This is a website I came across providing a few good marketing tips for libraries. The main website is www.dearreader.com which focuses on book club books. However, when you go to the library services section, you see three creative ways to promote library materials to the general public. Services inlcude:
Let your patrons “test drive ” your books.
Offer them the Online Book Clubs and every day they can read a portion of a book in their email. No other program lets your patrons read 2-3 chapters from new books. And no other program can get more people hooked on books.
21 ready-to-go newsletters each month, plus all the tools and resources to create email, RSS and online book content. Hundreds of libraries use BookNews to create newsletters, booklists, web pages, pathfinders, RSS feeds and online versions of their printed newsletters. (We used a BookNews pathfinder to create this website.)
Next Good Book incorporates all of these methods and expands the universe of “friends” and people with similar interests. Patrons can use the opinions of thousands of readers to find their next good book.
If any librarians are currently using this service, please leave some feedback and let me know how effective these tools are in promoting library materials. Everything always sounds good in theory, the proof is in the application.
I get the dear reader emails, but I had no idea they had all of those tools for libraries.
Oh, and by the way, I found out about them through my local library =)
Well then, I guess that answers part of my questions. It seems to be a good marketing tool. =)