Minimal Resources with Maximum Impact: Low-Cost and Sustainable Means for Library Promotions

While it is a generally shared fact around the globe that funding for library promotion (and in most cases, libraries in general) be rendered as a pressing concern, the fact remains that this challenge is truer in developing countries such as the Philippines. Librarians in charge of promoting the library can either choose to fight-defend their “rights” for a slice of the budget pie, or take flight--just do away with library promotion altogether. However, results of a low-cost and sustainable marketing strategy employed by the Rizal Library of the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines prove that there is a third and better option. The marriage of new media tools (such as social networking sites), relationship marketing, and guerilla marketing proved to be an effective means to promote the library and its services. The strategy was deployed in 2011, and continues to prove its effectiveness to date. Statistics on use and following have been steadily increasing, and the library has never been more popular with its client base than ever before. This paper presents a case study of how very few financial resources were able to make waves of impact and even created a loyal following of users for the Rizal Library.