SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGIES SUITABLE FOR SRI LANKAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES: A COMPREHENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Libraries must steadily market their services to the users in the competition of other modern information resources such as web-based commercial services. Therefore, librarians and information services stay viable in the current climate, and it is important to adopt marketing strategies to achieve organizational mission, goals and objectives. The best way university libraries can get users to utilize the resources and library services is implementing suitable strategic service marketing techniques/tools, targeting the students, staff and other stakeholders in the university landscape. The literature indicates that service marketing strategies are effective use, implementing and promoting within the university to adjust to changes in its users' needs and will ensure that services delivered continue to fit the needs of users. The aim of the study is to presents a comprehensive literature review to explore service marketing strategies implemented in the university libraries in Sri Lanka aligning to strategies used globally. The secondary data analyzed global service marketing strategies and assessed their applicability to Sri Lankan academic libraries, through a review of literature. The objectives of the literature survey were to identify service marketing strategies implemented in university libraries to promote services and resources, to examine the current state of service marketing strategies used to promote services and resources in Sri Lankan university libraries and to explore proper marketing strategies and methods suitable for Sri Lankan university libraries to promote resources and services. 50 research publications published during 2004-2025 were reviewed to achieve these objectives. Findings highlight that the promotional exhibitions, selective dissemination of information, bulletin boards, complaint boxes, user education programmes, digital billboards, Audio-visual materials, public presentation, direct marketing, advocacy, newsletter, readers' awareness training, display strategy, library web page, lectures, library tours, library space designing have used the marketing strategies used in many university libraries in the world. The library websites, E-mail services, web page alert, library portal, OPAC, online survey, webcasts and web announcements, online advertising, social network were the strategies used in Sri Lankan university libraries. The recommendations focus on the practical, phased strategies that take into consideration regional institutional, cultural, and infrastructure realities.