Visible Librarian: Asserting Your Value with Marketing and Advocacy

Recent law, corporate, and even public library closings are the sad confirmation that libraries are no longer a given. Despite the fact that librarians bring unique value to their communities and organizations, too often their work goes on under the radar. The benefits provided by information professionals are invisible and taken for granted as Internet search engines replace real experts. It's time to assert your value and the value of the resources you marshal. Step from behind the desk or computer to make your community aware of just how indispensable your services are. Here are all the tools you need to become the "squeaky wheel" and attract the attention your work deserves. Use these practical strategies to connect with customers, make services both visible and valuable to the community, and get the word out using proven marketing, customer service and public relations tactics specifically tailored to the library environment. Learn to: Provide the answers your users/customers need; Gather internal and external champions to grow a funding base; Access the resources that keep your enterprise viable; Keep information resources available in spite of budget constraints; Be recognized as a value-provider within your organization or community; Library directors, department heads, solo librarians: Learn how NOT to be invisible! Packed with all the best practices in marketing library services, this hands-on guide provides inspiring stories and case studies of library colleagues around the nation who are successfully advocating and marketing themselves and their services.