Graduate
LIS 761
Public Relations/Marketing for
Libraries
Fall, 2007
Thursday
6-9PM
V-Tel
Instructor:
Alexis H. Sarkisian
President,
ASK ALEXIS
708.524.6949
askalexis@dom.edu
Course
Catalog Description
LIS 761
PUBLIC RELATIONS
A seminar focusing
on skills needed by libraries to research, plan and
implement an effective public relations program for all types of libraries.
Five components are covered: general background, planning, design,
implementation and marketing of the library.
Prerequisites: Core courses plus required management course.
Course
Overview
Marketing
is a discipline that involves specific skills and processes of best
practice. You will obtain the basic
knowledge of marketing and understand how marketing is an integral and
strategic element in the day-to-day management of multi-type libraries. You will learn how to apply the marketing
process to create a strategic library marketing plan utilizing:
1. a customer/patron based orientation;
2. the elements of the marketing mix;
3. the six P’s of marketing, product, price, place, promotion
production,
and publics;
4. the elements that assist in the marketing efforts:
advertising,
PR, sales and promotion
Once you
learn the basic elements of marketing, you will be asked to analyze a variety of library types
based upon the integration of the marketing mix as well as evaluate
effectiveness of the efforts.
Course
Resources
LibraryU
www.libraryu.org Please visit this site and obtain your own
login and
password. There are no fees
assigned. Once you do this,
you will
note in the syllabus that you will be referred to this site.
(1)
Page #2 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
Key
Course Topics
1. Introduction
- What is Marketing?
How does marketing
apply
to the non-profit market place? Is
marketing
PR? Do the skills of librarianship and marketing
have any
parallels?
2. Should
library marketing be customer driven or product
driven?
3. What
goes into a strategic marketing plan?
Who should
be
involved with creating that plan?
4. What
are the six P’s and why are they important?
5. What
is a SWOT analysis and why is it important?
6. What
role does research and information play in the
marketing
process? How is that information obtained?
7. Who
should be executing the marketing plan?
8. How
can partnerships help the marketing effort?
What
can
partnerships offer the library?
9.
What about finances? Should marketing
have a line
in
the library budget?
10. What
role does PR, advertising, sales and promotion
have
in terms of marketing.
11. What
role does perception play in the marketing process?
How does the library
compare with other service oriented
Organizations
and businesses?
12. Getting
the community leaders involved in the library.
Why?
13.
you
know when a situation, experience or interaction can be
turned
into an opportunity?
14. What
constitutes success? When is a marketing
effort successful,
and
how much time does it take to begin seeing change?
Page #3 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
Course
Objectives
This
course is designed to help students:
1. Understand
and define marketing for libraries;
2. Identify
the relationship between marketing and
public
relations, promotion, sales and advertising;
3. Understand
why marketing is critical to the day-to-day
functioning
of a library;
4. Identify
contents that are contained within a marketing plan;
5. Conduct
a marketing audit by collecting data and information that will assist in
writing a marketing plan;
6. Evaluate
information obtained in a marketing audit;
7. Write
a marketing plan to meet needs established in the audit;
8. Establish
a strategic plan for implementing the marketing plan;
9. Create
tools for measuring outcomes of marketing efforts;
10. Learn
how to retool the
marketing mix
11. Define
their own attitudes toward marketing;
12. Understand
that they will be one of the best marketers the library has.
As we
compare these course objectives with the objectives of the MLIS degree program,
we will find that marketing is either directly related or can have a direct
impact on each of the following seven goals:
1. Articulating
and applying a philosophy of service that incorporates
An awareness of the
legacy of libraries and information centers
Within our culture;
2. Promoting
the professional values of ethical responsibilities,
Intellectual freedom and
universal access to information;
3. Identifying
and analyzing information needs and opportunities of
Individuals and
organizations, both within the traditional information
Service areas as well as
the broader information sector;
4. Developing
creative solutions to information problems by
Integrating relevant
models, theories, research and practices;
5. Designing,
implementing and evaluating systems, technologies,
Services and products
that connect users with information;
6. Practicing
a variety of management, communication and
Organizational skills to
facilitate appropriate change within
Learning communities;
and
7. Teaching
others to identify, analyze, organize and use information.
Page #4 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
ASSESSMENT
+ Attendance
Students are expected to attend each
class. Absences
must
be discussed with instructor unless there is an
Emergency. Because a significant portion of the class
Is
based upon group activity. Your
attendance will
be
necessary. Late arrivals will not be
penalized if
occasional
and not chronic.
+ Assignments
Assignments are due as indicated by
instructor unless
discussed
with instructor.
+ Grades
Grades will be based upon the
following:
Class Participation
(30% of Grade) This includes
your
attendance, asking relevant questions, sharing
information,
and participating in class discussion and activities.
Assignments and
Quizzes (15% of Grade)
There will
be
one short quiz and a variety of short
written and reporting assignments.
Group Presentations (20% of
Grade) Students will work in
small
groups to present a marketing plan for a fictitious library
to
be described by the instructor. All
members of the group must
participate
in the planning and the delivery of the marketing plan.
The presentation must be
professional and incorporate the use of
best
practices in adult learning. You will
need to have a summary
of
the marketing plan to offer to the rest of the class in addition to
the
instructor. There must be a complete
marketing plan prepared
and turned in at the time of
presentation. The plan must also include
a suggested budget. Finally, there will be a reflection in terms of how the
groups worked together.
Page #5 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
Upon completion of the marketing plan, the same group will
then create a PR campaign implementing their marketing recommendations. They will focus upon one or more
recommendations and create an activity or an event that is created in direct
correlation to the marketing recommendations.
Marketing Audit (35% of
Grade) You will be expected to
conduct
a marketing audit of at least one public library (can be
your
own) and one other library (can be your own) which could
include an academic, school or special
library.. You will need to
write
a summary report of what you have found including examples
of
documents, photos, web sites, etc. The
report should also include
a swot analysis, how they are utilizing the 6 P’s and
recommendations
for improvement.
It is
expected that all work should be of professional quality and submitted on
time. The analysis and synthesis of
ideas from a variety of sources is anticipated in the assignments. Your assignments should be free of mechanical
errors including spelling and grammar.
Note:
Public Relations
is taught using the Socratic Method of questioning, and
exploration. Each student as a member of
this class is expected to participate, contribute, and collaborate to make our
class time a significant learning experience.
From time to time modifications in the weekly assignments might take
place.
Note regarding late assignments:
Assignments are due at the beginning of the class session on the date
indicated. The grade on an assignment
will be lowered one full grade per week when the assignment is received after
the date due.
Academic Honesty and Integrity:
“All students of the GSLIS are expected to observe high standards of
academic honesty and integrity. Any
student whose conduct violates such standards may be subject to disciplinary
action as determined by due process.”
(GSLIS Bulletin, p. 23)
Page #6 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
Course
Calendar
Week #1 Course Introduction
September
6 Syllabus Review
What is Marketing?
Discussion
of the Communication Model
6 P’s of
Marketing
product, price, place, promotion
production, and publics
In class
small group activity related to the 6P’s
For Week #2
– September 13
Sign on to LibraryU ,www.libraryu.org,
and get your user ID and password
visit Marketing 101 and read through the chapter
Week #2
September
13
Bring in an
article with the Communication Model
Bring in an
article associated with Marketing
Discussion
regarding elements in a marketing plan
Break into
small groups and begin discussion and
preparation for creating a
library marketing plan.
For Week #3,
September 20
Select a non-profit organization in
your community.
describe what you perceive as its marketing
efforts. Are those
efforts customer based?
How
do you know? If it is not, what might
they
do to become more customer based? This
should not exceed two typewritten pages.
\
Week #3 Visit Marketing 102 of LibraryU
May 22
Bring in an
article for class discussion regarding library
Marketing
Discuss Non-profit organizations class selected you may use
any collateral materials to discuss with class as well
Small group
meetings to continue work on your Page #7 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
marketing plan
Due Week #4,
September 27
Using the
same organization that you wrote about
last week, prepare a SWOT analysis for
the organization. What did you learn
from preparing a swot analysis.
Week #4 Bring in an article
associated with marketing/pop culture
September 27 Visit www.ala.org, review the @ Your
Library section
Discuss
the organization SWOT analysis
Small group
meetings to continue work on your
marketing plan
Week #5
October
4
Bring in an
example of a PR campaign that you think
has worked well. Be prepared to discuss it with the class.
You will
have time to work in your groups.
Week #6
October
11 There
will be a short quiz.
Discussion
in terms of how to structure
communication strategies, press kits
Integrating
this strategy into the day-to-day library
Operations
Bring in article associated with the business of marketing
and be prepared to present it to the class.
You will
have time to work in your groups.
Page #8 - Syllabus GLIS 761. Sarkisian
Week #7
October
18 Presentation of the group
marketing plans
Discussion
regarding Creating a PR Plan
with Activities as your next step.
Week #8 There will be an out of
class activity. You will be asked
October 25 to visit a library with which
you are not familiar. There will be a hand
out with a
description of your assignment. The assignment will be presented on November 1.
Continue
working on your PR plans
Week #9 Partnerships – LibraryU - 105
November
1
Review handout
Individual
presentations of last week’s activity.
Due Week 10, November 8
Identify a
library website that you consider to be
“good.” Write a short
description of why
you think the site works and how it is
a good
marketing tool for the library. Come prepared
to present the web site to the class. Be sure
to incorporate the 6 P’s in your
explanation as well as any special partnerships that you have identified.
Videotape
chronicling library card sign-up month
partnership
Work on
group PR Presentations
Week #10 Presentation of
Library Web sites
November
8 How to Work with the Media, LibraryU 104
Review of various ways that libraries work with the media
Review of various options in terms of working with the media
Page #9 - Syllabus GLIS
761. Sarkisian
Work on PR presentations.
Week #11 Integrating Marketing Elements
November
15 How to Launch a PR/Marketing
Effort
Present PR
Plans
Week #12 Marketing Yourself - Prepare a short marketing plan
November
27 plan for yourself
Working
and communicating together to meet the needs of your library
Present
PR Plans
Week #13
December
4 Bring
in article associated with evaluating marketing
Discussion
regarding evaluation and review
of best evaluation practices
Turn in
paper on marketing yourself. Be prepared
to
discuss in class.
Week #14 Each
student will present their marketing audits to the
December 11 class. Each student will include a written
presentation
along with samples of marketing/collateral materials.
Each student
will have up to 10 minutes for their
presentation and a few minutes for Q & A.
Week #15 Continue Marketing Audit
Presentations
December
18