2008 Strategic Communications and Marketing Committee Grant Project Summaries
Fourth Annual C-U Edible Book Festival
Project coordinator, Sue Searing, wanted to attract entries and an audience to view and eat
entries for the Edible Books Festival. The March 31st Festival engaged participants and
attendees in a fun activity that highlighted book culture and reading, and in particular
celebrated the printed book as a knowledge artifact and aesthetic object. Its target audience
included faculty, staff, and students at the University as well as members of the surrounding
communities. Searing applied for a marketing grant to pay for the printing of color flyers, which
were designed by a member of the Festival team and hand-delivered to local businesses (i.e.
bookstores, restaurants, coffeehouses, and grocery stores) and posted on campus bulletin
boards. Searing hoped to measure the success of this marketing initiative by the number of
Festival participants. The flyer mentioned the University of Illinois Library and acknowledged
the Strategic Communications and Marketing Committee’s support.
Uncover and Discover Local History through the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
Project coordinators, Mary Stuart and Nathan Yarasavage, applied for a marketing grant to
publicize and promote use of the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
(www.library.illinois.edu/idnc/) and to attract private funding to continue their newspaper
digital program. Through IDNC, users can browse and search digital facsimiles of historic Illinois
newspapers online. The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library targeted the campus
community, Champaign County residents, and Illinois libraries and historical societies through a
flyer designed in-house. The flyer publicized the project while encouraging libraries and
historical societies to request that the Library inventory and catalog their newspaper holdings.
Results are expected to be measured through activity on IDNC and the number of inquiries
from potential donors and libraries.
ILA Reporter Ad for Mortenson Associate Host Visit
Project coordinators, Susan Schnuer, Barbara Ford, and Sara Thompson, hoped to reach out to
Illinois librarians and encouraged them to host visiting international librarians for up to three
days as part of the Mortenson Center’s professional development program. Through two halfpage ads in ILA Reporter (the bimonthly newsletter for the Illinois Library Association), the
Mortenson Center marketed this opportunity for cross-cultural professional development and
the exchange of experiences. Success of the ads will be measured through the immediate
fulfillment of program goals and the establishment of sustainable alliances with colleagues
across the state.