ADVERTISING LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN NIGERIAN LIBRARIES

Abstract

In order to successfully promote the true value of library services and products, librarians must move outside of the library and become personal advocates for the library. This paper therefore, focused on advertising library information products and services. The authors reiterated that advertising helps to
create awareness and loyalty and stimulates demand. Effective advertising also communicates to a target audience the value of a product or service that a firm has to offer. The authors observed that library services that are not marketed effectively may not be heavily patronized. As a result, users do not know
the products and services available and do not ask for them. This paper, therefore, discussed the role advertising and other marketing processes play in creating awareness and sensitizing the users about the available library information products and services. This paper treated other issues such as advocate for the promotion of true value of library services and products through advertising, the roles of advertising as essential and primary marketing tools for library products and services, the reasons for marketing library products and services and dichotomy between library information products and services. This paper also established the relationships between advertising and other management processes such as public relations, marketing and publicity among others. The authors conclude that the onus is now on the management of a particular library to know when that library is ripe for advertising, the type of information products and services to place on advertisement jingles, the right medium or media of advertisement and evaluation of the advertisement effect on that particular library’s awareness programme and the resultant patronage.