Introduction
The Maricopa Community College District Electronic Resources Committee (ERC) mission is “to acquire electronic content and ensure its delivery using models and innovations that best serve MCCCD students and faculty”. ERC subscribes to an impressive number and array of electronic library resources. They are available online to students, faculty and employees of all the Maricopa Community Colleges. These resource links are available at http://libguides.maricopa.edu/libraryresources. This plan will outline a strategy and tactics to promote and increase awareness of these valuable resources.
Since the late 1990s the Maricopa Community Colleges has provided an online E-library collection of resources to support student academic achievement and success. The Electronic Resources Committee wants to raise the visibility of this collection and all it has to offer and increase its usage across the District among students, faculty and other employees. The District expends almost $900,000 for core subscriptions accessible throughout the Maricopa District, which make it even more important to increase awareness of their availability. Users must have an MEID and password to gain access to the E-Library resources from off-campus locations.
While not its primary focus, it is also important for ERC to promote the role, importance, and contributions of Library faculty within MCCCD.
This Communication Plan is intended to do the following:
- Implement a communication and marketing process that directly helps the Electronic Resources Committee achieve its goals.
- Strengthen the relationships with students, faculty, employees, and other stakeholders.
- Provide focus and direction for messages/marketing in support of the ERC’s goals as outlined in its Strategic Plan.
- Enable ERC to promote itself and its activities to students, faculty, staff and other identified audiences within the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD).
Internal Audiences
Students (primary):
- AAA, CPD, career and workforce development
- English, reading, math (developmental education)
- Nursing/Allied health
- Music
- Athletes
- Dual enrollment
- Online students
Faculty, staff and other MCCCD employees (secondary)
Desired Behaviors and Attitudes
Through the implementation of this Plan, the ERC hopes to strengthen the following desired behaviors and attitudes:
- Students will find information they are seeking via ERC resources
- Recognize the E logo as a symbol of district electronic resources
- Increased awareness of ERC and the databases and services it provides
- Students, faculty and MCCCD employees will value and utilize the resources provided through ERC
- Students will successfully access ERC resources and become more successful students
- Employees will utilize ERC resources in support of their work
Communication Goals
- Announce and promote Summon/One Search tool
- Increase awareness about types of resources: eBooks, streaming media, articles, images, etc.
- Increase brand recognition with memorable logo/branding: become as recognizable to our audience as the F for Facebook or the S for Skype or the P for Pinterest
- Increase use of E-Library resources by students, faculty and staff
- Increase awareness and use of E-Library by targeted populations: college success, health/nursing, business, art/art history/interior design, etc.
- Create awareness of the connection between Ask a Librarian and electronic resources
- Align better with the One Maricopa: Seamless Student Experience initiative
- Increase database usage district-wide by a certain percentage
- Increase brand awareness
- Explore tie-in to Maricopa Millions
- Develop a series of promotional templates that can be used throughout the district
- Provide a design template for individual libraries for their college E-library unique resources.
Measures
- Number of marketing methods used
- Number of people campuses contacted
- Increased use of resources promoted
- Awareness of resources
- Student surveys
- Employee surveys
- Focus groups
- Website hits
- Community feedback
Communication Channels
The following list describes the internal and external communication channels available to the ERC:
Electronic
- Email
- Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
- Video
- Telephone
- Web sites
- Banner ads on web sites
- Online ad on district homepage
- Link to district libraries on district web page
- Newsletters
- Combine efforts with Ask a Librarian
- An app
Print
- Intercampus mail
- Posters
- Table tents
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Career guides and transfer magazines
- Tie into “I will graduate…” campaign
- T-shirts
Give-away items: pens, cups, flash drives, etc.
Interpersonal
- Workshops
- Conferences
- Campus meetings
- Divisions meetings
- Open forums
- Brown bag sessions
- New employee orientations/on-boarding
- Word of mouth
MCCCD District System-Level Strategies/Initiatives that may impact marketing
- One Maricopa
- Seamless Student Experience
- Maricopa Priorities
- IMOR2
- Developmental Education
- Student Success Initiative
- Performance Based Funding
The MCCCD 2013-2016 Strategic Planning Goals
Access to Learning
Goal #1: MCCCD will improve access to learning opportunities for students and the community.
Pathways to Success
Goal #2: MCCCD will enhance educational and career pathways to support student goal attainment.
Effective Learning and Teaching
Goal #3: MCCCD will improve student learning outcomes and teaching effectiveness.
ERC Strategic Plan Objective:
Promote the rich collection of Library e-resources to MCCCD students and faculty
Implementation Strategies
Strategy 1: Increase brand recognition with memorable logo/branding
Strategy 2: Develop a series of promotional templates that can be used throughout the district
Strategy 3: Work with Instructional Councils and share relevant promotional materials
Strategy 4: Develop a series of promotional materials based on student narratives: How the Library helped me succeed
ERC Marketing Subcommittee:
Stephanie Allen, Marsha Ballard, Mary Beth Burgoyne, Beth Malapanes,and Mercedes Miramontes
May 2015, revised October 2016
