1. Marketing and Promotion
Practice by Health Librarians:
report of a brief survey
Anne Murphy
Tallaght Hospital Library
Promote Visibility & Identify Champions,
a SHELLI Event
14 March 2014

2. SHELLI Theme B:
Promote visibility, Identify champions
... people influence and friends win to how ...
How to win friends and influence
people

3. SHELLI Theme B:
Promote Visibility, Identify Champions
 Health librarians
 market themselves and their services to their
users & stakeholders
 identify senior clinical / corporate
champions with whom partnerships can be
built to raise the profile of the library and
promote its value more widely throughout
their institution
 Health libraries should examine the relative
positioning of their online presence within their
organisation, and work to improve this if
necessary

4. What type of organisation do you
currently work in?
HSE
12%
Teaching
Hospital
25%
University
12%
Govt/State
Agencies
18%
Other
9%
Registered
Charity
12%
Publicly-funded
Voluntary Body
9%
IoT
3%

5. What is your role?
Senior Library
Assistant
Deputy Librarian
Information
Specialist
Librarian
10%
Information
Officer
Assistant
Librarian
21%
Research
Officer/Librarian
13%
Head of Service
44%

6. SHELLI says ... Health Librarians
market
 Expertise in EBM
 Information literacy skills
 Specialist information and search
services

7. Health Librarians market...
Expertise in
evidence-based
practice
37%
None of the
above
6%
Information
literacy skills
78% Specialist
information and
search services
87%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

8. Health Librarians use a variety of
promotional channels
Brochures
67%
Posters,
39%
Display:
noticeboards,
cabinets
61%Library
newsletter
45%
Library
website
73%
Ask a
Librarian
33%
Vendor-
supplied
promotional
materials
30%
Email updates
85%
Branded
promotional
materials
18% LCD
Display
in
Library
12% Competitions,
24%
Tagline /
mission
statement
in
email
sign-off
12%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%

9. Health Librarians hold events to
promote the service
Book / Exhibition
launches
10%
Library Ireland
Week
45%
Seminar / invited
speaker events
26%
Information
Literacy /
Teaching
sessions
97%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

10. SHELLI says ... market to
 Clinicians
 Other professions within
academic health and health
service environments
 Hospital managers
 Health care and other
stakeholders

11. Health Librarians market to ...
Research Staff,
66%
Other
22%
Doctoral
students
31%
Postgrads
50.0%
Teaching
Staff,
51%
Medical
Surgical
65%
Executive
M/ment /
Admin,
56%
Nursing
75% Allied
Health
66%
Undergrads,
50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%

12. SHELLI says ...
 Health libraries should examine
the relative positioning of their
online presence within their
organisation, and work to improve
this if necessary

13. Health Libraries have an online
presence...
None,
6.3%
Intranet,
16%
Other,
3%
Separate library
website
16%
Both intranet
& website
25.0%
Organisation
website
34%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

14. Who has editing rights to the site?
Don't
know,
6.3%
Other,
15.6%
PR/
Comms Dept,
6.3%
Another
Librarian,
40.6%
Me,
53.1%
ICT,
25.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

15. Policies, Planning & People

16. Which of the following does your
Library have?
Mission
statement
Marketing
strategy
Budget / funding
for marketing
and promotion
None of these
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

17. Have you conducted any of the
following?
SWOT analysis,
33.3%
PESTLE
analysis, 0.0%
Stakeholder
analysis, 13.3%
None of these,
60.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

18. Is there a budget / funding for
marketing your service?
Have a budget
19%
No budget
71%
Don't know
10%

19. Have you had formal training in ... ?
Marketing
45%
Promotion
30%
Website /
intranet Editing,
75%
Writing
35%
Advocacy
15%
Leadership
35%
Strategic
Planning
45%
Other
5%
Event
Management
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

20. Pencil in Promoting Yourself and
Your Service
To Your Peeps!