FREE! FREE! FREE!
Posted by: Emily in Etc., Library Marketing, Library Service, Library TechnologyVia Library Bytes (among others) I came across this article on the “economy of free.”
The long and short of it is that businesses are figuring out that in a technology-driven world, “Just because products are free doesn’t mean that someone, somewhere, isn’t making huge gobs of money.” And they’re starting to capitalize on this notion. Read the article - it outlines an emerging business model that turns the rules of traditional buyer/seller models upside-down.
What does this all mean for libraries, who have long depended on their unique position as a provider of “free” services?
As I’ve said before, free might not be enough of a selling point for libraries any more. Our services are “free” to our users? So what? So are a lot of other services and products. “Free” is just not that special any more… especially when what we are “selling” is access to information.
So what do we have that is special? Or what can we do in the future to fit the changing needs of our communities? When price is out of the equation, what is it that we offer that makes choosing our services the logical choice for our customers? What other values can we appeal to? And how do we communicate this with our communities so that potential users are aware of the benefits we have to offer them? How do we convince them to choose libraries?
I can’t wait to pick up FREE, Chris Anderson’s forthcoming follow up to The Long Tail. This may be one of the biggest issues libraries will need to deal with as we struggle to define ourselves in the economy emerging around us.
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February 28th, 2008 at 11:14 am
The library is NOT free–it is prepaid–with your taxes, as overhead in a company, etc. If presented to the public correctly, it can be a powerful selling point. For instance…
You’ve already paid for it–use your library!
Get the benefits you’ve already paid for–use your library!
February 28th, 2008 at 11:34 am
True, true. Which is why I use so many quotes around the word “free.” Of course that’s not really the truth of public libraries. It’s also not really the truth of the “Free” economy business models, for the most part. But it is the public perception, most of the time, and I find that it is a selling point most public libraries rely on. And it still works (to an extent)… for now.
But what happens when I can access the same information, materials, etc. for “free” from another outlet just as easily… or perhaps more easily?
I definitely agree with you that the key here is presenting your case to the public in an effective way. But I don’t know if emphasizing the fat that it really has been paid for is the way to go. The businesses adopting a “free” approach are glossing over the fact that someone is paying for it. Do we really want to remind people that what they tend to think of as free really isn’t? And that they are footing the bill? If comparable services are being provided by a business that emphasizes their “free-ness,” that would just make me wonder, “Hey, why AM I paying for this?”
I think they key is in appealing to our potential users by emphasizing the other, non-monetary benefits we could be providing. Like high quality of information, ease of access, expert assistance, etc. But first, we need to make sure these other benefits are a focus of ours, then we can figure out how to make it a focus of theirs.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Hey Emily
Yes! Libraries offer “free” stuff, as defined above but as you point out, also offer guidance, expertise and I like to use the word “trust”… trusted sources, trusted assistance etc. We should talk about all these things not just free…thats what makes libraries stand out from all the free and the not really “free” stuff out there…Thanks for the post….