Return Yourself to the Library

What is Return Yourself to the Library?

Return Yourself to the Library is a state-wide campaign developed by a working group within Public Libraries Victoria’s LibMark Special Interest Group to help public library services around Victoria to promote their service as a valuable community facility that is safe for users to return to as pandemic restrictions ease. The campaign is made up of template marketing collateral, example marketing copy, and a series of social media videos which are being released weekly, from Tuesday 29 March (all available at https://bit.ly/3puBeLN).  (Collateral is also now available on the PLV SharePoint)

How did this campaign come to be?

The campaign was proposed after we recognised a common struggle of services around Victoria in getting users back into our spaces following the lifting of restrictions after lockdown 2.

How has this campaign been funded?

The campaign was funded by library services throughout the state after a presentation by the working group at a PLV General Meeting in early 2021.

What can I do with this campaign?

We’ve done the ground work so you don’t need to! We’ve designed the campaign and provided template collateral, both print and digital for you to individualise to meet the needs of your library service.

The campaign collateral is available to be used now to encourage users to return to your library. We highly recommend that your library service individualise it to include the logo and operational details of your library service. While you are welcome to individualise the files to meet the needs of your library service, but they are also ready for you to pick up and go!

The videos are now launching and we hope you’ll participate in their launch. The release schedule has been announced and you are able to download them using the same link as the other collateral (https://bit.ly/3puBeLN).  (Collateral is also now also available on the PLV SharePoint)

Release Date Video
Tuesday 29 March Returning to the Library
Tuesday 5 April Friendly Faces
Tuesday 12 April Physical Collection
Tuesday 19 April No video – Public Holidays
Tuesday 26 April Technology Help & Learning
Tuesday 3 May Events & Activities
Tuesday 10 May Makerspaces & Digital Services
Tuesday 17 May Inclusive & Welcoming Spaces
Tuesday 24 May Storytime
Tuesday 31 May Connecting with Community
Tuesday 7 June Study Spaces

Much of the collateral is designed around reaching library users in locations outside of the library, so a strong outreach partnership approach to disseminating the collateral is strongly encouraged. Reach out to other areas of council and seek to put up posters, anything you can think of to help promote the campaign.

There is also a pdf available to help you get other library staff excited about the campaign, the more we get involved, the better the reach, and the more successful the campaign will be at returning our users back to the library and rebuilding those reading, learning, and community habits that they lost during these lockdowns.

Where can I find the collateral?

All the collateral is available at https://bit.ly/3puBeLN (Collateral is also now available on the PLV SharePoint)

If you want to make changes to the templates, the font used in the graphics is Rubik and can be downloaded for free from https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Rubik?query=Rubik

Where can I buy collateral?

You are encourage to individualise the campaign material and seek printing and supply from your normal suppliers. A Productology portal, similar to the one used for the Big Summer Read collateral, is also available so services can order a range of generic Return Yourself to the Library collateral including footpath decals, stickers, banners, keyrings, and much more! The portal is now open  but you’ll need to email Catie ([email protected]) to be given access to the portal.

Who created this campaign?

The working group who developed this campaign was made up of Oskar Revesz, Moonee Valley Libraries; Stephen Wright, Yarra Libraries; Gabrielle Ryan, Maribyrnong Libraries; Karri-Anne Heap, Ballarat Libraries and; and Brendan Eichholzer, Yarra Plenty Regional Library. We also engaged the services of Masterworks for video editing and animation, and Visionary Creative for graphic design.

Assistance/questions?

You can contact Brendan Eichholzer, Yarra Plenty Regional Library [email protected]