Training
Communication Services has committed itself to the success of public and private institutions for more than 20 years. As an extension of our highly successful integrated marketing services, we are proud to offer a diverse range of services specifically designed to help libraries communicate their messages effectively and ensure long-term success.
Workshops
Library Campaign Training Institute
This four-part workshop series (or one-day intensive) walks library staff and board through the ins and outs of running successful budget/funding votes, building referendums or charter changes. Part 1 starts with an overview and details on campaign planning. Part 2 is all about developing a compelling message using the powerful combination of emotional branding and Communication Service’s community values-based model. Part 3 details voter contact—from phone banking to direct mail to door-to-door activities—and how to manage all the data you’ll compile. Part 4 is the all important Get Out The Vote (GOTV is its name for short)—what you’ll do with all the info you’ve collected. You might be winning in the streets but you can still lose at the polls. GOTV is all about turning out your base—it’s someone else’s job to turn out the no voters.
Positioning Your Library As An Essential Service
You may consider your library an essential service but does your community? This workshop helps you unlock the secrets of developing a compelling brand and marketing campaign for your library. Libraries today are competing against Barnes and Noble, megaplexes and the Internet—being your community’s library just isn’t a strong enough brand anymore. Through a values-based brand, you’ll give your community the emotional hook it needs to see your library as essential—just like fire, police, education and health care.
Libraries and Social Networking
Does my library need a Facebook page? How can my library use Twitter? Why would anyone watch my library on YouTube? Social Networking is just another way of expressing your library’s brand and enhancing your marketing. This workshop provides a basic overview of what’s out there, what works and where you should put your time and resources.
So What’s Customer Service Got to Do With It?
Need to find a way to re-energize your staff and help them to be present when they’re at work? This library and library system workshop helps staff refocus their energies on giving their customers the best customer service experience possible. Melding tried and true customer service techniques with current information about libraries, competition and why libraries can’t take their customers for granted, this 2-hour workshop will help your staff break through what could be a ho-hum workplace and create a dynamic setting where everyone works to their potential.
District and Funding Options
Developed for the Division of Library Development out of the New York State Department of Education, this workshop reviews the various district options available to libraries in New York State—School District, Special Legislative District, Association or Municipal. It covers the detailed steps one needs to take to establish either a School District Public Library or a Special Legislative District Public Library—both of which create funding districts that provide a renewable and reliable community based funding stream for public libraries. The workshop also reviews the various funding options—budget votes, municipal ballots and school district ballots—that are available to enhance library funding.