2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

Best Practices:
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Promoting Union Church of Manila Librarys Resources and Services

Rhona O. Bautista, Head Librarian Union Church of Manila Library ABSTRACT Just as there are many ways to promote the library, there are many challenges associated with these activities. Thus, this paper presents an overview of UCM Librarys 7-year creative and assertive efforts and best practices in promoting its resources and services. It also gives a summary of the programs and activities that the library has successfully organized throughout the years. ----------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION
Promotional activities are a necessary part of a librarys strategic plan. Rather than asking Do we need to promote the library?, librarians are asking, What kinds of promotional strategies and communication channels best target specific segments of our intended audience? The strategies and methods of promoting available resources and services are only as wide as the imagination of those administering the library. In other words, they could be endless. But are they effective? Can they be considered best practices? "Best practice" is a phrase very useful to librarians. We often use this concept in documenting effective ways of doing things in the library. We identify things that worked, did not work and analyze why it worked and did not work for a particular situation. It is based on the lessons we learned from our own experiences or from the lessons learned that are passed to us by our mentors, peers, and other librarians. It means we are not only saving time but also money for the organization. In other words, we are implementing methods or processes that have been proven to be the most efficient and effective in performing a task or activity in a given condition or situation of our library. Perhaps one of the best ways to illustrate the best practice concept is in a cycle form as described in the Glossary of Project Management. Best practice is a continuing process of learning, feedback, reflection, and analysis.

ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

Learning

Analysis

Best Practices

Feedback

Reflection

UCM Library has gone through this process many times in different activities. Some were successful and some were not. But we learned from our mistakes and limitations. We also learned to work around organizational constraints and use our creative energies to get the best results possible. We saw the importance of good planning, evaluation, and effective communication in our work. Good planning means having a clear purpose of the activity, target audience, schedule, and promotional tools.

CHALLENGES: UCM LIBRARY AS A CHURCH INSTITUTE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

The main purpose of a church library is to support the mission of the local body. The library is a storehouse of diverse materials that supports and strengthens the message of the church and helps people who want to deepen their faith. It is also a place where individuals and families can find entertainment that uplifts spirits and enlightens minds instead of assaulting their values. A church library is not just an institution but also a ministry that requires dedicated volunteers with a heart for people and not just a love of reading. A library ministry is a community in itself.

ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

The library of Union Church of Manila had its start as a project directed to a growing expatriate community. The original intent was to establish an in-house Christian library for the members of the church. The majority of the collection was the results of church members donations. As the years went by, the librarys ever-expanding collection started to include non-Christian materials (e.g., fiction, biographies, reference, childrens books, magazines and so on). It was because of this that the organizers were inspired to envision an outreach library benefiting the surrounding communities. In 2003, the UCM library expanded its in-church services and included public-lending services to non-UCM members. With this vision in mind, the organizers were faced with the following challenges: 1. Improving library services to the various ministries within the church. 2. Increasing visibility of the library at street level1. 3. Attracting non-UCM library patrons2 4. Reminding existing and potential patrons of the existence and value of libraries3 5. Strengthening the volunteer-internship program Throughout the years, the library has responded to the challenges by improving its resources and services. This was done with the following: 1. Ministerial campaign to increase the collection through purchase as well as donations. 2. Development of a computerized library management system using Destiny Library Manager. One new feature open to the public is its Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). 3. Provision of Wi-fi services to library card holders. 4. Provision of internship opportunities through the librarys volunteer program 5. Organization of educational and entertaining seminars/workshops. 6. Community outreach events (i.e., movies at the park, film festival, book sales, storytellings, etc.)
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Since the library is located at Basement 1, the organizers are challenged to promote the existence of a public-lending library. 2 Though the library is open for public lending, its location within a Protestant evangelical church building lessens its appeal to a majority catholic community mainly because they may conclude that the UCM library is exclusive to churchgoers. 3 Because of the internet phenomenon and public easy access to a wide range of information in the comfort of their homes, people tend to forget or disregard the existence and value of libraries.

ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

11 BEST PRACTICES IN PROMOTING LIBRARY RESOURCES AND SERVICES

1. Collaborate with the bosses The library collaborates with the pastors and ministry directors to promote both the sermon/seminar series and the librarys offerings. The readings are announced in the bulletin or newsletter. 2. Create booklists for your patrons There are two reasons for offering booklists. One is to inform the participants of our comprehensive knowledge on a particular topic or author. Two, is to provide a list that allows patrons to find the best books quickly and efficiently Draw up lists with annotations on special subjects. Provide lists of seminar readings, Christmas readings, books and media for Advent or Lent, lists for gift giving. Add clip art. Smaller lists make great bookmarks. Include library hours if pertinent. You can also have lists of new arrivals, popular titles, recommended reading from the pastor, and more. 3. Display books during seminars/events This is an opportunity not only to showcase resource materials available in the library but also to answer queries about the librarys programs and activities. 4. Recommend readings from the pulpit One of the best ways to promote our resources and services is through recommendations of materials and announcements of activities from the pulpit. We request our pastors and ministry directors to recommend books and other materials from our library during their presentations. These work out well because we have instant demand for those items. 5. Treat your library as a referral source Make your library visible and effective by providing a consultation or help desk on patrons reading needs, whether it is for literacy resources or for a specific book, or for a general consultation for a library user who needs advice on what other books he or she may enjoy. For example, the library created The Bible Clinic, a service for library members and users who want to discuss the Bible or topics from the Christian resource collection in the library. 6. Recruit volunteers and organize seminars, trainings and work parties for them Make a list of tasks needing assignment and advertise through newsletters, websites, and Facebook that the library is looking for people in the congregation who has the skills needed to accomplish the tasks. Then organize work parties, training and seminars for volunteers. ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista 4

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

For example, the library needs volunteers to do book reviews. We invite people to review specific books or other materials like films from the library. If their book review is worthy, we ask permission to post it on bulletin board or publish it in the library newsletter. Examples of parties we had were the Papier-mch Party when volunteers helped in constructing a huge diorama of The Birth of Jesus, and Book Sorting Party when volunteers sorted books for the book sale event. In both parties, volunteers enjoyed the food and fellowship while working on projects. We also organized trainings like book repair and data basing. Just remember that in a volunteer program, there should be clearly defined expectations so that it is easier for a potential volunteer to say yes. Give the volunteers space to decide HOW to accomplish the task and honor the skills and talents they bring to the job. Say thank you early and often whether its a handwritten note, a heartfelt pat on the back or an all-out volunteer thank-you party. 7. Organize book sales for promotions and fund-raising Our Book Sale has become the librarys most successful and perhaps best-loved annual fundraiser. Launched in 2010 for the fund-raising to the Gideons Flame Christian Film Festival, this event consistently attracts book lovers from the members of the congregation, their friends, and even the office workers within Makati. We are proud that we can raise significant amounts of money for the church simply by selling donated books at extremely low prices! Its a win-win situation for everyone. UCM is very much a book-loving community and this is reflected in the terrific quality and quantity of donations we collect and the delight expressed by virtually everyone who comes to the sale. The sale is an absolute feast for book lovers. 8. Create engaging experiences in social networks (e.g. Facebook, Multiply, Twitter, blogs, Youtube, etc.) We realized that a strong library presence is needed on Facebook because of its popularity among our library users especially the youth and young adults. We also discovered that our library users visit facebook more frequently than they do to our librarys website. Facebook is also an effective tool in marketing our library activities and information literacy. It is very easy to create events and upload digital copies of important readings, posters, photos, and you tube videos. And because of its networking features, we have the opportunity to build our relationship with our library members and users. We get to promote our resources and services and get quick response or feedback not just from our library users but also from their network of friends. Facebook has made our potential for outreach became even greater.

ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

9. Host or organize interesting and educational activities regularly. Always evaluate at the end of each activity! The following are examples of activities and seminars that were successful in attracting UCM members and non-UCM members. Storytelling Workshop for Parents and Teachers Christmas Storytelling for Kids Cooking lessons Photography Self-defense for women Automotive workshops Creative writing workshops Monday Nights at the Movies [Classics, C.S. Lewis/Tolkien Film Festival] Movies at the park

All activities should be backed up by regular announcements and eye-catching signage throughout the church and in the library. 10. Team-up with other ministries and Christian organizations in special projects One of the main advantages of teaming-up with others is that you can benefit from the skills or resources of others that you may not have yourself, and share your own skills and resources. The library works with other ministries within UCM and other Christian organizations in providing educational and Christian value-oriented activities that enlighten and enrich the faith of the members of the church as well as the public in general. For examples: Positive Parenting to Tweens with the Childrens Ministry Growing in Prayer: The Analogy of Human Love: A Seminar by Fr. Thomas H. Green, SJ. Jointly sponsored by The Union Church of Manila and Open Hearts Open Minds. Get High with God! Not on Drugs!, a workshop on drug abuse prevention educational campaign. Organized by the library in cooperation with Gospel Communications International in the US and members of Luzon Convention of Southern Baptist Churches. 11. Keep your library growing and your vision growing! The Union Church of Manila Library Ministry launched the 1st festival originally dubbed as the Metro Manila Christian Film Festival (MMCFF) four years ago which culminated in April 2008 with a weeklong showing of Christian films ending with the Awards Night. ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista 6

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

The festival has two main purposes and these are: a. Evangelism with the ultimate goal of leading people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ b. Building a diverse, up-to-date, and relevant film collection in support of the discipleship mission of the Church. The team and those involved were encouraged to repeat the activity by the participants and those who were blessed by the films. Thus, a second festival was launched in 2009 celebrating God in Film culminating in another weeklong festival in November 2009. The name Metro Manila Christian Film Festival was then changed to Gideons Flame Christian Film Festival (GFCFF) to emphasize that God's great power can manifest even through seemingly small and weak ways to gain HIS purpose -- similar to how God inspired Gideon, the fifth Judge of Israel, to lead only 300 men against an invading army of about 120 thousand. The festival was re-launched as GFCFF in 2010. Two locally produced films: AMA, ANAK [Father, Son] produced by Asia Pacific Media Ministries, and A JOURNEY HOME produced by Jubilee Evangelical Church were the recipients of the Gideon's Flame Award in 2008 and 2009 respectively. A foreign film by PureFlix won the Gideons Flame Award in 2010. The collaboration and support of UCM, Gospel Communications, and HeartShaper made these past film festivals all the more powerful and meaningful. It is hoped that the next Gideons Flame Christian Film Festival on November 2013 will be equally or more successful than its predecessors. This year, GFCFF has spread its wings by going to urban and rural communities. The communities that participated are the following: a. Garden Villas III Phase 3 Homeowners Association in Sta. Rosa Laguna last April 7, Black Saturday (requested by Mr. Kenneth Salazar, President) b. Relocation site in the mountainous area of Sitio Tanza 1, Brgy. San Jose, Antipolo City last May 7-12 (requested by Central United Methodist Church (CMUC)) c. Jesus the Explorer Childrens Camp in Angono, Rizal last May 30-31 (requested by Childrens Camp Pag-ibig Worship Center) The project was a success and we are hoping that we can inspire others to share Christian films in their respective communities.

ASLP Conference, 2-3 Aug 2012 robautista

2nd National Congress of Special Libraries of the Philippines: Achieving a Balanced Scorecard: Best Practices in Philippine Special Libraries

CONCLUSION
Any activity, big or small, provides a chance to learn and an opportunity to improve. Once the event is over or your new service has been offered for a time, take time to review. What went well? What would you do differently? The staff or volunteers will have valuable feedback, as will those who attended the event or utilized the new services. Use the feedback to pull together a promotion summary with recommendations for next time. The evaluation process can help in identifying the best practices that we know about--so far! Remember best practice is a continuing process of learning feedback, reflection, and analysis. The results may change over time. So keep your library growing and your vision growing! Make the library current with and related to the interests, needs, purposes, and programs of your organization at all times.

REFERENCES
Naper, Sarah, Stephanie Wiegand, James A. Michener (2008). Books of the Hour"and "Books of All Time": Booklists in the Evolving Library. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1202&context=l ibphilprac> Newton, LaVose (1987). The Church Library Handbook. Eugene, Oregon : Harvest House. Pp. 74-75. Thornton, Lork (2009). Facebook for libraries. The Christian Librarian 52 (3), 112115. Union Church of Manila (2011). UCM Annual Report: Library Ministry. Makati City: Bautista, Rhona O. Union Church of Manila (2009). UCM Annual Report: Library Ministry. Makati City: Bautista, Rhona O. Union Church of Manila (2008). UCM Annual Report: Library Ministry. Makati City: Bautista, Rhona O. Visitask: Project management training and resources . Retrieved June 10, 2012, from <http://www.visitask.com/best-practice-g.asp>

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