Open Stacks Pods About Summer Reading

I was really tickled to hear my post on summer reading programs being used as a launching point for commentary by that podcasing fool, Greg, over at Open Stacks.  I really appreciated his plumping out the SRP-as-statistics-booster argument for me.  I knew that had something to do with it, but he filled me in on it.  Greg also contends that he doesn't think that anyone believes that SRP's are an effective literacy tool.  I'm not so sure about that, having heard plenty of PR promoting summer reading for exactly that reason. 

The one thing Greg did not address was my grumping about the marketing aspect of reading programs--all the merchant coupons, visits from hamburger-shilling clowns, and the like.  I do understand that it's supposed to be a mutually beneficial promotion, but I am pretty confident that the businesses come out ahead on those deals.  When I see McDonald's handing out promotional material about the library along with every bag of fries, I'll stop my grousing. 

If you haven't heard one of Greg's shows, hop on over and have a listen!

Comments

[Miriam Bobkoff]

Here in Santa Fe, the local McDonaldses are selling pedometers on their dollar menu, the whole $1 of which benefits the fundraising campaign for our Southside library branch. Coca Cola (there's a local distribution center) donated the pedometers. We put stickers on the packets advertising the Southside campaign. There's cartons of the things sitting around the work areas at the Main Library, waiting for stickers; and McDonalds sends someone over to pick up the finished cartons so they can sell them.

Our director of libraries, a tireless outreach and PR person, put it together. Nevertheless I hated blogging about it, and especially putting their logos on OUR screen. At least the director had me sign that one with her initials... :-)
http://santafelibrary.blogspot.com/2005/05/mcdonalds-and-coca-cola.html

Miriam B.
Santa Fe Public Library

[Greg]

You're right. I totally forgot to talk about the "corporate sponsorship" aspect. Most of the prizes in our package are for businesses that are unique to the area, but I think there is a Dairy Queen or Wendy's free shake coupon in there.

Clearly, the businesses wouldn't participate if there wasn't an incentive and that incentive is low-cost marketing to the ideal current/future customer base. It's certainly not altruism or that ambiguous concept of "giving something back." I mean if Dairy Queen is going to pull that child into the store for a free shake and Mom and Dad end up buying dinner and cones for the whole family, it's not hard to see who the winner is. And remember, in most cases we have to go groveling to them for prizes. It's not as if DQ is begging to get involved, you know?

As I pretty much implied in the show, the SRP is an example of the library selling a piece of its soul to help secure survival. Corporate sponsorship is a visible manifestaton of that and you are right to be perturbed. When I suggested that the SRP is an "everyone wins" concept, I was a) really trying to be sardonic and b) only thinking of libraries, parents, and kids. But I fully agree that in many cases the biggest winner is the corporation.

As for the SRP and literacy connection, I retain my skepticism. What would you expect PR to say? "The Summer Reading Program is a great way for corporations to get their message out to a new generation of future consumers." No, of course PR will tout the supposed literacy benefits of summer reading. Sure, at my most idealistic, I can believe that there are some children who will benefit from engaging in reading that they might have otherwise avoided, if there weren't a bag full of prizes waiting for them at the end of it. But is that really a pedagogical model for literacy? Hardly. But, despite my skepticism as to the whys, I support the summer reading program, because it is such an effective PR tool in and of itself.