Marketing information services in Botswana: an exploratory study of selected information providing institutions in Gaborone

A study of selected information providing institutions, in particular special libraries, in Gaborone, Botswana, reveals that a majority are in favour of marketing their services to their users. In practice, very few libraries undertake formal marketing planning and prepare marketing plans. Marketing was therefore unplanned. Promotion is the most commonly used element of the marketing mix. However, library marketing can no longer be confined to this one element. The whole range of marketing activities is needed for the effective management of special libraries. It is only through planning, as advocated by the Kotler‐Andreasen‐Keiser approach, that marketing will cease to be equated with promotion and take on its full potential as a vital management tool.