Information Today has This Article by Gary Price who says the library world hasn’t done enough to keep up with the Google juggernaut in defining our role in the Web age. We must do better and we must start now.
Gary suggests we should “energizes” our word-of-mouth marketing by getting to information gatekeepers like journalists, teachers, key members of a company, etc. and demonstrating what out service offers.
He suggests Eight Great Starting Points:
1. Reach out to people who haven’t been in a library in many years. Point out that library services go way beyond the four walls of the library building.
2. Develop personal relationships with users. In the same way bankers used to know their customers’ needs, let people know you are “their” information go-to person.
libraries are in the information business
Railroads lost their dominance of U.S. transportation because they saw their business as running trains instead of moving things by any means. Let’s hope that libraries don’t make a similar mistake with information.