EMPOWERING LIBRARIES

摘要

The Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is part of the University of Georgia, an unusual arrangement for a state library. Both the state and the university are big institutions. Yet GPLS's entire marketing department is a small and scrappy two-person team, consisting of Deborah Hakes, communications and marketing director, and Roy Cummings, digital communications manager. Still, that's two more dedicated marketing experts than most public libraries in Georgia can afford. When Hakes joined GPLS, she found that only 12 of 62 Georgia library systems had a dedicated marketing position, and those that didn't also had the smallest percentage of library card holders, local funding support, and programming engagement.