Library Marketing 101
Jun 27th 2007TracyOpinion & Miscellaneous
The Library Sherpa had the privilege of attending an alumni event last night at the swanky Pyramid Club for Mr. Sherpa’s alma mater. (Mr. Sherpa being, obviously, Library Sherpa’s spouse…for those of you playing along at home.) I was a liberal arts island in a sea of business majors at this little affair. We heard the dean of the business school speak, and he was very excited about making the school one of the big names in the country. I couldn’t help but to interject my two cents from a librarian point of view. In private, after the dean’s speech, I very calmly and casually gave my best “library marketing” pitch directly to the dean. I did work in the library of this major university for a brief period of time, so I wasn’t just talking out of my ’sherpa’ to him. I just emphasized to him that while the incoming students may very well be extremely computer and technology savvy, it doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to do research. I tried to stress the importance of still knowing how to do book research. I understand many libraries are getting rid of paper publications, but I believe it is still a valuable skill. So, I very politely but firmly gave the dean my opinion that if he wants his business school to be number one, he needs to implement a strong bond with the library. No, he didn’t laugh at me. He said he agreed and told me of what programs they currently have in place. So, I hope I did not embarrass Mr. Sherpa too much, but this liberal arts librarian felt it was my moral obligation to tell the business people how to get ahead in this world….by using the library! ;->