THE CAMPAIGN

Help us tell our story by telling us yours

www.solvinglifesproblems.org

Sponsored by the New Jersey State Library and the New Jersey Library Association
 Descriptive narratives of real-life human
experiences bring your library to life and
give it meaning by helping people connect
to you both rationally and emotionally.

Bring your library to life with a story.

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 Campaign Overview Page 4
How to Join Page 5
Contest Prizes Page 6
Free Training Page 7
Two Year Campaign Page 8
Why Tell a Story? Page 9
Good for Your Library Page 10
A Good Story Page 11
What is a Story Bank Page 12
Creating a Story Bank Page 13
Story Bank Template Page 15
Collecting Your Stories Page 16
Choosing Your Story Page 17
Suggested Topics Page 18
Advocacy Section Page 23
Next Steps Page 24

The Campaign
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We will share these stories
through traditional and
new media outlets
to create a powerful
word of mouth initiative.

The New Jersey State Library is partnering with the New Jersey Library
Association to launch a statewide storytelling campaign. The object if the
campaign is for libraries to collect stories and create multimedia pieces
that will portray libraries as transformative and librarians as people who
are passionate and involved in the community and making a difference.

Libraries will engage communities, customers, businesses and students

in telling authentic stories about their library experiences. These
libraries will then translate the words into moving multimedia
stories of inspiration.

We will share these stories through traditional and new media outlets to
create a powerful word of mouth initiative.

The first segment of the campaign will be a statewide contest to encour-

age libraries to gather stories from their users and create a compelling
digital story about the library experience. It will begin October, 2008 and
end June 1, 2009.

Overview of the Campaign

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 How to Join
To register go to:
solvinglifesproblems.org.

You will receive posters, rackcards and shelf talkers

for your library and have the opportunity to register
for workshops, participate in peer review sessions, and
get individual help in all phases of your process.

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 The library with the
best story will receive
a day with StoryCorps.
The library submitting the best story will
win a door-to-door session from StoryCorps.
A team of professional sound technicians
will create recordings of interviews of
community members selected by the library.
In addition, one of the stories recorded
that day will be selected and professionally
edited into a two to three minute audio
soundtrack such as those heard on NPR radio.

Second Prize:
Sony High Definition HandyCam

To learn more about the contest and to register your library go to: Third Prize: The Flip Mino
www. solvinglifesproblems.org

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 All participating libraries
will receive free training.
The State Library and NJLA will provide
libraries with training sessions, peer review
sessions and motivational talks by storytellers
and filmmakers, including a presentation by
Netherlands filmmakers from DOK, the
Library Concept Center.

Sign Up
The NJLA IT Section is working with the RLCs to
schedule classes and workshops in your area.
You will learn the skills needed to create your
story, record a voice-over and develop a digital
story.
To sign up or host a workshop
email Amy Kearns at: amy@cjrlc.org

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 Your stories will be part
of a statewide campaign.
In the second year, the State Library will
use the stories as part of their statewide
public awareness campaign, “Solving Life’s
Problems”. The campaign will be
launched with a media blitz centered on
the contest. The promotional materials
will include print media distributed to li-
braries and video ads to be used on their
Web sites and in-house digital screens.
The State Library will promote the stories
through social networks, YouTube, online
ads, public access stations, commercial
TV and movie theater venues.

Libraries will be encouraged to take their

newly acquired skills and offer classes,
workshops and programs to encourage
community members and organizations
to create stories that reflect their
communities. These stories can be
posted on the library's Web site and at
solvinglifesproblems.org.

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 Why tell a story?
Storytelling is a powerful form of
communication and learning. Compelling
stories can effectively influence the
attitudes, perceptions and behaviors
of your local area voters. They do this
through the depiction of transformative
libraries and passionate
librarians who are involved in the
community and making a difference.

According to the study, From Awareness

to Funding, released in 2008 by OCLC,
“Voters’ attitudes, perceptions and
behaviors, not their demographic profile,
are the most important determinants of
willingness to support increases in
library funding.“

Compelling stories inspire, engage, and

change the way people think about things.
They help people understand and make
sense of what they do and why they do it.
Stories can help people to learn, absorb,
remember and share information and

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 Storytelling is good for
your library.
Businesses have used storytelling to share
their vision, sell their products and attract
the best employees. Libraries can use stories
too. We can attract new members, create
passionate advocates and even reinvigorate
our existing members. This campaign will
help libraries create both a local and a
statewide collection of compelling stories
that can help you increase library use and
funding opportunities. And because anyone
can tell a story, everyone can be involved.

Stories help people

make sense of facts.
Facts and figures are usually forgotten
before the conversation has even begun.
A good story can paint a clear picture that
allows a person to “feel” what you are
saying, creating a memory that will stay
with the listener long after he or she has
forgotten the facts.

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 What makes a good story?
A good story touches people. It finds the
common “human” denominator and paints a
vivid description so that anyone who hears it
can relate it to his or her personal experience.
It has conflict and resolution. And most
importantly, it is authentic and told with
sincerity. A good story is also fairly short.

Are testimonies and

stories the same thing?
Testimonies are written comments by
satisfied customers that praise your
organization and staff. Chances are your
library has collected these comments for quite
a while. You may have posted them
on the Web or even used them as
examples of how well your library is
performing. Testimonies are nice. They focus
on what the library did well or how a staff
member was helpful.

Stories take testimonies to the next level and

show how that positive experience impacted
that person’s life.

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 What is a story bank?
It is collection of fact-checked stories that an
organization can use in their advocacy, promo-
tion and media efforts. Your library can become
the first stop for legislators who need stories to
support the legislation that they are proposing.
On a local level, this concept can be applied to
local municipalities, community groups,
schools, organizations and news agencies
looking for anecdotal stories.

We will be compiling multimedia stories on a

statewide level and storing them on the web.
Local libraries can also collect stories for their
own story bank.

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 How do you
create a story bank?
This campaign will help you get started.
As your customers begin submitting
stories, you’ll need to set up a
standardized process for entering
them into the computer, fact-checking
and updating.

Chances are you’ll be short-staffed and

not able to fully process every story that is
submitted. If that is the case, you may
want to set up a priority list of topics that
would be most beneficial to your library
and fully process those first. The other
stories can be entered in the computer
and can be used if needed but only after a
staff member has called the person to
confirm facts before the information is
shared with any contacts.

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Notes Steps to creating your own story bank
1. Display and distribute the “Tell Us Your Story” cards we have created for your
library. The cards ask for basic contact information and a brief description of the
experience the person wants to share.

2. Have a staff member enter the information to a Wiki, Microsoft table, Excel
spreadsheet or some other format that you can use to keep a record of your story
submissions. Be sure to create an area on the list where you can write down comments
that the contributor has shared with you or that you observed, that may impact the
story. For example, you may want to comment on whether the person would be great
for a live interview or better for a print interview. These comments should only be used
by your staff.

3. Have a staff member call the submitter to review the background about why you
are collecting the stories and what you will do with them. Confirm the contact informa-
tion and go over the story. Depending on the story, you may need to confirm the facts.
A short cut in this process could be to have a staff member go over the story in person
when it is submitted. You would then only need to call those people who haven’t
already been spoken to in person.

4. Stories should be updated about every six months to make sure they still have the
same contact information.

Note: We are also providing an online form at www.solvinglifesproblems.org for people

to submit their stories. We will forward the stories to your contact person when they
are submitted.

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Sample Story Bank Record

Name Street Town Zip Story Theme Story Additional Comments

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Notes
Collecting Your Stories
Inform your staff about this campaign.
While we’ll provide the “Tell Us Your Story” card, the best stories will most likely
come from non-scripted conversations that library patrons have with your staff. It is
important to let your staff know you are looking for stories and to
encourage them to ask people to fill out the “Tell Us Your Story” card if they hear
something that could make a good story.

Post a link on your Web site.

We’ll provide you with a nice graphic. Add it to your pages with a link to a form people
can fill out and email, fax, mail or hand deliver to your library.

Reach out to the community.

Having a library story bank is a great cross-promotional tool for other organizations in
your community. Let your community know you are collecting stories. Provide them
with posters, story cards and Web tools to add to their Web site.

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 Choosing Your Story
This is the most important step in this process. For the purpose of this campaign, we
have used the findings from the 2008 OCLC report, From Awareness to Funding: A Study
of Library Support in America, to create a list of suggested themes and story ideas.
They are based on the key motivational issues of people who will vote to support li-
braries.

Any of these topics will serve your library well. If you decide to choose another topic,
be sure to determine what you hope to gain from the stories and build a list of topics
accordingly.

In the pages that follow we’ll detail each of the themes listed below. As you look over
the list, try to envision the people in your library who might have a story to contribute.

• The Library is a Transformational Force in People’s Lives.

• The Library is a Vital Part of the Community’s Infrastructure.
• Supporting the Library is a Tough but Essential Tax Choice.
• The Library Maintains its Relevance to People Through all Stages of Life.
• Passionate Librarians are Making a Difference in the Community.
• The Library is a Place of Unlimited Resources and Inspiration.
• The New Library is Your Library.
• Making the Library Relevant for the 21st Century.
• Life Without the Library.

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 The library is
Possible Ideas

a transformational force in people’s lives.

According to the OCLC report, “Supporters who have the strongest belief that the
library is a source of transformation are those most passionate about the need to
protect, support and fund the library.” (OCLA 4-12)

Your library could create incredible stories around the transformative theme. Consider
creating an emotional storyline that says, “This is where I come to be the person I
always wanted to be.”

To depict your library as a transformational force consider a story that answers one of
these questions about how your library helps people:

• Become who they are

• Feel good about themselves
• Allow them to appreciate the beauty of life
• Come away feeling like they really learned something
• Fill them with hope and optimism
• Achieve something of meaning
• Seek the truth
• Fulfill a serious purpose

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Possible Ideas
The library is a vital part
of the community’s infrastructure.
According to the OCLC report, “There was a fear, even among the strongest library
supporters, that the library’s place in the community is becoming more nostalgic than
essential.”

In order to combat this perception, consider creating a story to reflect the vital posi-
tion libraries have in our communities. Tell a story about how the library is an impor-
tant part of the community’s infrastructure and plays a key role in providing equal
access to resources vital for thriving in today’s digital world.

The library is relevant in the 21st century.

The library maintains its relevance to people through all stages of life. Tell a story
about a person’s experience illustrating the library as a transformative place by creat-
ing a life story of a patron from baby to senior citizen. Include the name of the person
who first took the baby or child to the library, the name of the librarian and the role
she or he played. You may want to include how the first time the child was able to
choose a book; take it home, with the theme of independence. Are there specific sen-
sory experiences about the library that stayed with the person? Be sure to move the
story forward to the present day. You could even create a story that contrasts the
experience of a person from the early 1900’s to that of today.

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Possible Ideas
Supporting the library is
a tough but essential tax choice.
Create a story about citizens willing to support local funding for essential services
such as police, fire, library and schools because they care about their community.
Or demonstrate the urgency for library funding along with funding the police, parks
and fire departments to keep communities healthy and competitive.

Passionate librarians are

making a difference in the community.
The OCLC report revealed that people are more likely to support the library when they
perceive the librarians as passionate and making a difference in the community. If this
describes your library, consider a story about how your librarians advocate for lifelong
learning and are passionate about making libraries relevant. In your portrayal, include
how the librarians are well-educated and knowledgeable about every aspect of library
service and the community.

*** Caution, this piece MUST be made from your customer’s point of view. Be sure to get
input from your community members as to what they think is valuable to ensure the
story resonates with them. Remember, what you consider to be of the most value may
not be the same as what your community thinks.

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Possible Ideas
The library is a place of
unlimited resources and inspiration.
The OCLC study revealed that even though the people who vote for libraries were not
aware of all the services libraries offered, that lack of knowledge wasn’t a deterrent
for people supporting library funding. They did find, however, that people’s perceptions
about a library played a crucial role in their support. That’s a great place to start with
a story idea. Instead of creating a story to educate people about your services, create a
video/digital story about how your library:

• Provides unlimited resources and inspiration for the community.

• Provides a tranquil place to escape from daily concerns or activities.
• Broadens personal perspectives about the world.

The new library is your library.

OCLC listed five repositioning statements that will help shift the perception of the
library from irrelevant to a vital part of the community. Consider creating a story
that juxtaposes the old with the new using the new terminology. See the full report
for details. [http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/default.htm] Here’s a quick list of
the new terms:

OLD NEW
Information Transformation
Institution Infrastructure
Nice to Have Necessity
Past Future
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Possible Ideas Life without the library.
In order to transfer support of voters at the polls, stories about the future of libraries
will need to be connected to funding. The OCLC report indicated “a mood change” at
the polls even in those who have indicated strong support for their public libraries, if it
required voting to increase taxes. According to the study, if you choose to create a
story about what life would be like without libraries, you’ll need to keep a connection
between that scenario and the need of residents to make the sacrifice that supports
that vision.

Create a story about:

• What life would be like without the library. You might want to concentrate on the
consequences to the community including the importance of technology readiness.
Or you could take the national perspective and highlight how the nation could techno-
logically fall behind in the world.

• What the library of the future will be like. Maybe use examples of futuristic
libraries that exist now and play off of those concepts to envision tomorrow’s library.
Be sure to connect to funding.

• What is possible for the library with proper funding. Use visuals of best practices
that will connect to what your community could offer their residents.

• The future of the library with a shrinking middle class. Create a futuristic view of
the middle class falling behind because they can’t keep up with the continual growth
of technology.

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 How Will the Campaign Enhance Advocacy?
This campaign will help with both local and statewide advocacy for libraries. To have
people all over New Jersey participate in this campaign with their local library will
create a powerful statewide advocacy base. During Year Two, the State Library will
utilize the stories as part of the statewide public awareness campaign, “Solving Life’s
Problems.” Your library could utilize these stories to advocate for your library on a local
level as well. Use the stories in as many creative ways as you can to tell your funders
how much your residents value the library. Stories can be:

• Posted on your Web site and the town’s home page

• Shared with your funders during budget presentations to illustrate the success of
your services and how your library helps to transform lives
• Useful in one-on-one budget discussions or with budget committees reviewing
your budget submission
• Included in an informal conversation anytime you talk with a funder, to illustrate
how your library affects people in your community
• Interesting to your audience when you speak at Rotary, Chamber of Commerce or
community meetings
• Used in visual displays at the library so that all members can read/watch them
• Used in interviews with the press and in press releases sent out by your library
• Used as a source for sound bytes about your library and shared aloud in podcasts,
public events, or other opportunities to speak about the library
• Shared with cable TV stations as part of public programming or as
marketing opportunities
• Great to use in white papers on the need for library funding or as part of
grant applications
• Used to provide interest in annual reports, newsletters and statistical documents
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 Next Steps
1. If you haven’t registered yet, go to www.solvinglifesproblems.org and click on the
section for librarians. Fill out the online registration form and we’ll get your promo-
tional materials shipped to your library.

2. Once you’ve registered you can begin collecting stories. When you get an idea that
you think would make a great story about the transformative force of your library, it’s
time to sign up for a workshop.Although the contest only calls for one story, you are en-
couraged to create as many as you’d like. Consider choosing a story idea early on and
use it as a learning process. You can always make another story.

We’ve identified four stages of creating a digital story where training would be most
helpful:

1. Creating the story

2. Making a voice-over
3. Developing the digital story
4. Peer review and final editing

We’ll be offering half day workshops for each stage during the year. To reserve a spot at
a workshop contact Amy Kearns at amy@cjrlc.org. If there isn’t a scheduled workshop
in your area we can work with you to schedule one at your library.

If you have any questions about the campaign

please contact Nancy Dowd at ndowd@njstatelib.org.

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 Photo Credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/illustriousbean/548540203/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanky/2245807410/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/terralynne/2077466916/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charliegentle/94736507/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yvonne_n_1968/645936518/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericharmatz/2169066997/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2313927146/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sis/5908569/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmcleod/102688655/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spoiltcat/2715520588/sizes/o/

Solving Lifeʼs Problems is sponsored by the New Jersey State Library and the New Jersey Library Association

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