Kathy Dempsey

Kathy Dempsey wrote the popular how-to book The Accidental Library Marketer and founded her marketing consultancy, Libraries Are Essential. Her work is dedicated to helping librarians and information professionals promote their value and expertise to gain respect and funding.

Kathy has been the Editor of Marketing Library Services newsletter for 30 years. In 2015, she founded the Library Marketing and Communications Conference and chaired the show’s first 3 years. She's a longtime member of the New Jersey Library Association and recently finished serving a 3-year term on the Executive Board of LibraryLinkNJ, a statewide co-op.

This writer, editor, and marketing maven likes to sprinkle her presentations with humor to make marketing concepts more interesting and accessible. She continues to fight the stereotypes that librarians are boring and that "marketing" is a dirty word.  Learn more about Kathy at her website, LibrariesAreEssential.com.