PR Hint of the Week - Jan 13, 2004 - Elvis, Librarians, Community Needs, and the Wayback Machine

What do Elvis, READ posters, the role of librarians in the Information Age, assessing community needs, and the Wayback Machine have in common? Well, normally nothing. But today, in one special moment, they are coming together to form this week's PR Hint of the Week from your friendly MLA PR & Marketing Committee.

Elvis: Did you know last week (Jan. 8) was Elvis' birthday? He was born in 1935, which would have made him 69 this year. Long may his memory live (is it time for Bruce N. to reprise his role of The King, do you think?).

READ posters: In response to ongoing demand for do-it-yourself (very cool) READ poster options in schools and libraries, ALA Graphics is producing the READ CD to provide licensing and high-quality design templates for libraries and media centers. The CD is a license for the individual library purchaser to create unlimited, not-for-profit, not-for-sale, READ posters and bookmarks when using the graphics from the CD. Posters and bookmarks can feature students, faculty, staff, volunteers, patrons, funders, and local celebrities. The CD is available from the ALA Spring 2004 Graphics catalog at www.ala.org for $89.10 and one must have Photoshop to use it. This is a great idea!

The role of librarians in the Information Age: A new series of downloadable print public service announcements (PSAs) that promote pay equity, recruitment, and the role of librarians in the Information Age are now available on the @your library Website at www.ala.org (navigate through Issues & Advocacy, @your library, @your library Website, PR Tools & Resources). They are intended to help librarians promote key issues at the state and local level. The PSAs follow one previously made by the library community that supports library funding efforts entitled, "The future is @ your library, so make sure your library has a future."

Assessing community needs: The Southern Ontario Library Service produces "The Library's Contribution to Your Community: A Resource Manual for Libraries to Document their Social and Economic Contribution to the Local Community." While the $200 price tag may be a bit hefty for many (yes, Lisa), there are eight library case studies at www.sols.org.publications/LCTYC/index.html that provide valuable information on assessing the library's contribution to the community.

The Wayback Machine provides access to an archive of more than 30 billion Webpages dating back to 1996. To access the archive, all you need to do is enter the URL you're looking for and select Take Me Back. Assuming that the page you're looking for has been archived, you'll see a list of dates on which the page was archived. Click on a date and see what the page looked like then. You can track the development of a Website's design or use it to find newspaper articles whose URLs are no longer available on the newspaper's Website.

Hope you're having a great 2004!

On behalf of your friendly MLA PR & Marketing Committee,
Lisa