MANCHESTER CITY LIBRARY'S ONE CARD...ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES FALL LIBRARY CARD CAMPAIGN WITH A TWIST

by Denise Van Zanten, Director
Manchester City Library
(603) 624-6550
www.manchester.lib.nh.us

Having PLA in our backyard in the spring of 2006 was a great opportunity to "hunt and gather" so to speak. Staff from the Manchester City Library attended a Talk Table titled "How do I Get Started with a Library Card Sign-up Promotion?" Though we have had a Fall Library Card Campaign for the last three years called Get Wise! Get Carded!, we were in search of new ideas from revitalizing this important program. This Talk Table filled the bill.

Kathy Nielsen from Wauconda Area Library in Wauconda, Illinois gave an inspiring presentation detailing how their library system has partnered with the local business community for the last seven years to promote library card registration during the month of September. To participate, the business owner agrees to offer a discount or freebie to anyone who presents a library card at his/her establishment during September and the Library takes on the responsibility of getting the word out to the community.

The Manchester City Library decided we wanted to give this approach to our Library Card Sign-up program a whirl. Eight members of our library staff worked together to create a new slogan, OneCard...Endless Possibilities as well as all the other promotional materials we needed. This committee contacted a broad range of businesses in Manchester in the hope of increasing the appeal of this campaign. We were successful in enlisting the participation of 20 of the 50 businesses contacted. The Library has done all the promotion through the newspapers, our newsletter, our website and by word of mouth. We have found this promotional campaign to be a huge success in that we signed up almost 100 new library cards users in the first 5 days of the program. We feel that this program not only promotes the importance of having a library card, but promotes the community's awareness of the local businesses available to them in the Manchester area as well. We look forward to expanding upon this program next September.