Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Ottawa, Canada, June 26-July 2, 1912
Science
Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association: Held at Ottawa, Canada, June 26-July 2, 1912
American Library Association; Library science -- Congresses
Why cannot the library associations have a publicity man whose business
it would be to get such articles into the magazines, to prepare little
booklets such as I have described for the information of the general
public, and to do whatever else he can to interest influential men and
the world at large in public libraries? This man might also be made
responsible for getting library news articles and feature stories into
the newspapers. Such articles would undoubtedly do a great deal to
educate newspaper readers to a knowledge of library work as it now is,
but if they did nothing more than to keep the subject before the people
they would be worth while.
There is also a large field open for public speakers. A publicity man,
representing a national or state organization, could make himself
very useful as a speaker at public gatherings. He could easily secure
a place on the programs of many civic, scientific and educational
organizations, and by a popular presentation of the public library's
service along the line that particularly interested the members, could
undoubtedly make scores of new friends for public libraries.
Such a person would be welcome also as a lecturer on librarianship at
college, academy and high school gatherings, at chapel and convocation
exercises, etc. These talks would have a double value in that they
would help to bring good people into the library profession and at
the same time give information about library affairs to students and
instructors.
So far as I know, the library profession has never indulged in paid
newspaper or magazine advertising. This may be due to the fact that
we can usually get all the space we want in the regular news columns
free of charge; but I suspect it is due partly to our conservatism,
to our fear that paid advertising would be considered undignified.
Certainly if the newspapers and magazines are willing to print without
pay all that we wish, we need not consider the paid "ad." But if it
is impossible to secure the desired space in any periodical free of
charge, it might be worth while to buy it.
The paid library advertisement need not be similar to the ordinary
commercial advertisement. It could be modeled after the "talks"
sometimes used by large corporations and promoters which are meant to
create a sentiment favorable toward the company. They should be done
in newspaper English and should, of course, be short and to the point.
Charles Stelzle, in his "Principles of successful church advertising,"
says that "One denomination in the U. S. has made a selection of a
group of newspapers throughout the country which print regularly an
editorial on some doctrinal or ethical theme and which is paid for by
the national body." If it is not undignified for a church to do these
things, surely it would not be out of place for the public library.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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