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Posted by Alison Circle on July 1, 2009
What an interesting week this has been, full of contradictory information and confusing spin in the
Posted by Alison Circle on June 26, 2009
So much is happening that new information comes out every hour as Ohio Governor Strickland
Posted by Alison Circle on June 22, 2009
On Friday, June 19th Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced that he would use state library funding to help fill the $3.2 billion state budget shortfall. For libraries, this represents a 50% cut of our state funding and is catastrophic. Libraries will close or significantly cut hours.
Posted by Alison Circle on June 21, 2009
The other day I was talking with a marketing director from another library, sharing common
Posted by Alison Circle on June 16, 2009
Tiny Bubbles are my short takes on various things I've collected over the past  few days. First and foremost -- hope you've caught this article in the June 15th issue of LJ about our marketing efforts at Columbus Metropolitan Library. I'm thrilled at how it has turned out and pleased that LJ has recognized the hard work that we've been doing over the last few years. The article takes you through the development of our marketing plan as well as its implementation throughout the last couple of yea...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on June 11, 2009
The other day I attended a nonprofit forum on marketing entitled, "Robin Hood Marketing." The  speaker was Katya Andresen who is author of a book by the same name and writes this blog, which I think you'll find very helpful. I found myself taking notes furiously because she articulated well so many things that I have tried to communicate in the library world. Here are 5 key points I wanted to share with you: 1.Need-based marketing doesn't work because those striving to meet the need are too self-involved and fai...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on June 8, 2009
Joining me today in the Bubble Room is Laura MacDonald, president of Benefactor Group, a consultancy advising in the area of fundraising, philanthropy and leadership/governance. I asked Laura to join me to talk about aligning donors -- and your foundation if you have one -- with your library's mission and vision.
Posted by Alison Circle on June 1, 2009
Today I inaugurate an ongoing feature: Burst the Bubble. Things that make us sad in the Bubble  Room -- anti-brand experiences, failed marketing ideas or what-were-they-thinking concepts. I'm inspired today because of two diametrically opposite customer service experiences I had this weekend. Good, even outstanding, customer service is the watchword for libraries, so emulating what is good and avoiding what is bad is an excellent strategy.Let's start with how the bubble burst. Like many of you, I spend my weekends on home projects. Given that it is spring I am inevitab...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on May 25, 2009
One of our key marketing strategies over the last few years has been to align the vision of our library with our affinity groups: our Friends of the Library and our Library Foundation. I'll start with our Friends, who are -- like yours, I'm sure -- a great group of passionate library lovers. Historically they operated in parallel with the library, but had a separate visual identity and their own mission. In this video, Thad DeVassie of our Friends group, talks about the evolution of our alignment. Here he referen...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on May 21, 2009
As a member of the National Retail Federation, I receive daily email briefings about trends and  happenings in the retail world. Geek that I am, I always feel so on top of things to know that Target is rebranding their private label to focus on "real moms and stories about how they save at Target. This is a more genuine approach, with real people telling personal stories, and will strengthen the emotional bond we hav...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on May 17, 2009
Last week I was part of a webinar, which is now available in full. The webinar, Push, Pull, Delight: My Library, My Collection, My Expert, was sponsored by LJ and EBSCO. Besides myself,  panelists included Rhonda Glazier, Collection Development Manager, Jefferson County Public Library (CO) and Judith Hiott, Chief, Houston Area Library Automated Network (TX). Focus was on ways in which to push your collection out to customers.This was my first webinar and I have to say that Dodie Owens, who is a special projects manager for LJ, mad...Read More
Posted by Alison Circle on May 12, 2009
Here's something that I am so eager to share with you. Our 2008 Annual Report. After many  years of producing annual reports -- concepting, writing, photography, design, press checks -- all for a limited run of a few thousand copies -- this year my library is doing something I think no one else has done: a completely online experience. Check it out!Now I' m not talking about making a PDF of a printed document. No print was harmed in the making of this annual report. No trees, no ink -- this is exclusively created in a web environment. (b...Read More
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media. Hard to know where things stand, but wanted to share with you what I know. Last post I said the Governor was meeting with the legislators over the weekend, but guess what? That never happened. 
and the state legislature attempt to plug a $3.2 billion budget shortfall, $200,000,000 of it from library funds. Here's what I can tell you:
struggles and insights. She asked me a question that I offered to throw out here, and get your reaction.