Marketing the library is a project, funded by Arts Council England, to help libraries to develop their ability to deliver professional, targeted marketing campaigns to a range of audiences.

During the pandemic, many libraries developed a more active approach to digital marketing, using a range of social media to promote the revised services they offered. 

However, the experience made them aware of the limitations of their current capacity and the need to develop their marketing skills to attract audiences back into libraries once they restore more of their services. 

This programme supports two networks of libraries to develop two separate targeted marketing campaigns.

The first network is London Libraries, the second is a group of six library services from around England that are interested in promoting their services to teenagers and young adults, as follows:

• Gloucestershire
• North Yorkshire
• Northumberland
• Nottingham City
• Peterborough
• Oldham

We share the knowledge and experience gained from campaign planning, as well as the campaign results, with the wider library sector through a strategy and planning toolkit, two campaign evaluation reports and a series of webinars.

We hope that our members will use these to inform future local and regional marketing campaigns for their services.

The creative agency Creative Concern have worked with us to deliver the campaigns and produce the training programme and resources.