Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Becky Denes grew up on the shores of Lake Erie and spent her formative years in the main branch of the Lorain Public Library System. She recalls hunting for new books, playing Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on the PCs, researching local legends, and scrolling through microfilm for fun.
“As a twelve-year-old, I was even lucky enough to attend the dedication of the Toni Morrison Room at the branch,” remembers Becky. “I met Ms. Morrison, and she signed my mom’s copy of Beloved. For those who don’t know, she was born and raised in Lorain.”
Becky is now a reference specialist at the Amherst Public Library in Northern Ohio. And like many of you, her job includes library promotion.
“I am a one-person PR department,” explains Becky. “I oversee our community engagement, social media, most publications, and other marketing and public relations duties.”
“I post to Facebook and Instagram, typically 5 – 10 posts per week just depending on what we have going on, usually no more than 1 or 2 posts per day. I look at our social media accounts as an avenue for advertising, so most of our posts are program and event promotion and photos, and promotion of our eMedia and materials.”
I met Becky at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference in 2023. She went to the microphone at the end of a session and revealed the secret way she ensures her social media posts are seen by more people in her community.
She uses email.🤯
Becky got the idea to share Amherst Public Library’s social media post by email during the pandemic.
“When we closed at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in mid-March of 2020, like many other library marketers, our social media accounts became my main focus and were our primary form of communication with the public,” recalls Becky. “I did send out email updates as well, but day-to-day, I was posting multiple things on social media on a morning/afternoon/evening schedule.”
“Within the first week or two of this, one of our staff members reached out to me and asked how people who don’t have social media accounts would be able to follow along. This gave me the idea for the Weekly Roundup.”
I’ll be honest: I was flabbergasted by this idea. It never occurred to me to send an email of social media posts to library community members. But it turned out to be a highly effective marketing method for Becky.
“I sent out the first issue of the Weekly Roundup on April 4, 2020,” explains Becky. “It’s going on for almost four years now. It’s scheduled to send every Saturday morning at 8 am, with a two-week hiatus during the winter holidays.”
“The email includes anything that was posted on our social accounts for the week ahead that isn’t time-sensitive like program reminders the day before or the day of a program, for example.”
Becky says the emails are an effective way to reach people in her community of 33,000 residents.
“One of our former board members mentioned to me that several people have told her that they look forward to receiving them,” shares Becky. “Recently, one of my regular patrons asked me if I was the one who sent the emails and told me how much she likes the Weekly Roundup because she doesn’t use Facebook and it’s an easy way to keep up with what we’re doing.”
In addition to the ongoing social media email, this year Becky is considering a rebrand, including a style guide for her small library. She draws on other library marketers for inspiration.
“One of my favorite ideas came from Instagram, where a library that was closed for construction used the phrase, ‘Pardon our progress’”, says Becky. “I used the tagline for our expansion and renovation project that started a few months later in the summer of 2021. I really liked it because, as I told staff and colleagues, our expansion and renovation were something to celebrate, not something to apologize for.”
“While there are some best practices for library marketing, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution! What works for my community might not work for another, and vice versa. The best advice that I can give to anyone is to just try things to see what works.”
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On a cold Sunday in February, I hopped onto a Zoom call with someone I felt I already knew.
About 8 months prior, this Solano County, California resident appeared on my “For You” page on Instagram Reels and TikTok. He shared joyful, heartfelt, hopeful stories of his work and the profound impact libraries had on his life.
So, I must admit that when Mychal Threets came into view on my laptop screen, I was a bit starstruck.
Seated in a staff work area, with a giant cutout of Bob Ross behind him, Mychal graciously squeezed an interview with me into his workday. He answered my questions about the impact his simple, yet profound stories have had on the public’s perception of libraries.
“March of 2023 is when I shared that first story of the library kid who asked me if I’m a boy librarian or a girl librarian,” recalled Mychal. “And I thought that was great. This is the 15 minutes of fame for libraries. Maybe a few more people will get library cards. But it just kept on going, and I’ve just been sharing daily stories and affirmations ever since.”
One of Mychal’s earliest memories is from age three when his mother took him and his siblings to the library to get books. At the age of 5, he got his first library card. But Mychal did not aspire to be a librarian.
“I wanted to be an astronaut, a firefighter, or a police officer,” chuckled Mychal. “I never saw any men behind the library desk. I never saw any people of color behind the library desk.”
“I was struggling, waiting for my next career path. I was at the local library trying to think of my next steps. And I was like, let me ask the person at the desk about how a person ends up working for the library. She already had the site pulled up. She was like, ‘I knew you’re going to ask that soon enough.’”
In 2018, Mychal became a children’s librarian. He loved the silly, carefree nature of the kids he worked with, and he wanted to share stories about the joy of his work with children. So, he started posting to Facebook. The response was positive.
Then, during the 2020 pandemic, Mychal downloaded TikTok and Instagram and began experimenting with videos on those sites. But it wasn’t until March of 2023 that he started sharing those personal stories… and getting traction.
“I was just trying to remind people that the library exists. I try to remind people that the library is for everybody, that everybody belongs. The library is for them, whatever they’re going through in life. That was my whole goal.”
Mychal Threets
As of this writing, Mychal has more than 682,000 followers on Instagram and 680,000 followers on TikTok. His videos have gotten millions of views, and he’s been interviewed by the New York Times, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and Huffington Post, among others. He received the “I Love My Librarian” award and the day before my interview with him, was the recipient of the Tri-City NAACP Unsung Shero/Hero Award.
It hasn’t been an easy road. Mychal is open about his struggles with mental health. And, as is the case for any internet star, he’s faced insults. But his thousands of fans were quick to come to his defense.
His reach extends beyond the normal library loyal crowds. I cannot count the number of non-library friends and family members who have sent me his videos, usually accompanied by the comment, “Have you seen this guy??”
“What I’ve achieved thus far, was never in my mind. I never thought it was a possibility,” admitted Mychal. “I didn’t think I’d go viral once, let alone several times. That has been a huge surprise.”
Mychal’s videos highlight his work and focus on “patron as hero” stories. Mychal explains how the library has impacted the community members he interacts with, in big and small ways.
He fiercely protects the privacy of his patrons, sharing his stories without using names or genders, instead calling his patrons “Library kids” or “Library adults.” He also says that technique prevents misgendering and disrespecting his patrons.
“Most library people don’t mind their stories being shared,” said Mychal. “I’m aware of the platform that I’ve grown. I know that it’s weird to have your story shared with the amount of people who follow me.”
Besides sharing his stories on social media and working full-time at the library, Mychal is working with author, influencer, and illustrator Blair Imani on an event in late March that will be a celebration of natural hair.
“We’re going to get a bunch of books donated celebrating hair love, and we’re just going to give them out to people who come to come to the event,” explained Mychal. “We’re going to have hopefully some very cool people present, including authors, illustrators, barbers, and hairdressers. It’s just a chance for people to celebrate their hair love, to get some free books, and celebrate literacy.”
“My other goal is that I just want everybody to get a library card if possible, and to fall in love with books. So, I’m trying to pursue a nonprofit LLC to celebrate literacy, celebrate our right to read, celebrate the joy of access to books, and just put books in the hands of kids and get them excited about reading.”
Mychal is a big fan of his own library on social media, but he also has praise for other libraries’ promotional work.
“Milwaukee Public Library is probably the best library on social media,” declared Mychal. “They just do such a wonderful job of following trends and then putting a library spin on it.”
“Harris County Library is in a similar vein. They also are very good at accepting being ‘cringe-worthy’ as a library system.”
“Storybook Maze is a street librarian in Baltimore, Maryland. She also has a fascinating job.”
“But otherwise, just BookTok and Bookstagram, in general, is just an easy way to find social media platforms doing great things for libraries, putting libraries on the map in the best way possible to remind people that everyone belongs in the library any different day.”
“I’m constantly impressed by the different libraries that tag me and want me to see their videos. People are doing such wonderful things for libraries and for books and literacy overall.”
As we wrapped up our interview so Mychal could set up a library program, he shared advice for library marketers.
“Always remember, the library is a place where everybody does belong. As I repeatedly say, you don’t have to leave your anxiety, your depression outside the library doors. It’s all welcome inside the library. Every day is a library day.”
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Mike Paulus had a career path like many library marketers I know.
The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native earned a degree in creative and technical writing. He planned and wrote educational video games for the speech-language pathology field. Then he worked at an arts and culture magazine.
“My wife had already worked here for a few years in Youth Services,” explains Mike. “So, I jumped at the chance. I’m still downtown, working a block away from that magazine, trying to have a direct impact on this community. Pretty lucky!”
Mike and his four co-workers in the Programming and Communications Services department oversee all digital and print promotions. They also do a good chunk of the library’s event programming, managing all adult events that use outside presenters. (Sound familiar to anyone?!)
Last year, Mike was given the task of coordinating cross-departmental, library-wide events. The most successful of those events was a Card Crawl.
“Our building recently underwent an $18.5M renovation,” remembers Mike. “We’d just moved back in and reopened the doors in October of 2022. So, the library had a lot of new rooms and amenities, including all these cool outdoor spaces.”
“In spring 2023, we held our ‘Outdoor Open House’ to showcase the new patios, the terrace, the plaza, and whatnot. Just a few hours one afternoon, with free ice cream, free fresh-cut flowers (my wife’s idea), and light activities. We had 750 people show up. This became the model for the Card Crawl.”
As Mike explains it, the Card Crawl is a more robust version of past cardholder appreciation days, held in September during Library Card Sign-Up Month. The library previously had a prize drawing and offered patrons free candy if they showed their library card.
But last year, they expanded with a full-day event on a Saturday in late September.
“We decided to upgrade the cardholder appreciation day using the Outdoor Open House’s basic concept of having activities and giveaways stationed all over the library, near all the cool, new stuff,” says Mike. “The idea of showing your library card to get free stuff (and have fun) was a no-brainer, leading to the ‘Card Crawl’ name.”
“We just wanted the public to get in here and wander around. But showing appreciation for current cardholders and making new ones was the most important part. We wanted to help people feel proud of having a library card, foster those vibes.”
Besides building a lasting relationship with cardholders, the Card Crawl had another big benefit.
“We used the Card Crawl as a way to get different departments working together and excited for a common goal, something tangible of which we all had ownership,” explains Mike.” This included our Friends of the Library group. We also used the event to strengthen some community partnerships, working with Eau Claire Transit on free bus rides, and a local chain restaurant for free ice cream.”
Mike and the rest of the L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library marketing team used the landing page as a hub and promoted the event on all their available channels, including:
Press Release(s)
Facebook posts and Facebook event
Instagram posts and Reels
Email newsletter features
A dedicated email newsletter
In-house posters
Partner promotions
Day-of directional signage and flyers
“For about six weeks before the event, we just feed the new copy and graphics into those channels whenever possible,” remembers Mike. “We also made three HUGE library cards. Before the event, we used them for some fun Instagram stuff. During the event, we set up two selfie stations so people could pose with them, post, and tag us. And now we have these fun, massive library cards to use for whatever.”
Mike says the biggest challenge the marketing team faced was “reigning in all the ideas.”
“Our library’s slogan is ‘So Much More,’” says Mike. “But staff jokes that it should be ‘Too Much More.’ Everyone has such great ideas, and they all want to dive into them. So, my job was to try and keep things doable and sustainable without too much stress. Our committee’s motto was ‘big impact for little effort.’”
“That said, we still had A LOT of moving parts to promote, and you can’t promote everything all at once in every little Facebook post, etc. or it becomes white noise. I had already dealt with this at the magazine I’d worked for, with some large, festival-style events we’d staged.”
“You need to choose a small handful of things (or just one thing) at a time, and then decide the best channel and tone. But when you promote, you’re always pointing back to the landing page for full details.”
The marketing team’s careful balance worked out. The Card Crawl brought in about 1,800 people, three times the library’s normal Saturday attendance.
“We did a week’s worth of card signups, renewals, and replacements in a single day,” recalls Mike. “Checkouts and circulation were through the roof. Culvers scooped 630 scoops of free, frozen custard. Our Friends group had one of their most profitable book sales. We gathered a few hundred emails in a prize drawing. And Eau Claire Transit gave a ton of free rides all over the city to cardholders.”
“We’re lucky enough to have a great Library Board and some big supporters on our City Council. So, we invited those people to come volunteer at the Card Crawl giving away prizes, and to just be a part of the day. It gave the ‘powers that be’ a nice, close-up look at what we do. They got to see our customers all being happy. They got a little ownership of what we do for the community.”
“The day had a great energy with both kids and adults excited to roam the library and bust out their cards for prizes. My wife and I were ‘Card Crawlers’ who snuck around the library with special prize wagons, waiting to be found. Since I don’t work a desk, this gave me an amazing chance to interact directly with customers, which really doesn’t happen that often.”
The prize giveaway the team ran during the Card Crawl not only collected emails for the library’s subscriber list, it provided a little post-event promotion when the library announced the winner in a video.
Mike will do a few things differently for the 2024 Card Crawl. For example, he wished the team had taken more photos of the event.
“Our Youth Services desk pulled double duty as a prize station, in addition to setting up a few different activities,” explains Mike. “That was just too much for the staff we had on hand. Next year, we’re planning on adequate staffing and extra hours.”
“The other big thing was the event’s end time. Things really tapered off in the last two hours of the day. We only had passive activities happening during that time. So, we either need to end it earlier or plan more scheduled events.”
But until September, Mike and the team at L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library have plenty to do.
“Sustaining our annual events, programs, and promotional cycles is enough to fill our days,” exclaims Mike. “The challenge (as always) will be figuring out how to do new stuff while maintaining the old. Maybe letting some stuff go.”
“Right now, our video work goes in phases. We do a lot more videos during promotional downtimes. So, we’ll go from weekly videos for a few months to no videos at all. Finding a better balance is big on my list.”
“We’re also hoping to make time to develop general library marketing campaigns. So more of the ‘Hey! We’re cool! And you’re cool when you use the library! Tell your friends!’ type stuff.”
“If we’re not careful, all we do is fill the promo channels with upcoming events after upcoming events, which gets boring for people pretty fast. We need room for more fun, brand loyalty stuff.”
“Oh, and we also need to top last year’s April Fool’s Day video.”
When he needs inspiration, Mike looks to the work of other libraries.
“The Southern Adirondack Library System’s Facebook account is an absolute meme machine. Slam dunk upon slam dunk. I have no guilt in this: I steal their stuff all the time.”
“I have to mention the Milwaukee Public Library, right? We’re all Sconnie-proud of them. If they could stop being so cool, that’d be a big help.”
“The Joliet Public Library is another favorite on TikTok.”
“I like following libraries with cool or interesting events and services and thinking about how I’d market their events if we were the ones doing them. This usually gives me ideas on how to handle our own stuff. It helps to jump-start your creativity, like a thought exercise.”
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Most of us think libraries are a magical place. But the library Patrick Culliton frequented as a child was truly a place of wonder.
It was in the William E. Telling Mansion in South Euclid, Ohio. Built in 1928, the Telling Mansion now houses the Museum of American Porcelain Art. But back when Patrick was a kid, this historic building was home to the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library system.
“I remember going to storytimes with my mother, studying with friends in junior high, and even exploring the wooded area on the back part of the lot,” recalls Patrick.
Nowadays, Patrick works on a marketing team of two at Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library. He and his coworker manage all the digital and print promotion for the library, which serves a population of 67,000 residents with four locations.
A few months ago, Patrick and the team at Willoughby-Eastlake launched a Banned Book Challenge. The idea came from the library’s Collection Services librarian, who was concerned about calls to remove library materials from shelves.
“I noticed other libraries and educational institutions in Ohio conducting their own events about “controversial” materials, including art shows, book discussions, and guest presentations,” says the librarian, who wishes to remain anonymous. “It felt right to involve the Willoughby-Eastlake libraries in the effort to combat book banning and to educate the public about the matter.”
“To promote the Banned Books challenge, I had our four library branches create a display for their building that encouraged patrons to sign up for the challenge and retrieve a small prize from the circulation desk for noticing the display.”
“The primary goal was to engage readers and encourage them to check out library materials. That is always the main prerogative for all reading challenges—to get patrons in the door and circulating those library materials!”
“The second goal was to show the public what materials are up for debate—currently and throughout history. I assembled a list of 450 books that have been challenged at any point in time in the United States. Patrons and staff alike were surprised to see their favorite books from childhood, such as Where the Wild Things Are on the list with A Clockwork Orange and The Bluest Eye. The public had an opportunity to learn why books were challenged, as well as what is challenged.”
Library staff published a blog post to explain the threat that book challenges pose to all readers. The challenge itself was simple: patrons were asked to read 5 books from the banned books list and enter a drawing for a gift card.
Patrick and his team promoted the challenge using a press release, a graphic for our website carousel, scheduled social media posts, and the library’s e-newsletter.
“The experience itself was up and down,” remembers Patrick. “Our local paper ran a story on it from our press release, and they shared their article on their Facebook page, which got a lot of traction. The comments there were mostly positive.”
“Then, when we sent our e-blast the following Monday, with the Banned Books Challenge as the lead, we received a few angry phone calls and emails. While this was concerning, it spurred us to have a good conversation at our Staff Day. Marketing and Administration then updated some policies related to materials challenges and first amendment audits and then supplied staff with the necessary support and documentation, should these issues arise in the buildings.”
“And I should say, we also got a few positive emails from patrons, too, along with positive comments on our posts about the Challenge. That e-blast had a marked increase in clicks, naturally.”
The email had a click-through rate of 6.5 percent. That’s three times higher than Willoughby-Eastlake’s average click-through rate.
163 people of all ages signed up for the challenge and 35 people completed it, reading five banned books. Two of those patrons won Target gift cards.
“We received a lot of positive feedback both online and in-person,” says the collection services librarian. “Patrons enjoyed the displays and shared the social media posts about the challenge.”
“We also received a handful of disputes, which were handled accordingly. Complaints were mainly made over the phone to the director. Willoughby-Eastlake employees also hosted a panel for the staff, in which they learned more about banned books on a larger scale and how to handle argumentative patrons.”
Now Patrick and the staff are turning their promotional attention to their winter reading Warm-up Challenge and the Solar Eclipse in April.
“We have a LOT of eclipse glasses, programs are being planned, and one of our Librarians received Eclipse Ambassador training from the Great Lakes Science Center,” relays Patrick. “It’s going to be a fun, wild day!
For inspiration, Patrick and the team follow lots of other libraries on social media. And one non-library account: the NE Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Twitter account.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
When Mary Short was little, the local public library was just a block from her school and regular childhood destination.
“My favorite memory is going to the library with my best friend, Nancy, and being able to pick out whatever books I wanted. I felt so grown up,” recalled Mary.
Now Mary is grown up, and working for that same organization, the Grosse Pointe Public Library, as Marketing and Programming Coordinator. She landed the job five years ago after working in communications for a large, international company.
“Before joining I had no idea all of the fabulous services the library provides,” said Mary. “I’m still learning about them. And I love sharing all the great programs and services we offer.”
Mary’s initial lack of knowledge of the full breadth and depth of the library is not uncommon. But here is a vital fact to keep in mind whenever you land yourself a new cardholder.
It costs 5-7 times more to get people to sign up for a library card than it does to get people who already have a card to use it more.
Harvard Business Review
So, it makes good sense for libraries to get their new cardholders to use their cards and keep using them! And the way to do that is through intentional, strategic library marketing. An onboarding email series works, as Mary will tell you.
“When I first started working at the library, I made my brother get a library card,” explained Mary. “He hadn’t had one in years. And he mentioned to me that he didn’t know what the library offered besides checking out books. And I realized we had no way of introducing the library to new cardholders. So, that was one of the primary goals I had was to develop an onboarding series of emails.”
Mary’s email onboarding series consists of six emails in total. The first email is sent 14 days after the patron has received their library card. It’s a welcome to the library from the library director, personalized with the recipient’s first name.
That first email includes an overview of the library’s services. The language drives home the message that the new cardholder is now a member of the library, an idea she borrowed from another library.
“Being a member is so much more meaningful than just being a cardholder,” suggested Mary. “Membership has benefits and you feel more a part of a team, more invested when you’re a member.”
After that, new cardholders get an email every two weeks until the series is complete.
“Each following email focuses on one service,” explained Mary. “Like downloading or streaming music with your library card for free, getting magazines for free, using our special collections such as the tool library, seed library, Wi-Fi hotspots, and book discussion kits. The final email is 10 totally free things you can do with your library card.”
Using this strategy, Mary’s library now has a new cardholder retention rate of 70 percent, a phenomenal success. Even with that great rate, Mary occasionally tweaks her messages.
“After a few months, I check to make sure the messages are still relevant and update some of the images or add a new service,” explains Mary. “It’s important to keep the messages current.”
When Mary isn’t celebrating her onboarding email campaign success or doing the other library promotions, she is looking for inspiration… from you!
“I signed up for a ton of email newsletters from a variety of libraries including the New York Public Library and the Oak Park Public Library in Chicago,” shared Mary. “I also visit libraries whenever I travel, and I take their materials and see how they position their signage.”
“One of the first ideas I borrowed from a library was from the New York Public Library. They did a promotion as a take-off on Black Friday. They created great graphics around that theme and said everything is 100 percent free at the library. I loved it. I contacted them to make sure it was ok for me to steal the idea and they said, of course, you can use that. That was before I knew libraries are wonderful about sharing ideas.”
And Mary considers herself fortunate to do this library promotional work for Grosse Pointe.
“I never would have dreamed I’d be working for my local library,” said Mary. “I feel so honored to have this job. I learn something every day and am so proud of all that our library does for the community.”
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
On a mild night in April 2019, I arrived at a steak restaurant in Schaumburg Township, Illinois to have dinner with a group of people I’d never met.
I had been invited to speak at an event put on by the Illinois Library Association. I was set to meet some of the library marketers who conspired to bring me to their event.
That’s the first time I laid eyes on Sue Wilsey. Sue is the gregarious, dynamic Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing for Helen Plum Library.
Sue is a lot of fun. She has a set of eyeglasses to match every single outfit. And she’s a fierce advocate and supporter of libraries.
At that table, I first heard her talk about her work to help bring a new library building to her community. Now, four years later, the new Helen Plum Library is finally open. I asked Sue and her team to share how they managed the final piece of that journey: the communication surrounding the building’s opening.
Sue works with Marketing Content Coordinator Emily Bradshaw, who volunteered at Champaign Public Library for a short time during her undergrad.
“I will never forget during my orientation tour, a proud library staff member showed me their new automated materials-sorting machine,” remembered Emily. “They had placed a Sorting Hat from Harry Potter on top of the platform where it scanned in the books. I knew I had found my people.”
Kristie Leslie is Marketing Manager for Helen Plum. She and her twin sister met their current adult groups of friends at a library storytime as preschoolers.
The final member of the team is Graphic Designer Steph Koblich, who grew up browsing picture books at the library, and admiring their illustrations, which led her to a career in illustration and design.
“My high school was a few blocks from a library, so I would walk there after school almost daily to read or study,” said Steph.
As for Sue, she’s been an avid library user since she was a pre-teen.
“My local branch library was more than a mile away, but my two younger sisters and I happily clomped through the snow or dripped with sweat carrying arms full of Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins books,” recalled Sue. “So, it was natural that decades later while needing to research a new career move, I visited my suburban neighborhood library. There are saw a job opportunity posted for a Marketing Supervisor. I knew I had found the final chapter of my life.”
The Helen Plum Library dates to 1928. The original building was the home of Colonel William and Helen Plum. A new library was constructed and opened in 1963, then renovated in 1978.
But in 1999, a space needs study called for an expansion that would more than double the size of the library building to 79,000 square feet. It took another 17 years for the library to secure the funding and property they needed for the construction and operation of a new facility.
Then the project hit a snag. After several years of negotiation with the library’s neighboring Park District, the two parties were unable to come to a suitable agreement regarding air rights and other construction issues. The Library Board decided to relocate to a new site that would best suit the needs of the community. There was an upside to this approach: the new building could be constructed without interruption to day-to-day operations.
“The key to this story is how we were able to convince a Chicago suburban community to vote in favor of a referendum that would raise their taxes,” said Sue. “I personally spoke to folks in the community at nearly 50 different places. We held meet and greets at local watering holes, met with parents and teachers at their schools and organizations, and went to churches, clubs, and service organizations. We recruited believers to help fundraise for lawn signs and ads. Our supporters received a great amount of guidance from John Chrastka and EveryLibrary.”
And that hard work paid off. The new facility, which opened in April, includes a drive-up window, a maker space, and lots of room for patrons to browse and mingle.
“The access to equipment and all of the possibilities for creating that our Studio 411 maker space provides is what I am personally most excited about,” exclaimed Steph. “From color and fabrics to natural light, every spot in the library is aesthetically pleasing and welcoming.
“I’m personally quite excited for our new fireplace as well as the two outdoor spaces, a children’s garden, and outdoor patio,” said Emily. “Everything will be so beautiful, and I’m really looking forward to taking gorgeous Instagram pics!”
The library created a landing pageto communicate everything involved with the move.
“The inspiration for the ‘dashboard’ approach came from our COVID-era communications,” explained Kristie. “We wanted one place for patrons to be able to see everything at-a-glance during our closure in 2020, with the bonus of also keeping the content updates focused on one spot rather than the headache of having to hunt throughout the site for making changes.
“We started with everything we thought necessary and considered it a living document. “If we received a question that we consider other patrons likely to have, we would add it to the page.”
And there were lots of other communication channels to consider as the project progressed.
“Our communications plan included myriad facets, from regularly updated videos of the ongoing construction posted on our website and linked in our social media, to print mailers to the community,” said Sue. “We also held a series of virtual ‘Community Conversations’ for the public with our architects and administrators. Recordings of those meetings are available online.”
“Before and during the move, we made information available at services desks as well as in our email newsletter and social media channels detailing which services would and would not be available during the closure,” explained Emily. “We encouraged patrons to sign up for reciprocal borrowing at nearby libraries and promoted our digital materials and resources heavily.”
As you can imagine, there were lots of challenges for the marketing staff at Helen Plum, starting with the uncertainty of the construction schedule. Supply chain issues and other construction glitches caused delays. But the team decided to be open and transparent about the process with the community to help combat concerns and complaints.
“What has gone smoothly is the abundance of community support we have received and the resilience of our staff members,” said Sue. “The flexibility and pivoting that was learned during the pandemic has been valuable in this process.”
As the move-in day approached, the marketing team began prepping for the grand opening celebration.
“We sent a printed invitation to the residents of Lombard and posted Grand Opening information on our website, social media, and email newsletters,” explained Emily. “We also sent out press releases and got coverage from several local newspapers. We partnered with local restaurants to provide small bites throughout the Grand Opening weekend, and several of those restaurants posted about us on social media, as well as some other local businesses whom we didn’t partner with but who were so excited to see us open!”
“One of the most fun collaborations was with two local breweries who created special library-themed brews for the occasion,” continued Emily. “We took some photos and videos with them and made custom coasters which we included in gift bags at the Grand Opening and at their breweries.”
Emily also helped produce a video in which prominent community members pass the library’s copy of Mo Willem’s Waiting is Not Easy from the old library to the new library.
“It made many of our followers emotional,” shared Emily.
The library’s grand opening weekend drew a whopping 5,508 attendees, far more than the marketing team expected! Guests received a swag bag, participated in a scavenger hunt, and munched on local snacks.
“It was amazing to see the place come alive with patrons who were so thrilled to finally step inside their new library,” remembered Emily. “We were overwhelmed by the amount of joy and support we received that weekend. I think everyone was a bit shocked – in the best way!”
The library recently sent an extra-large version of their summer newsletter featuring building photos to all residents, to make sure everyone who couldn’t attend the grand opening understands the value this new building brings to the community.
Now, as the library staff settles into the building, the marketing staff of Helen Plum is planning for a new, busier normal. There are still areas of the library undergoing construction, so they’ll continue to provide updates on building developments as the space comes to life.
“For example, since opening, we’ve added a fire table to our outdoor patio space, bike racks, a coffee machine, and some beautiful wallpaper murals,” explained Emily. “Our maker space, Studio 411, is still adding new equipment, and we hope to launch programs in that space in the fall. We are also kicking off our 2023 Summer Reading Program on June 1, and we’re looking forward to using that as an opportunity to welcome patrons who haven’t gotten a chance to stop by yet.”
“As we all get the hang of things in the new space, we plan to dip our toes into exhibits and library-wide events that can bring the whole community in and give us village-wide exposure,” planned Kristie. “I’m so excited to have seen such a huge uptick in new cardholders—from April 22 to May 22, we registered 1,133 new cardholders, an over 600 percent increase from the previous year.”
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