Librarians and library school students have a lot to gain by sharing their skills with groups outside of the library, such as community organizations, social justice groups, and non-profits. By building coalitions and offering support to different groups, librarians help lend their particular expertise while simultaneously advancing the roles of these groups. These projects help [...]

This is the first in a two-part series on librarian collaboration with faculty. Part 1 presents a five-step program for building collaborative relationships, while Part 2, published on July 13, 2011, addresses specific examples and strategies for collaboration.   Introduction Collaboration has become something of a buzzword of late, which puts us in danger of [...]

As librarians, we invest a great deal of time and effort instructing researchers on how to use our materials. This is especially true for special collections librarians, as we attempt to familiarize researchers with our unique resources and intricate collection arrangements. At the end of that instruction investment, we often wonder if we have been [...]

Thanks to Flickr user laura padgett for the use of this image. Outreach is dead. It’s time we put its body in a coffin, say our collective prayers and move on. You see, for most of the summer I undertook a long series of “outreach” trips to promote and educate the public at large about [...]