New report offers insights to measuring full value of library lending
The Panorama Project has released a new report on the results of its recent Public Library Events & Book Sales Survey. The full report offers key findings and critical takeaways to help measure and analyze the full impact of library marketing and events.
"Every year, public libraries across the United States produce and host thousands of readings, literary festivals, book clubs, and other experiential events that directly connect local readers to books and authors," said Panorama Project lead, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez. "Unfortunately, the full value of those events hasn’t usually been terribly transparent to the overall publishing industry, while the current public health crisis has demonstrated how important such events are to book discovery and sales."
Surveying nearly 200 public librarians in 30 states who produced book-related events and programming in 2019, more than 90% of respondents said they worked directly with authors rather than publishers. Local authors were far more likely to be featured at library events than those on tour, and all authors were more likely to bring their own books to sell at a library event. For bestselling authors, librarians will often order books through a local New York Times-reporting bookseller partner.
“For a variety of reasons, relatively few librarians work directly with publishers when booking authors for most of their events,” noted Gonzalez, “suggesting most publishers—and the industry in general—are unaware of those events' direct commercial impact, never mind the full impact of their multi-channel marketing efforts.”
Among the most compelling findings from the survey is how libraries measure and report the impact of their marketing and events to authors and publishers—or, in too many cases, do not. After an event, libraries are most likely to maintain a relationship with an author rather than a publisher, while other actions vary significantly, especially between libraries that produce a lot of events.
Key findings and the full report can be found at: panoramaproject.org/public-library-events-book-sales-survey.
As a follow-up to the survey and report, later this year the Panorama Project will produce a “Library Marketing Valuation Toolkit” which will identify best practices for producing and marketing events, and offer specific tactics and templates libraries can use to calculate the full monetary value of their readers' advisory and marketing efforts to publishers and authors.
"In the ongoing conversation about libraries' impact on the publishing ecosystem," said Gonzalez, "this information can help them measure and communicate their value more explicitly to authors and publishers. When the current health crisis passes, libraries will continue to play a critical role in the marketing and discovery of new books as the retail side of the industry regains its footing. Understanding the full value of their local marketing efforts should help strengthen their relationships with publishers."