Manchester Community Library is using Vimeo to encourage voters to Vote Yes on town meeting day, to support the public library. Take a look at their Channel to see what they’ve created.
The videos are displayed on the MCL website, in newsletters, and of course at the MCL channel on Vimeo. The campaign includes stickers and a strong message, Vote Yes on March 1. Not voting is the same as voting no, a citizen tells us– and that means cuts in hours and services.
The messaging in “I’m cheap” is particularly appealing– a senior citizen who lives on a fixed income supports the library because he likes to save money. While walking and driving around Manchester, our hero talks about the library and how he saves by attending lectures, borrowing magazines and books, and taking his grandchildren in. He calculates what the Library cost him in taxes– $47, or less than a dollar a week.
The scripts for these videos are carefully written to appeal to many audiences, parents, seniors, small business owners. The images are appealing– happy faces, the clean new library, the cafe where people have their heads together. Each video is well-edited and short, with “I’m Cheap” under two minutes.
Why Vote Yes is a page on the MCL website that gives the numbers– what the Library costs and how it’s been used this year. The total amount from town taxes is increasing; the share of the total library budget is dropping because of other sources of support. The usage statistics are easy to understand: people using computers. Nice job!
–More than 1,300 brand new members joined the new library.
–Over 50 community groups held meetings at MCL.
–Over 800 preschoolers and their parent/caregivers attended story times.
–People logged on to the public computers nearly 6,000 times in the first year of operation.
–More than 300 members took advantage of free 1-on-1 tech tutorials, eager to take advantage of enhanced their understanding of technology.
Good Ideas from VT Public Libraries 