Marketing, advocacy and promotion

In terms of marketing, promotion, and advocacy, there is a lot that public libraries can learn from literature created for and by school librarians. It seems like this area of librarianship is constantly at risk of funding cuts and they, seemingly more so than many other types of librarians, are constantly required to prove their worth to their users by promoting their services. Due to this constant need to promote their services, there are a lot of great resources aimed at marketing the school library to teachers. I think that these resources would work really well for public librarians looking for new ways to promote their services to teachers, as well.

One advocacy/promotional material I liked in particular is what teacher librarian, Barbara Braxton, coined The Library Book because it would be so simple to implement, and so practical for teachers to use. In her recent article, published in Teacher Librarian Braxton describes a simple advocacy tool The Library Book that she gives to teachers. The book, a simple folder really, contains practical information and resources on their (school) library: a map of the library, a guide to library programming, administrative details about hours, staff, etc. I want to point out some of the more unique resources included within this folder because I think that they would lend well to a promotional/advocacy kit for public librarians to issue to teachers they serve as well.

These resources would lend further credence and evidence to the professional collaborative relationship possible between teachers and public librarians.

• Include qualifications, interests, and photos with staff bios

• Mission statement of the library with a blurb about how that complements their roles as teachers

• A handout about copyright issues

• A copy of a “project planner” the library offers students

• A copy of a “homework assignment template” for teachers to fill out

• An outline of ideas for including literature within the curriculum

• A list of works by local authors held in the collection

• Certificates to be filled out to celebrate their student’s literacy achievements

(Adapted from Braxton, 2007)


If you wish to read the article in its entirety it is available in the teacher Librarian v. 34 no.5 (June 2007).