ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 204 / C&RL News w hich in recent years contributed greatly to the fes­ tivity of the week, are coordinated through existing library channels. As would be expected w ith an undertaking of this sort, a thorough and conscientious job by the Publicity Com m ittee can make a larger success of the work done by every other com m ittee and indi­ vidual. The flyers, program s, newspaper ads, con­ tacts w ith news agencies, and photos of notable oc­ casions d u r in g th e w eek c a rry th e e ffo rt a substantial distance tow ard the project’s goal of in­ creasing positive awareness of and support for the Libraries. Publicity costs always elevate the celebration’s budget, but the library adm inistration has consist­ ently supported the plans. The inclusion of the sur­ plus book sale in L ibrary Awareness Week events is appropriate, for the proceeds from the sale cover a portion of the expenses. Project evaluation Every year PROM O reviews the project in a post-Library Awareness Week critiquing session and collects com m ittee reports and docum ents. One recom m endation, forw arded annually, is th a t it would be wise to start planning earlier, but it seems never to be soon enough to prevent critical details from piling up a m onth before the week be­ gins. Perhaps th a t is to be expected w hen extrane­ ous activities, done volunteer style, come second to the press of job responsibilities. The full effects of library publicity, and specifi­ cally a project of this nature, are not easily deter­ mined. PROMO has not attem pted to measure, for exam ple, how m any lib rary users w ere gained, how much positive influence was exerted, or the disposition of resources in the library’s favor be­ cause of higher visibility on cam pus. T here are those who feel th a t such auxiliary activities cannot be su p p o rted in lig h t of present b u d g et crises. PROMO members continue to act on their belief th a t there is m uch to be gained in the public rela­ tions arena, and not much to lose. Editor’s note: For further information contact the authors at Owen Science and Engineering Library, W ashington State U niversity, P ullm an, WA 99164-S200. ■ ■ N a tio n a l Library W eek activities fo r a ca d em ic lib raries By Michael Binder Director of Libraries Western Kentucky University Last year was the “Year of the Reader” at Western Kentucky. E a r l y in January 1987, m any of us a t the W estern Kentucky University Libraries becam e aw are of the designation of 1987 as “The Year of the Reader’ by both the Congress and the C enter for the Book, and th a t ALA would be prom oting National Li­ ’ b ra ry W eek w ith tw o them es, “T ake T im e to Read’’ and “The Year of the R eader.” Also, we had been encouraged by the Kentucky L ibrary Associa­ tion to develop plans for 1987 to prom ote both “The Year of the Reader” as well as the Kentucky April 1988 / 205 Library Association theme, “Take Time to Read, Kentucky.” We saw the development of a year-long program focusing on reading, books and libraries as a golden opportunity to promote our library at our campus. Early in February, I appointed a “Year of the Reader” Celebration Committee. Eleven library faculty formed the team for what became a plan­ ning committee for both our “National Library Week” celebration and our “Year of the Reader” promotional campaign. Each separate activity had its own subcommittee composed of additional li­ brary faculty and some support staff. We were fortunate that the enthusiasm was high for these promotions and that the Committee’s first meeting resulted in an effective and realistic plan for the year’s celebration activities. It is a credit to the Celebration Committee’s foresight and imagi­ nation that their plan held up well throughout the year. Not only did the activities they recommended take place but additional ones were planned and implemented as well. A vital part of the year-long promotion tied to the “Year of the Reader” was the kick-off activities planned for National Library Week. Our plan to develop activities to celebrate National Library Week was especially significant since it marked the first time that National Library Week was to be ob­ served at our campus. Just a few days prior to the start of National L i­ brary Week, I joined our city public library direc­ tor for the signing of the proclamation of “National Library Week” and the “Year of the Reader” by our city mayor and the county administrator. Dur­ ing National Library Week, the picture appeared in local newspapers. The proclamation itself was framed and placed on an easel in a prominent loca­ tion at our library. The activities really heated up on April 3rd. At noon that day, the University Libraries sponsored a free pizza and coke party on the patio area outside the main library. That was to kick-off both “Na­ tional Library Week” and the “Year of the Reader” and coincided with a statewide kick-off the same day at the State Library in Frankfort. Balloons were launched from the four locations of our uni­ versity library system and tied to the strings were messages encouraging people to read. Door prizes of books, contributed by Waldenbooks, were a hit of the day— but the biggest hit was the pizza. $200 of pizza went in 10 minutes. No doubt attracted by a rock band, over 500 students and faculty at­ tended the kick-off, far exceeding our expectations. Beginning with the kick-off event, buttons, posters and bookmarks with the themes, “Year of the Reader” and “Take Time to Read, Kentucky” were widely on display at the Western Kentucky campus and throughout the city and county. On April 7, we opened enlarged facilities for University Archives. The festivities included a speech by a history professor who had recently made extensive use of the Archives to write a his­ tory of the University. His speech was followed by a reception in the lobby of the main library. Too often, even with the best of intentions, ma­ jor kick-off events, such as the two we held during National Library Week, are not followed up with additional promotional activities. We persisted, despite the difficulty of mounting major events and still getting our regular jobs done, in following through and developing detailed plans to imple­ ment the other activities for our “Year of the Reader” celebration. We used National Library Week successfully to kick-off a major campaign promoting the importance of books, reading and li­ braries. In July, we honored University reading faculty during International Reading Association work­ shops held on campus. Also that month, Tom Bird­ seye, an author of children’s books and a university graduate, gave a standing room only talk to ele­ mentary school children about his books. In Sep­ tember, with the start of a new academic year, we sponsored a Symposium on “Motivating College Students to Read” that included a panel of librari­ ans, educators and students reacting to a speech by Judith Thelen, a nationally known authority and researcher on reading, on “Reading Beyond the Textbook.” In October, our lobby was again filled to capacity with yet another promotion. This time, on Halloween, library faculty and staff dressed as fictional book characters threw a party complete with treats, refreshments, door prizes and palm reading. In November, we held a Holiday Book Sale in our lobby with books from the University Press of Kentucky offered at substantial discounts. One of the Press’s recent authors, a University fac­ ulty member, was present to autograph copies of his new book. In December, we hosted a reception at our beautiful Kentucky Building, honoring Uni­ versity faculty who published books and articles during 1987. Their names were listed on both the program for the reception and a bookmark saluting them, and their works were on exhibit on tables in the reception area. In addition to these events, as part of our com­ memoration of 1987 as the “Year of the Reader,” we initiated a Leisure Reading Collection in the main library to promote reading as a fun as well as a learning activity. Needless to say, having bestsel­ lers and the latest releases readily available on cam­ pus was extremely well received by the university community. This has become one of our most heav­ ily used collections. All told, we successfully developed eight differ­ ent promotions during the year. Any of our “Year of the Reader” activities could be adapted and tai­ lored by other academic libraries to use for Na­ tional Library Week. I would like to discuss briefly some of the benefit we see resulting from our ’87 campaign. First, it is clear that the University Libraries as a system, as an organization and as a political and academic force on cam pus, increased its visibility and s 206 / C&RL News strength. In a year when the University profited from a significant enrollment increase, our budget received double the highest increase received by the colleges of the University. It also was the largest increase in funding received by the library in its re­ cent history. Our visibility throughout the year was enhanced by continued media, especially local tel­ evision, coverage of our “Year of the Reader” pro­ grams. Secondly, our faculty and staff gained con­ siderable expertise in developing and sustaining promotional activities. Academic libraries should look at National L i­ brary Week as an excellent opportunity to increase library awareness on the campus. While this could certainly be done through various promotions at other times of the year, I think the academic li­ brary can benefit from: •the national attention being centered on li­ braries that week; •from the materials and other support provided by ALA in its efforts to promote National Library Week; •from the activities simultaneously occurring that week in public and school libraries; •and finally, from the possibility of joining with public and school librarians to cooperatively develop National Library Week programs benefit­ ing all kinds of libraries. E d itor‘s note: This is a revision o f a presentation given at the National Library W eek W orkshop, ALA Midwinter M eeting‚ San Antonio. January 11,1988. A visit to the National L ib rary of New Zealand By Ja n e Kemp C irculation/Reference Librarian Luther College Less than a year old, New Zealand’s library is a national treasure. D u r i n g a trip to New Zealand for the holidays I had planned to visit several academic libraries in the various cities in which I would be staying. Ly­ dia Klim ovitch, general secretary of the New Zealand Library Association, had suggested a range of libraries to visit in the course of our corre­ spondence over the previous months. However, during our Air New Zealand flight, a program was aired over the plane’s sound system in which dep­ uty librarian Adam Smith of the National Library of New Zealand was interviewed. His responses in the interview made this newly opened national li­ brary sound so interesting and impressive that I re­ solved to alter my travel arrangements so as to be in Wellington for a day to visit that facility. Although the National Library of New Zealand was established by Act of Parliament in 1965, it was not completed until July 1987. At the site se­ lected for the new library, only a hole in the ground remained for many years for various reasons—