Building Community Partnerships: 25 Profitable Ideas Presented by Kathy Dempsey Editor: Marketing Library Services newsletter published by Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ www.infotoday.com/mls kdempsey@infotoday.com Consultant, Owner: Libraries Are Essential www.librariesareessential.com Kathy@LibrariesAreEssential.com Author: The Accidental Library Marketer www.librariesareessential.com Blogger: The M Word: Marketing Libraries www.themwordblog.blogspot.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathydempsey Medford, NJ Texas Library Association 2010 Annual Conference San Antonio April 15, 2010
25 Profitable Partnership Ideas Today, it s more important than ever to have community partners. Not only can they help you reach your goals, but they can also help save your skin and keep you solvent. All of you need to know how and why to form alliances with other people and organizations. It s essential to make friends before you really need them. Once you re in panic mode, it s already too late. Why not start today? Here are 25 ideas to get you going: 1. Join the Chamber of Commerce or Speakers Bureau to meet community leaders and business owners. 2. Join community service groups such as the Kiwanis, Lions Club, Jaycees, Rotary, etc. to meet people and to join or to benefit from community projects. Kiwanis International: www.kiwanis.org Lions Clubs International: www.lionsclubs.org Rotary International: www.rotary.org 3. Partner with grocery store owners to hold story times there, to put a book drop or a branch there, or to get discounts on food & beverages. www.wrl.org/feedmeastory 4. Have events in a nearby shopping mall to attract people who may not come to your location. www.infotoday.com/mls/nov05/gruber.shtml 5. Find groups with similar values or missions, such as historical societies, genealogical groups, medical or trade schools, special-interest groups, etc. 6. Identify target markets that could use your help, such as assistants of college deans, secretaries of CEOs, aides of government officials, city/county commissioners, sports coaches, etc. 7. Work out trade deals with small business owners for in-kind services. 8. Seek out IT experts that might trade their services for yours. These could include owners of computer-repair services, companies that build websites, or people who sell things on ebay.
9. Contact college professors to see if they would create student projects that are actual work for you. Marketing classes can create marketing plans and promo materials for you; design classes can create logos for you to choose from. http://www.infotoday.com/mls/nov09/ 10. Join with scout troops or other youth organizations to offer them service projects that benefit the library. Boy Scouts of America: http://scouting.org Girl Scouts of the USA: www.girlscouts.org 11. Form an alliance with videogame stores, skateboard shops, or arcades. See if the management will help you promote teen reading by giving coupons or game tokens to kids who read X number of books from your library. 12. Work with school gaming clubs to get gaming events ramped up in your library. 13. Approach a restaurant about having a "Dine & Donate Night" where a small percentage of the proceeds from one night of dining goes to your library. http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/another-idea-for-partnering-and.html 14. Instigate meetings with office assistants and liaisons of government officials to ask what their information needs are, and then to explain that filling those needs is part of your library s mission. 15. Contact organizations like the AARP to get access to their members and to deliver services through a group they already know and trust. You can also work with senior citizen centers to give them meaningful projects that help the library. www.aarp.org 16. Enter into a partnership with local welcome wagons, greeter groups, and realtors to include the library s print publications in any packets that are being distributed to new residents. www.ila.org/pub/reporter/vol27no4.pdf 17. Get involved in local politics so the politicians and their staff members can get to know a real-life, modern-day librarian. Create opportunities to interact with
them and to discuss your daily working situation. www.infotoday.com/mls/may04/still.shtml 18. Offer your research services to lower-level government officials. Keep abreast of the work or topics that are coming up and proactively offer your help. 19. Make allies of the whole community. Invite every single person to become a book sponsor! You make a list of hundreds of books you d like to have and their prices. www.infotoday.com/mls/mar04/howto.shtml 20. Help reporters fill the voids when they need news and make sure they know that you can do just-in-time research when they re on deadline. 21. Form casual advisory boards of people from target audiences that you want to build awareness with. They will probably be glad you asked for their opinions, plus you get buy-in with people when they re part of decision-making processes. 22. Build your social networks on sites like Facebook. Once you have a fan base, you have a ready-made group of folks to go to when you need voices or votes. 23. Work with parents to help them understand what librarians can do for their kids. Treat them as partners in the processes of learning, reading, and researching to win their support. 24. Build alliances now with K 12 teachers to help with your summer reading programs. www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/partnerships/coopacts/schoolplcoop progs.cfm 25. Form relationships with consultants! Look for local consultants, especially small proprietorships, that specialize in things you could use help with finances, marketing, advertising, image/branding, space planning, etc. Chances are these people need access to information and help with research when working for other clients. Sounds like a fair trade waiting to happen. And you never know it could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!
What, Exactly, Do You Have To Offer To Potential Partners? What you actually have to offer will vary widely from one library to another. The most obvious thing you all have in common is "information," but that's too vague a term for you to be using anyway. The most obvious divisions are according to your library type and main user groups. However, I'll suggest some things here and then perhaps some members of the audience will share specific services, resources, expertise, and facts that their libraries can use (or have used) to convince other organizations to join forces. * how-to info for small business owners * computer classes that can be customized * homework help & after-school programs * expert help to ensure successful research papers * free internet access * levels the playing field as far as access to computers and info * defends intellectual freedom * expert research helps doctors make more accurate diagnosis more quickly * helps citizens find employment * ESL classes * serves people with special needs * Braille products and technologies to assist the blind * positive effects on local real estate market www.infotoday.com/cilmag/sep06/baykan.shtml * vetted information that is not available for free on the internet * jobs for residents and volunteer opportunities * a community / downtown anchor http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-libraries-can-create-oranchor.html * an open place for lifelong learning for all ages * a place for programs, concerts, and other events * free meeting rooms * proven high Return on Investment (ROI) Bonus Point: If libraries weren't smart investments, then Bill Gates' foundation wouldn't be supporting them!
But how do I approach people and get them to listen? >> Don t act as if you re about to ask for big money or a big favor. Remember, you re offering something just as valuable in return. >> It s easier to start with someone you already know and are comfortable with. So either start with a familiar person/business, or join an organization and take time getting to know people before you approach them with alliance ideas. >> Role-play with colleagues to practice asking for things until it feels more natural. >> Have a friendly sounding line in mind to start with. For instance: I d like to propose a mutually beneficial idea or I m going to make you an offer you can t refuse! (Humor is allowed!) >> You might want to propose something that spoofs other official sponsorships that we see around us every day. It might be fun to have signs that say Joe s Hoagies the official lunch of the Trenton Bookcart Drill Team or Angela s is the official gardener of the Willingboro Public Library. >> Don t be afraid to casually talk to people anywhere and everywhere. Just mentioning that you work at a library, or that you are an information specialist or a researcher, gets others thinking about the topic. They might even be curious and ask some questions, giving you more of a chance to portray your work in a positive light. >> Use documented library facts to convince potential partners of your value and expertise. ALA has plenty of these available. >> Study reports on how people feel about libraries to help guide you toward productive change. The OCLC report Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources asked thousands of people across six countries questions about their library awareness and familiarity, and their usage of electronic resources. www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm Start at the end and build backwards. What outcome do you want to end up with? Then ask yourself what organization can help you reach that goal. Who do you need to have on your side? Then build a relationship with that organization and work toward your ultimate partnership. As with so many endeavors, if you begin with the end in mind, you increase your chances of success. Don t be shy! Act as if your library deserves recognition and respect!