ACRL and Gale Launch Libraries Transform Toolkit

CLEVELAND, OH – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Gale, a Cengage company, have collaborated to create the ACRL Libraries Transform Toolkit. This free new toolkit provides academic and research libraries with easy-to-use tools and resources to develop effective marketing and outreach strategies to promote their services and impact to students, faculty, and administrators. The toolkit extends the American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries Transform Campaign that’s designed to increase public awareness of the value, impact and services provided by libraries and library professionals.

“We created this toolkit in response to an evaluation we conducted with academic libraries on marketing and outreach activities, where they expressed a need for access to easy-to-use, outreach best practices and materials that are flexible and adaptable. In addition, the toolkit also allows for materials to be uploaded and shared as part of each section, so that everyone can contribute to its content,” says Cinthya Ippoliti, chair of the ACRL Libraries Transform Task Force.

“The toolkit provides academic libraries with the guidance needed to develop, execute and measure their community engagement efforts alongside their strategic marketing plans.”

Key resources in the ACRL Libraries Transform Toolkit include:

  • Marketing Instructional Materials: Foundational guidance on how to create a marketing strategy, define message positioning by target audience, and plan campaigns.
  • "Because" Statement Templates: Designed to help libraries develop messaging statements to promote their services and resources or issues of importance. Example statements are provided as well as ALA’s formula where libraries can create their own.
  • Community Engagement Framework: Provides a framework and tactics to develop, support, and sustain effective community outreach and communication strategies.
  • Methods for Communicating and Measuring Impact: Provides insight and best practices on analyzing, measuring and communicating library outreach strategy results.

“Academic libraries play an important role in supporting student success and connecting researchers to new insights and ideas, but they often lack the staff, time and money it takes to promote their resources to these audiences.” says Harmony Faust, vice president of marketing and communications at Gale. “Our mission is to connect libraries to learners, and we are proud that our close collaboration with ACRL makes such a valuable marketing toolkit available to help our libraries more efficiently and effectively create awareness of the value and impact they bring to the communities they serve.”

To access the toolkit, visit the ACRL Libraries Transform Toolkit webpage.

About ACRL
The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for academic libraries and library workers. Representing more than 10,000 individuals and libraries, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) develops programs, products, and services to help those working in academic and research libraries learn, innovate, and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship.

About Cengage and Gale
Cengage serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library, and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, MI. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.

Featured

  • dormitory with green roofs, solar panels, balconies, and labeled architectural annotations

    2025 Residence Hall Design Trends Focus on Sustainability, Flexibility, Community, Technology, and Well-Being

    With the most technically advanced Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) at the helm, residence hall design trends for 2025 look to focus on flexible spaces, health and wellness, sustainability, community, and digital technology.

  • ClassVR Wins Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 25

    Avantis Education recently announced that its flagship product, ClassVR, won the Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a news release. The program is designed to celebrate products that are “transforming education in schools around the world and that show the greatest promise for the industry,” and this is the fourth consecutive year that Avantis has claimed the award.

  • Beeville ISD Starts Construction on New Elementary School

    The Beeville Independent School District near Corpus Christi, Texas, recently began a construction project that will consolidate two existing, aging schools into a new elementary school, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects and Spawglass General Contractors for the design and construction, respectively, of the new facility.

  • ECM Technologies Wins ‘Most Innovative Business of the Year’ Award

    HVAC preventative maintenance and efficiency solutions provider ECM Technologies was recently named the “Most Innovative Business of the Year” at the 2025 Champions of Change Awards, according to a news release. The program recognizes Arizona business leaders and organizations taking steps to make a positive impact on the state through innovative thinking and philanthropy.

Digital Edition