Library Herald Year : 2021, Volume : 59, Issue : 3 First page : ( 65) Last page : ( 74) Print ISSN : 0024-2292. Online ISSN : 0976-2469. Article DOI : 10.5958/0976-2469.2021.00023.3
Marketing of Academic Library Products and Services in the Digital Era: A Current Approach
Waral L Nancy* *Librarian, All Sanits'College, Trivandrum, Tamil Nadu, India Abstract In this Covid-19 Pandemic and lockdown period, marketing of products and services is very essential in libraries. Different marketing techniques play a vital role in showcasing and increasing usage in libraries. In this pandemic situation marketing through online tools enabled the users to get in touch with the library services. This study examines how academic libraries of arts and science college of Kerala and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University marketed their library services through social media tools, and to know the various marketing strategies used by these libraries to bring effective services to their users, to assess the library professionals perception regarding marketing and the challenges faced by them. Based on the objectives an online questionnaire was prepared in Google Form and was sent to 124 library professionals of the arts and science colleges of Kerala and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. Out of 124 respondents, 96 filled the questionnaires and were considered as the samples. The results of the study highlight that the majority of the respondents agreed that marketing techniques like OPAC, library orientation, and user education were the most effective techniques to promote library services and increase usage in academic libraries. The librarians faced various challenges in marketing the library products and services such as lack of technical skill in operating the various social media tools, library budget, and the rising cost of the printed and E-documents, during this pandemic marketing through social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and WhatsApp help the users to know the services of the libraries and to get in touch with the librarians. It also plays an important role in increase the usage of library services. The study has recommended that the library professionals need to update their digital skills and the libraries need to adopt more digital marketing strategies to provide fingertip services to their users globally. Keywords Marketing strategies, Academic library, Social Media tools, Library professionals, Disruptive Technology, Digital era, Information and Communication Technology.