Creating Your Library Elevator Speech

CREATING YOUR LIBRARY ELEVATOR SPEECH

An elevator speech is a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description of your organization that you can deliverin the time span of an elevator ride(thirty seconds to two minutes). The goal is to plant a seed of curiosity so the listener thinks, “I want to know more.”

Example #1:

Through our community programs and print and online resources, Bellwood-Antis Public Library helps people meet the demands of life by improving their literacy skills.

For example, our library builds families’health literacy through our annual Health and Safety Fair, where more than thirtylocal health care organizations provide free screenings and a wealth of information to help community members live healthier and safer lives. Through this partnership with Tyrone Hospital and other providers, we reached over 600 citizensthe first year.

Our library is part of an exciting initiative called PA Forward | Pennsylvania Libraries. We’re powering Pennsylvania’s future by helping people improve essential literacy skills.

Example #2:

Indiana Free Library is part of an exciting new initiative called PA Forward | Pennsylvania Libraries. We’re powering Pennsylvania’s future by helping people improve five essential types of literacy skills.

Let me share an example. We help students with learning problems build basic literacy skills through our Kids Read tutoring program, a partnership with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The tutors are university students who meet with an elementary student for one hour each week to work on reading, spelling, and homework. The younger students have shown great improvements in school performance, and the older students gain work experience and community service time.

Through our community programs and print and online resources, our library helps people meet the demands of life and reach their greatest potential.

Potential Script Elements:

Impact statement: Along with other libraries statewide, our library is powering Pennsylvania’s future by helping people build five essential types of literacy skills.

Affiliation with a movement: Our library is part of an exciting new initiative called PA Forward, where libraries are partnering with companies and organizations to increase literacy levels across Pennsylvania.

Essential library role: Through our community programs and print and online resources, our library helps people meet the demands of life and reach their greatest potential.

Local example: Our library helps [target audience] build [type of literacy skills] through our [program name and brief description]. [Share a specific story, anecdote, or results/outcomes.]

NOTE: PA Forward promotes five types of literacy skills: basic, information, civic and social, health, and financial literacy.

Now you try it:

Through our community programs and print and online resources, (library_name)______helps people meet the demands of life by improving their literacy skills.

For example, our library helps (target audience)______build (type of literacy)______skills through our (program name and brief description)______.

[Share a specific story, anecdote, or outcome(s).]

______.

Our library is part of an exciting initiative called PA Forward | Pennsylvania Libraries. We’re powering Pennsylvania’s future by helping people improve essential literacy skills.