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©1998, SLA WCC

Libraries were encouraged, in the 1970’s and 1980’s to devote more time to public relations. Public relations theory and practice helped us challenge the notion that libraries had "something for everybody." It helped us see that there was no such thing as the general public using libraries, that there were various publics out there, and that in order to communicate the library’s message, we had to target that message very specifically to these various groups. That was the promotion side of public relations: getting the library’s message across to library users and potential users.

But because the library had many different publics, communication had to be established with all of them.

we had to communicate better

So we learned that we had to communicate better with library boards, with the business community, with service clubs, with schools, and particularly with decision-makers: politicians and their staff at local, state and federal levels. That’s where we learned about lobbying - how to interact with politicians at an appropriate point in the legislative, policy-making or budget process in order to achieve our ends.

We learned a lot about public relations from the private sector. Most businesses of any size had public relations or communications departments, and they told us how to establish communications objectives, target our audiences and determine what communications tools would best do the job. As a result we spiffed up our annual reports and brochures; began to develop in-house publications; learned more about advertising. We learned that it was OK to blow our own horns and we were not averse to using the occasional gimmick to attract media attention.

We learned that it was OK to blow our own horns and we were not averse to using the occasional gimmick

We sent out news releases and began to get better newspaper coverage. Many larger public libraries established public relations or community relations departments. This led to an on-going debate about whether it was better to have a public relations professional in the job, or a librarian, who after all, would understand the library better. Acceptance of public relations as a management function and a legitimate activity for the library was pretty much limited to public libraries. Outside of public libraries, and I quote Cosette Kies and her 1987 title, Marketing and Public Relations for Libraries, "There has been widespread skepticism, suspicion and scorn and many have regarded these activities as beneath the dignity of librarians. Some seemed to believe that libraries do not need to be touted in any special way because their innate goodness should some how be obvious to all."

It must have been an enormous relief to many librarians that they saw the emergence of a new buzzword, and a new panacea, another possible answer to a wide assortment of management and organizational ills. Enter Marketing!

Marketing
Here is the difference between public relations and marketing. Public relations encourages a two-way communication with the public, but does not necessarily include the need to align organizational mission, vision, policies and procedures with the public interest. It’s a case of "this is who we are, this is what we do, this is when and where we do it and for whom." It is "telling the library’s story." This is a completely legitimate approach under many circumstances, such as promoting the hours and services of your university or government library to a group of potential clients you wish to attract.

It relies heavily on designing the organization’s services in terms of the needs and desires of its market.

Marketing, on the other hand, requires the alignment of organizational goals and objectives with the public interest. It relies heavily on designing the organization’s services in terms of the needs and desires of its market. Hence the whole concept of exchange that is in the basic definition of marketing. It’s not a two-way thing... it’s a mutual thing... it’s a symbiotic thing... a partnership thing. Think of marketing as "finding out what your customers want and need, and changing, when necessary, to meet those needs."

Marketing is not the promotion of "this is who we are come and get it." It’s "who are you, what do you need and how can I best deliver it to you?" Many of the same tools used in public relations are used in marketing. We do not serve the "general public" or the "university community," we serve segments of those markets. These segments are identifiable by certain characteristics and behaviours. So the concept of targeting audiences is the same as in public relations. Many of the same research tools are used: attitude surveys, community analysis, analysis of library use, needs analysis and other feedback mechanisms such as suggestion boxes or focus groups. Promotion is part of the marketing mix, as it is a part of public relations. So is advertising. So is the need for media exposure. Even lobbying. For example, a new product in the marketplace may require the approval of some regulatory agency of government. A new service of the library may require the support of another government department, faculty or agency before it can be instituted.

... position the library better in its own "marketplace"

We often hear librarians admit that they need to "market the library better." Well, in fact, you do not "market" the library. What you do is position the library better in its own "marketplace," so that there is a mutual understanding and respect for the exchange activities that are taking place. It requires an on-going dialogue with your customers.

The nineties' preoccupation with customer service has evolved from a greater grasp of marketing concepts; a better understanding of customers and their needs; a recognition that their needs are more complex than the simple exchange of money for goods and services. You will find many of the concepts of customer service emerging in any discussion of marketing.

Again, some public and university libraries grasped and embraced the marketing philosophy. Special libraries found it a natural extension of corporate decision-making. Most libraries disdained it. Some decided it was manipulative, hesitating to identify themselves with a process that could also produce such unethical marketing practices as selling unnecessary aluminum siding to unsuspecting senior citizens; time share come-ons and gimmicks and an endless supply of unsolicited direct mail advertising. Other librarians still believe that they know best what the customer wants. Others thought that marketing meant expensive promotional tools and used lack of budget as an excuse.

So marketing was not the panacea many had hoped it would be. Today, the word that is being overused and misused is advocacy. Almost every library will admit to the need for having advocates: most do not understand that advocacy is another aspect of marketing.

Advocacy
Advocacy is a deliberate, sustained effort to raise awareness of an issue or issues. It is an ongoing process whereby support and understanding are built incrementally, using a variety of marketing and public relations techniques.

...sustained effort to raise awareness of an issue or issues

Here is a good example: Look at the whole issue of smoking. Thirty years ago, many more people were smokers. It was beginning to become unacceptable, but a great deal has changed over the intervening years. Attitudes have changed, legislation and public policy have changed, advertising has changed, the products have changed, the number of places where people can smoke has been significantly reduced, and so on. It has been thirty years, but we now see a complete reversal of public attitudes toward smoking. This change was planned, it was deliberate, it was sustained over a long period of time; it was done incrementally. And it was done by advocates. The change in the products, the pricing, the distribution and the promotion of tobacco products is that industry’s response to the change in the marketplace (a good example of cause and effect in advocacy and marketing). Tobacco companies are now withdrawing corporate support from sports and the arts. (This is being viewed by many as blackmail, but it is probably more a reflection of the corporate bottom line.)

The first thing we need to know about advocacy is that it is not an instant solution; it may take decades for results to be manifest. You can measure your progress in each small step that you take. In a sustained advocacy programme, there can be a role for everyone. And everything you do builds on the successes of others. It’s a win-win situation.

If the first thing you need to know is that advocacy takes time, then the second thing you need to recognize is that the same tools that are used for public relations and marketing are used for advocacy: promotion, media relations, networking, government relations, public policy development, community activism, advertising, schmoozing, lobbying, corporate politics, presentations, image-making, new releases, public speaking....

It would be interesting to speculate on where libraries would be today if we had embraced public relations and marketing theories two decades ago and acted on them. What if we had become advocates for libraries twenty years ago? After twenty years of deliberate and sustained efforts to get our cause recognized, would we perhaps be more stable instead of scrambling toward an uncertain future? Would we finally have rid ourselves of our dreadful stereotype?

Summary
Public Relations, includes the activities by which organizations establish and maintain open, two way communication between themselves and their various publics. It is telling the library story in a way that the message reaches the target audiences. "This is who we are, this is when and where we do it and for whom..."

Marketing is human activity directed at satisfying wants and needs through an exchange process. It has to do with finding out what people want and need, and then responding to those needs. "Who are you, what do you need, how, when and where can we best deliver it to you and what are you willing to pay?"

Advocacy is a planned, deliberate and sustained effort to raise awareness of an issue. Support and awareness are built incrementally, using a variety of public relations and marketing tools. Advocacy has to do with collaboration and implies that "Your agenda will be greatly assisted by what we have to offer."

Marketing Plan Worksheet

• Worksheet description
• The Worksheet