EDUCATIONAL PUBLICITY 985 



of publicity this is not especially effective from the viewpoint of the numbers 

 of people reached, although a much wider audience may be reached through 

 the press reports of the meetings. This form of publicity can be made, 

 however, rather widespread and effective if definitely organized and pro- 

 moted. It does reach a considerable number of people who are thinking 

 of community problems and trying to do things in the community. In 

 order to lessen the burden of too much speaking by executives and subor- 

 dinates capable of doing this sort of thing, it might be possible to organize 

 a corps of speakers from among leading citizens of the community, training 

 them in the facts and methods of presentation and sending them out on 

 such occasions. 



The department should be supplied with stereopticon machines and 

 sets of slides for use in making popular instructional talks. A portable 

 moving picture outfit would be found invaluable. 



(V) Personal visits. In connection with the opening of a playground 

 or a neighborhood playfield-park or a community center, one of the most 

 effective means of publicity is to send out, a few days before the opening, 

 the workers who are to be in charge of the particular playground, park or 

 center, to visit among the people residing in the vicinity. The workers 

 would give the families first-hand information of what is going to take place, 

 the hours each day the playground, park or center will be open, the facilities 

 to be found there and the activities to be conducted. This is not only 

 effective publicity but also the best possible preliminary work in the man- 

 agement of the property and in the organization and conduct of the activ- 

 ities there. It gives the workers a knowledge of neighborhood conditions 

 that will be invaluable in the organization and conduct of the program, and 

 if they make a good impression on the parents they will the more readily 

 send their children and attend themselves. 



(cT) Special announcements, placards, posters. These or similar forms of 

 publicity are used quite extensively in many park and recreation systems 

 in connection with organized activities. A few examples are: 



Band Concerts. Preliminary to the opening of a series of band con- 

 certs a special announcement containing the schedule of concerts for the 

 season, giving name of band, the date, place and hour of each concert, may 

 be printed and widely distributed through means as those mentioned under 

 (a}. The press would in all probability print the entire schedule. For each 

 concert a special program announcement may be published and distributed 

 among the audience. This might have on the reverse side a list of all the 

 concerts for the season. 



Opening of a New Playground. Preliminary to the opening of a new 

 playground a poster or placard might be issued announcing the date of the 



