I cannot be the only one: creating a community of practice for outreach librarians

Abstract

Public services librarians in every type of library often have programing, outreach, and/or marketing duties as part of their job descriptions, though these aspects may not be reflected in their position titles. As new outreach librarians at our respective institutions, the authors, both academic librarians, sought to create a “community of practice” among fellow academic libraries in their state.

Keywords:

• Libraries
• marketing
• outreach
• programing

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eboni A. Johnson

Eboni A. Johnson is the Outreach and Programming Librarian and a member of the Core Reference and Instruction Team at Oberlin College’s Mary Church Terrell Main Library. She is the editor of Librarian as Mentor: Grow, Discover, Inspire (Mission Bell Media, 2017) which explores the many ways mentoring can be an effective tool in recruiting, retaining, supporting, and developing a diverse workforce in any library. Eboni received her MLIS from Kent State University, and has BA degrees in English and African American Studies from Oberlin College.

Shaunda Vasudev

Shaunda Vasudev is the Outreach and Engagement Librarian at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. She delivers library services to students and collaborates with campus-wide departments and organizations to support student success initiatives through library outreach. Shaunda received her MLIS from North Carolina Central University, and has a BA in History from Cleveland State University. Before joining the library at Capital University, Shaunda worked as a Children’s Librarian at Columbus Metropolitan Library and a Youth Librarian with Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon. She’s also worked in public, school, and special collections libraries in Charlotte, North Carolina.