Part 1: Extending the library's reach
By Tom Storey
The mission of the library is a
transformational one, but transformation
requires interaction. When you wait for
someone else to take the first step toward
building a relationship, you may wait a very
long time. Libraries have a history of finding
unique ways to reach out and actively seek
users’ participation. In the 1890s, Andrew
Carnegie built libraries that were recreational
as well as educational centers. At a time when
few homes had indoor plumbing, his libraries
had showers, gyms, billiards and barbers. The
Homestead Library in Pennsylvania, USA, still
operates its music hall and athletic club.
Carnegie envisioned libraries as
community catalysts. To get people
interested in libraries, he knew he needed to
think beyond the bounds of tradition and
provide opportunities for interaction as much
as specific services. Today’s librarians
are keeping that spirit alive, seeking
ways to build relationships that engage
users wherever they are.
 For 10 years, Brian Mathews has focused his
passion for librarianship on students−specifically,
how to mesh the student lifestyle with library
services. Brian, Assistant University Librarian
for Outreach and Academic Services at the University
of California, Santa Barbara, is one of a growing number
in the profession who is taking library services to
users, rather than expecting users to come to the library.
These professionals want the library to be anywhere and everywhere−particularly in places where it is not expected.
“We need new channels to connect with the user
community and to showcase how the library fits within
daily life,” Brian says. “In many social gatherings and digital
conversations, people turn to each other for help and
guidance. They are essentially asking each other reference
questions: who’s a reliable source, where is the good
information, what are the appropriate stats, how to find
books, and how to format citations. We need to enter
these spaces and package the library into bit-sized pieces
as needed.”
Why try to reach users where they are? To:
- bring the transformational mission of the library to where
transformations are most likely to happen
- reach more people in more places
- pump new energy into outreach services
- create a sense of style and exuberance that
demonstrates the value of the library in new ways
- create waves of interest in library support and service
that widen as they reach into new spaces.
What other waves are librarians making?
We can see recent ripples traveling out
from street corners, iPhones, theaters, gyms,
restaurants, trucks … and even returning
to a literal beach in the Netherlands.
 Connecting the library,
one conversation at a time
Brian is on a mission to develop new roles
and alter current library services to meet
user expectations and demands. He seeks
to build a library that provides an emotional
connection and personal relationship with
today’s students, most of whom are armed
with technology, from their mobile phones
to laptops. Sometimes, he says, that means “dipping your toe into the experimental
waters” of change.
A few years ago, when blogs first became
popular, Brian began monitoring student
blogs. He set up RSS feeds to a sampling of
blogs to meet students in the blogosphere.
Anytime certain keywords−such as library,
assignment, book, journal, paper−popped
up in the postings, he got a message, and
he proactively offered help.
Students were initially surprised when a
librarian’s postings started appearing on
their blogs. Through e-mails and instant
messenger sessions, students revealed
a perception of the library as authoritative
but out of place in their virtual environment.
So Brian got rid of the “librarian” title
and created a personal account using just his
name; he didn’t hide his librarian status,
but moved it to his profile. Students were
much more receptive and viewed him as
an equal participant, rather than an
intrusive outsider.
“Social Web tools allow us to interact with students
in their natural environment, and to provide timely,
meaningful and intuitive assistance,” says Brian. “Reaching
out to students creates a personal connection. It allows
them to see us as allies, rather than as part of the
academic bureaucracy.”
“Following blogs and Facebook updates also gives
librarians a sense of ubiquity, empowering us to follow the
whims, needs, expectations and experiences of the
population we serve, and perhaps most importantly, the
chance to respond and react appropriately.”
 The delivery is the message
When the people of Johnson County, Kansas, are out and
about around town they often get an entertaining reminder
about their public library. The Johnson County Library is
using four literary-themed trucks as part of a new outreach
campaign to spark interest and raise awareness about
the library.
The trucks, which make deliveries between 13 library
locations, have been professionally painted with iconic ads
based on literary classics: Captain Ahab’s Fine Seafood
(Moby Dick), Benjamin Button’s Diaper Service (The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Kafka’s Pest Control
(The Metamorphosis), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s
Pharmacy (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).
The tagline reads: Available at the Johnson County Library.
County Librarian Donna Lauffer says residents have
gotten a kick out of the campaign. “I think we’ve
refreshed our image in the minds of many people! We have
reminded the public that libraries, like these classic books,
are icons. And just like these books, libraries will always
be relevant.”
 The campaign, she says, has generated lots of interest
and lots of attention. “We’ve had very positive feedback
from the community, and the drivers report very positive
comments as well. People laugh out loud when they see
one of the trucks. We’ve even had a few users ask about
buying fish from us after they’ve seen the Moby Dick truck.”
The campaign has gone viral online with a Flickr site and
with blog postings all over the world. The library has also
been featured in both broadcast and print media, including
The Kansas City Star, NPR’s Blog of the Nation and
Creativity.com, a leading advertising magazine.
The images and artwork for the campaign were created
and produced pro bono by Barkley Advertising Agency, a
local business. “The library is a personal favorite of mine,”
says Tom Demetriou, Vice President of Barkley. “We hope
our firm’s excitement for the library is contagious within the
community and through this campaign.”
Partnering with professors
For the past six years, librarians at Temple University,
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have been building new
relationships with faculty in order to create more impact
in their outreach efforts. Jenifer Baldwin, Head, Reference
and Instructional Services, says that no matter how
technology-driven the library’s resources and services may
be, outreach efforts are still fundamentally about building
good relationships.
 “There has been a change in terms of how the subject
specialists see themselves relating to the teaching faculty,”
Jenifer says. “There used to be a lot more reluctance to
cross perceived barriers between librarians and faculty, the
focus being more on ideas of status and hierarchy. This
really inhibited outreach. Now the focus is on how we can
connect with each other in our complementary roles,
supporting a shared academic mission.”
The approach has worked well in the journalism
department. Joe Slobodzian, Adjunct Faculty Member
and a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, has fully
integrated library resources and instruction into his courses,
thanks to the efforts of librarian Kristina De Voe. And
Carolyn Kitch, Professor of Journalism and Director of the
School of Communications and Theater doctoral program,
has become a strong advocate for the library acquiring electronic resources. “I provide her classes
with instruction geared toward orienting new
graduate students to the library's system and
sources,” Kristina says.
Jenifer says that relevant library resources and
instruction in information literacy are an integral
part of courses in the journalism department,
as opposed to a “tacked-on” extra. “Instead
of having a library assignment that functions
largely as an exercise requiring students to interact
with library resources in some disconnected way,
journalism classes instead have students engage
with the course content through learning activities
that require the use of a range of sources and that promote
the development of critical information-seeking skills.”
Jenifer says that feedback indicates that most faculty
value library professionals who can relate to them as
colleagues, not in spite of but because of the differences
in roles and perspectives. “A genuine curiosity about the
life of the academic department and an enthusiasm for
the kind of intellectual questioning that goes on in their
subject areas−these are great motivators for subject
librarians to get out there and be impassioned advocates
for how the library supports teaching and research.”
 Outreach is the business of the business library
In 2007, looking to connect with students when they
first arrived on campus, the West Campus Business
Library at Texas A&M University in Texas launched
a proactive, unconventional outreach tactic often used
by entertainment companies and record labels. The
Street Team is a student-led, guerrilla marketing effort
modeled after the street teams of the music industry−the ones that show up at community events to pass
out flyers and hand out merchandise promoting rock
bands. It is the brainchild of Leslie Reynolds, Associate
Professor and Library Director, and Michael Smith,
Associate Professor, Business Librarian.
“The most frequently noted comment in our training
evaluations is that attendees wish they had known
about the library’s resources sooner,” says Leslie.
“Students don’t find their way to the library until they are
desperate for answers. Many are intimidated by the
library environment and don’t receive adequate help to
complete their work.”
 Enter the Street Team. Composed of five
undergraduates, the Street Team developed a visual
identity and began planning ways to engage
underclassmen. They held a marathon movie night in
the library theater during “dead week,” the week before
finals; 300 students turned up. About 50 students
showed up for a Sunday afternoon Super Bowl party. Both events provided a venue to promote the library
and take questions.
Other Street Team activities included placing a feature
story about the Street Team in the student newspaper,
in-class announcements of library workshops and an art
contest to generate images for new library study rooms.
“Rather than change student behavior,” says Leslie, “we want to take advantage of it and communicate
in a more informal style. So many students seek out
student workers before they ask a librarian. They have
less anxiety when they talk to someone who is their peer.”
Bringing the historic work of Madison Avenue
to iTunes
“Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin!” “Double your
pleasure; double your fun.” These memorable slogans and
the products they promote were beamed to Americans
in television spots during the 1950–60s. Now, these and
more than 2,700 other historic TV commercials from the
Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in the Duke University Special Collections Library, Durham,
North Carolina, are available on iTunes U in a collection
called AdViews.
Jill Katte, Digital Collections Program Coordinator, says
creating AdViews was an experiment by the library to digitize
moving image materials in order to bring this rich archive out
of the backroom and onto the computer screens of students,
teachers and researchers.
By year’s end, the AdViews collection will contain more than
10,000 digitized TV commercials from the Hartman Center
archives, Jill says, all available for free from Duke’s iTunes U
site. The collection will support interdisciplinary research, not
only in marketing and advertising history, but also in visual
studies, communication, women’s studies, public health,
cultural anthropology, nutrition, technology and more.
Surfacing materials from a unique collection in relevant
popular media helps promote the library’s role as educator
and cultural memory institution. It also provides a viral
communication venue for the library and university.
“Making these ads freely available online will allow
people around the world to study them and think about how they reflect popular culture and maybe use them to
inspire new kinds of works,” says Jill. “I’m also excited that
we are including academic reflections to contextualize the
commercials and maybe help people think about them in
new ways.”
Do a little dance, make a little wave
At Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, librarians
believe in getting involved with their community of users to
create meaningful library experiences. That means getting
out of the library and finding out what users are passionate
about−and diving in with them! Sheila Kasperek,
Reference and Electronic Resources Librarian, did just
that and brought the library to the stage. When Sheila, who
has a background in dance, was the librarian liaison to
the theater department, she choreographed, rehearsed
and assisted with four university theater productions.
By embedding herself in the play and working with
students and faculty, she got to know them personally−outside the library.
And it paid off. Play participants were three times
as likely to report a higher comfort level with the library
and their liaison librarian than nonparticipants according
to a survey and follow-up interviews conducted by
the library. Additionally, theater students were much
more likely to see the librarian as a vital part of their
university experience.
 Library waves on the beach
Since 2005, a number of public libraries in the
Netherlands have set up shop on the sandy beaches of the
coast to reach out to vacationers destined for sunbathing
and swimming in the North Sea. The project in two coastal
provinces Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland is coordinated
by ProBiblio, a public library service provider. ProBiblio
has thrown out all of the rules to serve this unique audience
of beach goers: no fees, no fines, no library cards. You don’t
even need an ID. To borrow something from the beach
library, all you do is sign your name and address.
“Initially we had to overcome a lot of resistance from
politicians because we wanted to make things as easy as possible,” says Jeanine Deckers, Project Leader. “They
were concerned that nobody would return what they
borrowed, and wouldn’t that be a waste of taxpayer money.
But it has worked out. We have a lot of very happy users!
And the Provincial Deputy still makes a big point of how
great it is that you can trust people in this way.”
Each year has been a success, averaging more than
15,000 circulations during the six-week period the beach
library operates; only 1 percent of borrowed items has not
been returned. About 25,000 people visit a year. Apart
from Dutch, German books also are available, since the
Dutch beaches are a popular summer destination for
German visitors.
  Some preliminary research has shown that the beach
libraries don’t bring new users to the regular library,
but Jeanine is not overly concerned. “We wanted to
experiment with new ways of reaching people,” she says. “If people don’t want to come to the library, then we will
visit them. We want to surprise them.”
Jeanine has not only surprised them, she has shown
a new audience that libraries are exciting and more
than shelves of books. The beach library has circulated
audiobooks, iPods and eBooks and organized a range of
activities from yoga classes and creative writing
workshops to pirate parties and nature classes.
“This year we’ve done a big project with actors who walk
along the beach and tell stories to children and grownups.
And we’ve had seven writers-in-residence, who post
their thoughts to a special blog about their visit as well as
read to visitors and give interviews.”
The ripple effect−it’s all about reaching people
 Connecting with people today takes the same kind of
creative thinking and unique efforts that characterized
Andrew Carnegie’s vision more than a hundred years
ago.
When libraries reach out in new ways, building new
relationships, it has a ripple effect.
“I’ve had strangers waiting at my office to talk to me
about an idea they have, or volunteer to help, simply
based on what they’ve seen me post online−or through
conversations I’ve had online with their friends,” says
Brian Mathews.
“As a result I’ve seen many of these people
actually start visiting the physical library and broadening
their perceptions of what we have to offer.”
Ultimately, the most important thing, Brian says, is
emphasizing what the library can do for people, the
function, the accomplishment, the self-growth, the learning−the transformation that occurs because of their ongoing
relationship to the library.
“Hopefully, by taking the library into new places, I’m able
to push people further into the positive experience.”
In the next issue ... The Ripple Effect Part 2: Widening the library’s circle of influence
 President’s Report | Updates
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