ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 490 / C& RL News E ffective public relation s program s b en efit a ca d em ic libraries By M ichael H a eu ser H ead Librarian Gustavus Adolphus College a n d E velyn R ich é O livier A dm inistrative Services Librarian University o f Texas H ealth Science Center Academic libraries w in a John Cotton Dana Aw ard and two Special Awards fo r outstanding library public relations. T his year ALA John C otton D an a L ibrary Public Relations Awards w ere given to three academ ic li­ braries dem onstrating excellence and innovation in a variety of public relations campaigns. The U ni­ versity of Tennessee, Knoxville, Libraries w on a John C otton D an a A w ard for a year-long public re­ lations program celebrating the opening of its new John C. Hodges L ibrary. The University of M ichi­ gan L ibrary w on a Special A w ard for tw o user awareness cam paigns. O ne introduced MIRLYN, th e U n iv ersity ’s o n lin e c ata lo g , a n d th e o th e r publicized Peer Inform ation Counseling (PIC), a library-sponsored m inority student support pro­ gram . New York University Libraries w on a Spe­ cial A w ard for a unique preservation public rela­ tions program raising user and staff awareness of library preservation issues. E ach of these w inning libraries is recognized by the contest for its creativ­ ity and leadership in library adm inistration and m anagem ent. A golden anniversary 1989 m arks th e fiftieth year th a t th e H. W . W ilso n C o m p a n y h as co -sp o n so red , w ith th e A m erican L ib ra ry Association, this prestigious com petition. In 1939 ALA’s Public Relations Com ­ m ittee an d Halsey W . W ilson, presid en t of th e com pany th a t bears his nam e, jointly organized the “ L ib ra ry P u b licity H o n o r R oll” a n d a w a rd e d prizes for innovative public relations ideas. Sus­ pended in 1943 for th e duration of W orld W ar II, it was reconstituted in 1946 as the John C otton D ana Public Relations A w ard to honor th e career of a li­ b ra ria n w ho recognized th e benefits to library p ro ­ grams th a t w ell planned publicity provides. The contest grants aw ards in tw o categories. A John C otton D an a A w ard recognizes a lib rary p u b ­ lic relations program th a t is ongoing, sustained and w ell-rounded. Such a program is directed tow ards a broad range of existing and potential groups and effectively prom otes a com plete range of services. A Special A w ard recognizes a discrete aspect of li­ b rary public relations program th a t supports a spe­ cial project, goal or activity. Special Awards are given for projects th a t are lim ited in tim e, scope, n a tu re or audience. A record num ber of academ ic libraries entered th e contest in 1989. Fifteen of th e m ore th a n 110 entries cam e from college/university libraries. O f the eight library categories, academ ic lib rary en­ tries w ere second only to public lib rary entries. N ew library celebrated T he University of Tennessee, Knoxville, cam pus June 1989 / 491 dedicated its entire publicity program d u rin g the a c a d e m ic y e a r of 1987/88 to its new J o h n C. Hodges L ibrary. The John C otton D an a A w ard ac­ knowledges the lib rary ’s role in creating, p ro m o t­ ing, and im plem enting th e yearlong celebration. The University of Tennessee, w ith approxim ately 25,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff, is th e prem ier research university of the state. T he U ni­ versity has em barked upon a program of excellence designed to attra cted distinguished researchers in th e sciences, engineering, agriculture, the h u m a n i­ ties an d social sciences. T he new library, costing $28 million, is a significant p a rt of th a t program for excellence. A n u m b e r of special events h ig h lig h te d th e Hodges L ib rary celeb ratio n , including L ib ra ry D ay 1988, the Southern W riters Program , a series of tours, a lib rary developm ent cam paign, and th e dedication of th e new facility. A central public re ­ lations them e was “W riters, Readers, L ibrarians— P artners in C reativity.” T he targeted audiences in ­ c lu d e d s tu d e n ts , f a c u lty , s ta f f , th e U T K adm inistration and th e local com m unity. T he success of the UTK L ib rary public relations cam paign w as m easured in several ways. L ib rary statistics such as circulation increased 13.3 % , tra f­ fic increased by 22.1 % , and reference questions in­ creased by 33.5% . C om petition for faculty studies and g rad u ate carrels illustrated th e achievem ent of an objective th a t th e lib rary be perceived as th e m ajor cam pus center for scholarly activity. A de­ v e lo p m e n t p ro g ra m id e n tifie d as th e “ F a m ily C am paign” raised m ore th a n $542,600, w hich w ill be used as seed m oney for a m ajor developm ent cam paign to raise endow m ents for th e L ib rary col­ lections. T he John C. Hodges L ib rary O pen House and D ed icatio n cerem onies w ere a tte n d e d by m ore th a n 700 people. T he Southern W riters Program w as well received w ith m ore th a n 300 people at each of seven readings by w riters George G a rrett, Alex H aley , A1 Y oung, W ilm a D y k e m an , L ee Sm ith, Bobbie A nn Mason, and D onald Justice. L i­ b ra ry D ay 1988 was also a success w ith approxi­ m ately 200 librarians from th e state and region and 400 others present for th e principal lecture by L a ­ m a r Alexander, new president of th e University of Tennessee an d form er governor. T he involvem ent of th e Panhellenic Council in fundraising and acting as volunteer to u r guides was noted as unusual and instrum ental in m aking the celebration a com m unity effort. A lib rary logo fea­ tu rin g th e new building was used to create a u n i­ form and attractive design elem ent for all lib rary publications. T he Hodges L ib rary im age was also used on all cam pus publications th ro u g h o u t the year, reinforcing th e lib rary as a place for creative endeavor, for research, for serious searching for in ­ form ation and th e place to be on the UTK cam pus. M ichigan’s MIRLYN A Special A w ard w as given to th e University of M ichigan L ib rary for tw o outstanding user aw are­ ness cam paigns. T he first introduced MIRLYN, t h e u n iv e r s ity ’s o n lin e c a ta lo g , in a n o n ­ th reaten in g m an n er w hile em phasizing its exciting possibilities. The second cam paign publicized Peer Inform ation Counseling (PIC), a m inority student John C otton D ana A w a r d judges (left to right): E v e lyn O livier (U niversity o f Texas H ealth Science C enter), P yd d n ey K. Jones (Bluegrass S. R egional L ib ra ry O ffice), a n d M ichael Haeuser (G ustavus A d o lp h u s College). 492 / C &R L News support program affording th e opportunity for m i­ nority undergraduates to serve as reference assis­ tants. T he University of M ichigan, located in Ann Arbor has m ore th a n 49,000 students an d serves a p o p u la tio n of som e 75,000. T he U niversity of M ichigan L ib rary is composed of 21 libraries in­ cluding the U ndergraduate L ib rary , w hich was re­ sponsible for th e PIC program . T he public relations cam paign for MIRLYN— th e M ichigan R esearch L ib ra ry N etw o rk —h ad both internal and external functions. In tern al pro­ m otion focused on keeping th e staff up-to-date and reinforcing morale. At each staff session attendees received prom otional giveaways such as pens, pen­ cils, cups, kazoos, notepads, frisbees, and other novelties. E xternal public relations up d ated ad ­ m in istrato rs, teach in g facu lty and p rim ary re ­ searchers through newsletters and other publica­ tions. Posters a n d book bags w e re d istrib u te d across cam pus a n d quick guides a n d flip -ch art m anuals w ere placed a t all public term inals. A “m irlyninfo” helpline was added to th e cam pus e- m ail system. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and re­ ception officially dedicated MIRLYN on Septem­ ber 20,1988. C entral to th e user awareness cam paign was the use of th e w iz a rd im ag e a n d th e th e m e , “ T h e Magic of M IRLYN.” M erlin m ade his first public appearance on posters a nd guides and continues to appear on ads and bulletin boards. The public rela­ tions program was prim arily targeted to University of M ichigan students, faculty and staff, w ith addi­ tional publicity to th e surrounding com m unity. T he goals of th e cam paign w ere to develop an identity for MIRLYN as an online catalog, to edu­ cate the public to MIRLYN’s capabilities as an inte­ grated library system, to alleviate concerns over th e change from a card catalog to an online c ata­ log, a n d to c re a te a sense of excitem ent a b o u t MIRLYN, w ith o u t underm ining the serious, schol­ arly n a tu re of the project. Specific objectives such as achieving near 100 % nam e recognition and en­ couraging p articipation a t public train in g sessions w ere also identified. The successful accomplish­ m ent of these goals and objectives was m easured by very positive user response, by the strong p opular­ ity of MIRLYN publications and train in g sessions and by the excellent press coverage in both th e local m edia and professional lib rary publications. The internal public relations, spearheaded by the MIRLYN Im plem entation Team , were innovative, original, and effective. As a result, the startup of MIRLYN was smooth and orderly. The staff was well-trained and prepared and the public was prop­ erly informed. Best of all the staff perceived this project as both fun and exciting. O f special note was the graphic design of the poster and user guide. The artw ork, colors, and layout seemed to capture an aura of mystery and power w ithout trivializing or misrepresenting the system. Most im portandy the campaign succeeded in m aking the nam e MIRLYN synonymous w ith th e online catalog. Peer Information Counselors T he University of M ichigan U ndergraduate L i­ brary w as responsible for a user awareness p ro ­ gram for Peer Inform ation Counselors (PIC) w ho serve a t th e Reference Desk alongside professional librarians. These m inority student counselors an ­ swer basic questions, provide one-on-one assist­ ance, an d offer tu to rin g sessions on w ord process­ ing. Although PIC was established in 1985, too few of th e University’s 35,000 undergraduates knew about PIC services. T he first cam paign activity was to develop a logo for PIC and to devise th e them e—“Inform ation is our m iddle n am e.” The logo an d them e appeared on brochures, posters an d ads. Brochures w ere passed out a t the reference desk, and w ere mailed out to each m inority student. Posters w ere distrib­ uted across cam pus and a 24-hour hotline, “PIC- L ine,” was established to allow students to m ake appointm ents at th eir ow n convenience. T he stu­ dent new spaper an d cam pus buses carried PIC ads. The PIC students developed their ow n new sletter which was distributed tw ice yearly to each m inor­ ity undergraduate. T he goals of th e PIC program w ere to increase P IC ’s presence am ong th e targ et audience; to in­ crease P IC ’s visibility th roughout th e cam pus pop­ ulation, contributing to th e university’s goal of d i­ versity; to develop the im age of PIC counselors as accessible, helpful and knowledgeable; and to de­ velop P IC ’s im age as a vital link to inform ation lit­ eracy. Specific public relations objectives included th e personal contact of each first-year m inority stu­ dent, th e achievem ent of 100 % nam e recognition am ong m inority students, a substantial increase in th e use of PIC -L ine, and a substantial increase in th e num ber of w ord processing tutorials. The PIC public relations cam paign received fa ­ vorable response, and for th e most p a rt achieved n am e recognition am ong m in o rity u n d e rg ra d u ­ ates. T he feedback from press coverage and adver­ tising w as su b stan tially im proved an d th e PIC - L ine usage increased. T h e P IC N ew sletter th a t utilized desktop publishing was especially effective in com m unicating th e value of w ord processing tu ­ torials. T utorial appointm ents increased by 30% . O verall, there was a positive shift am ong library users w ith non-m inority students approaching the PIC staff a t th e reference desk regularly. The PIC program has benefited th e lib rary as a w hole by publicizing m inority Peer Inform ation Counselors as intelligent, valuable assistants. “H andle w ith Care” T he N ew York U niversity L ibraries h av e re ­ ceived a Special A w ard for their public relations cam paign on preservation. T he program , designed to raise awareness and educate users about various preservation issues, included: bookmarks; a video­ tap e, entitled “H andle w ith C are” ; a specially de­ June 1989 / 493 signed plastic book bag; a preservation exhibit called “Enemies of Books” ; and a Disaster Plan W orkbook. T he New York U niversity L ibraries serve approxim ately 50,000 cam pus users as well as the New York m etropolitan com m unity. The pres­ ervation cam paign was targeted a t the university com m unity and non-NYU students w ho use the Bobst L ibrary through library consortia arrange­ ments. The Bobst L ib rary and Study C enter houses tw o-thirds of the lib rary ’s 3 million volumes. O ne of th e creative aspects of the preservation cam paign was th e use of B obC at, th e friendly, furry cat w ho has come to symbolize the library’s online catalog (Bobst Catalog). BobCat was de­ picted on the preservation book bags, splashing through the rain and happily protected by his um ­ brella. The im plication is clear th a t BobCat is h ap ­ pier w hen kept dry, and so are library books. The bookmarks incorporate the m otif of th e library’s m arble floor, a p a tte rn fam iliar to library users. In addition to preservation inform ation, the book­ marks also publicize lib rary photocopiers, list li­ brary hours and phone num bers, and identify m a­ terials location codes. Some 1,000 book bags and 12,000 bookmarks have been distributed. The “H andle w ith C are” video produced by the NYU film students and faculty is especially effec­ tive. The tap e is ru n on a continuous loop at a kiosk a t the lib rary ’s entrance and is shown periodically throughout th e semester. I t is short and hum orous, thus encouraging spontaneous viewing. In “H an ­ dle w ith C are” a likable b u t careless young m an dem onstrates all th e ways to m istreat a book, in ­ cluding dunking it in th e b ath tu b and m ishandling it a t the copier. A satiric off-screen n arra to r com ­ m ents on th e proper w ay to handle books. In ad d i­ tion to NYU footage, fifty copies of th e video have been sold to other libraries. The preservation exhibit, “Enemies of Books,” illustrates the history of paperm aking, preserva­ tion techniques, and book handling—both proper and im proper. The exhibit, originally slated for a one-m onth ru n , was extended to six m onths. The fin a l p re s e rv a tio n ite m , NYU’s D isaste r P la n W orkbook, is geared to th e library com m unity and includes inform ation on emergency procedures, com puters and resources. I t also allows space for individual institutions to fill in local details such as emergency phone num bers and supplies. Almost 1,300 workbooks have been sold across the country since 1984. More ideas In addition to the three w inning libraries, four other academ ic library entries reached the final round of judging. One clever idea was the prom o­ tion of a term paper counseling project utilizing “ P u b lis h e r’s C le a rin g h o u se S w eep stak es-lik e” mailings targeted to a specific faculty. Another li­ brary prom oted library instructional program s at rem ote extended cam pus sites. The Smithsonian Institute exhibit, “Field to F actory,” w hich con­ cerns Afro-American m igration, was th e focus of an o th er academ ic lib rary public relations p ro ­ gram . O ne entry w ent so far as to host Q ueen Syl­ via of Sweden a t the dedication of their new li­ brary. These entries and others will be highlighted in the ALA publication, Great Library Promotion Ideas, 6th e d ., to be issued later this year. The w in­ ning entries will also be on display a t the John C ot­ ton D an a booth at ALA A nnual Conference in D al­ las. Considerations for 1990 This y e ar’s w inners share a com m on them e. Though not unique, each entry showed evidence on setting realistic goals accomplished by effective public relations activities. For an article by Jon Eldredge describing the key ingredients of a w in­ ner, see C &R L News, O ctober 1986, pp. 577-82. L ast y e a r’s w in n ers w ere id e n tifie d in C & R L N ew s, July/August 1988, pp. 419-22. E n try pack­ ets for th e 1990 contest are available from the M ar­ keting D epartm ent, H. W . Wilson C om pany, 950 University Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452. Take a chance and show other libraries the effec­ tiveness of your public relations p ro g ram . ■ ■ More Dallas programs O n Sunday, June 25, 9:00-11:00 a .m ., the ULS C u rre n t T opics D iscussion G ro u p w ill p resen t “Serving Secondary Clientele: Beyond th e Ivory T ow er,” a program th a t will focus on th e needs and dem ands of external library users and the ways li­ braries have responded to th e challenge of this new clientele. Jay Poole, assistant university librarian for public services at the University of C alifornia, Irvine, will speak on “The G ain, The Pain: In itiat­ ing Services for Secondary Users,” w ith particular focus on the efforts to establish public library ser­ vices on the UC-Irvine campus. Helen Josephine, inform ation m anager of FIRST a t Arizona State University, will cover “New Clientele, New Ser­ vice Needs: Academic Libraries’ Fee-Based Infor­ m ation C enters.” She will highlight some of the in­ te r e s tin g le g a l issues t h a t a ro se w h e n ASU’s fee-based inform ation service was challenged by a private inform ation broker. The area of “Remote Access to O nline C atalogs/D atabases by Secondary Users” will be addressed by John A bbott, head of the N atural Resources L ib rary a t N orth C arolina State University. The ALA Association of Specialized and Cooper­ ative L ib rary Agencies’ D ecade of Disabled Per­ sons C om m ittee is sponsoring a program in D allas on Sunday, June 25, 2:00-4:00 p .m ., entitled, “A Job for Every Person: C reative Options for E m ­ 494 / C&R L News ploying Persons w ith D isabilities.” T h e speaker will b e D ebbie Buckingham of th e D allas Rehabili­ ta tio n Institute. She w ill address th e issue of ad ap ­ tations th a t can be m ade in lib rary settings w hen em ploying people w ith disabilities. ■ ■ ALA report calls for “information literate” society T h e A m erican L ib rary Association has m ade available th e final rep o rt of th e ALA Presidential C om m ittee on Inform ation L iteracy, w hich calls for education reform s and new roles for libraries in advocating th e im portance of inform ation literacy to an inform ed citizenry and successful business. C haired by P atricia Senn Breivik, director of the A uraria L ib rary a t th e University of Colorado at D e n v e r, th e P re s id e n tia l C o m m itte e w as a p ­ p o in te d in 1987 b y ALA P re s id e n t M a rg a re t Chisholm. Its goal w as to define inform ation liter­ acy w ith in th e higher literacy skills and its im por­ tance to student perform ance, life-long learning and active citizenship. ALA President W illiam Summers spoke of the grow ing crisis in inform ation literacy a t the ALA M idw inter M eeting in W ashington: “Today’s in­ form ation and technology abundance has m ade m ost people dependent on others to access and re­ duce inform ation to m anageable segments. P re­ packaged inform ation from our schools and news m edia have conditioned people to accept th e opin­ ions of others w ith o u t m uch th o u g h t.... In fo rm a­ tion literate people are those w ho have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find in ­ form ation and how to use inform ation in such a w ay th a t others can learn from th e m .” The rep o rt proposes restructuring the learning process aw ay from textbooks, workbooks and lec­ tures to a learning process based on th e inform ation resources th a t will be available for learning and problem -solving th ro u g h o u t people’s lifetim es. This inform ation age school w ould be m ore in ter­ active, w ith teachers w orking consistently w ith li­ brarians, m edia resource people, and instructional designers. T he rep o rt recom m ends specifically that: 1. L ibrarians and others reconsider th e ways in ­ form ation is organized, accessed and defined. 2. ALA lead th e form ation of a N ational C oali­ tion on Inform ation L iteracy in concert w ith other national organizations and agencies to prom ote in ­ form ation literacy. 3. Research and dem onstration projects be u n ­ dertaken. 4. State departm ents of education, commissions on h ig h e r e d u c a tio n a n d acad em ic governing boards ensure th a t a clim ate conducive to students’ becom ing inform ation literate exists in their states and on th eir campuses. 5. T eacher education and perform ance req u ire­ m ents change so th a t teachers become facilitators o f s tu d e n t le a rn in g , r a th e r th a n p resen ters of ready-m ade inform ation. 6. Inform ation literacy is m ade a top agenda item for the next W hite House Conference on L i­ b ra ry and Inform ation Services. T he following organizations (listed here w ith th e ir representatives) have agreed to be founding m em bers of th e N ational Coalition on Inform ation L iteracy: A m erican Association of Colleges for T eacher E ducation (David Im ig), Am erican Asso­ c iatio n of School A d m in istra to rs (R ich ard D . Miller), A m erican L ib rary Association (Patricia Senn Breivik), Council of Chief State School Offi­ cers (Gordon M. Am bach), Council of Indepen­ d en t Colleges (Allan P. Splete), E ducation C om ­ mission of th e States (Rexford Brown), M astery in E ducation Project of th e N ational E ducation Asso­ ciation (Robert M. M cClure), N ational Commis­ sion on Libraries and Inform ation Science (Susan K. M artin), a n d th e U .S . Office of E ducational Re­ search and Im provem ent (Anne M athews). G ordon Am bach will speak on inform ation liter­ acy as p a rt of W illiam Summers’s presidential p ro ­ gram in Dallas, Sunday, June 25, 2:00-5:00 p .m . Single copies of th e co m m ittee’s In fo rm atio n L iteracy report m ay be requested from th e ALA Public Inform ation Office, 50 E. H uron St., C hi­ cago, IL 60611. ■ ■ Quick comeback from fire W estern C aro lin a U niversity’s H u n te r L i­ b rary , Cullowhee, N orth C arolina, was fully operational just eight weeks after a fire w hich destroyed the M edia C enter and caused exten­ sive soot dam age to th e reference, serials and documents collection. Estim ates of the dam age exceed $1 million. April 24 m arked th e H O T (H unter Opens Today) C elebration w hich honored th e local fire departm ents, th e M .F. Bank Restoration Com pany of A tlanta, G a ., th e library faculty and staff, and D irector W illiam J. K irw an. Ac­ com panied by musical flourishes, University Chancellor Myron L. C oulter cut th e fire line rib b o n and invited celebrants to b e grateful th a t the h eart of the university was restored. “Infirem ation” exhibits featuring soot silhou­ ettes, a m elted clock and phone, and various charred items proved to be popular w ith p a ­ trons sporting buttons th a t read, “Smile, You have a library!”