NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 28 number 2 - Winter 2007

Getting the Story Out

By Anna Dahlstein, External Relations

In a world of limited resources, Jinnie Yeh Davis, the NCSU Libraries' former assistant director for scholarly communication and external relations, found it very satisfying to build the library's communications and development program from a one-person shop into a professional operation over the course of two decades. She applied marketing and public relations techniques, such as branding and constituent relations management, to generate external support for the Libraries' mission. Upon her retirement in May 2001, numerous colleagues, friends, and family members established the Jinnie Y. Davis Endowment for Publications and Public Relations to honor her contributions in these areas. Following substantial gifts last year, the incubator account reached full endowment status.

During a recent conversation, Davis put forward the following simple and elegant explanation for a library public relations program:

"State funding is our lifeblood, but it's restricted in many ways. The library needs to go beyond the university for both financial and other kinds of support. To do that, you have to tell your story so people know what you're accomplishing. Even on campus, people can't be expected to stay on top of all the innovations or to understand their full significance. For off-campus constituents, it's naturally even more difficult to grasp what you've achieved and what it means in terms of our end product--a quality education for NC State students."

As an example, Davis cited the announcement of the new online catalog, which was unveiled in January 2006. She emphasized the importance of making the point that the NCSU Libraries had not merely bought a ready-to-use Endeca software package off the shelf. Rather, the key message to get across is that NC State librarians were the first to take Endeca software formerly used by electronic-commerce sites, combine it with the highly rich data created by catalogers over several decades, and build a sophisticated research library catalog with entirely new capabilities. "It's another success story, and at the end of the day, people like to support winners!" she summed up.

During her tenure at NC State, Davis earned accolades for her work, combining diplomacy and a subtle touch with great skill for promoting the case for the Libraries. She orchestrated several public relations campaigns that brought valuable recognition to the Libraries' record of accomplishment: the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award in 1990 for innovatively integrating fund-raising and publicity activities during the year-long celebration of the library's centennial; the CASE Award of Excellence in 1998 for the publication Inaugurating an Architectural Archive: The George Matsumoto Exhibition; and the prestigious Excellence in Academic Libraries Award presented by the Association of College and Research Libraries in 2000. Under her direction, the Libraries established the nation's first Scholarly Communication Center with a copyright attorney on staff, and Davis also remained involved in numerous other aspects of library management related to planning, research, and statistical reporting. Upon retirement, she received the governor's highest civilian award, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, in recognition of her long-standing service to the university and the state of North Carolina.

Davis now draws on her multifaceted experience at the NCSU Libraries, Auburn University, Ohio State, and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as her doctorate in library science from Indiana University, to inform a second career. She serves as a consultant for the Ohio Board of Regents, leading assessment teams that determine whether postsecondary institutions teaching in Ohio meet the state's authorization criteria.

She also credits her NC State career with having provided concrete skills that have benefited her pro bono work for the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, Raleigh Dance Theatre, Town of Cary Sister Cities Commission, and NC State's Association of Retired Faculty (ARF). Like so many other ARF members, Davis has embraced "retirement" as an opportunity to give back to the community. Luckily for the Libraries, she is giving back to her former place of work as well.