I’m deep in the cave right now—ten weeks left to finish up the book. (Sorry if you don’t hear much from me—grinding it out.) I have someone targeted for the Foreword and I really hope he agrees to do it… someone from outside of the library world.
We’ve got a new dean starting later this summer—you never know what to expect when a new CEO comes in, but you have to hope for the best. Hopefully the ubiquity can continue.
This week I am working on a chapter about measuring the impact of promotional activities. This is a question that always comes up on the conference circuit, so hopefully this will provide me with more acceptable answers during Q&A. Whenever you’re talking to those BIG ARL’s it’s always about assessment rather than creativity.
It’s been a while, so here is something fun.
I’m really digging the free massage idea at UCSB. And no, it’s not something out of the Annoyed Librarian’s nightmares in which librarians are giving massages to lure patrons to the help desk, instead it is a cross promotional effort. They experimented by having a massage therapist in the library one hour a week giving students a free three minute massage, as an attempt to get them to visit the Student Health Building for a longer (paid) session. Apparently it was successful because the health center wants to continue the sessions in the Fall.
The lesson here is not that everyone should jump on the “free massage” bandwagon, but rather to push for cross promotional programming. Find logical partnerships with other units on campus and develop events that are extensions of those services. Look for mutual interests with admissions, recruitment, retention, financial aid, advising, tutoring, housing, student activities, writing center, parking, police, campus tours and orientation, health center, gym, study abroad, and so on.
Libraries are like magnets, a billboard if you will, and these other campus departments can benefit from our foot traffic or web views. In return, we benefit from positioning the library as a campus hub.