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Introductory Comments by Tony McSeán
Tony McSeán
Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer's point of view.
– Peter Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
Our series of Library Connect pamphlets is intended as a source of inspiration, ideas and resources for working librarians who are setting out to tackle projects in fast-moving, fast-changing or potentially alien areas. This new addition, addressing the marketing of information products and services, fits in very well with this overall purpose. The whole area of marketing and "selling the library" is an area which many information professionals still feel sits uneasily with our core professional values of service and empathy. Yet, we library and information science (LIS) professionals can no longer look at the Peter Drucker quote which accompanies this introduction and think it has no bearing on our own work.
The role of the LIS professional is adapting to changing technologies, and our users’ perception of the nature of the library is also changing radically – particularly in universities. In this environment the effective presentation of the library is an essential survival tool. This is true whether a library is contributing effectively to an organization’s overall marketing effort or, sensitively and subtly, promoting positive attitudes in the minds of its local constituency.
Citations and annotations shared here will provide background, ideas, techniques and inspiration for both novice and experienced marketers.
I hope you will find this pamphlet as interesting and useful as I have done, and that your libraries may gain strength and reputation from the application of information provided by resources identified here.
Brilliant marketing is not on its own any kind of substitute for a well-run service providing what its user community needs, but in the 21st century even the best-run library or information service will only prosper if effort and talent are devoted to promotion. Most of us can provide the effort, and this pamphlet can help coax the seeds of marketing talent into full, harvestable flower. 
Regards,
Tony McSeán, Director of Library Relations, Elsevier, Oxford, UK
Since 2004, Tony McSeán has served as Director of Library Relations for Elsevier. In this role, he has led development and management of Elsevier's relations with the library community worldwide.
As part of his Elsevier duties, Mr. McSeán has led Elsevier’s participation in the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) and Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), two initiatives making high-quality medical information available to researchers and practitioners in the developing world.
From 1988 to 2004, Mr. McSeán served as chief librarian with the British Medical Association, and from 1974 to 1988, he held professional posts in university and national libraries in Ireland and elsewhere in the UK.
Mr. McSeán’s further professional involvement with library organizations has been extensive. For the European Association for Health Information and Libraries, Mr. McSeán has served as the president, secretary and treasurer, and currently serves as the past president and a member of the board. For the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Mr. McSeán has served as a council member and board member, and since 1999 has served as a member of the Health Libraries Group Committee. For the International Congress on Medical Librarianship, Mr. McSeán served as the congress chair in 2000, and this year is the chair of the International Committee.
Prior to beginning his librarianship career, Mr. McSeán was awarded a degree in English and a postgraduate library diploma, both from the University of Wales.
Mr. McSeán has written extensively on professional issues, including library management, library and networking technologies, publishing and the future of professional associations.
