President On The Dime

Not a dime's worth of difference?

Democrats are pro-labor. Republicans are anti-union.

Democrats seek to raise the minimum wage. Republicans usually vote NO.

Democrats are pro-choice. Republicans, that odd coalition of the very rich and the religious right, have pledged to outlaw abortion and stem-cell research.

Democrats are friends of the environment. Most Republicans oppose measures to protect the natural world.

Most Democrats oppose the death penalty. Most Republicans support it.

Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats favor a mix of tax extensions and spending cuts to balance the California budget. Every legislative Republican insists on an all-cuts budget, no matter what the cost to schools, parks, roads, cops, and the poor, sick, and elderly.

Most Democrats favor comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship — and they supported the Dream Act. Many Republicans are immigrant-bashers. Pete Wilson and Brian Bilbray come to mind.

In the 1960s, Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Johnson led the charge for black civil rights. Republicans promptly launched a “Southern Strategy,” designed to appeal to disgruntled white people.

As the Great Depression was brought on by the policies of Republican presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, the great recession of our own time was brought on by the policies of Republican president George W. Bush.

Throughout the Great Depression and beyond, voters elected Democrat Franklin Roosevelt four times and gave him large majorities in Congress.

Voters did NOT say in 1936: “Well, FDR hasn’t ended the Depression yet. I guess we should give control of the economy back to the Republicans.”

Consider the company you keep if you believe there is no difference between the parties. George Wallace, racist governor of Alabama and “state-rights” candidate for the presidency, was fond of saying, “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.”

Ross Perot made the same claim in 1992, with the unintended consequence of helping Bill Clinton defeat Bush I.

The same argument was made by Ralph Nader, whose third-party run in 2000 cost Al Gore the presidency (despite winning the popular vote) and ushered in eight years of Bush II.

Marketing Reference on a Dime: Report from the RUSA President's ...

Panelists: Amy Mather, Manya Shorr, Kathy Dempsey, Nancy Dowd, Jamie Hollier, and Selene Colburn.

The goal of this program was for the panelists to impart some marketing tips, ideas, and dos and don’ts that could be implemented for little or no cost. The panel had a broad range of experience representing a wide range of libraries from academic to public, urban to rural, and were able to show things to consider when creating a marketing plan if you have never done so. I have some marketing experience and I came away with lots of ideas that I want to try at my library.

Amy and Manya talked about outreach to the business community and young professionals and outlined some great ways to get them to support and use the library. The most important takeaway: Target specific business needs to tailor databases to specific research goals and show how the library can save them money!

Kathy Dempsey and Selene Colburn looked at marketing reference services at academic institutions and showed how getting buy-in from students through participatory marketing, you can get the students to help create marketing campaigns tailored to services they want and become your own best and free marketers and advocates on campus. My important takeaways: “Listening is free” (i.e., listen to your users), and today’s culture of wanting to be seen via social media is something that academic librarians can tap into and use to get free publicity for the library.

Nancy Dowd spoke about a grant-funded campaign that the New Jersey State Library undertook to help job seekers connect with libraries for job resources in that unemployment-riddled state. In the spirit of “Marketing Reference on a Dime,” Nancy has offered the use of all the materials created for this campaign for free to be used by coordinator for the state of Colorado, spoke about the dos and don’ts of creating your marketing message and marketing materials, as well as some new innovations in social media marketing. She too offered the materials she has created to publicize the launch of 100+ public computer centers in her state for free use at www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/btop .

Black Enterprise

Black Enterprise

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