On this page you’ll find details of my book, articles and various other publications. My Google scholar profile is here.

key publications

‘Time to switch? A university’s guide to Bluesky’ in Times Higher Education, December 2024

‘How to get started with academic Bluesky’ in LSE Impact Blog, November 2024

‘It’s time: how to get your department off X’ in Times Higher Education, August 2024

‘Communicating the benefits of UX to everyone who needs to hear it’ in User Experience in Libraries: Yearbook 2024 edited by Andy Priestner and Marisa Martin (2024) [Open access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

‘Universities need to get better at using Instagram – here’s how’ in Times Higher Education, November 2023.

‘Ask not what your organisation can do for UX; ask what UX can do for your organisation,’ in User Experience in Libraries: Yearbook 2023 edited by Andy Priestner (2023) [Open access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

‘Embedding UX at the University of York’ with Michelle Blake, in User Experience in Libraries: Yearbook 2018 edited by Andy Priestner (2018) [Open access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

'The University of Lanarkshire: Revealed' in User Experience in Libraries: Yearbook 2017 edited by Andy Priestner (2017)
[Open access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

'Making the most of Twitter' in Start a Revolution: Stop Acting Like a Library by Ben Bizzle (2015)
[Open Access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

The Library Marketing Toolkit by Ned Potter (Facet Publishing, 2012)
[4 chapters are available as Open Access - see the Toolkit page for links.]

'How to build your information professional brand' in The New Professionals Toolkit by Bethan Ruddock (Facet Publishing, 2012) [Open Access version available via White Rose Research Online.]

'Lifecycle strategies and architecture for regional e-content' co-authored with Matthew Herring, Bo Middleton and Beccy Shipman, in Content Clustering and Sustaining Digitial Resources formats (JISC, 2010)
[Open Access]

The Library Marketing Toolkit

Click the image to order the book via amazon.co.uk — Click the image to view the book on Facet’s website

Published by Facet in 2012, the Library Marketing Toolkit features 27 case studies from fantastic contributors around the world, including organisations like the New York Public Library, the British Library, the National Archive, University of Cambridge, and JISC, and individuals like David Lee King, Aaron Tay, Terry Kendrick and Rosemary Stamp. The Toolkit has topped Amazon's Library bestseller charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

“This book is quite an achievement. It is inter-generational, addresses all library sectors, introduces marketing concepts in language that is readily understood. It would make a good supporting text to library management and marketing studies and to those charged with marketing library and information services. Its ideas are applicable to the wider GLAM sector (galleries, libraries, archives, museums).

In summary, it informs, encourages and enthuses. It celebrates marketing innovation in libraries. It moves with the times. It delivers.” - Library Review, 62 (2013)

“...highly recommended for all types of libraries, even those such as departmental libraries that do not have an apparent public face. The chapter on internal marketing is an eye-opener. The whole book has a reassuring and inspiring tone: ideas and approaches outlined in the book appear absolutely achievable and commonsensical. I suggest that you buy, borrow or beg a copy today.”

— Australian Library Journal

“The Library Marketing Toolkit is packed full of useful, informative and above all practical information about the best ways of getting your message across, and it should be on the shelf of every librarian and information professional who needs to promote the idea of the library and its value in a modern day society.”

— Phil Bradley

“Ned’s down to earth tone makes it an easy read and less intimidating for those who might otherwise feel overwhelmed by it all. I love that he keeps reminding us that marketing is both valuable and fun. So who should read this book? I think just about everybody in the library. You’ll love this book!”

— The M Word Marketing blog

“The Library Marketing Toolkit is brilliant and a great addition to the library professional discourse”

— Andy Woodworth

“From social media to old fashioned methods, and how to build a good brand, this scholarly and comprehensive guide will prove invaluable to any librarian who seeks to get the word out. “The Library Marketing Toolkit” is enthusiastically recommended, not to be missed.”

— Midwest Book Review

“A comprehensive overview is provided for a much neglected aspect of the library and information science environment. The publication advocates approaches to ensure libraries continue to be relevant to users, stakeholders and society. Effective use of case studies enables the publication to illustrate concepts vividly such as strategic marketing, branding, online marketing, social media and new technologies.”

— The Electronic Library, 32 (2014)

“Potter’s enthusiasm is infectious and he writes in a user friendly manner, not getting caught up in jargon. Concepts are explained concisely with a liberal dosing of analogies and case-studies. The aim and scope of each chapter is laid out clearly from the outset and there is a useful synopsis of coverage in the introduction as well as comprehensive index enabling readers to browse areas of interest.”

— CILIP Health Libraries Group

“The questions for me on opening this book were “do we need another book on marketing libraries”, and “does this one offer anything different?” And I am happy to say that this is not a traditional marketing text. It offers a contemporary perspective on what marketing means for libraries now.

Practical application is the major strength of this book – the 27 case studies that are interwoven in the various chapters provide the narrative which bring the text to life. These are the stories which ring true, and give us the ideas and aha! moments which inspire us. The real skill of the author has been in posing the questions to focus the readers’ attention on the gems of wisdom, illuminating ideas, unique and clever applications. A “case study matrix” in the introductory chapter sets them out by title, author, sector, chapter, and key themes.

So to go back to my original questions – my answers are “yes we do need another book on marketing libraries” and “yes it does offer something different”. We live in changing times and even if basic marketing theory does not change, the way we market ourselves and our libraries does change. In addition to the need to continually learn about how to apply the many new and constantly evolving social technology tools, the need has never been more critical for libraries to be positioning themselves in the marketspace where our clients are. This is increasingly in the online world of social media, but this is also where our competitors are. So to maintain our competitive edge and manage the perceptions of our clients and funders, we need to make sure that we are using all the relevant tools that we can lay hands on, at the same time demonstrating and communicating our value in terms that are meaningful to our stakeholders.

This book showcases the best of contemporary marketing practices from libraries all over the world. The case studies with the author’s illuminating focus on key points of learning are, for me, the added value which differentiates this book from other marketing books. ”

— Library Management, 34 (2013)

everything else I've written

Columns for Library Journal

Marketing with video: it's now essential and easier than you might think, Library Journal, December 2012

Marketing Libraries Is like Marketing Mayonnaise, Library Journal, April 2013

10 golden rules to take your library's twitter account to the next level, Library Journal, August 2013

What does Word of Mouth Marketing REALLY mean? Library Journal, December 2013

Interviews

Social Media and Unfinished Business, Keeper & Curator podcast episode with Helena Cox and Gary Brannan

Library marketing for library marketers, podcast episode with Angela Harsh and Mark Aaron Polger

Ned Potter Q&A (PDF), for LIANZA's Library Life, October 2015

10 questions: Ned Potter, for SLA Information Outlook, August 2013

Expert tips for marketing your library - for LIBER, June 2013

Circulating Ideas - my episode of the Library Interview Podcast, Feb 2013

Six Questions with Ned Potter - for the 658 Marketing Blog, December 2012

Me interviewing Terry Kendrick, for American Libraries Magazine, November 2012

Benefits not features! for the SLA Leadership & Management Division blog, August 2012

Member Interview: Ned Potter, for the SLA-Europe Blog, July 2012

Professional development advice for academic librarians, live web-chat for The Guardian, March 2012

The Future of Libraries is Transliteral, for the The Libraries & Transliteracy blog, December 2011

Map your own route, for Library & Information Gazette, November 2010

key publications

The Library Marketing Toolkit

everything else I've written

Columns for Library Journal

Interviews

other Articles