ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 418 / C&RL News ■ June 2002 Boosting libraries at university orientations Designing promotional booths by D. Brett Spencer A t th e U niversity o f A labam a (UA) in Tuscaloosa, w e successfully m arketed o u r l i b r a r i e s ’ s e r v ic e s a n d r e s o u th ro u g h a d isp la y b o o th at th e c am p u s orien tatio n , k n o w n as Bam a B ound, in the sum m er of 2000. For years, public librar­ ians have d e sig n e d b o o th s for to w n fairs a n d special events; w e used this sam e tech­ n iq u e to rea c h th e b ustling c row ds at our university’s orientation. After reading about o u r e x p e rien c e , you m ight c o n sid e r using this sim ple b u t effective m arketing te c h ­ n iq u e at y o u r school. A n o u t r e a c h o p p o r t u n it y Bama B o und is a series o f tw o daylong o rie n tatio n s for n e w fresh m en a n d their p a re n ts h e ld du rin g th e sum m er at UA. In an effort to a cq u ain t freshm en w ith cam ­ p u s life b e fo re th ey officially arrive in the fall, th e d e a n o f stu d e n ts a n d th e adm is­ sions office offer a program of lectures and tours as w ell as th e In fo rm atio n Fair, a sh o w c a se o f exhibits rep re sen tin g various u n iv e r s ity d e p a r tm e n ts in th e s tu d e n t u n io n . D uring th e In fo rm atio n Fair, th e n e w c o m ers c h a t w ith ex h ib it o rganizers a n d collect bro ch u res. Tw o m em bers o f the lib raries’ instruc­ tio n com m ittee, H elga V isscher a n d m y­ self, c o n ta c te d th e univ ersity ’s o rie n tatio n office in the spring of 2000, agreed to sp o n ­ r c e ss o r a display table, a n d se n t e-m ail to th e lib ra ries’ d istrib u tio n list asking for v o lu n ­ teers. In an inspiring fashion, librarians and staff rallied to o u r call by d e signing dis­ plays or greetin g p a re n ts a n d stu d e n ts at th e In form ation Fair. S p a r k in g a t t e n t io n a t th e In fo r m a t io n F a ir At th e fair b o o th , o u r librarians d id w hat th ey do b est— offered h e lp a n d inform a­ tio n to p e o p le . The “library b o o s te rs ” used a n array o f attention-getters: • b a c k b o a rd d e c k e d w ith b o o k covers a n d “Libraries Cover It All” banner, • ceram ic school m ascots, • pencils labeled w ith the libraries’ Web address, • “Library 101” b ro c h u re s w ith hours, locations, policies, inform ation o n rem ote use, a n d a greetin g from th e d e a n of the libraries, • UA Libraries posters, and • free chocolates! Most visitors just p ic k e d up pencils a n d b ro ch u re s for later reading, b u t som e to o k tim e to c onverse w ith us. C om m on q u e s ­ tions w e re “W here are th e libraries?” “Can About t he a u th o r D. Brett Spencer is reference and instruction librarian a tth e University o f Alabama, e-mail: dbspence@bama.ua.edu C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s nwes mailto:dbspence@bama.ua.edu C&RL News ■ June 2002 / 419 Reference Librarian Benita Strnad stands ready and stu d e n ts at a display b o o th d u rin g las orientation at the University o f Alabama, Tuscal I u se th e lib ra ries’ reso u rc es from off-cam ­ pus?” “W hat k in d of h e lp do th e libraries p ro v id e for term pap ers?” Many stu d e n ts a sk ed a b o u t th e libraries’ com puters, w hile o th e rs r e q u e s te d ap p lic atio n s for library jobs. P aren ts e v e n w a n te d o u r b u sin e ss cards so that th eir son or d a u g h te r w o u ld k n o w w h o m to contact for help . M uch to o u r d elight, m any p a re n ts w e re seco n d a ry teach ers w h o to o k UA Libraries’ posters for th eir classroom s o r in quired a b o u t th e Ala­ bam a Virtual Library. T he re s p o n s e to the lib ra ries’ p re s e n c e at Bam a B o u n d a s to n ish e d m any of us. In a survey, o n e refe re n c e lib rarian said, “I w as a m a z e d at h o w friendly a n d positive th e p a re n ts a n d som e stu d e n ts w ere. My overall im p ressio n w as o f pa re n ts a n d stu ­ d e n ts w h o a sk ed in telligent q u e stio n s a n d w h o s e e m e d very grateful to have infor­ m atio n a b o u t the lib ra rie s.” A library a d ­ m in istrato r exclaim ed th at “b e in g p a rt o f Bam a B o u n d is e x c elle n t PR for u s ” and p ra ise d giveaw ays like p encils a n d c h o c o ­ lates as “w o n d e rfu l iceb reak ers!” A m a r k e t in g b lit z We m ade contact w ith m ore th an 1,500 stu­ d e n ts a n d p a re n ts at th e o rie n tatio n . Aside from fostering a rap p o rt w ith th e freshm en, w e hig h lig h ted th e lib raries’ im p o rtan ce to th e s tu d e n ts ’ p a re n ts — w h o are taxpayers, tu itio n payers, alum ni, a n d p o te n tia l d o ­ nors. In a d d itio n , p a rtic ip a tio n in Bama B o u n d e n c o u ra g e d us to invest in a p r o ­ fessional b a c k b o a rd a n d slick p a m p h le ts th a t w ill b o ls te r o th e r publicity cam paigns. B e s id e s th e fu n of s p o n so rin g o n e , I a d v o ­ cate display b o o th s b e ­ cause they en ab le librar­ ians to rea c h o u t to stu ­ d e n ts in a h u m an w ay d u r in g h e c tic o r ie n t a ­ tions. B etw een reg istra­ tions, testing, a n d p a y ­ ing fees, m any stu d e n ts m ay n o t b e able to d ro p by th e library w h e n they a rriv e o n c a m p u s . At to greet parents t year's campus least a display in a high- oosa. traffic a re a , s u c h as a s tu d e n t c e n te r, p la z a , fo o d court, o r reg istratio n line, can b ro a d ­ cast basic inform ation ab o u t the library and h e lp p e o p le se e us as a p p ro a c h a b le . Li­ brarians at the display offer an interactivity, w arm h a n d sh a k e , a n d friendly face th at is n o t p o ssib le th ro u g h fliers, p o ste rs, Web sites, o r n ew s ads. So, ev e n if yo u r sc h o o l d o e s n o t h o ld a form al In form ation Fair, w h y n o t set u p a p r o m o tio n a l b o o th d u r in g o rie n ta tio n ? W hat a b o u t o th e r o p p o rtu n itie s for b o o th s like fam ily days, h o m ecom ings, concerts, a n d ball games? As academ ic librarians, w e m ust ad v ertise o u r services w h e re v e r p o ­ tential p a tro n s gather. A colorful display can b o o st y o u r library’s visibility a n d your staff’s m orale. ■ Tips for creating display booths • Contact the cam pus admissions or orientation office. • Stress electronic m ore th an print sources in your display. • Be proactive a b o u t a p p ro a c h in g people. • Prepare plenty of brochures a nd cre­ ative giveaways. • Remind students to attend workshops or ask for help in the library. • Recruit cheerful staff m em bers to greet visitors. • Exude enthusiasm about your librar­ ies!