by the librarians, without consulting anyone in the community about the book.  Are the books selected because the event organizer has a favorite?  Because it is written by a local author?  Because it speaks to an issue the community should discuss?  I worry that in our haste to jump on board the One Book train, we aren't thinking strategically about why we are offering up the book.  No, really, WHY?  There doesn't need to be ONE answer to the One Book movement, but I fear that libraries cannot offer a plan, something that shows they have considered their desired outcomes before they planned and hosted the event.  For me, this gets to a certain panic -- a feeling that we need to find ways now to connect with our communities.  Certainly we need to always offer relevant products and services...but that's no excuse for taking the time to think about what we do strategically.  And then, once we know that, to offer up a real marketing plan for all our services, including the One Book events (should they be found to be useful -- which may vary from library to library).
What do you think?  Have you participated in a One Book event?  Have you thought about it?  Who was involved in the decision making??

Harvard's Derek Bok: Professors, Study Thy Own Teaching - Chronicle.com

I couldn't agree more with the belief that professors, and I include librarians in this, should approach student learning the same way they approach their own research!  Let's stop the passive sage on the stage and let's make learning interesting and provocative!

Harvard's Derek Bok: Professors, Study Thy Own Teaching - Chronicle.com.

College professors could become much more effective teachers if they would approach the question of what their students are learning the same way they approach their own academic research, Derek Bok, a former president of Harvard University, said here Friday at a gathering of higher-education leaders concerned with improving liberal education.