Marketing for Librarians: How to Market What Cannot be Seen

Develop a multi-faceted approach to effectively market the value of your digital library

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This webinar will be of interest to all librarians seeking to promote their library in the digital era. It is especially beneficial to those keen to develop a marketing plan and learn key strategies to connect and build up long-term relationships with their library users.

Welcome to the Bibliomatrix.  In a world where many things including the library has gone digital, how should libraries promote an information service that cannot be physically seen, held or even entered?

This is a question that many librarians ask today, especially those who work and manage all-digital libraries where there is no traditional space for a library collection.  No longer are students able to open the front door to a library and check out a print textbook for their course. Instead, the library is realistically, what users hold in their hands, one that is accessible through smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The digital library is anywhere the user is, and digital content on demand at the point of need.  The biggest challenge is marketing the existence of the digital library to its constituents.

This webinar will provide practical advice and experience from the perspective of an academic health sciences library that exists in the digital realm.  The library’s marketing strategy is simple; to go out within our community and elevate each library user’s success. Elizabeth R. Lorbeer, Chair & Associate Professor, Department of the Medical Library and Library Director, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine will share how you can capitalize on this approach to effectively promote your digital library to your community.

Key Highlights:

  • Develop a plan to promote libraries services and its all-digital collection
  • Learn ways to cultivate library champions and promote their services through attraction
  • Gain practical marketing tips and suggestions on how to do so effectively

Presenter(s)

Elizabeth Lorbeer - Chair and Associate Professor, Department of the Medical Library and Library Director, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Elizabeth Lorbeer

Chair and Associate Professor, Department of the Medical Library and Library Director, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Ms. Lorbeer began her role as the library director for Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in 2013. Lorbeer’s career spans over twenty years as a librarian and administrator. She previously held positions at Boston University, Rush University Medical Center, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is the past-president of the Michigan Health Sciences Library Association, elected board member to both the Medical Library Association and the Society of Scholarly Publishing, and the principal investigator to four National Network of Libraries of Medicine Express Library Digitization Award grants. She regularly consults for publishers and vendors and is a distinguished member of The Academy of Health Information Professionals. She holds the rank of Associate Professor and teaches scholarly communications within the medical education program. Ms. Lorbeer attained her undergraduate degree and earned a Master’s in Library Sciences from State University of New York at Buffalo. She then completed a Master’s of Education in Higher Education Administration from Boston University. Ms. Lorbeer is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership at Central Michigan University.