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Marketing Of Library Services In Academic Libraries
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Marketing has various definitions. Sharma and Bhardwaj (2009) defines
marketing as a total system of interacting business activities to plan,
promote and distribute want satisfying products and services to present
and potential customers. Kolter (1994) described marketing as a social
and managerial process by which individual groups obtain what they need
and want through creating, offering and exchanging products and
services. A library without users is useless. To succeed, there is need
to let the users be aware of the benefits of the library to provision of
information resources and services. Marketing is about keeping the
clients in touch and informed about resources and services that match
their interests. The success of academic library marketing lies mainly
on convincing the clients that the tools or databases are worthwhile,
they must understand what the services are, and be enthusiastic about
how they will be helpful (Noel & Waugh, 2002). Librarians need to
market their services and resources for students and potential users to
create awareness of the academic library’s value. Major sectors of the
potential market for the library’s services are probably not aware of
all the services available or have no understanding at all of what is
offered.
That’s why marketing is vital to the success and existence
of the academic library. The main focus of every library should be a
good customer service. Good service can equal a good marketing campaign,
which is another reason why marketing is important for libraries.
Effective marketing provides the means by which users are made aware of
the services of
the library and their value.
Marketing in a
library setting has been viewed from different perspective for instance
Ravichandran and Babu (2008) views marketing of library services as the
process of planning, pricing, promoting and distributing library
products to create exchanges that satisfy the library and the clientele.
Nwegbu
(2005)defines marketing in library setting as designing and presenting
the library books and non book- materials in terms of the needs and
desires of the users of the library and using effective techniques to
motivate, inform and service the library clientele both present and
potential. Weigard (1995) views marketing in library as a process of
exchange and a way to foster the partnership between the library and the
community. Marketing of library and information services includes user
priorities, expectations, individuality, responsiveness, relationship,
quality of services, professional skills, competencies and value added
services etc. Basanta&Sanjah (2008) stated that the ultimate aim of
marketing is to provide the right information to the right user at the
right time. A user ascertains the effectiveness and efficiency of a
library is not based on how large the library is or the number of staff
and information materials available, but on the services provided.
Libraries
and information centres have realized that marketing of information
services is essential. This is because information has now become a very
valuable resource. Libraries and information centre should inculcate
marketing principles in the management of libraries. The libraries and
the librarians must therefore shift their focus from the information
provider to the information user (Iwhiwho, 2008). In doing this, they
will be able to achieve their mission and serve their users better in
the provision of quality services. Librarians must now act like business
men by providing quality services and promoting their services at the
right time and place to their users. The emerging technological
challenges and societal changes pose a threat to libraries as worthy
information providers. As a result of these challenges, it is now time
for librarians to prove that they are invaluable to the continued
survival and sustenance of their organizations. This can best be
achieved by actively marketing their services. In order to successfully
market library services, the marketing mix must be applied. The
marketing mix is the combination of elements which are used to market a
product or service. The marketing mix includes the following: product,
price, place and promotion. Product in library content is defined as
services offered to users to satisfy their information needs. The main
products provided by information professionals are: giving user
assistance, serving as middle men between the users and the resources of
the library which include information skills programs, selective
dissemination of information, user education services, photocopy
services, bibliographical services, cataloguing services, reference
services, photocopying services, current awareness services and
internet/computer services.
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