Vol. 29 No.1, September 2001

Benchmarking Library Marketing Activities

I became interested in benchmarking library marketing activities earlier this year first to find out what other libraries do so we can improve and expand the marketing we do at the JPL Library. And second, to share my findings with SLA/SCC members so they can be more informed on this often-neglected activity.

I visited the Amgen Libraries located at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks on July 24^th, Debbie Hartzman graciously agreed to be my host. I toured the two Amgen Libraries, had a wonderful lunch, and attended their Library Marketing Team meeting. Since its formation in 1992, I've been an active member of the JPL Library Marketing Team but this was the first time I've experienced how another library's marketing activities are administered -- it was fun and informative.

The following are questions I asked Debbie about marketing at the Amgen Libraries and her responses:

Describe your customer base where your marketing efforts are directed.

Primarily our Thousand Oaks facility

Who does the marketing in your library organization?

The marketing team; currently 6 members including the library director.

Describe some marketing practices currently in use.

Primarily ad hoc efforts centered around promoting new resources

Are there new marketing concepts under development? If so, please describe them.

We are considering a ‘branding’ approach; expanding the use of “email tags” and cross promotions. For example in a weekly newsletter we are including promotions for other services. We are also trying to ‘re-promote’ existing services. Last year we added promotional messages to the screensavers in our training room.

How are your marketing activities linked to your library organizations goals and goals of the larger organization.

They fit into two goals:

1. Develop organization and staff: Create an action plan to optimize the value of Amgen Libraries' products and services based on data gathered in 2000 from Workflow Analysis, Needs Assessment Survey, Benchmarking Study, and Resource Allocation presentation.

2. Organizational excellence: Provide and deliver the current products and services to Amgen clients.

One of our observations is that we promote new resources, but fail to provide ongoing marketing and awareness.

Do your marketing activities have metrics? Is so, please describe them.

No.

How do you obtain customer feedback?

Last year the library did a major needs assessment survey that included questions about marketing. We learned that posters ranked very low as awareness tools for the organization. This surprised us, but was good to hear because hanging posters around the company is a huge time commitment.

Future benchmarking visits include the Rand Library in Santa Monica and the Rockwell Science Center in Thousand Oaks. If you would like to share your library’s marketing activities or have suggestions please email me at teresa.r.bailey@jpl.nasa.gov, or call me at (818) 354-9233.

Teresa Bailey

Jet Propulsion Laboratory