The Marketing Committee

Marketing Plan

APPROVED SEPTEMBER 18, 2001

The MLA Marketing Committee's Mission Statement: The Marketing Committee promotes awareness of the Maryland Library Association, its goals and objectives within the state of Maryland. The Marketing Committee also encourages partnerships among all types of libraries to strengthen the library community within the State. (MLA web page, last updated 4/4/2000)

We will accomplish our mission by supporting and implementing the following appropriate and relevant sections of the Strategic Plan 2000-2005 and by working with the Executive Board.

Serves the common needs of a diverse membership

• Cooperates with Membership Committee in identifying the needs of potential and former members.
• Develops a marketing plan based on current members and their needs.
• Recommends programs and activities to address the identified needs of the membership.
• Use existing vehicles (i.e. CRAB, Happenings and web site, etc.) to inform membership of events and issues in Maryland libraries.
• Continue to do marketing research (i.e. membership surveys, identifying potential members, SWOT analysis).
• Identify the needs of members and potential members of MLA.
• Assesses how to improve the Association's responsiveness to the needs of members and potential members and report recommendations to Executive Board on a regular basis.

• Continue to convene representatives from other library organizations in the area to address shared concerns.
• Continue to explore possibilities of establishing reciprocity agreements with other organizations (i.e. membership fees and program fees).
• Recommend that the MLA web site create links to other organizations and lobby that other organizations link our web site to their home page
• Encourage MLA divisions and interest groups to co-sponsor programs with other organizations. (What we need is a specific process)
• Encourage the membership committee to set up table displays at staff days, conferences and other activities.

• Support "@ Your Library" Task Force initiatives.
• Identify web sites that address other vital library issues (i.e. consortia purchasing, intellectual freedom issues, etc).
• Support the challenge to CIPA and the future of computers in libraries.
• Recommend that links to every library (public, academic, special and public) in the state of Maryland appear on MLA web site and that there be a reciprocal arrangement with others that a MLA link appear on their internal home pages (Sailor already does that.)

• Submit information about MLA and its activities to existing public service outlets like cable TV calendars, "people" columns in newspapers, Maryland Book Award announcements, advertise program of interest to public (i.e. censorship, filtering, copyright issues) in events calendars.
• Promote lobbying efforts of the MLA Legislative Committee to the membership via the CRAB and to the public via news outlets.
• Create a list of media contacts to send information about MLA and its activities on a regular basis. (Send a letter to the public relation specialists at each library organization asking for a list of their local media contacts.)
• Encourage MLA Divisions and Interest groups to write and submit their own publicity to selected media contacts. All press releases must be submitted to the MLA Office Manager for approval. The MLA Office Manager will send out all press releases.
• Recommend the PSD, LMD, IFAP and ARLD develop a program targeted for the public about "hot" library issues (i.e. filtering, censorship).

Last updated 25 June 2007.