I just discovered information about the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), so I thought I would pass it along to you. The FSC is a non-profit working with the lumber industry to be more socially responsible. Now, here are the bits that interest us in the marketing field… If you work with a printer that is FSC certified, they have the ability to add a badge to your print job that details how many natural resources were used in producing that job (how many trees were used, how many gallons of water were consumed, and so on). I’m actually really excited about this; I’ve been looking for something that I can use for my work with American University Library. The only downside I can see is that green printing will undoubtedly be more expensive than traditional printing.

Annual reports are notoriously hard to compile, but are they worth the outcome? This year is the second year American University Library has chosen to dive in and make a public annual report. The first year was a trying task juggling the politics and the pain. The second year went a little more smoothly, but was still a huge nightmare (more politics and different pain). Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth right? You would think so, but with the right annual report and the right audience, it can be a beautiful thing. The motivation for producing an annual report is to communicate the core values and worth of the organization to the public. Another great reason is fundraising- annual reports, especially “trophy annual reports” are great fodder for making the institution look grand and worthy of donations. The design for this annual report was inspired by a botanic field guide, incorporating images from AU Library’s special collections. The style was chosen to fit in with the nature theme that all of AU Library’s administrative level brochures carry. I’ve attached the PDF of the annual report to this post for review.

In Fearless Future’s attempt to remove the scourge that is clipart from the face of the earth, here is a list of stock photography sites and other alternatives: Cheap sites:

• http://www.istockphoto.com/ Great quality, most images are $1 – $5 but can go up as high as $40 for huge images.
• http://www.bigstockphoto.com/ Images range from $1.40 -$2.50 each for all of them.

Expensive sites:

• http://www.veer.com/ Impeccable quality, but pricey. Images range from $130 – $420 each or discs of multiple images in a set for $500.
• http://www.corbis.com/ If you can’t find it on Veer you can find it on Corbis, prices are practically identical.
• http://www.photos.com/en/ One of many stock photo subscription sites (basically you pay them a fee and they provide you with unlimited access to their collection). The subscriptions range from 1 month ($140) to a year ($600), this would be a great option if you use enough images to make it worth it.

Alternate options: This is where is gets fun. These are free and/or alternate options to typical stock photos.

• http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons is an alternative to copyright. On their site, they have a searchable repository of different types of digital works that are licensed under that would allow you to use them almost always for free (if you don’t use them on commercial projects and you say who created them)
• http://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/ With the advanced search on this site you can search the popular photo community flickr for images that are published under Creative Commons. If you find a picture/artist you like, send them an e-mail and see if you can use their work for your project.
• http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html Library of Congress’ Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. LOC has digitized a ton of their prints and offered them up online for the taking – the majority of them are out of copyright.
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html The American Memory Project is just like the Prints & Photographs but focuses on the “American Experience.”

Feel free to add to the list at the AcademicPR Forum under “Marketing and PR”

Hello Everyone, Jonathan has set up a very user friendly discussion forum for the Academic PR list serv. This is a great way to stay alert of what is going on in the world of marketing, outreach, public relations and promotions of academic libraries with out the usual flood of emails. This is also a wonderful way to build a community of like minded people who can easliy share ideas and trade knowledge. Jonathan and I have not posted as much as we like as this is the crazy time for both of us at our different institutions ie. gearing up for new marketing campaigns, orientation events, etc… we are also working on Fearless Future projects that we will tell you more about soon. But in the meantime check out the Academic PR Forum, you can contribute as a guest or you can join very easily. marye

Make sure you read the July/August issue of College & Research Libraries News – Mary Evangeliste (1/2 or Fearless Future) wrote a terrific article about our experience winning the Best Practices in Marketing Academic & Research Libraries in 2005. Her article (attached below) summarizes our experience at ARCL as well as information about the 2007 Best Practices award. Congratulations Mary; what an awesome article!

As ALA rounds the corner and you are getting your schedule squared away, all of you have to make room for the LAMA Swap & Shop. Mary and I will have some great brochure makeovers on display and we will be giving away tons of pointers, as well as a few packets of hands-on information. Swap & Shop: Sunday, June 25th 11-1:30 in the Main Exhibit Hall in the special events area behind aisle 3700. I can’t wait to see you all there.

Collage Images is a flickr group that is a great collection of vintage copyright-free artwork that you can grab and use as you wish. I really hope that we can see more of this in the future. Take a few minutes and explore the collection, they have some really great and obscure images. Believe me, these images are a much better option than using clip art, and a lot cheaper than hiring a designer. —- P.S. You do have to register with the group before you can view the images.

If you are going to be at ALA in New Orleans this year, you definitely need to stop by the Swap & Shop on Sunday, June 25 at 11:00 am – 1:30 pm in the Exhibit Hall.

Not only will you get a chance to see a showcase of successful PR materials, but you will also get a chance to see me and Mary in action. Fearless Future has been invited to handle the redesign of the chosen academic library brochures that were submitted for the “Makeover” section of the Swap & Shop. We would love to see all of you there! Link to press release about the Swap & Shop.

No I am not talking about the song from Footloose sound track but our very own Jonathan Silberman who was recently interviewed in the May/June edition of Print Magazine:America’s Graphic Design Magazine.

The article was written by CORY DOCTOROW who is an author and a blogger, most notably one the of the editors of Boing Boing, an award winning blog that started out as a zine. The article titled Some Rights Reserved is all about the use of Creative Commons in the work of designers. Jonathan was interviewed because we licenced all of our marketing material under a creative commons license. This enables people to use our marketing plan and most importantly Jonathan’s designs as long as they give attribution to the creator. One of the best lines in the article is “as an author my biggest problem is not piracy it is obscurity” This quote could also be said of libraries or as Oscar Wilde says “Imitation is the highest form of flattery” We should all be involved in this new emerging form of communication. It will enable us to learn and share with each other and truley create a “learning commons” I want to give a shout out to Gwendolyn Reece, intellectual and librarian extraordinaire for introducing me to the idea of Creative Commons. If you have interest in Creative Commons you should read Lawrence Lessig and Siva Vaidhyanthan

I am just starting to put my iternary together for ALA and this came across my computer today and seems interesting. “PR Forum to focus on word-of-mouth-marketing.” American Library Association. 2006. http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/april2006/PRForummarketing.ht m (Accessed 27 Apr, 2006) here is the press release:

Marketing is Everyone’s Job @ your library®:
PR Forum to focus on word-of-mouth-marketing

(CHICAGO) “Word-of-mouth marketing” is the latest buzz word when it comes to promoting your library, but what does it really mean? Plan to attend the annual PR FORUM during the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, and you will learn what it is, why it works and how you can use it to engage every staff member, trustee, Friend, faculty member and student in spreading your library’s message.

The PR FORUM will take place Sunday, June 25, 2006, from 8 to 10 a.m. in Morial Convention Center, Room 352.

The program is geared toward library public relations and marketing professionals but is open to any ALA member wishing to attend. This can’t-miss event will feature an expert panel offering tips and strategies for making the most out of your word-of-mouth efforts. It also will include an update on The Campaign for America’s Libraries and recognition of the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Library District, winner of the 2006 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant.

The “word-of-mouth marketing” panelists include:

• Peggy Barber and Linda Wallace, Principals, Library Communications Strategies, Inc.
• Camila Alire, Dean, University Libraries, University of New Mexico; ACRL President
• Donna Dziedzic, Executive Director, Naperville (Ill.) Public Library

The PR FORUM will be moderated by Kathleen Imhoff, Executive Director, Lexington (Ky.) Public Library and chair of the PR Assembly, which sponsors the PR FORUM. The PR Assembly is a subcommittee of the ALA Public Awareness Committee.

What is everyone else doing at ALA?