COMMENT AND OPINION Marketing the hospital library to physicians: one approach* Promotional concepts for health sciences libraries have been reported for a number of years. Messerle and Hill recommended using a combination of both promotional tools and personal contact for a successful action plan [1]. Variations of these methods have been described [2-7], as well as plans for marketing to health professionals outside of the hospital [8-10]. However, a marketing approach aimed directly at the attending physician on staff at the hospital has not been reported.

Introduction When hospitals are forced to make budget cuts, the library can be an easy and early target unless the librarian has established a strong base of support among the attending physicians. In an effort to directly promote a new library and librarian to the medical staff in a hospital, the following approach was successfully developed. Personal observation and experience suggested that nursing and allied health personnel were most likely to respond to the previously attempted conventional public relations promotions such as newsletters, open houses, and book sales. A different approach was needed to reach the attending physicians, a group of potential library users who were often too busy to respond to these marketing techniques but who were also an influential group within the hospital. An approach was developed to present the library's services and collection directly to the physicians of each medical department within the hospital (such as Pedi* Based on a paper presented October 19, 1989, at a meeting of the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association, Johnson City, Tennessee.

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atrics, Family Practice, or Surgery) at monthly departmental meetings.

Procedure Each year medical staffs at most hospitals elect new officers for each hospital department. These departments usually hold scheduled meetings throughout the year and, frequently, include a featured program. The names of the newly elected officers are available from the hospital's administrative office. Soon after elections are held, the librarian should send a letter to each program chairman, or to the department chairman if there is no program chairman, offering to present a program on library services. Medical departments are more receptive at the beginning of the term because calendars are not yet filled with scheduled programs. Often the program chairman feels fortunate to find a "ready-made" program requiring few arrangements. Before sending out initial letters, the librarian should determine the approximate size of each medical department. The same secretary who provides the list of officers can often supply this information as well. Depending on the size of the institution, the medical departments may vary in size from less than ten members for some subspecialties to more than 100 members in others. Depending on the size of the library, the librarian may want to offer smaller groups the option of coming to the library for their meeting; this is preferable if it can be arranged. The larger groups should be offered a presentation at their chosen meeting site within the hospital. If the library can seat twenty, encourage all groups of thirty-five or fewer members to hold one of their

meetings in the library. (Not all members of a department attend every meeting.) When setting up a program with one of the medical departments, the librarian might want to ask how many members usually attend each meeting. There are several advantages to holding the meeting in the library. One is that it brings many physicians into the library for the first time. Another is that it gives attendees the opportunity to browse before or after the meetings. Once physicians see the library and the material in their specialty area, they are more likely to return. Also, different areas can be pointed out, and supplies don't need to be transported to another location. Even though many libraries have a "no food or drink" policy, the physicians traditionally serve refreshments at their meetings. If possible, make arrangements with the medical departments to have the usual refreshments served in the library; that concession may be the deciding factor on where the meeting is held. The librarian may need to be flexible in other areas, too. An important consideration is the time of the meetings. It is better not to change the meeting time to accommodate the library's schedule. Some departments meet early in the morning and others meet in the evening. It may require getting up early or staying late, but the strong allies gained are well worth it. The presentation should be brief, only ten to fifteen minutes; a flip chart can be used as a visual aid to highlight library services such as MEDLINE searches and interlibrary loans. A slide show or video can also be made, if expense and preparation time allow. Also, the flip chart can easily be moved to other locations if needed without Bull Med Libr Assoc 79(1) January 1991

Comment and opinion

making arrangement for equipment, extension cords, or screens. An important part of each meeting is the review of handouts of recent acquisitions and current journal titles specific to the department being addressed. Many physicians are pleasantly surprised to find some of the latest books and journals in their field available in the library. For each meeting, pull these books and have them readily available on a book cart for examination and circulation. Show the medical staff exactly what the library has and can do for them. If the collection is small, or just weak in their particular area, use this "captive audience" to solicit recommendations for new books or journals. Ask for suggestions for specific titles they would like to see in the library. A hospital librarian is more likely to get approval for additional funds if it can be shown that a specific physician requested a particular book or journal. Use the meeting to the library's advantage. Most hospital administrators are anxious to please the medical staff. If the library needs a computer or CD-ROM for MEDLINE searches, tell the physicians what could be provided if the proper equipment were available; the adminsitration will probably get a FAX machine quicker if it hears from several physicians. Keep the meeting positive; let the physicians know what could be provided with adequate equipment, staff, and financial resources. Make each department feel that the library wants to meet their informational needs. After each meeting, a letter should be sent thanking the department for allowing the presentation to be made. Also inquire about doing another program for them in the future. A few months after the initial mailing to all departments, the librarian should send a follow-up letter to those de-

Bull Med Libr Assoc 79(1) January 1991

partments that didn't respond. This is a good time to target those program chairmen who may have run out of ideas for programs or who may have had to cancel or reschedule a planned program. Usually, a few additional departments can be scheduled for library programs at this time. Depending on the size of the medical staff at each institution and the number of new physicians added, this approach can be tried on an annual or biennial basis. Not all departments will respond the first time. After several successful programs, there will probably be more responses the next time. Since the departmental chairmen often change each year, a negative response one year could be followed by a positive response by the new chairman the following year.

Discussion These programs require some initial effort, including preparation of form letters and flip charts. Also subject-specific bibliographies of recent acquisitions and current journal subscriptions must be prepared and updated. However, additional presentations take less time and the rewards can be positive. Establishing a medical department meeting program serves the purpose of getting physicians into the library for the first time. Or, if the library is too small for meetings, it at least introduces the physicians to the librarian and increases their awareness of the services and collections pertinent to their medical subject specialty. The physicians may never read a newsletter or brochure sent to them and never attend an open house, but they will listen to a library program at their departmental meeting. A medical staff that knows their librarian and understands the services available is more likely to use the library. As the library's use increases, so does its

value to the institution. When physicians come to depend on the library for its collection and services, they are more likely to support the library when cuts are proposed. In these difficult times for health care institutions, all librarians should aggressively market the library to those users who can provide real support. Ellen R. Cooper Serials and Acquisitions Librarian University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Science Library 877 Madison Avenue Memphis, Tennessee 38163

References 1. MESSERLE J, HILL SI. Promoting library services. In: Bradley J, ed. Hospital library management. Chicago: Medical Library Association, 1983:296311. 2. BArIsTELLA MS. A cooperative medical library/public library book sale: new avenue for marketing the academic health sciences library. Bull Med Libr Assoc 1985 Jul;73(3):283-5. 3. COOPER E. A one-year promotion campaign at St. Luke's Hospital Library. Hosp Libr 1977 Sep;2(9):8-11. 4. Marketing library services in a hospital library: Massachusetts General Hospital. BRS Bull 1988 Dec-1989 Jan;

13(1):6,8. 5. PERE A, BEN-SHIR R. Mission plus creativity equals marketing. Dimens Health Serv 1981 Mar;58(3):20-1. 6. VAN Loo J. Marketing the library service: lessons from the commercial sector. Health Libr Rev 1984 Mar;1(1): 36-47. 7. ZACHET MJ, WILLLAMs RV. Marketing measures for information services. Spec Libr 1986 Spring;77(2):61-70. 8. AsHmI ER. Library service to dental practitioners. Bull Med Libr Assoc 1983

Oct;71(4):400-2. 9. HOOK SA. Outreach to dental health professionals by the Indiana University School of Dentistry Library. Med Ref Serv Q 1987 Winter;6(4):35-43. 10. ScuRA G. Marketing to community pharmacists-a new goal for a former clinical librarian. Clin Libr Q 1985 Sep-

Dec;4(1 /2):5-7.

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Marketing the hospital library to physicians: one approach.

COMMENT AND OPINION Marketing the hospital library to physicians: one approach* Promotional concepts for health sciences libraries have been reported...
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