New List of Sessions
Here’s a collection of continuing education sessions and some big news from LAE.
New! I now have an online course available via Niche Academy; see the first item on the list below.
New Website! As of January 2025, my bi-annual list of CE offerings and past presentations is here on my new website.
New! Seven of the webinars are new to this January 2025 list (look for the green light bulbs). This rest of this list contains tried-and-true presentations that have been well-received by many types of library employees over the years. I’ve presented these for local, regional, state, national, and international library events, updating the content each time. These sessions cover a range of topics related to library marketing and communications, and are designed for different audiences.
With these topics and session descriptions as a starting point for discussion, I can customize a talk to fit the needs of your organization. I can present these lessons in the form of webinars, staff-day training, keynotes, conference presentations, or face-to-face workshops. I’ve also worked with clients to deliver training series that begin with the basics and continue to more-advanced topics. I’m happy to design something that will fit your organization’s needs.

Each session is rated as Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced, to help determine which sessions will be the best fit for your group.
References available. You can also read recommendations on my LinkedIn profile.
Located in southern New Jersey, on the East Coast of the USA.
To discuss your training or presentation needs, contact me anytime at [email protected]
Sessions at the Ready
Self-Paced On Niche Academy
1. Library Marketing Made Easy
New on Niche Academy!
An asynchronous online course available in Niche Academy & via Novare Library Services.
If you need to promote your library but you never studied marketing—and you don’t want to start now—this course is for you. These quick and clear classes will clue you in on the key concepts that make promotion work, without getting too deep. It’s the perfect bite-sized course for “accidental marketers” who want to be effective but can’t devote all their time to marketing.
It consists of five brief (20 – 30 min.) recorded video lessons, with quiz questions at the end of each lesson:
- Lesson 1: Overview of the Four Phases of a Marketing Effort
- Lesson 2: Focusing and Learning
- Lesson 3: Setting Specific Goals
- Lesson 4: Planning Your Communications
- Lesson 5: Taking Action and Tracking Reactions
** Please Note: I do not handle sales for this professionally recorded product. Interested parties can search for this title in the Niche Academy Marketplace, or contact Novare Library Services (course producer) directly to get details, ask questions, request a demo, or discuss individual or consortial pricing.
Level: Basic
Hour-Long Webinars or Conference Sessions
2. Proven Strategies for Outreach & Programming
New Webinar!
There are many amazing outreach projects and programs throughout Library Land that don’t get widely discussed. From her many years of editorial work on library publications, plus attendance at countless conferences, Kathy Dempsey gets a bird’s eye view of them all and is eager to share the most exciting ones. During this session, she’ll explain the events and point you to start-up information so you can begin to level up your outreach right away. Discover this treasure trove of proven projects.
Listeners will learn about:
- Attention-getting programs like Human Libraries
- Partnerships that will attract NEW library users
- Getting better promotion for your events
- How to increase attendance
- Management strategies to enable better outreach
If your library doesn’t have designated staffers who study and specialize in outreach, programming, and promotion, you’ll benefit greatly from having all these best practices wrapped up in one inspirational package.
Level: Basic
3. Tired of Hearing, "I didn't know the library did that"? Here's Your Fix.
Are you tired of hearing people say, “I didn’t know the library did that”? Don’t despair—there are tactics that can help. Start with a little research, then use what you’ve learned to write attention-getting messages, then share those on all the proper platforms, at the perfect time. Sound like a lot to juggle? That’s where a Communication Plan comes in.
A Communication Plan will help you keep everything straight by gathering all the necessary info in one spot. It will also force you to think more strategically. Marketing Communication maven Kathy Dempsey will share a template and show you how to construct a plan that can cut down on your “I didn’t know” patron frustration.
During this session, we will cover all of these concepts:
- The power of good (and bad) communication
- One “size” message does not fit all; segmentation is vital
- How to plan for both internal and external communications
- What a Communication Plan should include and how to draft one
This 60-minute session will help guide those tasked with MarCom work to organize their campaigns and achieve their best outcomes. It will also help managers to better assess their organizations’ communication efforts, both internal and external.
Level: Intermediate

Laptop, check.
Ring light, check.
Headset, check.
Ready to present!
4. If You Bought It, Flaunt It: Promote Your Collections to Increase Usage
New!
Librarians spend plenty of time developing their collections, but not much time promoting them. Why? Collections are the mainstays, and one of the most expensive parts, of libraries.
This practical session will show you how to go beyond basic book displays and social media posts. It will explain best practices in promoting both print and electronic materials in order to increase awareness and usage. Nationally known marketing maven Kathy Dempsey will show you how to craft messages about the benefits of using all sorts of library materials. She’ll also talk about placing messages both inside and outside of your library.
Dempsey’s entertaining talk will also highlight merchandising techniques that can boost circulation. You’ll see many colorful images of great signage and merchandising from libraries around the world to inspire your work.
Level: Intermediate
5. How to Get the Most Out of Your Next Library Conference
New!
Conferences can be exhausting endeavors. The travel tasks and the confusing schedules can feel overwhelming. But this webinar can help you plan like a pro and suffer less stress. This talk will apply to conferences of all shapes and sizes, and will cover these general topics:
- Basic travel tips
- Planning your conference experience
- Schedules and sessions
- What to wear and bring
- Eating on the go
- Network everywhere
- Visiting exhibits and scouting for swag
- Pro tips
Discussion leader Kathy Dempsey has been attending and presenting at local, national, and international conferences since 1990. She’s also been a conference chair and a planning committee member. Having been to at least 100 events, she’s learned a lot of hard lessons, and wants to share them for the benefit of others.
**Please Note: This presentation will not cover writing proposals to speak, registering for events, or booking travel or hotels.
Level: Basic
6. Don’t Guess What People Want: Design Good Surveys to Find Out
You’re trying to plan programs and services, and you’re frustrated. You feel like no matter what you offer, people just don’t hear you, don’t attend events, or don’t take advantage of your services. So, what can you do? You plan a strategic survey to find out exactly what people in your service area want and need.
However, if you don’t write questions properly, you won’t get actionable data. In this session, you’ll learn how to write effective questions, without library lingo. (FYI, it will not cover survey software or assessment; it focuses on planning.) In addition to wordsmithing tips, this webinar will touch on how to distribute surveys to get good response rates.
Level: Basic
7. Simple Ways to Research Target Audiences
You’re trying to plan programs and services, and you’re frustrated. You feel like no matter what you offer, people just don’t hear you, don’t attend events, or don’t take advantage of your services. So, what can you do? You plan a strategic survey to find out exactly what people in your service area want and need.
However, if you don’t write questions properly, you won’t get actionable data. In this session, you’ll learn how to write effective questions, without library lingo. (FYI, it will not cover survey software or assessment; it focuses on planning.) In addition to wordsmithing tips, this webinar will touch on how to distribute surveys to get good response rates.
Level: Basic
Hour-Long Webinars or Conference Sessions con't.

Arriving at a conference center for a presentation
8. What Are You Really Saying? Give Your Communications a Check-Up
It’s normal for library staffers to create their fliers, bookmarks, posters, web pages, and brochures as they’re needed. However, doing that work piecemeal means your organization probably never looks at its communication as a whole. So it’s easy to end up with print collateral and signs that have variations in branding, colors, fonts, and tone.
Since your external communications affect the health of your library—usage levels, reputation, brand, even funding—it’s important to give them a complete check-up every once in a while. So this webinar will lay out the steps for performing a simple “external communications audit” so you can see the big picture. Marketing communications maven Kathy Dempsey will share tips on staying consistent within your brand and your external “voice” to make sure your library comes across as professional. All registrants will get a detailed checklist of which communications to audit and what to check for on each piece.
Level: Intermediate
9. Passing Judgement: How to Be Positive Brand Touchpoints
Every person who uses your library is judging it. That’s human nature. These days, anyone can shout out to the world about an experience they had. And rude reviews travel at lightspeed. So to survive in the world of online reviews, social media comments, and click-bait headlines, it’ll help to look through the lens of brand touchpoints.
Any point of contact with an organization is a “touchpoint,” and every interaction with your “brand” (organization as a whole) affects how people feel about you. So every person, and every space, and every item that’s related to your library is a brand touchpoint. Does this make you feel like you’re being judged? Sadly, you are.
What can you do? Make every employee aware that they, and their work, are brand touchpoints that are judged by current and potential patrons. Then train them to be the best brand touchpoints they can be. To get that discussion started, this talk explores public perceptions, user experience, and a little psychology. And it’s meant to be inspiring, to demonstrate how every employee matters, and to encourage listeners to strive toward their best work.
Level: Basic
10. No Buy-In or Budget for Marketing? Here's 20 Tactics to Change That
Many libraries have no budget dedicated to marketing, and that’s not healthy for our field. Our competitors (Amazon, streaming services, local-event organizers, entertainment complexes) advertise a lot, which keeps them top-of-mind for potential users. Libraries, on the other hand …
So if your local officials, bosses, or boards won’t allocate a respectable amount of money to promote your products and services, how can you convince them to change their minds? After discussing this challenge with countless colleagues, marketing-communications maven Kathy Dempsey has assembled a list of 20 actions you can take to get your bosses’ buy-in and financial support for marketing and promotion. Register to learn:
- How to explain that “marketing” probably isn’t what they think it is
- What sort of data is useful to track and present to make your case
- Words and phrases that can increase your chances of success
- How LinkedIn and networking can help
This information can help you reach the right mindset for these conversations, and will help you prepare the data and the words necessary to build the buy-in to move your initiative forward.
Level: Intermediate
11. Try Strategic Merchandising to Pump Up Library Usage
There’s a lot of science and psychology from the retail merchandising world that can benefit your library. Merchandising your spaces can re-invigorate your everyday displays and signage and increase your usage statistics. Trying it is quick and inexpensive. In this webinar, you’ll learn how merchandising differs from ordinary book displays. Through pro tips and lots of photographic examples, you will:
- Understand how the magic of merchandising can increase library usage and circulation.
- Realize what turns people off and keeps them from entering your building.
- View photos of great (and not-so-great) merchandising from libraries around the U.S. and beyond.
- Realize how merchandising, signage, and displays affect the user experience (UX).
** Please Note: This session is not geared toward ideas about what to display. Instead, it’s about the strategies behind good displays, signage, and promotion.
Level: Basic
12. Pro Tips for Giving Great Presentations
If you don’t give presentations very often, you might find the task intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Communications maven Kathy Dempsey has given roughly 200 talks over her career, both face-to-face and online. In-person audiences have ranged from 10 people seated in a semi-circle to conference rooms with hundreds of attendees. She’ll share her pro tips on avoiding butterflies, speaking effectively, and keeping people’s attention. Listen to learn:
- Why preparation means everything
- What to know about your audience ahead of time
- How to start the presentation on a good note
- How to make the microphone your friend
- Tips for speaking slowly and clearly
- The power of eye contact
- How to connect to crowds when you’re presenting online
- Things you should avoid doing
Whether you’re about to give your 1st or your 21st presentation, in a small boardroom or a big ballroom, you’ll find some tips here that will make it less nerve-wracking for you and more enjoyable for your audience.
** Please Note:
- This session is not a tutorial on using presentation software (PPT) or platforms (Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc.). It will concentrate on personal preparation and professional delivery. It does cover both in-person and online sessions.
- This can be a 60- or 90-minute session.
Level: Intermediate
In-Depth Sessions / Half-Day Workshops
13. Use This Communications Roadmap to Influence Your Stakeholders (geared toward library supporters)
Do you wish your library’s budget was bigger? Do you wish your government officials and other stakeholders had a better understanding of the value of libraries? Well, wish no more. This session will show you a roadmap to getting more respect and funding.
On this road trip, your CyberMobile will be True Marketing and its fuel will be Market Research. During this journey, you’ll go through Goals Gate, pause at Planning Pit Stop, find friends at Partnership Park, and wind your way through Evaluation Alley. Along the way, you will:
- Learn where to find existing data about your service population
- Realize that True Marketing is more about service than sales
- Take away a simple Marketing Communication Plan template with sample entries
- Understand how strategic communication changes peoples’ perception of libraries
- Hear why marketing deserves to be a line item in the budget
- Get links to resources that quantify and showcase library value
With the guidance of expert Kathy Dempsey and plenty of examples—along with a few laughs—your road trip will take you to Destination Success!
** Please Note: This session can be presented at two different levels:
90 minutes (instruction w/ Q&A; online or face-to-face)
3 hours (instruction + interactive planning; online or face-to-face)
Level: Intermediate/Advanced (depending on level of instruction)
14. Communication Strategies for Special Librarians (geared toward federal, medical, legal, and corporate info pros)
(geared toward medical, federal, legal, & corporate info professionals)
NEW
This session is designed to empower special librarians to articulate their pivotal roles in their organizations. It will help you explain to stakeholders how your expertise can impact corporate outcomes and reduce costs. These recommendations and examples can help info pros secure support and funding from their governmental, medical, legal, or corporate organizations.
Learning Outcomes:
- Gain a firm grasp of fundamental strategic communication principles
- Understand the importance of creating and delivering audience-targeted messages
- Learn precisely how to compose persuasive Value Statements
All attendees will receive:
- A customizable Communication Plan template
- Formulas for crafting compelling Value Statements
- References to pertinent articles and case studies
** Please Note: This session can be presented at two different levels:
90 minutes (instruction + brief writing practice; online or face-to-face)
3 hours (instruction + practice writing several soundbites + an individual assessment from the presenter; online series or face-to-face)
Level: Intermediate/Advanced (depending on level of participation)
15. Play Offense, Not Defense: Have Soundbites Ready for Tough Situations (geared toward library employees)
New!
(geared toward library employees)
Increasingly, library workers find themselves in situations like these:
- They have to convince stakeholders or politicians not to cut funding.
- The library collection is being discussed (or derided) at a public meeting.
- They need to talk with nonusers, or even protestors, without becoming defensive.
- People make social media comments that accuse staffers of unsavory actions.
- Someone claims, “We don’t even need libraries anymore because everything is online.”
Each of us needs to be prepared for these situations, because it’s difficult to come up with an effective (and smart) response on-the-fly. Here’s a better game plan:
- Don’t get goaded into responding defensively or saying something that can be twisted to use against your library.
- Do go on the offensive by preparing strategic talking points now, so you’ll be ready to respond in a positive, thoughtful way.
Once you learn the strategy for choosing just the right words, you can prepare a value statement, soundbite, or elevator speech for every question and occasion, so you’ll always be ready with the perfect comeback! This session will include examples of excellent statements to inspire you.
** Please Note: This session can be presented at two different levels:
90 minutes (instruction + brief writing practice; online or face-to-face)
3 hours (instruction + practice writing several soundbites + an individual assessment from the presenter; online series or face-to-face)
Level: Intermediate/Advanced (depending on level of participation)