By Janie Rutherford, Communications Coordinator
If you are doing the marketing for your library, then the October 2009 issue of Public Libraries has a fabulous article that I encourage you to read. It is called “Transforming Our Image Through Words That Work; Perception is Everything” by Valerie Gross.
I guarantee the nine-page article will change the way you talk about your library.
Before I read Ms. Gross’s article, I had already put the “power of words” into the mix.
The State Library has a monumental and historical move staring us in the face. Yes, if you don’t already know it, the State Library of Kansas will make its first move in 109 years in a matter of weeks. Our future home is a configuration of mobile units, attached to the Capitol Building by an enclosed walkway.
Considering the power of words, note your response if I say to you, “We’re going to move into trailers for the next 2½ years.” Now consider your response if I say, “We’re going to move into mobile units.” You likely snickered at the word “trailer” but heard the term “mobile units” as less offensive. The words we choose elicit different responses.
Gross’s point? Through the language we use, we have the power—without changing anything else we do—to transform our image.
Does it work? Our first media test was this week. The mobile units were installed, and not a single media piece—video or written—has used the “t” word.
Read Gross’s article, it’s worth the time.