Skip to Main Content

Creative Outreach Ideas: Campus Collaborations

Creative outreach ideas include an escape room scenario, relaxation station ideas, and virtual outreach ideas

Reach Out

 

The academic library is the heart of campus. As librarians, we all know this! But how do we get the word out to other campus departments and stakeholders? The answer: Collaboration! Read on for some useful tips on why reaching out and forming interdepartmental partnerships is a good idea and how to get started!

Benefits

Benefits of Campus Collaboration (Seal, 2016):

  • Decrease library anxiety
  • Enhance student learning and success
  • Develop and strengthen partnerships with other academic departments and support services
  • Improve user access to information
  • Integrate library resources into teaching and learning
  • Aid student retention efforts
  • Increase the library’s involvement in student learning and campus life
  • Increase use of library resources and services
  • Obtain more financial and political support from university administration
  • Elevate library’s presence on campus

 

Seal, R. A. (2016). Resource sharing begins at home: Opportunities for library partnerships on a university campus. Loyola eCommons. https://ecommons.luc.edu/lib_facpubs/39/ 

Partners

Potential Campus Partners (Seal, 2016):

  • Tutoring and writing centers
  • Centers for teaching excellence
  • Student success/development
  • Distance education departments
  • Career Centers
  • Athletic departments
  • Academic departments
  • Individual faculty

 

Seal, R. A. (2016). Resource sharing begins at home: Opportunities for library partnerships on a university campus. Loyola eCommons. https://ecommons.luc.edu/lib_facpubs/39/ ​​​​​​​

Challenges

Challenges of Campus Collaboration (Seal, 2016):

  • Involves multiple budget lines
  • Involves multiple departments and supervisors
  • Expected flexibility of time and resources
  • Conflicts with “regular” library work
  • Potential increase costs
  • Political issues
  • Stereotypes and misconceptions about library’s role

 

Seal, R. A. (2016). Resource sharing begins at home: Opportunities for library partnerships on a university campus. Loyola eCommons. https://ecommons.luc.edu/lib_facpubs/39/ ​​​​​​​


Develop Collaborations

Developing Campus Collaborations (Mitola, 2018):

  1. Establish or consult the library’s outreach and/or marketing plan and review the library’s mission. Determine goals and define the purpose of the collaboration.
  2. Get to know the target audience and stakeholders - review statistics, conduct a needs assessment, polls, surveys, focus groups, etc.
  3. Relationships are critical for outreach and collaboration - attend campus events, involve students, become familiar with faculty research, visit departmental websites, attend programs from other departments, etc.
  4. Establish learning outcomes for collaborations.
  5. Include an assessment plant - basic surveys, tracing attendance numbers, video testimonials, interview participants, etc.
  6. Create a written proposal that includes: event name, date, coordinator, background, purpose, activities, target audience, partners, outcomes, assessment/program evaluation, and estimated cost.

 

Mitola, R. (2018). Plan, prioritize, and partner: A model to create successful outreach programs and events. In P. Keeran & C. Forbes (eds.), Successful campus outreach for academic libraries: Building community through collaboration (pp. 3-17). Rowman & Littlefield.