Lauren Jensen, the public services librarian at Monmouth College’s Hewes Library, was recently granted the 2007 Public Relations Award from the Alliance Library System (ALS), a consortium of academic public libraries in West and Central Illinois.

The Public Relations Award is given to an individual who has implemented one or more projects with the purpose of bringing publicity to his or her particular institution’s library facility. The decision of the Award recipient was announced on Thursday, Oct. 25 at the annual ALS meeting at its headquarters in East Peoria. Included in the honor was a plaque of recognition for Jensen and a $100 check.

Jensen (who was nominated for the Award by Hewes Library director J. Richard Sayre) was acknowledged for her use of the online social networking website Facebook as a means of reaching and providing helpful information to the incoming freshman class. Jensen sent out Facebook friend requests to 120 such students registered with the site this past summer, which resulted in her befriending 110 students from the class of 2011 online. 

According to Jensen, “We’re not included in the freshman orientation. So, this was the first contact [with Hewes Library] the freshmen would have received.”

Jensen claimed she was inspired to take this unique approach after she and a friend encountered a published article which claimed that the Internet and community-based websites could serve as excellent methods for promoting any organization to the masses. Specific programs/tools available on Facebook gave Jensen the ability to communicate details pertaining to services and programs sponsored by the Hewes Library. Jensen would update her personal status daily (which often included tidbits on upcoming activities related to the Library), created a photographic tour of Hewes Library and took advantage of Facebook’s News Feed as a means of making announcements to her profile subscribers. 

Even beyond just publicizing the Hewes Library, Jensen helped bring students in contact with different instructors and administrators with whom they needed to reach. Jensen stated, “A lot of students were asking questions about the bookstore, classes and about registration,” and whenever possible she would attempt to point these students in the right direction for addressing their inquiries to the proper authorities on the matters.

In a press release commenting on Jensen’s innovative technique to advertising and reaching out to the student body, Kitty Pope, executive director of ALS, stated, “Lauren wanted to make the Monmouth Library and its staff more approachable and present library information in a user-friendly manner. What a great way to use technology to tell the library story!”

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