You know the line: Why go to the library? Everything’s free online. Well, today we’re calling that bluff.
Because spoiler alert — everything is not free online, and your library has way more to offer than people realize, as you well know!
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I’ll share fun and creative ways to bust that myth and build a campaign that showcases the real magic of the library.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
When she was growing up in Leicester, Massachusetts, Linnea Sheldon found the library to be… boring.
“While I enjoyed reading and admired the librarians, the library itself didn’t feel very exciting,” confesses Linnea. “Today, libraries are dynamic community hubs offering so much more than books, and I love that part of my job is sharing these opportunities with the community. When people say, ‘I didn’t know the library did that,’ I can truly relate.”
Now, in her role as Community Relations and Communications Manager for the Worcester Public Library, Linnea works hard to make sure her community finds the library to be exciting and dynamic. She’s a team of one, communicating to a city of more than 210,000 residents across seven branches and two bookmobiles. She does receive generous help from library staff with tasks like social media posts, flyer design, calendar postings, and more.
And the library is vital to this city. Linnea says nearly 20 percent of her community lives in poverty. So, when she was approached in 2023 about offering a fee forgiveness program, she was fully supportive.
“We had many kids who went home before the pandemic and left books behind in schools,” explains Linnea. “We also have a growing population of unhoused individuals in our community, and we were finding that we were losing patrons because they had lost or damaged items on their accounts.”
“From a marketing standpoint, I knew that the right hook was key for an initiative like this to succeed. I also knew I would have no budget. My goal was to come up with something fun and easy enough that people would not only want to participate but would also want to tell their friends and family about.”
Linnea, who is a self-professed “cat person,” decided to lean into her love for felines to create her campaign, which she called March Meowness. The premise was simple: People could trade cat photos for fee forgiveness.
“We began planning in the fall of 2023 and chose March 2024 because there weren’t any competing campaigns planned,” explains Linnea. “The actual marketing push happened just a week before launch. With limited time and resources, I created our collateral and focused on social media, signage, and email as our primary channels.”
“Another pivotal decision was to pitch the story to the media before we launched it ourselves. Local outlets loved the playful concept, and the first article went live within the hour. Even press outlets in Boston picked up the story, and from there it snowballed. By the time we officially launched on our website and social media, we already had significant buzz and community interest.”
Linnea says the community response far exceeded the library’s expectations. Worcester Public Library decided to launch the promotions a few days early, at the end of February. Patrons were thrilled to be welcomed back in such a fun, positive way.
“What surprised us most was that even people without fees wanted to participate,” says Linnea. “Many people asked if their cat photos could be applied toward another community member’s account, a generous show of support that really embodied the spirit of the campaign.”
The library displayed submissions on a “cat wall,” and soon cat photos started arriving from across the country. After the story was picked up by The New York Times, it spread internationally, and the library was suddenly receiving cat pictures from all over the world.
“The volume was incredible, and staff from across departments volunteered to help,” recalls Linnea. “We developed a workflow: Some saved the photos, others responded to emails, others formatted and printed the pictures, and still others hung them on the wall.”
“Our circulation staff cleared fees for patrons, and my director and I fielded multiple media requests every day. It was an all-hands-on-deck effort, and while it was exhausting, it was also one of the most energizing experiences we’ve ever had at a library.”
Besides the multitude of patrons whose fees were forgiven, the campaign led to some incredible marketing results. Those included:
10.7 percent increase in physical visits
9.2 percent rise in circulation
10.2 percent increase in new library card registrations when compared to the previous month.
46 percent increase in website traffic
244 percent increase in engaged Facebook users.
120 percent increase in Instagram interactions
16 percent increase in TikTok followers from the previous month.
“We also tracked over 500 media stories on March Meowness,” shares Linnea. “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt even came to our library to shoot a story.”
“But the real impact was seen when you look at how our patrons were helped. Staff successfully unblocked 930 patron accounts during the campaign, while the Library Board of Directors later approved the forgiveness of an additional 3,787 accounts due to the success of the campaign.”
This past June, Linnea and her library received a John Cotton Dana Award for the campaign. That’s how I first heard about it. Sitting at the award ceremony, I can tell you there was nary a dry eye in the room when Linnea described the outpouring of cat photos from people around the world, eager to help her community reconnect with their library.
And it’s no surprise that Linnea and the library repeated the campaign this year, with a few adjustments.
“We knew nothing could match the scale and virality of the original campaign,” explains Linnea. “This year, we launched March Meowness 2.0: Marchier and Meowier. For every cat photo donated to our cat wall, the Worcester Public Library Foundation pledged $1 toward our summer reading programming.”
“The response was wonderful, we received 2,500 photos, and once again, community members came out to see the cat wall grow. We also introduced a new element: a cat mascot with a community naming contest, which resulted in the winning name Whooskers.”
“While this year’s campaign was more localized and didn’t capture the international attention of the first, our community was still excited for its return and embraced it as a fun, meaningful way to support the library and one another.”
“One of the best outcomes of this campaign was the way it allowed staff to connect with patrons and the community in an entirely new way. Library work can be particularly challenging. We deal with serious issues every day and support people in deeply meaningful but often difficult ways. March Meowness brought a sense of lightness and joy.”
“The initiative also opened incredible doors for our library and for me personally. In the past year, we have received more awards than at any other time in our organization’s history. The campaign has connected me with library marketers across the country and strengthened relationships within my own community in ways I never imagined possible.”
And when she’s not creating award-winning campaigns, Linnea says she looks to other libraries, nonprofits, large companies, and this blog (thank you!) to stay on top of trends and get creative ideas.
“I’m subscribed to a wide range of email marketing lists, I’m a regular social media user, and I follow marketing and nonprofit influencers on LinkedIn,” shares Linnea. “I also make a point to research the campaigns and libraries that win marketing awards each year. It’s inspiring to see the creativity and innovation happening across the field.”
“Harris County Public Library was one of the first libraries that really stood out to me on social media; they showed me that taking a slightly unconventional approach could actually expand your reach.”
For a library looking to launch a campaign like March Meowness, Linnea has four key pieces of advice.
Always start with your patrons. This campaign may have been fun and lighthearted, but it grew directly out of a real need identified by our New Users Task Force. Our community needed a fee forgiveness program to remove barriers to access. Without that foundation, the idea wouldn’t have resonated the way it did.
Lean into what makes your library unique. For us, it was cats. We were already known for our cat memes, and many staff (me included) are passionate cat lovers. That authenticity made the campaign feel natural and genuine, which helped it connect with people.
Remember that making marketing fun can actually make your job easier. While responding to the overwhelming interest took a lot of work, the creative and promotional side of the campaign was surprisingly simple. Of course, not every initiative lends itself to this kind of playful approach, but finding ways to add a little fun to a program or campaign benefits both patrons and staff.
It helps immensely to have supportive colleagues and leadership. Over the years, I’ve built strong relationships with staff and with our Executive Director, who is always willing to try new and creative ideas. That trust and openness were critical in bringing March Meowness to life.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Where I live, the air is thick and humid right now, the fault of something called “corn sweat.” That’s the process of corn plants releasing moisture into the atmosphere through transpiration, similar to how humans sweat. My friend from my TV days, meteorologist John Gumm, says the corn crop in my area is releasing billions of gallons of water daily. Fun, right?
To cool off, I swim laps at the local YMCA. And underwater, I have a lot of time to think. Lately, I’ve been using that time to figure out how to help my library friends prepare for what will come when the weather turns cooler.
In the United States, the full ramifications of the loss of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and its funding will hit in September. For libraries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, funding cuts and intellectual freedom challenges are making work more difficult and threatening the core mission of libraries.
Longtime readers may already know that I’m not the kind of person who says, “There’s nothing I can do about it” very often. Action is how I deal with my anxiety. So, here’s the plan of library marketing action for the coming months.
The Big Problems We Face
Library marketers face a lot of obstacles. But in the coming months, the big threats are:
Decline or elimination of funding for libraries, which leads to…
No money for marketing or promotions, which impacts the effectiveness of our marketing, making it seem like marketing is no longer valuable. That often leads to…
Hiring freezes or the elimination of dedicated library marketing staff, which leads to…
Less use of the library, which leads to…
More funding cuts and library closures.
We do not want to get caught in that vicious circle.
What Library Marketers Need to Do
1. Lead with your value.
As we face the prospect of shrinking budgets and rising scrutiny, your library’s value must be front and center. And you must create a plan that communicates that value clearly and consistently, not just during certain times of the year like Library Works Week or National Book Month, but all year long.
Use every channel you have to reinforce how your library improves lives. Share patron success stories, promote your most-used services, and highlight how your library supports literacy, learning, and community connection.
2. Focus on the most cost-effective promotions.
We still have a good many low-cost, high-impact channels for promotions. But focus is the key.
This fall, I want my library marketing friends to spend their time and precious money on the following:
Email marketing: This is still one of the most effective tools for engagement. Targeted, opt-in messages are the most effective means of communication, with no algorithm to circumvent. So, get a plan together to grow your subscriber list now. And, as you put your emails together, think of them as a conversation between you and your audience. Try to keep your messages short and enticing. And offer your email recipients a way to email you back with feedback and questions. It will make them feel valued, and that feedback will make your messages stronger and more effective.
Collection marketing: Books are the heart of what you do. And we know most people come to the library for the collection. Don’t shy away from books! They’re your brand. Promote your books, databases, and digital resources through curated lists, displays, and themed promotions.
Strategic partnerships: Work with local organizations to amplify your reach without spending more money. Partnerships can take time to cultivate, but the investment is worth it. Your partners can strengthen your library’s offerings and give you access to audiences you’ve never reached before.
Organic social media: I put this last because of my mixed feelings about it. Social media effectiveness overall is declining. But posts that tell stories, highlight staff, or have some kind of interactive element like a poll or question, do boost visibility. So don’t use your social media accounts to highlight programs. I know that’s going to be upsetting to some readers, but the data shows it doesn’t work. Instead, think of your social media as an effective way to build relationships and reinforce your library’s personality.
3. Make it easy for new users to engage.
The moment someone signs up for a library card is critical for library marketing. It’s your first chance to make a good impression and use that person’s “new cardholder” status to convert them to a lifelong fan! You should:
Create a “New Here?” section on your website with the same information as the email series.
In those emails and on that website section, highlight services that are easy to access and immediately useful, like eBooks, streaming movies or music, or personalized reading recommendations.
4. Empower your front-line staff.
Your staff are your best ambassadors. Train them to talk about services, recommend materials, and encourage sign-ups for newsletters or events. Give them talking points so they can highlight personalized services like readers’ advisory, chat reference, and book bundles. These human touches build loyalty and word-of-mouth buzz and reinforce the message that your library is filled with helpful people.
5. Track what matters — and act on it.
No more excuses… stop doing what doesn’t work, even if it’s something you’ve always done. That means:
If your supervisor pushes back, ask them to message me. Seriously.
6. Experiment.
All marketing is an experiment. And some people shy away from experimentation during tough times. But now is the perfect time to try innovative approaches!
Try sending your videos in an email to see if you get more views.
Launch a blog or podcast.
Pilot a new format for your newsletter.
Test a new tone or voice in your messaging.
7. Streamline your approval process.
If internal red tape is slowing you down, advocate for a more efficient workflow. There are a lot of things you can do to make the approval process less painful,
Use templates to speed up content creation.
Set clear deadlines and expectations.
Build trust with leadership by showing how faster approvals lead to better results.
What are you doing to prepare your library and yourself for the challenges ahead? Let me know in the comments.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
My former employer recently purchased sponsored content in the local newspaper to educate the Cincinnati community about all the library has to offer. When I saw the ad, I knew exactly what they were doing: Trying to drive more use of the resources they spend so much time and money curating for the community.
I’m frustrated by the fact that many regular community members are unaware of the existence of these databases. It’s great if you have the money to promote them. But most libraries have no advertising budget. So, how do they drive the use of the databases?
This is a marketing problem I want to address with this post. It’s vitally important for your library to boost usage of your databases so you can make the case to keep the budget you’ve set aside for them! A year-long promotional plan with strategic key messages can help you build awareness and turn occasional database or library users into regular users who rely on your library for information.
This plan goes beyond the normal “Did you know we had that?” campaign. It focuses on the core problems each database solves for your community. This method will effectively explain to your community why the database is essential to their life. Here’s how to do it.
Identify the problem the database solves
Your first step is to set aside time to play with the database yourself. This “playtime” is how you’ll uncover the real value of the database.
Pretend you’re a curious patron exploring it for the first time. What features catch your attention? What tools are easy to use? What specific problem does this database solve for your community? Is it saving students time on citations? Helping job seekers prep for interviews?
Write the problems down as you explore the database. Those problems will be the focus of your campaign. This will keep you from promoting the database with language that sounds generic, like “access to great information.”
Generic benefits are too vague to meaningfully connect with or interest your patrons. They don’t address the real-life needs of your community. And they make your library marketing sound like every other piece of marketing content out there in the world.
Call the database by its name and tie it to your library
Patrons usually have to sign in to the database using their library card, and that action can create a separation in the mind of your patron between your library and the database.
Using the name of the database builds name recognition for the resource. And, with a consistent, deliberate effort to add your library’s name to each database, (“NoveList Plus at the Maple Tree Library” or “Consumer Reports from the Maple Tree Library”), you will begin to create a connection in your patrons’ minds that solidifies all that your library provides.
Promote one database each month
Create a simple month-long campaign for each of these databases. Consider:
Who is the ideal patron who will benefit from this resource? This is your target audience for the month.
What channels are best for reaching your target audience? Focus your library promotions on those channels only.
Set goals for the month. How much of a usage increase will you be aiming for? This number will likely be different each month. Be sure to write your goals down and check at the end of the month to see if you’ve accomplished them.
12-month database promotional plan
I’ve put together a calendar of promotions to get you started. I’ve also identified the problem each database solves and suggested two potential key messages for your campaigns. Don’t you have one of these databases? Feel free to substitute any resources you wish for any month!
January: Homework Help Database (e.g., HelpNow, Tutor.com)
Problem it solves: Students get help with homework they might not receive at home due to busy caregivers, the cost of private tutoring, or a lack of subject expertise. These databases also typically offer test prep and FAFSA help.
Potential key messages:
Homework help is one click away. Get free online tutoring, test prep, and more—all from the comfort of home.
Test prep without the stress. SAT, ACT, and more—no expensive classes are required.
February: Full-Text Academic Research Databases (e.g., JSTOR, Academic Search Premier)
Problem it solves: Gives users access to credible, peer-reviewed sources with no unreliable websites or paywalls.
Potential key messages:
Say goodbye to paywalls. Find full-text articles for your next paper—free with your library card.
Need solid sources without the stress? These articles are 100% human-written and citation-ready—no AI, no trouble.
March: LinkedIn Learning or Career Skills Services
Problem it solves: Free training in business, tech, and creative skills for career growth.
Potential key messages:
Learn new skills. Land the job. Free classes in Excel, coding, communication, and more.
Your next promotion starts here. Learn in-demand skills on your schedule, at no cost.
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How can a Friends of the Library group successfully spread the word, attract more donations, and recruit new members? They need marketing and branding! But they often don’t have the expertise or budget. So… then what?
This is a very niche episode that you’ll want to send to your friends of the library group!
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library with a brilliant idea for a simple library storytelling video.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
If your library is having trouble getting new cardholders and you want to attract more people but don’t have any money, what do you do? In this episode of the Library Marketing Show, I’ve got four tips for you!
Plus, we’ll do kudos but with a twist. This shout-out goes to a podcast and all the librarians who have appeared on it.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
How exactly do you market to a niche audience? I have a viewer who wrote that they work for a particular kind of library and want some help with marketing advice. And I think this advice actually applies to everyone working in library marketing.
So, we’re going to get into niche audiences in this episode of The Library Marketing Show!
Plus, kudos go to a library that introduced a new staff member to the media.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
A viewer wants to know how you get people who have a library card but haven’t used it in a long time to return to the library and use the library! That’s a very common question that has stumped library marketers for years.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I share my top four tips for re-engaging inactive cardholders.
Also, I’ll give kudos to a library that received press coverage for an event this year by telling the story of a patron who attended the event last year!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Kelly Rembert grew up in rural Wisconsin but went to Detroit after college.
“Growing up, I visited the library regularly but never thought of working there,” confesses Kelly. “I loved the books and looking at the displays. In college, I studied journalism and German. ”
“After college, I was working as a secretary at a bank ‑ which wasn’t for me – and read an article about how a bunch of librarians would be hitting retirement age soon. It was a lightbulb moment. I realized that I like working with people and I like books, so I enrolled in library school a few weeks later at Wayne State University.”
Kelly now works as an Outreach Librarian for Southfield Public Library, which is located in a suburb of Detroit. The library has an individual location serving 80,000 residents.
Kelly started soon after the ribbon was cut on a new building, some 21 years ago. She’s part of the Community Outreach department, which oversees the library’s marketing, promotion, exhibits, and large programs. In addition to Kelly, the department has a full-time intern, a part-time graphic artist, and a part-time assistant.
One day, Kelly was attending a webinar when she got a big idea for a publicity campaign called 30 Days of Savings.
“I wanted a way to call attention to all the great things the library can do to help save patrons money and time, especially with the high inflation cutting into our paychecks. We decided to highlight one library program or service each day.”
-Kelly Rembert
“We came up with ideas and taglines. We fought against our wordy librarian tendencies and kept the tagline short and simple.”
“We highlighted services that fit the day. For example, Election Day was ‘Learn from History: Study the Past to Define the Future.’ The Saturday after Thanksgiving was ‘Stream Movies: Save on Streaming’, where we highlighted free movies on Hoopla and Kanopy.”
Though the planning process began in June, the library decided to launch 30 Days of Savings in November. They put all the information into a spreadsheet which included the message idea, the tagline, and the URL to be used by patrons.
From there, the library’s graphic artist produced graphics to use in print, on the website, and on social media.
In October, Kelly and her team created the website, got all the social media posts scheduled, and printed out signs and a large calendar. Before they knew it, it was November, time to launch the campaign!
“First thing each morning, the savings of the day were posted on Facebook and Instagram and highlighted on our website,” explains Kelly. “The savings item was also added daily to a large calendar located in our lobby. A special e-newsletter was sent at the beginning of the month to highlight the 30 Days of Savings program, and the daily savings items were featured in our weekly e-newsletters.”
“Information about the campaign was also sent to our local schools and some of them shared it with their students. Additionally, we sent out information to our elected officials and key community contacts and it was featured in the weekly Lathrup Village e-newsletter, which is our contract community.”
The month passed quickly and soon it was December. Kelly and her team were eager to analyze the results of their campaign.
“We looked at our statistics to find out if the campaign was a success,” says Kelly. “We compared our web views in October, before the campaign, to our numbers in November and each page view went up. The 30-day webpage was viewed over 1,300 times and we had almost 1,600 clicks from our e-newsletters.”
Putting the campaign together took thought and planning but no outright costs. Since the parameters are now set up, continuing the program will be easy.
“We plan to repeat this each April and November,” comments Kelly. “We will highlight the services we didn’t fit into November and repeat some programs and services again. This is a great way to draw attention to some of our lesser-known services.”
She gives your library full permission to replicate the 30 Days of Savings.
“I hope that other libraries will gain inspiration from this and put their own spin on it,” declares Kelly. “What benefits one library benefits us all.”
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 