Spectrum PR Column
September 1998
AALL Excellence in Marketing Awards: A Review of the 1998 Winners
Ellen Platt, Director of Public Services, Santa Clara University, Heafey Law Library (Santa Clara, CA)
AALL Spectrum, Volume 3 No. 1 September 1998, p. 24.
Given for the first time this year, the Excellence in Marketing Awards (EIM Awards) attracted many creative and practical entries. Before a description of the winners, here is some background on the purpose and categories of the award contest and selection process and criteria. Because of the visual nature of the materials, the Public Relations committee has scanned portions of the winners and made these images available (along with this review) at its Web site on AALLNET (http://www.aallnet.org/committee/pr/).
The objective of the EIM Awards is to honor outstanding achievement in public relations activities by individuals, institutions or groups affiliated with AALL. The person submitting the materials must be either a member of AALL or of a Chapter of AALL. Categories of materials that were eligible for an award: Best Brochure, Best Newsletter, Best Campaign, Best PR Tool Kit, and Best Use of Technology. The award was promoted to AALL members via AALL Spectrum, the AALLNET Web site, notices to Chapters, and on listservs. For information on next year's EIM Awards, sponsored by West Legal Directory, see page 23.
Two AALL committees judged the awards. First, a subcommittee of the Public Relations Committee screened the entrants and selected three finalists in each of the five categories. These finalists were then referred to the EIM subcommittee of the Awards Committee, which selected a winner in each category. In reaching their decisions, the judges considered: the quality of the material or activity; creativity in execution and promotion; and usefulness to the target audience. The EIM Awards were presented during the Annual Meeting Luncheon in Anaheim.
The primary distinction between publications submitted in the EIM Awards and the Law Library Publications Award contests is that the EIM materials must have been used to promote the organization that submitted the entry. In addition to describing the materials themselves, the submitting organization must also describe how the materials were advertised and the response of the target audience. (Materials may well be eligible for both awards; if you are uncertain about their eligibility, please contact the Chairs of the Awards and Public Relations Committees.)
The Campaign and Tool Kit categories are distinguished by the presentation of the materials to the audience. A Campaign can be one item, or a series of items, used to promote a single event or program, or a series of programs or events, over the course of time. A Tool Kit must contain at least three promotional items, all of which are presented or made available as a single unit to the intended audience.
Best Brochure--Legal Information for the Public: A Guide to Services, Law Library of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, submitted by Arthur S. Zanan, Directory. The purpose of the brochure was to heighten public awareness of the library and its resources. Until the distribution of the brochure, the library had been used almost exclusively by bar members. Brochures and book marks were printed (15,000 and 10,000 respectively) and distributed to public libraries, placed in Court House information display racks, and eventually posted to the county Web site (http://www.montcopa.org/montco/law.htm). The brochure described the library, its services and mission, hours, and key personnel, and listed selected materials of particular interest to the public. Since distribution of the brochure, there has been a significant increase in use by the public, many of whom come with the brochure in hand. (An additional benefit was the pleasure of discussing the brochure's success at the annual budget hearing!)
Best Newsletter--Biblionotes #5 (1997), and the accompanying Guide to Library Services, U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit Library System, submitted by Michael Smith, Deputy Librarian, Fifth Circuit. Appearing annually, the combined Biblionotes and Guide publication orient the 250 new law clerks to library services, remind staff of the services of the library system, and educate all end users of electronic resources. The newsletter (published six times yearly), and Guide are produced internally, photocopied and distributed via internal mail to judicial staff. The Guide is also available on the Fifth Circuit's intranet site. Content includes information about library staff, short articles on research resources or methods (responses to frequently asked questions, such as what KeyCite is or how to find opinions on the Internet), recent acquisitions, Internet and intranet news and updates, and a staff directory. Response to the newsletter is consistently good, and information is conveyed efficiently and economically directly to the library system's users.
Best Campaign--50th Anniversary, Chicago Association of Law Libraries, submitted by Laura Hyzy, CALL Treasurer. A special committee was formed to plan and promote the anniversary to the legal community. Publicity and events took a variety of forms. Two CALL Bulletins focused on the celebration. (Issue 163 was devoted entirely to a chronicle of CALL's history and past significant events.) A special seminar program, open to members and special guests, focused on the impact of librarians on the legal community. Resolutions were passed by the Chicago City Council and State General Assembly honoring CALL. An article in the Baltimore Annual Meeting newspaper got the word out to AALL members and CALL purchased street banners which hung by the State of Illinois Building in downtown Chicago. Many CALL members were approached by members of their firms and institutions for more information on what law librarians do every day, and all events were well attended.
Best PR Tool Kit--Law Library Services and Computing Information for Law School Faculty, Boston College Law Library, submitted by Karen Beck. Intended to give faculty a wide variety of information on library and computing services and resources, this single binder is a convenient format for use when training and orienting new or returning faculty and is easily updated with new information (thus giving staff an opportunity to visit with faculty when they bring new updates and promote the new service). The print format complements information available on the Law Library's Web page. Topics covered include: collection resources and library services; library policies; research, reference, and instructional services; staff and hours information; research briefs (guides to particular resources), and other guides to electronic resources; and a guide to using the e-mail software. Faculty response has been overwhelmingly positive, both because of the convenient format and accuracy of the information.
Best Use of Technology--Association of Boston Law Librarians' Web Site, created and submitted by Elizabeth Kenney and Kenneth J. Withers. Creation of the Web site was undertaken with many goals in mind: to increase member awareness of ABLL resources; to facilitate online ILLs between members; to attract new members; to provide access to a membership list (access is restricted to members), Internet resources, and vendor sites; and to promote the visibility of the ABLL to the Boston legal community as a whole. The site was promoted in the ABLL's newsletter, demonstrated at CLE seminars, and via direct e-mail to library school students. It debuted at an association meeting. In addition, the opening page and key internal pages contain "meta files" listing key search terms; these files assure the site will appear in search results when information about law libraries or legal research is sought. Although only recently available, member response to the site has been positive, as have been outside comments received via e-mail, and two vendors have agreed to donate funds to maintenance of the site.
Last Updated: January 28, 2003
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