NPL at Work
Nashville Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
How does a public library take financial numbers and turn them into a relatable story?
The answer:
NPL at Work — a Return on Investment (ROI) marketing campaign that shows the impact of investment in library services over the course of a year.
Challenge/Opportunity
In July 2023, NPL received significantly increased funding from our local elected officials that was specified for seven key areas of library service. We had the opportunity to impress upon our customers, and the city of Nashville as a whole, the ongoing benefits and improvements that resulted from taxpayers’ investment. This campaign was also an opportunity for the Library to show gratitude for the support we received, and to generate enthusiasm for upcoming programs and services that the increased funding allowed for. We wanted to do this in a way that was more personal than numbers alone could communicate, taking a look at the people doing the work of library service day to day.
Key Elements of Innovation
We highlighted each of the 7 key investment areas on our marketing channels. The key areas were:
Translation of the NPL website into Spanish and Arabic
Funding for two new Traveling Children’s Librarian positions
Funding for two new staff positions in our Equal Access Department
Increased funding for the Nashville After Zone Alliance – the Library’s division that coordinates out-of-school care for middle school students
Funding for a new Outreach Specialist for our Limitless Libraries team – the lending partnership between NPL and local schools
The creation of a full-time Program Coordinator position for our Votes for Women Room
Funding for 11 new staff positions for the new Donelson Branch Library
Our social media channels provided the perfect means of telling the story of NPL at Work. We selected from our group of new staff hires and asked them to share photos, stories of the relationships they were building with community partners, and their hopes for ongoing success.
Achieved Outcomes
We reached 29,423 customers with NPL at Work. Through this campaign, library patrons can see the growth of our services and their impact, connect with the faces of NPL, and see how excited we are about being better equipped to serve all of Nashville.
Additionally, we now have a communication framework that we can use, and expand upon, for future messaging related to the library’s staff growth, building projects, and other service improvements that we hope to provide as Nashville grows.
