Library Card Signups – Resources

Thanks to Nancy Dowd and the ALA Public Awareness Committee for the invitation to present on "Using door-to-door marketing for library card signups" today.

Presenting along with EveryLibrary's John Chrastka were Amber Mussman, Cedar Rapids Public Library; Linda Price-Natter and Pam Miller, Crystal Lake Public Library; and Shoshana Francis, Milpitas Library. We're glad they could share their experiences out in the neighborhoods doing library card signups and survey work, especially their competency, tips, and trick for doing it right.

Cedar Rapids is on the ballot this November.  Milpitas is a Santa Clara County library and was an early campaign of ours in 2013.  And we've been working with Crystal Lake for close to 18 months as they prepare a possible building referendum in 2016. The techniques we talked about are tried and true and proven in campaigns.  Knocking on doors is the single most effective way to meet people, to tell them what you believe, and what you need.  It works for candidates - from mayor to president - and on issues as diverse as public health, public safety, charity, cause-activism, and missions.  Adding door-to-door library card signups, door-to-door strategic planning surveys, door-to-door new resident visits to your library's regular activity broadens your reach for these specific service delivery points. But more importantly, it introduces your staff to your public in a new and highly engaged way.

ALA is making the archive of the presentation available free of charge at http://ala.adobeconnect.com/p73mu8bs0k7/.  The presentation slides, our EveryLibrary guide to doing "Door-to-Door Library Card Signups", and the digital handouts our colleagues shared are available via our dropbox at http://bit.ly/librarycardsignup.  If you'd like to chat about ways to get your staff from out of behind the desks and into the community, drop us a line. EveryLibrary sees this as the next big thing in.  And it's one of the oldest: meeting people where they are at.