Ray Holley, the communications manager for Sonoma County Library, is fascinated with economic development and planning. When he took his current job at the library in 2018, one of the first questions he wanted to answer was… what is the return on investment of a library?
Ray commissioned a respected local economist to conduct an independent study of the library system’s economic impact. The result? A headline-grabbing finding: For every $1 invested in the library, the community received $3.42 in return.
Ray knew this would make for great press coverage. He strategically timed his pitch, used an existing relationship with a reporter, and landed a feature story on the front page of the paper. That story sparked ongoing conversations about the value of libraries and gave the library system a powerful stat they continue to use in marketing and advocacy efforts.
As a former newspaper editor, Ray knows how to frame a story in a way that earns coverage. In a recent panel for the online event “Putting Principles Into Practice,” organized by the Library Marketing Conference Group, he joined me and another former journalist–turned–library communicator, Leslie Marinelli of Forsyth County Public Library, to share insider tips on how libraries can achieve better media coverage.
Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie, Ray, and I shared for getting your library into the news.
1. Know your media market size, so you can tailor your approach to press coverage.
Knowing whether you’re in a small, medium, or large media market helps you tailor your approach and your expectations.
To determine the size of your media market, you need to identify your Designated Market Area (DMA). DMAs are geographic regions determined by the reach of local television stations and are used to define local television and radio markets.
You can find your DMA by consulting Nielsen’s DMA rankings, which are based on population size and the reach of broadcast signals. The top 25 cities on the list are considered large markets. Medium markets are numbers 25-100 on the list. If your area is listed at number 101 or lower, you are in a small market. Why does this matter?
- Small markets may be more receptive to informal pitches, good stories, and contributor-written columns.
- Medium markets might have a mix of overworked reporters and community-focused outlets. Relationship-building and persistence are key in these markets.
- Large markets typically have more gatekeepers and higher competition for coverage. You’ll need a strong angle, professional press materials, and sometimes long-term relationship nurturing to break through.
2. Learn what’s truly newsworthy.
Tip from Ray: “There’s what library staff think is newsworthy, and then there’s what reporters think is newsworthy. Your job is to bridge the gap.” How do you do that?
- Focus on stories that have a community impact, emotional appeal, or broad interest.
- Think strategically. Don’t pitch everything. Pitch what’s most likely to get picked up. Look through your local newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV stations to see what stories they normally cover. And check their social media accounts to see which stories receive a lot of engagement. They’re more likely to respond to your pitch if they think it will draw attention to their platforms.
- Highlight grand openings, author visits, new services, renovations, or impactful patron stories. Those are usually sure bets for press coverage.
3. Personalize your pitches.
Tip from Leslie: “I don’t send out very many formal press releases. I prefer casual emails — sometimes with emojis — and it works better for my small market.” Leslie talked about this approach in depth in this post.
- Know your market (see tip #1). It can help you decide how best to approach reporters. For example, in smaller communities, informal, friendly outreach can be more effective than polished press releases.
- Use conversational language.
- Personalize your email to each journalist, especially if you’re targeting a larger outlet.
4. Build relationships with reporters.
Tips from both Ray & Leslie:
- Read or watch the media in your market. Know who’s covering what.
- Reach out with thanks, praise, or helpful information, even when you’re not pitching a story.
- Say yes when reporters ask for quotes or information and respond quickly.
Ray reads the paper every day and sends personal follow-ups after he sends his press releases. Leslie has even gotten coffee with the editor of her local paper. And when I worked at a library, I often invited reporters for a personal, behind-the-scenes tour to get to know them and vice versa!
5. Pitch less, but pitch better.
Tip from Ray: “Too many press releases can cause outlets to tune you out. Be strategic.”
- Avoid sending releases for every single event, especially small, localized programs.
- Always follow mass press releases with personalized outreach to key contacts.
When a brand-new library branch opened at Forsyth County Public Library, Leslie wrote a formal press release, and she packed it with everything a reporter might need: quotes with emotion, accurate stats, and ready-to-use details. That preparation led to multiple front-page stories, including this one, and a professionally produced video by the local government, something Leslie couldn’t have done on her own as a one-person team.
6. Time your pitches well.
My rules of thumb:
- Big events (e.g., author visits, renovations): Send your release 4–6 weeks out, with a reminder a week before.
- New services: Send your release 1–2 weeks ahead.
- Awards: Send your release 1 week ahead. If you want to send it earlier, include an “embargo notice” which specifies that the news outlet can’t publish or air anything about the story until a specific date. Newsrooms will honor embargoes.
And always include:
- High-resolution images or video that the press can use to add visuals to the story if they can’t get a reporter to the scene.
- Human-sounding quotes. For example:
- Corporate-speak quote (what not to do):
“You can see our dynamic approach to customer service is essential to our strategic initiatives.” - Human-sounding quote (what to do instead):
“We’re adding an online, real-time reading recommendation service because we wanted to do a better job of helping people find the books they want.”
- Corporate-speak quote (what not to do):
- Clear, simple language. As you write, you’ll want to avoid jargon, focus on benefits to the public, and make it easy for reporters (and readers) to understand. For example:
- “The library is opening a brand-new branch with more space, updated technology, and a dedicated children’s area to better serve the community.”
- “This program gives families a chance to enjoy a free movie night together, right at the library.”
7. Write the story yourself.
Media outlets are short-staffed. If you can provide a full article or press-ready content, your chances of getting coverage go up, and you control the message.
Leslie prepares a media packet to distribute at every Library Board meeting, complete with pertinent figures, dates, quotes, and the correct spellings of people’s names so that it’s easier for her local reporters to write stories about the library. This saves her reporters from having to go digging for information, and it leads to much more accurate news stories, which is a win-win for both the library and the newspaper.
Bonus: Offer to write a monthly column for local papers or magazines. Leslie turned her proactive event roundups into a recurring feature!
8. Be your own news channel.
Tip from Ray: “We break our own news via newsletters and email. It gets our message out without relying on the press.”
- Start a blog or email newsletter and communicate directly with your community. Ray’s library has an entire news page with newsletters and blog posts to make it easy for reporters and stakeholders to see the latest library news.
- Share bite-sized stories with elected officials, nonprofits, and other community partners.
- Build a “partner relay” list to quickly spread info during closures or tech issues.
9. When things go wrong, work to control the narrative.
If negative press is brewing, you’ll need to move quickly.
Ray says that when a change in how content was communicated upset some internal staff, one of them contacted the press, claiming the library was turning its back on DEI values. He immediately pulled together a response team, wrote talking points, coached his colleagues, and scheduled a call with the reporter, who happened to be someone he had previously hired!
Because he acted fast and came prepared, the story was successfully reframed to highlight the library’s expanded and ongoing commitment to DEI. It ran as a positive feature instead of a negative exposé. Some other tips include:
- Have talking points ready, as Ray did.
- Role-play interviews with your spokespeople.
- Use your own platforms to clarify or correct the record.
On that last point, while I was working in marketing at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, one of our biggest challenges was the lack of accessibility in several of our historic Carnegie-era branches. We knew renovations were needed and were preparing to ask voters to approve a levy to fund them.
Just as we were in the planning stages of the levy, a Vietnam veteran went to a local news station and shared that he couldn’t access his neighborhood branch because it had no elevator or wheelchair ramp. (Here’s that story.) It was true, but it didn’t mention our plans to renovate the branches.
Instead of ignoring the coverage or going on the defensive, we reached out. I invited the veteran to return to the library for a follow-up story, this time focused on what it would mean to him if he could fully access library services. We recorded an interview and shared it on the library’s YouTube channel.
That heartfelt video helped us take control of the narrative and became a key part of our campaign messaging when it came time to ask the community to vote “yes” on the levy.
10. Show gratitude.
Tip from Leslie: “Send thank-you notes. Nobody gets them anymore, and reporters remember.”
Praise good stories, thank writers publicly and privately, and copy their bosses when appropriate. It builds goodwill and earns more coverage next time.
Need more inspiration?
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