MARKETING PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICES: THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND REALITY IN BRITAIN
| Date | 01 January 1993 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129310023466 |
| Published date | 01 January 1993 |
| Pages | 9-23 |
| Author | Jennifer Booth |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
VOLUME 14 NUMBER 1
1993
Marketing Public Library
Services
THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND REALITY IN BRITAIN
Jennifer
Booth
MARKETING THEORY
The concept of marketing library services is
not new: as far back as the nineteenth
century the American librarian John Cotton
Dana was extolling the merits of publicizing
the library to the public it came into
existence to
serve[1].
Library literature on the
subject burgeoned during the 1980s, and has
continued apace in the last few years.
However, despite the obvious interest in the
subject, the attitude still lingers among
librarians that marketing is something
distasteful, beyond the realms of the nice,
cosy library world[2, p. 401]. This idea stems
from the belief that libraries are an essential
part of our culture and, whatever other
institutions may become casualties of modern
day life, "the Library" is safe from attack.
Unfortunately, although librarians may
regard libraries as indispensable, it is by no
means certain that those outside the
profession share this view. During the current
recession public services in particular are
suffering severe cutbacks, and the best way
for an organization to ensure survival in
these straitened economic circumstances is to
make its presence felt and impress those
holding the purse strings. Marketing can help
to achieve this aim. The activity of marketing
will in itself raise the library's profile, which
will hopefully lead in turn to increased use
of services and thus provide managers with
ammunition to silence critics and justify the
continued existence of the library.
One of the major stumbling blocks to
understanding exactly how marketing can be
beneficial to libraries is the confusion that
reigns over what "marketing" actually means.
The plethora of definitions abounding in the
literature have not helped here — even
"definitive definitions" tend to conflict with
one another. The traditional image of
marketing that prevails is that of a pushy
sales campaign trying to manipulate the
public into buying something that they do
not need. The much-quoted definition of
marketing as an "exchange process"[3, p. 419]
has strengthened the sales connotation as
people tend to think of "products" being
exchanged for money. However, Kotler and
Zaltman extended the original definition to
include the exchange of goods/services for a
person's time and attention
[4].
For business
people time literally is money, but everyone
will have a cost on their time and will weigh
up the negative aspects needed to partake of
a service (time, effort, etc.) against the
benefits that service will offer, even if the
service is ostensibly free. If relatively little is
known about the service an individual may
conclude that the "cost" is probably too
great to merit the necessary effort involved.
Marketing is therefore a vital method of
conveying information for non-profitmaking
organizations, and as "information" is the
business in which libraries are supposed to be
they should definitely give it more credence.
This article examines the various stages
passed through in an idealized marketing
process, and then compares the theoretical
approach with the actual experiences of two
public libraries at the heart of large urban
conurbations, Newcastle upon Tyne and
Liverpool.
The author would like to thank the following for their
help during the writing of this article: Linda Ashcroft
of the Liverpool John Moores University; Paul
Catcheside, Head of Library Services at Liverpool;
Stephen Clarke, for advice on the layout of the
questionnaire; Michael Poppleston, Deputy City
Librarian at Newcastle upon Tyne; and Bernadette
Shaw, the Manager of the Marketing Advice Centre,
Newcastle.
Library Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, 1993. pp. 9-23,
© MCB University Press, 0143-5124
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