July 12, 2009, Chicago, IL, and Medford, NJ—Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the publication of The Accidental Library Marketer, by Kathy Dempsey. The publisher is launching the title with a special book signing at the 2009 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, which takes place at Chicago’s McCormick Place West from July 9–15.

The Accidental Library Marketer fills a need for library professionals and paraprofessionals who find themselves in an awkward position: They need to promote their libraries and services in the age of the internet, but they’ve never been taught how to do it effectively. In this results-oriented A-to-Z guide, Dempsey—long-time editor of the Marketing Library Services newsletter—reveals the missing link between the everyday promotion librarians actually do and the “true marketing” that’s guaranteed to assure funding, excite users, and build stronger community relationships. The book combines real-life examples, expert advice, and checklists in a reader-friendly style. It includes chapters on getting buy-in for projects, using websites for publicity, and working with the press.

To release The Accidental Library Marketer to the library industry, Dempsey will sign copies at ALA’s annual Swap & Shop—a festive event where marketers gather to share colleagues’ promotional materials and to honor the Swap’s Best of Show winners along with the John Cotton Dana (JCD) Library Public Relations Award winners. This year’s Swap will take place from 11 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. on Sunday, July 12, in the Special Events area of the Exhibit Hall. “Launching my first book at the ALA Swap & Shop is a natural for me, since I’ve attended it for a decade and have become an exhibitor there in more recent years,” Dempsey said. “Plus, it’s where I get to meet and chat with folks I ‘see’ on the marketing listservs all year long. I’m excited to debut my book there!”

Judith Gibbons, Chair of the ALA Advocacy Training Sub-Committee, a member of the JCD Library Public Relations Award Committee, and an incoming ALA Councilor, writes in the book’s Foreword: “If you follow [Dempsey’s] tips, you will graduate from accidental marketer to professional and proactive marketer. Dempsey’s book puts you on the fast track and helps you avoid the pitfalls that ensnare marketing amateurs.”

Florida State University marketing professor Christie Koontz, Ph.D., agrees: “Kathy Dempsey’s years as editor of Marketing Library Services serve her well for capturing the best of true marketing in this timely publication. ... Every professional library shelf should offer the book, and staff should make use of the experience and insight gathered.” Koontz, a judge for the IFLA International Marketing Award, publishes and presents her own research on the topic around the world.

The Accidental Library Marketer is written for all library supporters, whether they’re directors, front-line staffers, volunteers, board members, or students. Since so few library schools have full-semester courses to prepare students for the real marketing they’ll need to do during their careers, the title is also designed to fill the need for marketing education. It could accompany a grad-school course or serve as independent reading for students who don’t have an option for a class. In fact, one prominent educator is already using pre-publication copies to supplement a marketing course at Simmons College; Ernest A. DiMattia, Jr., an adjunct faculty member at Simmons and a visiting associate professor at Pratt Institute, calls the book “a no-nonsense marketing guide that is comprehensive in scope and professional in style.”
Kathy Dempsey has been in the library industry for more than 20 years. Her experience working at several libraries along with her journalism degree was the perfect combination for a key role at Information Today, Inc. (ITI), a publisher and conference organizer specializing in the library and information industry. Since 1994, she has served as Editor of the Marketing Library Services (MLS) newsletter, while also editing Computers in Libraries magazine between 1995 and 2007. In 2005, Dempsey started her own consultancy, Libraries Are Essential (LAE). In this capacity, she has worked with a partner to write major marketing plans for two large organizations.

Wearing both her MLS and her LAE hats, Dempsey has presented numerous library marketing and promotion workshops, conference sessions, and keynote speeches for national, regional, and local library meetings as well as for Canadian and Dutch audiences. She has guest-lectured for LIS graduate students and written countless articles for publications including Marketing Library Services, Computers in Libraries, Information Today, and Information World Review. She is an active member of the New Jersey Library Association and a contributor to “The M Word,” a blog about library marketing.

The Accidental Library Marketer (312 pp/softbound/$29.50/ISBN 978-1-57387-368-0) is published by Information Today, Inc. (ITI). It is available in bookstores and direct from the publisher by calling (800) 300-9868 [outside the U.S., call (609) 654-6266]; faxing (609) 654-4309; emailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI website at www.infotoday.com.