The 4 P's
For a successful school Media Center
the media specialist should market the media center following the 4 P's of marketing
product:
think of the media center as a Product. This "product" must meet students and teachers needs, and what they are looking for in a media center; collection, literature, media, online materials ...etc
Price:
Having a Product "media center" that meets everyone's needs is necessary as well as having enough financial support to fulfill these needs. Planning and managing a yearly budget to meet the needs of teachers and students is highly important. This an annual budget must be based on solid findings (surveys).
Place:
The media center itself should be accessible, attractive, inviting, and comfortable. Also, the media center should have enough space to accommodate students with quiet and cozy seating that is away from traffic flow and separated with bookshelves or other barriers. Moreover, there should be book posters and other visuals that are a great way to promote reading, highlight authors, reinforce classroom themes or announce special events.*
Promotion:
The media specialist should promote the school media center and its services and programs as much as possible. This can be done by doing the following:
- Having orientation programs.
- Attending library meetings and workshops that focus in promoting school media centers.
- Providing regular updates about the media center programs and new acquisitions for teachers, students, parents, and administrators.
- Holding fundraising events that promote the media center.
Further Resources
The ABC's of Marketing
Scholastic Website
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/classroombooks/pdfs/research/What_Effective_Libraries.pdf
Useful Links for School Library Promotion
Done By
Spring 2012
For the course EDST6308 Organizing and Administering School Library Media and Technology Programs
Seton Hall University