IRLS 688-791
Marketing of Library and Information Services to Communities
Instructor: Tom Wilding
Since the 1990s, the concept of marketing as applied to library environments has been misunderstood. Instead of just public relations or advertising, marketing is the process of communicating with customers and potential customers to determine needs, to design services to meet them, to inform the community about services, and to evaluate them so that they can be improved.
Marketing in this highly competitive information environment is increasingly important. Libraries compete for dollars with other academic, corporate, cultural, educational and municipal services as well as with other information providers. For libraries to continue to hold a valued place in communities, they need to be skilled at understanding needs and targeting services to meet those needs.
This course will look at the marketing cycle as it may be applied to a variety of library environments. It will look at the relationship of marketing to program planning, branding, focusing on customers and customer relations, promoting services, and evaluating them. It will look at both physical space and virtual space as they promote the image of libraries and provide places for service delivery. SIRLS competencies B5, B6, B7, C8 and C9 are addressed in this course.
The course will be highly interactive. Lectures will be posted using PowerPoint with voice over; interactive discussion forums will focus on lecture material, readings in both the marketing and library literature, examination of promotional materials, both printed and online and other resources. Access to a computer with a sound card and speakers will be necessary to listen to the lectures and a high speed Internet connection is preferred as well.
Upon completion of this course, students will:
Be familiar with marketing concepts and terminology;
Be aware of various ways of gathering information about diverse customer needs;
Be able to design services and products that will engage both those who use libraries and those who don’t in communities of all types;
Be able to promote the image of 21st century libraries to a variety of communities
Be skilled in gathering feedback from library users and analyzing it to improve services
The textbooks for this class are:
Kotler, Philip and Nancy Lee. Marketing in the Public Sector: a Roadmap for Improved Performance. Wharton School Publishing, 2007.
Woodward, Jeannette. Creating the Customer-Driven Library, Building on the Bookstore Model. American Library Association, 2005.
They are available from the University of Arizona bookstore or from your favorite supplier. There will be many other readings assigned as the course progresses. They will be noted on the class schedule. Most of these will be available through the electronic reserves system in the UA Library. The password for e-res is “market” without the quotation marks. Some assignments require students to locate appropriate readings on their own and report on them.
In addition, students will be expected to monitor blogs on marketing. You can find some on your own. I’ll give you a couple on D2L
The effectiveness of this course will depend on the development of an active and engaged learning community in the online environment. It will require that students keep up with the content, readings, and assignments, and that they be active participants in the discussions related to the class. It will require that the instructor be actively engaged as well, meeting deadlines, communicating frequently, and providing feedback in a timely way. The assignments are described in detail elsewhere but include:
- Development of a comprehensive marketing plan for one or more services in a library setting (a group project): 35 points.
- Five article reports on varying marketing topics: 40 points
- Critique of library websites: 10 points
These, plus participation points, result in a maximum of 100 points. In addition to compliance with the code of integrity cited elsewhere, the instructor will expect that all assignments are completed on time, meet the specifications for that assignment, and are professional in appearance and grammatically correct.
Academic Code of Integrity
Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.
Assignment Policies
<Put your own material for the stuff in red>
- Completed assignments will be submitted via the D2L dropbox unless otherwise specified. Some completed assignments will be shared with other students. Assignments will normally be commented on and graded and returned to students via the dropbox.
- Assignments will be expected to be submitted on or before the dates specified. The instructor will be willing to negotiate alternative dates as needed but only if such negotiation takes place prior to the due date. Late assignments that have not been negotiated beforehand will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor.
- Assignments are expected to be professional in appearance; that is, they are neat, grammatically correct, with no spelling or typographical errors. Citations may be in any recognized format as long as they are consistent. (Please see the “Guide for Formal Written Assignments in Graduate School” in the contents area on D2L.)
- One assignment will entail working in groups. Online group projects are challenging, but not impossible. Students will be expected to manage the process so that all group members are included in decisions, all share an equal responsibility for the product, and all participants are treated with respect.
- ~Incompletes
The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads
The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ...
If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.
In order to receive a grade of B for the class, students will have to have completed all assignments for the class reflecting a good grasp of the topic. An A will signify that all work has been completed well and a substantial amount of the work has been completed excellently. In addition, to receive an A or B, students must be engaged actively in discussions throughout the semester. A C or lower will be given if some assignments are not completed or if a significant number of assignments are not completed acceptably or if students fail to participate in class discussions.
Each assignment will be graded, and each assignment will be given a percentage weight for the semester grade. Assignments will be given the following grades:
A+ (95-100)
A- (90-94)
B+ (85-89)
B- (80-84)
C+ (75-79)
C- (70-74)
D+(65-69)
D- (60-64)
E (59 or below)
University grades do not include + or -. Final grades will be computed on the work of the semester plus participation in class discussions. Students will receive a grade of A, B, C, D, or E for the semester unless we have negotiated an Incomplete.
Each assignment is due on the date specified. A student may negotiate a revised due date if necessary, but this must be done in advance. Assignments will be accepted late only at the discretion of the instructor.
A significant portion of the semester grade (15%) is dependent on active participation and engagement in the substance of the class including the discussion topics. There will be ongoing discussions throughout the semester. Students will be expected to read the postings in the discussion forum and to contribute their ideas and opinions on a continuing basis. Participation points will be given on the basis of the percentage of postings read and the number and quality of postings. A substantive posting is one that contributes new information, new ideas, or new perspectives or one that moves the conversation along or into new areas.
Tom Wilding
SIRLS Room 8
Campus phone: (520) 621-5221
Home phone: (520) 229-3261
Email: wilding@email.arizona.edu
