Marketing Public Library Services in Sierra Leone

Introduction

The strategy of instituting advertising rules to non-earnings establishments such as library and facts Solutions is no more time a controversy. Organisations run in an environment of improve. Currently we stay in a worldwide industry for quite a few merchandise and products and services in which engineering, obtaining ability and many variables alter on a frequent foundation. One particular of the critical functions of promoting is to uncover out how these improvements have an impact on clientele’s would like and desires and to create organisational methods and ideas that will be certain that the library fulfills these worries (Dransfield and Needham, 1995). It is for that reason not shocking that community librarians are joining the advertising and marketing bandwagon. This posting explores the internet marketing things to do in the operations of the Sierra Leone Community Library expert services.

Public Libraries

A Public Library is funded wholly and partly from public funds and the use of which is not limited to any class people in the local community but freely available to all. It is a important company of enlightenment for older people, delivering for young children the recorded activities of others which will support them improve into adults.

Usherhood (1981) defined Community Library as an group recognized, supported and funded by the local community, both by way of local, regional or national government or by means of some variety of or other community group. It presents access to expertise, information and facts and performs of creativeness by means of a array of resources and expert services and similarly accessible to associates of the general public community no matter of race, nationality, financial and work position and academic attainment.

The Sierra Leone Library Board (SLLB)

The Sierra Leone Library Board (SLLB) was proven by Ordinance in June, 1959. The setting up of the Board was envisaged in the Government’s White Paper on Instructional Enhancement in 1958 and its features outlined therein as follows:

• To give a nationwide/public library Services
• To aid and fortify programmes of adult and essential instruction
• To provide effective providers for youngsters and younger adults which include requisite solutions to schools
• To provide a great deal essential details and references companies
• To deliver in which needed suitable companies for distinctive groups, that is females and women, language teams.

The Central Library is designed to give public expert services to Freetown and also to operate as headquarter of the Nationwide/General public Library providers and to offer lodging for a growing assortment of reserve and non-ebook supplies in the state. It does all specialized processing of stock for the Regional and Branch Libraries and has an Adult Lending Reference and a Children’s section.

Libraries are charged with responsibility to provide details assistance to aid instructional, recreation and particular endeavours of the users of their respective communities and the Sierra Leone Library Board is not an exception to that. The subsequent expert services are provided at the Sierra Leone Library Board to Clientele:

Small children Providers

The Sierra Leone Library Board offers facts solutions to kids by the provision of textbooks and other materials for young children which are generally housed in a special section known as the Kid’s Library. A specific support for little ones recognized as baby orientated instructional programme specially designed for youthful library people is integrated in the kid’s library providers. They also provide solutions to small children by way of storytelling, drama/perform and reading through aloud.

Guide Borrowing and Lending Support

The main job of Sierra Leone Library Board is to give the public with obtain to publications and periodicals. The Sierra Leone Library Board usually presents entry to a selection of publications which are readily available for borrowing by anybody with the proper library card.

Recent Awareness Service

At the Sierra Leone Library Board, present-day awareness services is aimed at bringing to the observe of prospective people, recently accessible documents and info companies. This is done by collating information and facts and creating new secondary sources, circulating current periodicals or other paperwork acquired and producing and distributing a person or additional kinds of bulletins.

Selective Dissemination of Info

A additional own info provider is becoming operate at the Sierra Leone Library Board in which the library continually notifies library users about particular information/materials matching them in a profile of the info wants and study pre-occupation of their clientele. This is performed by both bringing references to relevant goods to the discover of their shoppers and by obtaining copies and then source the documents by themselves to library users.

Outreach Products and services

The Sierra Leone Library Board presents outreach data services which is dedicated to establishing library outreach programmes for non-customers, the undeserved, and persons with distinctive wants in the communities in limited spots.

Computer system and Net Services

In an attempt to bridge the electronic divide, information sources and government products and services are staying supplied online by the Sierra Leone Library Board. This is accomplished by delivering obtain to the Internet and community computer systems for users who usually would not be in a position to connect to these solutions.

Library Advertising and marketing

Marketing and advertising is generally considered as a set of approaches and tactics that belongs to directors exterior of librarianship. But, librarians are also associated in the marketing system. The essence of internet marketing requires getting out buyers wants and want, then environment out to meet up with these needs.

Promoting in accordance to Weingand (1995) “can be seen as a approach of trade and a way to foster partnership concerning the library and its group” (p.296). In order to maintain the connection amongst the community library and the local community, marketing techniques have to be employed as productive resource.

Promoting in the general public library signifies far more than only promotion or marketing. It is far more worried about person requires. Advertising and marketing the Public Library is a social and managerial process by which merchandise and expert services as effectively as values are exchanged in purchase to satisfy persons or team requires. Internet marketing refers to all those instruments through which info, both of those raw and processed, are transmitted to its customers. Marketing or campaigning is but two pursuits in the broader physical exercise of marketing

Setting up Library Marketing Programmes

The ongoing existence of libraries, if not their survivals, may well properly depend upon the use of marketing and advertising and planning approaches, communicated by way of efficient community relations, to substantially change the perceived purpose and position of the library in modern society.

In a authentic perception, General public Relation is the advertising ingredient of a complete marketing and advertising strategy of library programmes. It can be noticed as the communicated module which serves the promotion functionality conversely, it may perhaps be quickly depicted as a philosophical partnership in between library and community which serves as a guiding light-weight for advertising routines.

Both equally conversation and investigation expertise provide perfectly in the marketing scheduling procedure of which General public Relations is an critical element. Certain competencies and expertise are also desired in marketing and advertising scheduling plans for libraries. It goes without having stating that both of those ongoing advertising arranging and programmes, and in distinct, how the demands of diverse groups of users differ from each other. Library and details companies are complicated entities, as are the human end users and probable buyers of these services.

Planning, promotion and campaigning are but all routines in the boarder work out of internet marketing. User studies therefore, have a quite extensive selection of makes use of in relation to the organizing of library advertising and marketing programmes of a company. They add in the arranging, advertising and progress of library companies. In their contribution they support in the knowing of various person group conduct and their requirements, and can help in successful campaigning and scheduling method.

Three methods to planning library marketing programmes are:

• Being aware of what your beliefs are and as a result what you want to accomplish
• Communicating these beliefs as useful targets to the persons with whom you work, in purchase that these aims can be fulfilled and
• Generating a motor vehicle which will allow this to come about. This can only be attained by defining the essential components and by firm.

Approaches of advertising and marketing in Sierra Leone Library Board

E-book Shows and Exhibitions

Displays and exhibitions are greatly utilized in most general public libraries as a advertising tactic to provide their merchandise or items. The SLLB shows jackets of new textbooks which are not yet incorporated in the lending division for effortless obtain by customers and to improve utilization. It is also a usually means of drawing the attention of consumers and non-end users to particular elements of library resources and companies.

Printed components and Publications

In order to make a very great impression of the general public library and for general public librarians to set up greater conversation concerning the library and people, publicity programmes are place in location by the management of the Sierra Leone Library Board through information launch. The management also considers yearly reports and newspapers as standard publicity techniques. Publications this kind of as bibliographies, guides and brochures are utilised by the library to converse with the broader general public.

Community Relations Office

General public relations according to Usherhood (1981) is involved with getting of general public guidance for an action, result in, motion or establishment. It is a course of action that furthers mental comprehending and cooperation among a federal government or any organisation and its different publics. The Sierra Leone Library Board has a Community Relations Workplace charged with the obligation to enrich a sleek method of conversation.

Consumer Education and learning/Viewers Advisory Company

This could be described as teaching a group of end users in the efficient use of the library and its resources. It is utilised to stimulate the consumers to make larger use of the library and introduces library personnel to clientele who might be unwilling to request their help. This is the principal suggests through which library team can discover about readers’ demands, views and habits. Fantastic communication with viewers enables personnel to notify and affect audience.

The Media

These involve printed and audio-visible forms of interaction and any required gear to render them usable. The Press, radio and television are essential usually means of publicising info assistance, because they present probable of reaching several persons from all walks of lifestyle. The media are cultivated so that messages are distributed with regularity. Publicity mechanism these as information releases, particular functions and brochures can also be utilized.

The Social Media Teams (SMG)

The Sierra Leone Library Board will make use of the Social media teams such as ‘Facebook’ and ‘Watsapp’ as an helpful way for publicity in buy to put their messages throughout to people of their providers.

Difficulties of Marketing and advertising Library and Details Expert services at the SLLB

A large amount of difficulties have militated from the efficient scheduling and implementation of library marketing and advertising applications at SLLB. The pursuing are some of the difficulties:

• Insufficient Employees: While team numbers have been preserved, the ratio of expert staff is incredibly reduced. The library is manned mainly by paraprofessionals who primarily deficiency the competencies to plan and implement marketing and advertising programmes.

• Finance: The library relies upon closely on govt subsidy. The government has no distinct or significant resources for the functioning of the library as a result the library administration has to foot most of the expenditures that have to do with promoting. The irregular move of cash has served as a barrier to the progress of internet marketing library and info services at the SLLB.

• Absence of normal printed products and publications: The SLLB lacks most conventional printed components and publications owing to inadequate organizing of marketing and advertising programmes. This carelessness has created the library handicapped of public relations equipment in the form of printed supplies and publications these kinds of as newsletters, questionnaires, diaries and calendars.

• Displays are improper and exhibitions appear nearly absent: The library depends typically on donations and most of the books are acquired without having jackets. Therefore exhibiting guide jackets in inconsistent. In simple fact exhibition programmes are yet to endure as they are only a short while ago launched. The library lacks appropriate show and exhibition resources to mount these actions.

• Inability to organize recurrent Radio Plans: The SLLB lacks media communication services. The library can not usually organise radio programmes on its possess for the reason that of lack of funds. The absence of radio programmes stands out as an acute difficulty to the development of marketing and advertising courses in the library.

Conclusively, promoting is the instrument that libraries use to completely transform their aims and aims into operational strategies of motion. In most building countries’ public libraries this sort of as the SLLB, advertising tactics are unable to run adequately because of to the existence of bottlenecks in planning programmes. Superior marketing and advertising programmes actualise the programs and steps needed for the achievement of objectives and targets.