In case you haven't heard, PLCMC won

Congrats to the PLCMC for winning the 2008 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant. PLCMC will partner with the New York Public library in utilizing the "Join the circle of knowledge @ your library" theme. You can read the full winning application here (Word doc). Their proposal includes a lot of community partnerships, a rock concert, and a joint blog with NYPL.

Some of the things that I like is that the campaign will help support some important local partners, including the animal shelter. Also, community members get to share the knowledge of their community via "knowledge boards" placed throughout the town. PLCMC: Do you have plans for how to preserve or share these insights? Perhaps you could stream quotes on your Web site?...Just a thought.

This news brings to mind an article I just read in Adweek about a study that found marketing events can raise purchase intent by as much as 52%. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"The special value of events, sponsorships and trade shows has to be considered," said Raymond Pettit, co-author and svp at MarketShare Partners in Los Angeles. "There are many connection points you can build at an event, whether it is emotional, aspirational or awareness building. It goes beyond just counting audience attendance."

So, research would suggest that sponsoring fun activities like those proposed by PLCMC might not just be good PR moves; they could also have a significant positive impact on the numbers of library users. If your marketing plan doesn't incorporate some form of outreach, you may want to give it a try.

Flightless in Toronto

Well, in a past life I must have accumulated some bad airline karma. My flight was canceled due to one of the worst winter storms of the season here in Ontario. On the plus side, I have some unexpected blogging time.

So now that I have a moment, I'd like to share an announcement with you. I'm going to be leaving my position at VCU Libraries effective this Tuesday, February 5th. As you can imagine, I have a lot of mixed emotions about the job change. I'm both excited about my new job and also sad to leave all of the wonderful people I've met at VCU. Many of my colleagues are also my close personal friends, who truly care about me and want the best. (Thanks, guys.) My advisory group (CLUAC) has always been an inspiration and I know all my students will go far. I can't imagine a better place to have begun my career and I want to thank VCU Libraries and those I've worked with in the VCU community for how supportive they've been to me throughout, both personally and professionally.

The good news is that I'll still be in Richmond and I'll be able to keep in touch with everyone. What will I be doing? I'll be working for a company doing research and analysis on, guess what? Marketing info! My new employers have been extremely welcoming and I know the work is going to be incredibly exciting and fast-paced! I'm looking forward to jumping into this challenging new role with a group of really bright people, and getting a taste of another side of the information profession that I love.

Now, on to what you might care more about: What about the blog? I plan on keeping it up as long as I have something worthwhile to write. So, there's no change there. I anticipate my writing might become more of a weekend event, but I think my new role will give me a great perspective to bring to the news and marketing strategies that apply to libraries. I'll also continue writing for Designing Better Libraries (in fact, I hope I'll have more time to do so!).

Thanks for letting me share a bit of this personal stuff. Now, on to our regularly scheduled blog content...