Marketing National Libraries, Workshop Report

67th Council and General Conference, Boston MA, USA 2001

Introduction

On August 23, 2001, at a workshop sponsored by IFLA's Section on Management and Marketing, directors of national libraries met to discuss the role of the national library in providing access to library collections within a burgeoning marketing industry. The discussion was moderated by Sissel Nilsen, director of the National Library of Norway and Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress. The 4-hour workshop sparked a lively discussion among presenters and workshop participants on the importance of marketing library products and services nationally and internationally. Because the content of the discussion was too rich and multifarious to lend itself to a simple summary, this report captures the full text of all papers presented during the proceedings and highlights the principal ideas expressed during the workshop.

Among the workshop participants there was general agreement that national libraries face many challenges in building an effective strategy to market library products and services. What follows summarizes common questions that must be answered and steps that should be taken by national libraries to implement an effective marketing program. Participants discussed client/server issues that must addressed up front, necessary steps that should be taken to create a marketing strategy that works and results that take place as a consequence of building a successful strategy.

Issues

Should national libraries be involved in "marketing" their products and services at all? Some presenters felt that their libraries are very active in this arena, while others expressed concern - or the concerns of some of their staff - that national libraries should be thought of more as temples of learning than as actors in the contemporary marketplace.

Are those who utilize national libraries readers, users or customers? The choice of terminology reveals much about how national libraries view their roles. Who should national libraries serve, everyone including children, or just adults who need access to in-depth information?

How do national libraries achieve the proper balance between access and preservation, marketing current services to today's readers/users/customers without adversely affecting the research collections on which future generations must depend.

Marketing Strategies

• Develop a mission statement, ideally one showing the role of the national library in supporting national goals.
• Conduct user surveys both internal and external; convene focus groups; and collect data about programs and customers.
• Improve services so that targeted users want to use the national library.
• Simplify the national library's message and points of access to avoid confusing or overwhelming users. Develop a national library web site that is easy to comprehend and navigate.
• Reallocate resources internally to demonstrate to funders that the national library has a clear sense of mission and a marketing strategy.
• Develop partnerships that support and re-enforce the mission of the national library- e.g., cooperative programs with museums and archives.
• Develop active and visible exhibition, publication, concert, lecture and other public programs.

Results

• Funding and construction of new buildings and/or redesign of existing ones.
• Reorganization of national library functions and staff.
• Informed, involved, and trained staff.
• Massive development of national virtual libraries, containing both collections and services.
• Presence on the web that enables many national libraries to become truly national in scope and reach.
• Major increases in users both on-site and virtual.

Presentations

• National Central Library - Rome, Italy
  NATALIA SANTUCCI (Bibliotheca Nazionale Centrale- Roma, Rome, Italy)
  
• National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague, Netherlands
  PERRY J. MOREE (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, Netherlands)

• National Library of Latvia
  ANDRIS VILKS (National Library of Latvia, Riga, Latvia)
• National Library Board, Singapore
  R. RAMACHANDRAN (National Library of Singapore)
• National Library of Scotland
  IAN McGOWAN (National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

• National Library of Australia
  PAM GATENBY (National Library of Australia, Canberra Act, Australia)
• Royal Library of Belgium
  WILLY VANDERPIJPEN (Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium)
• The British Library
  MICK OSBORNE (The British Library, London, UK)

• Library of Congress
  JILL BRETT (Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA)
• National Library of New Zealand
  CHRISTOPHER BLAKE (National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand)
• National Library of France
  VIVIANE CABANNES (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France)