Marketing for Special and Academic Libraries

Valerie S. Gordon has worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Lister Hill Library since 1990 and before retiring from UAB in 2016 was an associate professor/chair of Library Communications and Marketing for UAB Libraries.She began her career as a cataloger and later assumed responsibilities in the areas of staff development, marketing, and liaison activities at Lister Hill Library. Valerie and Patricia C. Higginbottom have worked together on marketing and PR activities for Lister Hill Library for many years and have taught an MLA certified class on marketing and an MLA webinar on marketing and advocacy. Valerie has written about marketing and presented on this topic regionally and nationally. Valerie received her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland in College Park and a BA in English from Emory University. She is a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. Patricia C. Higginbottom is an Associate Professor and the Assistant to the Dean for Project Management at University of Alabama at Birmingham Libraries, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. She has been with LHL for over 20 years in a variety of roles. Pat co-manages marketing and PR activities for UAB’s Lister Hill Library with Valerie S. Gordon and has been involved in marketing for many years. The chapter “Marketing, Public Relations and Communication” in the book Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship was co-authored by Pat in 2008. LHL also won the MLA Creative Marketing Award in 2006 and was named as one of the Sage Favorite Library Traditions in 2014. Pat and Valerie taught an MLA certified class called Maintain Momentum in Marketing in 2013 and revised it for teaching in an online environment. Pat received her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Alabama and a BA in English from the University of North Alabama.

“Here is a detailed map to marketing success, organized step-by-step, with practical details that are harvested from years of research and experience. A newly-minted classic that every special or academic library should own and use.”

• PrefaceChapter 1: Strategic PlanningChapter 2: The Marketing PlanChapter 3: Marketing Plan ComponentsChapter 4: ImplementationChapter 5: EvaluationChapter 6: Brands and CampaignsChapter 7: Personal Interactions & EventsChapter 8: Creating Print Marketing MaterialsChapter 9: Digital PublicationsChapter 10: Social MediaAppendix A: Sample Marketing PlanAppendix B:Sample Web Usability TestIndexAbout the Authors