The Library Outreach Casebook

This book contains 20 cases for librarians in all types of libraries to use to start or further their current outreach efforts. The cases detail universal problems that all librarians face when attempting to create outreach, tools and resources for outreach efforts, and methods for implementation of initiatives, focusing on ideas and processes that are inexpensive. They address starting strategies, including planning and organizing an environmental scan, building library image, building an outreach technology toolkit, using content marketing to reach elusive populations, using website usability testing, engaging with patrons on social media, graphic design, and purchasing promotional swag; programming and event planning, including hosting a library de-stress week, developing a library fair for faculty and staff, hosting a game night in an academic library, hosting therapy dogs, bringing theatre productions to the library, hosting a Wikipedia editing party, and bringing in traveling exhibits; and outreach to specific populations, including first-year students in college, users with disabilities, graduate students, student artists, and students using special collections. Contributors are librarians from universities and library systems in North America. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Ryan L. Sittler is an associate professor and the instructional technology/information literacy librarian at California University of Pennsylvania. He received his MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, MSIT from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Communications Media and Instructional Technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Sittler has coedited multiple books on both information literacy and Springshare’s LibGuides platform. Among these are The Library Instruction Cookbook (2009), Using LibGuides to Enhance Library Services (2013), and Innovative LibGuides Applications (2016). Dr. Sittler is also part of a team that developed the educational information literacy game "A Planet in Peril: Plagiarism," which won the Caspian Learning 2010 Serious Games Challenge. His current research interests are instructional design in educational games and media effects as they relate to information processing.

 

Terra J. Rogerson is an instructor of information literacy at Duquesne University. In her past librarian positions in both academic and public libraries, she directed outreach and marketing efforts. She received her MLIS from Florida State University. This is her first formal editing project, and she is excited to work with so many great librarians. Her research interests are primarily in using social media and graphic design to influence library user behavior.