Executive Summary
Who We Are and Whom We Serve
Monroe County Public Library provides services at no charge to all residents living in Monroe County. All are welcome to visit the Library to browse our books, magazines, and newspapers, use our public computers, and enjoy our spaces. Residents may get a free library card to check out books, movies, and music; to download audio-books, e-books, DVDs, and digital music; access all our databases; and reserve meeting rooms and gallery space. Those outside our service area may get a public library access card (PLAC) for a fee.
Mission, Vision and Values
Our Mission
The mission of Monroe County Public Library is to enrich lives and strengthen our community by providing equitable access to information and opportunities to read, learn, discover, and create.
Our Vision
An educated, engaged, curious, and creative Monroe County, with the library at its center.
Our Values
Monroe County Public Library provides services at no charge to all residents living in Monroe County. All are welcome to visit the Library to browse our books, magazines, and newspapers, use our public computers, and enjoy our spaces. Residents may get a free library card to check out books, movies, and music; to download audio-books, e-books, DVDs, and digital music; access all our databases; and reserve meeting rooms and gallery space. Those outside our service area may get a public library access card (PLAC) for a fee.
Mission, Vision and Values
Our Mission
The mission of Monroe County Public Library is to enrich lives and strengthen our community by providing equitable access to information and opportunities to read, learn, discover, and create.
Our Vision
An educated, engaged, curious, and creative Monroe County, with the library at its center.
Our Values
- Accessibility
- Freedom of expression
- Inclusiveness
- Integrity
- Lifelong learning
- Respect
- Service
Market Audit and Research
- Analysis. The community is very centered around Indiana University. It is also one of it's biggest competitors. However, I wouldn't even try to compete for the 18-24 category, I believe that would be a waste of time and resources. The library should focus on children, teens, adults and seniors.
- Environmental Scan.
- Political/Legal Factors. The library works very hard to stay compliant in legal matters and unbiased in political matters.
- Economic Factors. There is an increased use in our media items and in patrons using the WiFi and computers. The library is doing okay financially at the moment due to a good director and a generous donation. There is a Barnes and Noble in town where people can buy books.
- Social Factors. There is a local newspaper, but it has seen a decrease in subscriptions. Indiana University is a big competitor in the city for students and entertainment purposes.
- Technological Factors. The website and social media is used but we can improve those rates. We offer free WiFi, but so does Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, McDonald's, and other restaurants.
- SWOT. One of the library's strengths is it's children's programming. They have a variety of programs that appeal to different ages scheduled. A weakness if their programming for adults. Besides adult education classes there isn't really much available. Opportunity would be the teen area, they just finished remodeling that area and are trying to increase participation in that age group. Threats would be from Indiana University, it is a large employer and they have their own libraries.
- Original Data. I would use a mystery shopper to see what services are available for adults at the library. I would seek shoppers of varying ages between 25-60 and from different lifestyles.
Theoretical FoundationThere are many libraries that run very successful book clubs. Locally I found three that have similar demographics to Bloomington, IN.
Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library offers four different book clubs at their three branches. These book clubs cover a variety of genres that can appeal to adults of any age or walk of life. The population in 2014 was 48,000. Hamilton East Public Library offers a wide variety of book clubs at both their Fishers and Noblesville locations. You can see each book club, when and where it meets, and what they will be reading for the next couple months on their website. The population in 2014 for Noblesville was 57,500 and in Fishers during 2015 was 88,600. Carmel Clay Public Library offers four book clubs that feature a variety of genres that will appeal to adults of any age. The website also lists what books they will be reading for the rest of the year. In 2014 the population is 86,600. |
Market SegmentationThe target audience is adults age 25-60. This audience is usually employed, live within some type of a budget, and enjoy activities with other adults.
Some find that they no longer fit in the college crowd and many are looking for new social interactions to replace the college life. Some find themselves parents and are looking for some adult conversation and time away from the kids. Some adults are looking to meet new people and find this is a good place to meet people with similar interests. While the rest enjoy reading books and want to share and discuss what they read with someone else. Reading does not have to be a solitary activity (Fuller and Sedo, 2016). |
Service IdentificationThis product would be a cash cow. It is inexpensive and easy to maintain. Other book club that were similarly designed have been very successful.
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Mission, Goals, Objectives, Actions, Timelines and Budget
- The mission of Monroe County Public Library is to enrich lives and strengthen our community by providing equitable access to information and opportunities to read, learn, discover, and create.
- The goal of the service #themodernbookclub is to increase reading by adults age 25-60 by adding four modern book clubs to our services.
- To have at least 20 members in each club.
- To see increased activity on the library's social media pages.
- To sign up 30 new library card holders.
- Product: Ensure the library has enough copies of the books on hand for each of the book club.
- This can be done through inter-library loans, simultaneous use programs, or purchasing.
- Place: The book club discussions will take place online, in the library and in the community.
- Links to the book club pages should be placed on the library's website.
- Price: There will be cost involved for some publicity materials, for the librarian involved with supervising the book clubs and maintaining the websites and social media pages.
- Promotion: Encourage word of mouth advertising. Use in library promotion: book display, flyers, posters, and bookmarks. Use hashtag #themodernbookclub on Twitter to track conversation. Create a poll on Facebook to see what patrons want to read next. Have a raffle to promote participation in the book clubs.
- Budget: The budget for the launch and for the next six months is $500. This will cover publicity materials, t-shirts for the staff, the purchase of coasters, the purchase of any needed books, and an item to raffle. This will come from a book club grant and the fiction fund.
Communication: The Marketing Mix
- Promotion. The campaign theme is: #themodernbookclub, all materials will have this on it. There will be a raffle for a Kindle. Patrons can be entered into the raffle by: reading the book selection, attending the first meeting, and posting a review of the book. The drawing will take place at the end of the month party celebrating #themodernbookclub.
- Message.
- Awareness (cognitive stage). Posters and flyers will be palced around the library advertising the new book clubs. QR codes are located on these to direct patrons to the websites for the bookclubs.
- Interest and Desire (affective stage). The benefits of the service will be posted on a display about the bookclubs in the library and information will be posted on the Library's social media pages.
- Action (behavior stage). There will be a raffle for a Kindle for those that read the first book, attend the meeting, and post a review of the book.
- Branding. The tagline, brand and logo were all designed to be one, #themodernbookclub is simple and shows that it is combining the new with the old by using the hashtag symbol to symbolize the use of online book discussion and social media and keeping the words "book club" to illustrate the "old". The logo should be black and white, all lowercase, font: righteous. Each book club has its own name and picture to illustrate it's theme.
- Public relations. This marketing campaign will rely on social media throughout the campaign in many ways. First their will be promotion for the program and book clubs on the Library's Facebook and Twitter pages and pages will be created for each of the bookclubs, there will be links to these on the website. The promotion will include booktrailers, posts, reviews, and tweets to generate excitement about the bookclubs. Second once the book clubs start there will be Discussions on each of the Facebook pages about the book of the month, and updates to the Library's social media pages. Members of the book clubs will be encouraged to tweet favorite quotes from the books. Lastly discussions will take place about future meetings and book choices.
- Publicity. The publicity materials include: a poster, flyers, bookmarks, t-shirts, and coasters. These can be found on the Publicity Materials Page.
- Advertising. Sponsorship could play a part when considering where to hold the Pints & Pages or Wine, Chocolate and Books meetings. If there are specific locations interested in holding these regularly then perhaps in exchange for free appetizers or desserts their logo could appear on the other side of the coasters.
- Advocacy. This marketing plan is designed to increase reading in adults. Studies show that as you age the less you read, especially when you are no longer in school. By providing a social activity with reading this gives adults another reason to read, this time for enjoyment.
Internal Marketing
Staff will be educated about #themodernbookclub program and about each of the new book clubs and what each of the clubs "themes" is. They will be given t-shirts to wear and bookmarks and flyers to hand out to patrons at each of the desks. Staff will be asked voluntarily to read the books and provide reviews on the library blog. |
Evaluation
Patrons will be able to fill out a survey after the first month has been completed. This will be available at #themodernbookclub party where the raffle prize will be awarded. Questions will include:
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Reflection
My plan is new and exciting because it isn't being done in Bloomington. Online book clubs and regular book clubs are becoming widely successful again, you don't have to completely recreate the wheel to have a service that patrons enjoy. If you update it and make it accessible and attractive to them they will come. Why not have a book club meet in a pub? |
Works Cited |
Carpenter, Julia. "#wlclub, the women's book club on Twitter that will take over your reading list." The Washington Post 2016:Biography in Context. Web. 20 June 2016. Fuller, Danielle, and DeNel Rehberg Sedo. "And Then We Went To The Brewery." World Literature Today 88.3/4 (2014): 14. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 20 June 2016. Hansen, Kristine. "Cheers To Book Clubs That Meet Over Drinks." Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.) 124.10 (2011): 11. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 20 June 2016. Jordan, Tina, and Isabella Biedenharn. "How Facebook, Twitter, And Instagram Turned Into Oprah's Book Club." Entertainment Weekly 1403/1404 (2016): 119. Corporate ResourceNet. Web. 20 June 2016. McCluskey, Megan. "Here’S How To Join Emma Watson’S Feminist Book Club." Time.Com (2016): N.PAG. Corporate ResourceNet. Web. 20 June 2016. MILLER, JENNIFER. "Men Have Book Clubs, Too." New York Times 05 May 2016: D9. Corporate ResourceNet. Web. 20 June 2016. Carmel Clay Library http://www.carmel.lib.in.us/read/bookdiscussions.cfm Hamilton Eastern Public Library http://hepl.lib.in.us/lets-read/ Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library http://www.mphpl.org/content/book-clubs http://www.infotoday.com/mls/sep13/White--Books-on-Tap--The-Book-Group-That-Meets-in-a-Bar.shtml https://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=481 http://www.city-data.com/city/Mishawaka-Indiana.html http://www.city-data.com/city/Noblesville-Indiana.html http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/1823278 http://www.city-data.com/city/Carmel-Indiana.html |