College and Research Libraries Marketing as Applied through Publishing: Converting Theory to Practice Annabelle Corrick Marketing can be adapted to library practice theoretically and shown graphically by using the marketing tools of product design, pricing, communication, and distribution as they relate to the library production tasks: acquisitions, cataloging, circulation/reference, and to new-materials promotion. Using Philip Kotler's concepts of marketing, new-materials promotion is directed toward the library's publics, and evaluation and planning are used to consistently meet their needs. A popular CAISDI device, the acquisitions list, serves as an example. The survey technique was used to evaluate the publication described, and a new, more effective format was planned and instituted. THE MARKETING APPROACH Librarians in the 1980s are experiencing the information explosion, the influx of automated systems, and the retrench- ment of budget cutbacks compounded by soaring operating costs. At no time has the tension between our potential capabilities and our limited resources seemed more acute. We are also faced with an irksome "culture lag" in which the general public maintains an antiquated view of librari- ans, assuming that they still function out- side the realm of technological advance- ment and social science management systems. Library organizations them- selves often are fractionalized by ''old school" self-images and policies that cling to the limited caretaker approach to librar- ianship and hold back the progressive ef- forts of "new school" professionals. In order to counter the disparity be- tween what we might be able to accom- plish and what our budgets will allow us to do, we must focus attention on our funding sources. Stronger support will be forthcoming only if our image improves and our services seem worthwhile. How to achieve this goal is a long-standing is- sue, and "librarians from time immemo- rial have tried to interpret their services to their clientele." 1 Only recently, however, have libraries sought to use a systematic marketing ap- proach. With guaranteed funding and a secure place in society, libraries of the past operated with a production orientation like business firms in pre-affluent soci- eties. They assumed that demand for their product would continue forever and cus- tomers would always be plentiful. 2 The li- brary's collection, its card catalog, and its traditional reference and circulation ser- vices seemed adequate enough to serve its patrons, and efforts need only be ex- pended on producing these ''products.''3 Even with the advent of more difficult and uncertain times, libraries have usually stopped short of a comprehensive market- ing plan. They often adopt a sales ap- proach and propagandize their services without analyzing user needs beforehand or instituting long-range programs. Prod- Annabelle Corrick is acquisitions librarian at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Library. 38 Marketing as Applied through Publishing 39 uct satisfaction tends to decrease as the sales pitch increases. Credibility is dimin- ished and users grow distrustful of future messages. 4 The marketing approach represents a radical change in philosophy because it re- quires systematic planning and operates on the principle of exchange. Programs are instituted to fulfill user needs. The buyer selects the product that the seller provides without the seller having to use any force or threat mechanism. In busi- ness terms, the seller anticipates buyer needs and adapts his products to these needs as they grow, change, or diminish. Major American business firms began to invest in consumer research to measure consumer needs and satisfaction in the mid-1950s. By the 1970s, a "broadened concept of marketing'' evolved among theorists who realized that marketing be- havior could function in other situations besides the conventional exchange of goods and services for money. 5 Philip Kotler, perhaps the leading mar- keting theorist, recognizes that "the transposition of a conceptual system from one domain (the profit sector) to another (the nonprofit sector) poses a number of challenges that call for a new creative con- ceptualization. " 6 It is the purpose of this study to analyze and redefine marketing terms as they relate to library service and to provide an example of a basic library marketing instrument used by the Univer- sity of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Law Library: a mailing for new-materials pro- motion called the Acquisitions List. THE MARKETING MIX The philosophical concept behind mar- keting strategy, that it is based on ex- change techniques rather than on threat or force systems, is obviously applicable to nonprofit organizations generally and to libraries in particular. Kotler cites the ex- ample of a local police department offer- ing protective services in exchange for tax monies and cooperation from citizens. He also points out that churches offer mem- bers religious services and experiences in exchange for cooperation and support. 7 Like other nonprofit organizations, li- braries are already in existence because they fulfill a need for the community or educational institution. Libraries even have some advantage over corporations trying to P-romote products of little intrin- sic worth. 8 It is the adaptation of marketing tools that requires redefinition and creative conceptualization. The marketing tools- product design, pricing, communication, and distribution work together in a ''mar- keting mix. " 9 Communication alone can- not sell a product. An article of clothing, for example, must be the style and quality as advertised, it must be tagged for the right price and size, it must be in the right store with sales consultants to identify it and explain it to the customer, and the store must have cashiers to conduct the sale. The production tasks must back up and fulfill the communications message. When the mix is successful and all units of the organization place user needs in top priority, the result is integrated market- ing. to Each of the marketing tools correlates with a library system. A design depart- ment of a fashion merchandising business will plan a new line or adaptation of suit coats; an acquisitions department of a li- brary will make collection development plans and select new books and materials accordingly. Commercial articles are priced and tagged for sale; books and seri- als are cataloged, and classification labels are put on each item. Products for actual sale are distributed to stores and put on their appropriate racks with salespersons to assist them; books are put on shelves in libraries with circulation and reference personnel to help users find what they need and to check out the materials. These production tasks are established parts of business procedures, and they have traditionally been a part of libraries. The public relations element of the mar- keting mix, communications, has been in- corporated in the sales orientation. The need to appeal to their various publics for support caused both profit and nonprofit organizations to communicate a sales message. But the sales technique operated on the assumption that the production tools could function separately. As used in libraries, the sales message simply tried to 40 College & Research Libraries January 1983 push users to accept what the library wanted to give them on the library's terms. 11 The marketing orientation, however, uses sales communication as part of a mix with the production tools. This requires planning and evaluation. For instance, fis- cal reports would not be put together spo- radically on a moment's notice for the pur- pose of selling the case for increased funding. The procedure would be orga- nized to produce reports on a regular basis in an established, complete format. The planned reports would have more credi- bility, be easier to interpret, and get better results. Other tasks would not be dis- rupted, and all concerned would be con- tributing to a vital part of the library's mar- keting stratagem. Marketing in the library can be shown graphically, then, to be composed of four basic units: (1) the production tasks; (2) sales communication; (3) the publics; (4) the marketing dimension (see figure 1). The production tasks are initiated by ac- quisitions and work toward the distribu- tion of library materials. All of the produc- tion tasks feed into the communications commitment. Communications affect all of the library's publics who in turn re- spond, if all goes well, with continued pa- tronage and support. In the marketing orientation, all of these activities receive input from planning and evaluation. Planning changes as pro- grams are reassessed. A marketing senti- ment without planned programs does not · suffice. Kotler warns that "many organi- zations agree that a major purpose of an organization is to serve customers, but they fail nevertheless to take the necessary organizational steps to implement the marketing concept. " 12 The UMKC Law Library has instituted new materials promotion projects in each of the three communications areas shown in figure 1: display, publication, and fiscal reporting. New books are displayed at a constant location in the circulation area. An acquisitions list is published on a regu- lar basis, and acquisitions expenditures are reported monthly providing a running total of fund allocation unit balances and total balances. Because library publishing is a well-established, dynamic area of pro- motion, the remainder of this article will focus on that topic. The UMKC Law Li- brary Acquisitions List will serve as an ex- ample. LIBRARY PUBLISHING The library field clearly recognizes the -value of publishing as a public relations device. Publishing has been called the "long arm of the librarian" penetrating the organization and disseminating policy beyond the library itsel£. 13 The very exis- tence of a publication assures the library of recognition: The library which does not produce a printed or duplicated publication of any kind will not be as well known as one that does, for the library's name alone on the publication must be a re- minder of the library's existence, and even the very small publications have a surprisin~ power of penetration within the community. 1 Some libraries even attempt to use pub- lishing as an income source in itself. Re- cently it even seems that "virtually every library authority is either publishing or considering the introduction of a publica- tions programme.' ' 15 One·has only to look in the news sections of the Record or the New Library World to discover the increas- ing trend towards libraries acting as pub- lishers.16 A case in point is the Folger Shakespeare Library, which assumed full responsibility for its publications in 1977. 17 These works tend to publicize single events, such as exhibitions or displays. Sometimes the library's holdings are used as a basis for the work. Often, however, the library's only connection is its publish- ing role alone. While such activity reveals the movement of libraries toward the com- mercial sector, it does not demonstrate a marketing technique serving as an exten- sion and communication of production tasks as Kotler has described. An expedient publication device, an ac- tive publicity mechanism providing a sys- tematic announcement of library services, is the acquisitions list/newsletter publica- tion.18 It has been used effectively in tech- nical libraries for at least three decades. 19 Lucille Jackson's study of fifty technical li- brary bulletins in 1952 noted that all were issued at regular intervals, the majority Marketing as Applied through Publishing 41 A L U A T DISPLAYSJ PUBLICATIONSJ REPORTS NEW MATERIALS PROMOTION (PRODUCT ADVERTISING) CIRCULATION/REFERENCE Shelving, Check-Out, Assistance (DISTRIBUTION) CATALOGING Classification, Card Processing (PRICING) ACQUISITIONS Selection, Orderinq, Receipt (DESIGN) FIGURE 1 Library Marketing Components MARKETING DIMENSION PUBLICS COMMUNICATIONS COMMITMENT PRODUCTION TASKS being published bimonthly, some monthly, and some weekly. 20 An overview analysis of these publica- tions reveals that the terms library bulle- tins, accessions lists, acquisitions lists, infor- mation bulletins, book lists, and current awareness bulletins are used interchange- ably with only a slight variation of mean- ing. The term bulletin predominates and almost always includes a review of current periodical literature, usually in a special- library setting. The generic term used is CA/SDI (current awareness/selective dis- semination of information) services. Up- to-date information is provided on specific topics. This service has been successful, upon experiment, in both academic and public libraries as well as in special li- braries.21 Most SDI services are produced manually although automatic, computer- ized processing of recent accessions has been done successfully. 22 CA/SDI services, in general, are de- signed as low-cost publications providing 42 College & Research Libraries January 1983 current information as quickly and effi- ciently as possible. A survey of 123 engi- neering bulletins found most to be bound with one staple and arranged by subject on a standard page size. 23 Dividing lists of new books into nicely broken down sub- ject headings and putting basic services first and general news later is strongly ad- vised. 24 THE UMKC LAW LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS LIST The UMKC Law Library Acquisitions List began publication in March of 1981. It is distributed to area libraries including eighteen law-firm libraries, four court li- braries, two public libraries and six other university law libraries in Missouri, Kan- sas, and Oklahoma, as well as to UMKC Law School faculty. A copy is placed on display at the public card catalog for stu- dents and the general public. Due to supplemental funding during the 1980-81 fiscal year, the UMKC Law Li- brary was able to increase monograph purchasing from a subsistence level. It be- came desirable to publicize these pur- chases to patrons in order to: (1) increase awareness of the new service; (2) assist re- search needs of faculty and area attQJ"neys; and (3) help establish increased mono- graph purchasing as an ongoing contribu- tion to the law-library collection. In addi- tion to meeting these goals, the new publication would inform patrons of new policies, organizational changes, and gen- eral news items. LAW OF THE UNITED STATES To provide a concise, clear, and consis- tent format, AACR2 format is followed without the main entry line. Each item, then, is treated like a title main entry. In this way, the content of the book, as re- flected by the title, catches the eye first. The entries are arranged under Library of Congress subject division headings with the call number to the far left of the page (see figure 2). The Acquisitions List produced an imme- diate impact upon the faculty and library publics. The acquisitions librarian re- ceived requests for additions and changes to the mailing list. Faculty members sought out books from the List and area law librarians asked for additional infor- mation at their attorneys' requests . Major policy changes announced in the publica- tion met with overall patron cooperation. Also, a state budget crisis in Missouri that curtailed subscription purchasing and threatened to eliminate monograph order- ing was countered by contributions from the legal community. These general responses to the List and to library policies indicate that the publica- tion successfully fulfilled its goals. How- ever, the marketing orientation requires a more concrete measurement of consumer satisfaction. 25 To demonstrate responsive- ness and flexibility to user needs, an orga- nization should conduct periodic surveys to get feedback regarding their specific services. 26 To measure the effectiveness of the Acquisitions List, the acquisitions li- brarian designed and distributed a survey KF387 People's law review : an access catalogue to law without . P46 1 awyers l edited by Ra 1 ph Warner. -- Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley, 1980. -- rReady Reference ~ KF529 Love pact : a layman's complete guide to legal living .C57 together agreements I Bernard E. Clair and Anthony R. Daniele. -- New York : Grove, 1980. FIGURE 2 Pre-Survey Acqu isitions List Entries Marketing as Applied through Publishing 43 to all recipients of the List (see figure 3). The main body of the survey addressed the applicability of the Acquisitions List and the clarity of its format. Over half of there- spondents reviewed the list totally; 49 per- cent reviewed it in part. Seventy-eight percent easily located books of interest to them, and 90 percent experienced no diffi- GENERAL 1. Type of Library/Organization: culty interpreting the entries. Of the five ranked categories of usability, 59 percent of the responses fell in the "always" and "frequently" ranges, and 17 percent fell in the "rarely" and "never" area. Four- teen percent of the answers showed occa- sional usage. Seventy-four percent of the answers to questions three and four re- 6 Academic 11 Law Firm Public 2 Court 3 Other _____ _ 2. Survey respondent is: ~Librarian _4_Faculty _O_Law Firm Attorney Other ______ _ 3. Estimated book volume count for your Library/Organization is: 1 0-499 _0_500-999 _5_1 ,000-9,999 _9_1 0,000-99,999 7 over 100,000 APPLICATION 1. Upon receipt, the List is: 13 Reviewed totally 4 Routed & retained _2_Posted or displayed ~Reviewed in part 2 Routed & discarded 1 Discarded immediately 2. Please rank the List's usefulness to you in the following areas: lA Iwavs FrequentlY occas1ona fly Rarely Never Book Select1on Tool 4 6 4 5 1 Borrowinq Tool 3 8 3 3 4 Of General Interest 13 2 4 2 1 Filed for Future Reference 13 0 1 2 4 FORMAT The List is divided according to Library of Congress Classification subject areas using-a-modified Anglo-American Cataloging Rules II format. 1. Can you locate quickly books of i nterest to you? _lZ_yes 2 no 2. Have you experienced any difficulty interpreting the information, i.e., who is the author; who is the publisher? _Q__yes ~no 3. What do you like best about the format?_l_4_r_e_,sp_o_n_s_e_s __________ _ 4. What do you like least about the format?_5_r_e_s"-po_n_s_e_s __________ _ RESULTS 1. Has receiving the List caused you to (check any of the following): 2 Check out more books 4 Order these books _4_Vi sit the 1 i brary more 17 Be more aware of recent work in your area 2. How does the List compare to the New Book Display? _O_Prefer New Book Display _3_Find them equally beneficial ___!_2_Prefer Acquisitions List 2 Do not care to use either one (PLEASE STAPLE & RETURN AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE) FIGURE 3 UMKC Law Library Survey of Acquisitions List Effectiveness 44 College & Research Libraries January 1983 garding format were positive, and 28 per- cent requested a format change. After a marketing-oriented library mea- sures user satisfaction, it must modify its behavior accordingly. 27 The above sum- mary of results indicates a positive re- sponse. In addition, the results section re- vealed that the List increased library usage slightly and increased user appreciation by 77 percent. The survey, however, did provide a forum for some critical commen- tary. Question 4 of the format section elic- ited two major criticisms. The subject headings were considered to be too broad by some respondents, particularly the Law of the United States section. Other respon- dents expressed a desire for annotated en- tries to provide content analysis. As a result of these comments, the Ac- quisitions List has been revised. The Law of the United States section now is broken down. into subcategories according to the KF classification schedule. Annotations are provided when the title seems too broad, when the title might be misleading, or in instances when further description might add interest (see figure 4). A more serious problem, as revealed by the first section of the survey, was the un- balanced distribution of respondents. Eighteen out of a possible thirty-one li- brarians responded to the survery, whereas only four of a possible twenty- LAW OF THE UNITED STATES one faculty members returned the survey. An 83 percent nonresponse level in one group raises the question of a large non- user population. As evidenced by the ex- perience of the Samuel Chase Law Li- brary, CA/SDI programs directed solely towards law-school faculty can be insti- tuted successfully in cases where ''faculty did not see the library's services as any- thing but peripheral to their teaching and research pursuits. " 28 A communications program directed solely toward faculty members obviously will need to be consid- ered in further planning and evaluation at the UMKC Law Library. CONCLUSION Marketing's role in library practice con- tinues to receive attention at an accelerat- ing rate. A marketing expert in 1980 stated that ''marketing and the information pro- fessionals have recently 'found' each other. '' 29 In 1982 the American Library As- sociation entitled its Midwinter Presi- dent's Program, "Marketing: A Key to Surviving and Thriving.'' But the growing popularity of the con- cept has not readily brought forth concrete methodology. As evidenced by commen- tary at the ALA program, many library systems believe that marketing plans are beyond their reach financially. And in- deed, panel speakers seemed to advocate LEGAL BIBLIOGRAPHY KF246 Dictionary of current American legal citations : abridged .D54 edition with examples I Doris Bieber. -- Buffalo, N. Y. Hein, 1981. -- ~Reservel Highly praised for its usability, this dictionary serves as a companion to the Harvard "Bluebook" and applies the Bluebook rules. FIGURE4 Post-Survey Acquisitions List Entries Marketing as Applied through Publishing 45 professional assistance from out of the marketing/business field. Hopefully, this paper will demonstrate that marketing techniques can emerge as a natural extension of production tasks, feeding into the communications commit- ment, then to be modified by ongoing planning and evaluation. Even marketing experts themselves can recognize the need for library systems to create their marketing programs themselves: Marketing talent for the not-for-profit sector is best "home grown." It is far easier for profes- sionals from the government, health, educa- tion, and library science sectors to learn what they must about marketing than it is for market- ers from the private sector to overcome the many barriers to their becominJ effective in a new and strange environment. REFERENCES 1. Alberta L. Brown, "Working Smarter with Your Clientele," in Harold S. Sharp, ed., Readings in Special Librarianship (New York: Scarecrow, 1963), p.294. 2. Philip Kotler, Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1975), p.44. 3. Beth M. Gwynn, "Marketing the Law School Library," Law Library Journal71:234-46 (May 1978). 4. Kotler, Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, p.45. 5. Ibid., p.xi. 6. Ibid., p.x. 7. Ibid., p.25 8. Andrea C. Dragon, "Marketing the Library," Wilson Library Bulletin 53:498-502 (March 1979) . 9. Kotler, Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, p.7. 10. Ibid ., p.46 . 11. Gwynn, "Marketing the Law School Library," p.237. 12. Kotler, Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, p.46. 13. Nazir Ahmad, "Publicizing Library Resources," Pakistan Library Bulletin 9:21-29 (July-Oct. 1978) as cited in Handbook of Special Librarianship and Information Work (London: Aslib, 1975), p.324. 14. Exhibitionist (pseud.), "Printed Propaganda," Librarian and Book World 49:107-10 (June 1960). 15. Ian Orton, "The Library as Publisher," Assistant Librarian 73:70-73 (May 1980). 16. Roy Field, "The Library as Publisher," Library Association Record 81, no.8 :383-85 (Aug. 1979). 17. Publishers' Weekly 212:110 (26 Sept. 1977). 18. John Hall, "Publicity and Promotion for Information Services in University Libraries," Aslib Proceedings 26, no.10:391-95 (Oct. 1974). 19. Lucille Jackson, "Some Observations on Fifty Technical Library Bulletins," Special Libraries 44, no.9:366-69 (Nov. 1953). 20. Jackson, "Some Observations on Fifty Technical Library Bulletins, p .367. 21. Gwynn, "Marketing the Law School Library," p.242. 22. Moshe Inbal, "Automatic Publishing of Library Bulletins," Special Libraries 71 :222- 28 (Apr. 1980). 23 . Keith G. Blair, "Engineering Library Bulletins: The Human Factors Consideration," in Harold S. Sharp, ed., Readings in Special Librarianship (New York: Scarecrow, 1963), p.367 . 24. Phyllis G. Newman, "The Round File Evader," California School Libraries 40:180-81 (May 1969). 25. Kotler, Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, p.47 . 26. Ibid., p.42. 27. Gwynn, "Marketing the Law School Library," p.237. 28. Ibid., p.241. 29. Stanley J. Shapiro, "Marketing and the Information Professional: Odd Couple or Meaningful Relationship?" Special Libraries 71, no.11:469-74 (Nov. 1980). 30. Ibid ., p.470.