Tooting Your Own Horn: Web-Based Public Relations for the 21st Century Librarian

by Julieta D. Fisher, Ann Hill

Overview

Toot your library's horn! Promote your library program via a home page on the web!

This practical manual offers a step-by-step approach to marketing your library program by transforming traditional marketing programs into a Web-based marketing tool. Detailed descriptions, planning advice, design considerations and examples are provided for each marketing idea. Sample forms, surveys, Web sites and other resources are also included. The book's organization will allow you to start small, by focusing on ideas that will meet your library's program needs and provide the most visibility for your library. Many of the ideas are a "jumping-off" point, so they can be adapted to fit your library and your school. Sample home pages are included to illustrate each marketing idea presented in the book. Chapters include Public Relations for the 21st Century (setting up a home page, design and copyright issues), Teacher Outreach, Service to Students (ideas and how-to's), Community Outreach (home schooling, public libraries), Promotional Strategies (newsletters, online forms, contests and more), Special Events (Read Across America, National Library Week and more) and Reading Promotion (student book reviews, virtual author visits and more). A bibliography and index are also included.

• Showcase your library program not only in your school, but also in your district and community
• Learn how to easily develop an online reservation calendar, a virtual tour of your library, or a workshop evaluation form
• Establish virtual reference services and promote reading through online book clubs to make your library available 24/7

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586830663
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/01/2002
Series:	Promoting Your Library
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Julieta Dias Fisher is a librarian from Pitman, NJ.

Ann Hill is a library media specialist at Washington Township High School in Sewell, NJ.

Editorial Reviews

Hill and Fisher offer a step-by-step approach to marketing the library program by using the Internet to provide information to students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the community. According to the authors, a home page not only creates a library without walls, but also showcases the library program. Each chapter includes descriptions, planning advice, design considerations, and examples for each marketing idea. Promotional strategies, including special events and reading projects, are thoroughly discussed. Although librarians may feel overwhelmed with all the promotional ideas described, the authors advocate starting small. The book's organization allows the librarian to focus on ideas that can serve as jumping-off points for marketing the library. Particularly helpful are the sample surveys and forms found throughout the book. The inclusion of home pages created by librarians in Australia, Canada, and the United States enhances the book's usefulness. It would have been even more helpful if the authors had annotated the content of all the Web sites. Tooting Your Own Horn is a much-needed resource for librarians wishing to promote the library through the Web. It is enlightening, engaging and chock-full of practical tips. After reading Hill and Fisher's book, librarians will feel energized to create Web pages that will showcase their libraries. Bibliography. Glossary. Index. Highly Recommended.” —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

Public relations aimed at your community-students, teachers, administrators, and parents-is vital for today's library program. The traditional means by which this is done still works, but an even better way is through a library home page. The authors have provided a thorough manual for creating an attractive, informative page for publicizing your library. They present many innovative ideas to showcase your library and its impact on the learning community. The first chapter gives an overview of public relations for today's librarian and how a home page can satisfy that need. Subsequent chapters show how a home page can enhance the teacher collaboration process, involve students in the library program and home page, and publicize special events. Using the home page to portray promotional strategies and materials in electronic format and to encourage reading are also addressed and amply illustrated. Librarians interested in increasing the visibility of their institutions will find this a must read. If you don't "toot your own horn," who will?-Jessica Foster, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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