Due to their reputation for "connecting people and information," the Special Libraries Association (http://www.sla.org/) has a blog for Solo's. Under the 'Community' link I located 'SLA Blogs' and chose the blog entitled, "Solos Helping Solos Blog" due to the commonality that many special libraries are manned and operated by one person under budget restraints.
My attraction to this blog was in its simplicity and excitement. This solo librarian discovered a cost effective marketing strategy to boost library popularity and services to her special segment.
This excerpt can be found directly at http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/solo_division_blog/ and scrolling down to "Library Newsletter."
I understand that with the many responsibilities required of a solo librarian, creating a library newsletter may not seem like something of great importance. It's amazing to me, however, just how effective a marketing mechanism a library newsletter can be!
My library's newsletter is not elaborate. Some months it is merely a list of the materials we have on a particular topic. Sometimes I ask other employees to write a few sentences about a book they had checked out and found particularly helpful. These endorsements by peers increase the popularity of the materials they mention exponentially. By reviewing an item for the newsletter, it also seems to increase an employee's sense of connection to the library.
Not only does the newsletter's presence market the individual items in the library, it also reminds people that there is a library and a librarian available to assist them.
Image: http://catsandlibraries.tumbler.com
