Sasquatch Connects Yale Library to Student Life
Yale University librarian Laura Galas Sider oversaw a unique campaign that brought Sasquatch (yes, a Bigfoot-type character) to her library. In an effort to intrigue students and get them to talk about the library, the planners quietly posted some blurry photos of a hairy beast in the building, then started leaving clues and arranging social media posts. The stunt culminated with an “actual” appearance in which Sasquatch lumbered around the building to engage students.

Special Report

ALA 2016: Political Bookends and Everything in Between
MLS editor Kathy Dempsey attended the ALA 2016 Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., to share the best in marketing-related sessions. She describes presentations related to government and personal advocacy, along with some on program planning, user experience, and taking activities out of library buildings. Dempsey also offers color commentary on the yearly PR Xchange event and awards and on the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award ceremony.

A Roundup of Recent Books
by Susan Brudno
Sometimes, so many new books come out that MLS cannot review them in a timely manner. To facilitate awareness until their full reviews appear, Susan Brudno contributes a roundup that lists nine titles and divulges what each one concentrates on and which publishers you can order them from.

Tools You Can Use

Writing Tools That Motivate, Correct, Sync, and Structure
In this issue, techie and tool lover Jennifer E. Burke shares seven products that can help improve your writing. Some promise to free you from distraction; some sync across devices; and some claim to find more errors than your usual word-processing software.

Comedies, Commercials, and Articles
Ruth Kneale studies how librarians and libraries appear in pop culture. In this issue, she discusses a sassy HBO television segment, several articles, and even a TV commercial from Coca-Cola.

Mobile Social Marketing in Libraries
by Samantha C. Helmick
Kathy Dempsey reviews Mobile Social Marketing in Libraries, which is part of Rowman & Littlefield’s Library Technology Essentials series. Author Samantha C. Helmick, a public relations manager for a public library in Iowa, covers Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat in this short paperback. This book is best for beginners who want to set up social media pages. It does contain some case studies, but wouldn’t be terribly helpful for experienced social media managers.

New reports from ALA and PLA on the value of public and academic libraries, the announcement of the keynote speakers and sessions for November’s Library Marketing and Communications Conference, and the top three winners of the 2016 IFLA BibLibre International Library Marketing Award.