Vanny Bicomong, a friend and former classmate who now markets books for a living, sent the following email in reaction to "Sex in the Library."
Very interesting questions you raised about marketing a library. In the end, the best way to know the answer is to talk to the consumer. Why don't we go around asking friends who love to read -- why don't you go to the library? If I were one of the consumers, my answers would be as follows:I can understand where Vanny is coming from, but I'll hold off on giving my comments until after I ask for your comments. In short, let's do a little survey =)
1) The library is too far from me. (By Library, I only know of the National Library or the Ateneo Library -- I don't know of others I can enter.)
2) The books in libraries are old and outdated. If I wanted the latest titles, it's better for me to go to Powerbooks and browse there.
3) Library ambience is not as good as Powerbooks. Libraries bring back memories of school research, Powerbooks is more envigorating.
If there were a library near my house, and it had excellent quality of books and ambience (and even offer drinks and snacks) I'd be willing to pay a small fee to be able to use such a library.
- If you are a librarian, what would you tell people who prefer bookstores to libraries?
- If you are not a librarian, why don't you use libraries?
Category: Libraries
