Insourcing library outreach: Engaging technical services in outreach to student organizations

Abstract

In recent years, library outreach has become an increasingly important aspect of public services work. In order to expand capacity and engage patrons, libraries should consider expanding their library outreach programs to include the efforts and expertise of technical services personnel. In this article, librarians from Texas A&M University will share how public services librarians, cataloging experts, and preservation librarians collaborated to provide support for a student-led textbook lending library for student veterans. Through this collaboration, the library was able to develop new outreach opportunities that highlighted technical services expertise as well as lend support to an important campus effort to improve the affordability of college textbooks for veterans.

A Preliminary Analysis of Outreach Librarian's Knowledge and Skills

“…Studies found reference, subject, and liaison librarians tend to be more visible to users and communities and an integral part of online and in‐person instruction (Johnson, 2018; Tumbleson, Burke, & Long, 2019; Zanin‐Yost, 2018). In addition, academic libraries can market their services at campus events and share resources for sponsoring events, such as open houses, orientations, and book sales (LeMire & Ballestro, 2019).…”

Facilitating Library Support for Student Veterans: The Libraries and Veterans Toolkit

“…2 Student veterans and service members can differ from their civilian counterparts in several ways, including age, work responsibilities, and time spent caregiving. 3 These factors can impact student success; indeed, military-connected students are likely to exhibit multiple risk factors for non-completion of higher education. 4 Despite the challenges that student veterans can face, they also bring unique strengths to the classroom.…”

Student Veteran Engineers and Academic Libraries: A Review of Recent Literature

“…They all worked together to make the textbooks in their collection easier to search for (both online and in person), repair any damage, and ensure that there was enough space in the library to store everything. This collaboration led to both an increase in usage of the textbooks and an increase in student veteran use of the library [27].…”