ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries G &R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 2001 / 165 COMMUNITY & COLLABORATION Building communities @ your library These libraries have many community programs by Jill McKinstry and Anne Garrison A CRL President Betsy Wilson hosted a lively discussion at the ACRL President’s Discussion Forum during the ALA Midwin­ ter Meeting in W ashington D.C. The forum highlighted three academic libraries that have shown leadership in partnering w ithin their communities to build m ore enriching envi­ ronments. The success o f th e featured p art­ nerships dem onstrated unlim ited potential for librarians to show leadership in reach­ ing out to groups bey ond th e cam pus bor­ ders. With vision an d com m itm ent, collabo­ rative outreach program s can translate into concrete activities that are exciting, energiz­ ing, and, often unexpectedly rew arding to all. Wilson believes that collaboration is criti­ cal to the success of libraries today. As com ­ munity leaders turn to libraries for help in solving social problem s, w e are in a unique position to share the depth and breadth of our know ledge base and training. Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin Community College and the creative energy behind the discussion forum, reminds us that the them e o f information literacy is the basis for m any of the current community partnerships, such as “service learning,” “en­ gaged learning,” “K -l6 efforts,” and other co­ operative outreach programs. In celebrating these partnerships, this re­ port will focus on three libraries’ unique con­ tributions to educating and building critical co m p eten cies for the 21st century. Trudi Bellardo Hahn, m anager o f User Education Services at the University of Maryland (UMd); Elizabeth Ader Henry, assistant director for Public Services, University of Missouri-Kan­ sas City (UMKC) Libraries; and Isabel Espinal, O utreach Librarian, University o f Massachu­ setts, Amherst (UMass) sum m arized the pro­ grams at their institutions. U n ive rsity o f M aryland Building on a cam pus initiative for com m u­ nity outreach, User Education Services took advantage o f an idea for collaboration that was born out of a request to bring young people into the university library. The goal was to plant the idea in young students from Prince Georges County that attending a uni­ v ersity m ig h t b e p o ss ib le ( h tt p :/ /w w w . li b .u m d .e d u / U M C P / U E S / c o m m u n i ty _ outreach.htm l and http://w w w .lib.um d.edu/ UMCP/UES/visitors.html). UMd hosts the fol­ lowing programs: • Am erica Reads ( h ttp ://w w w .lib .u m d . edu/U M C P/am ericareads.htm l). More than 100 six and seven year olds visit the library in groups of 15 to 30. These students, tu- About the a u th o rs Jill McKinstry is head o f the Odegaard Undergraduate Library at the University o f Washington Libraries and chair o f the 2001 ACRL President's Program Committee, e-mail: jiilmck@u.washington.edu; A n n e Garrison is hum anities librarian at Swarthmore College, e-mail: agarris1@swarthmore.edu lib.umd.edu/UMCP/UES/community_ http://www.lib.umd.edu/ http://www.lib.umd mailto:jillmck@u.washington.edu mailto:agarris1@swarthmore.edu 166 / C&RL News ■ February 2001 The benefits of collaborative partnerships are: good public relations; increased visibility and connections on campus; enhanced library staff morale; greater opportunity to contribute to your community; and better recruit­ ment for the university. tored throughout the year by cam pus under­ graduates, com e to the library for a one-on- one, one-to-tw o hour session w ith a librar­ ian. During their visits they are read to by librarians, treated to perform ances by library assistant/library school students, and receive a free paperback b ook (donated by a local company). • S o lv in g a W o r ld P r o b le m . The univer­ sity lib ra ry a n n u a lly h o s ts 100 m id d le schoolers from a local com m unications mag­ net school. Each child gets an annual assign­ m ent to do research and then write a paper that will “solve a w orld problem .” O ne step in the process is that they sp en d an entire day, 50 at a time, participating in an elabo­ rate instruction program put on by university librarians. • S c h o o l lib ra r y m e d ia s p e c ia lis ts . UMd is a partner in an IMLS grant w ith the Mary­ land State Departm ent of Education, UMd Col­ lege of Information Studies, UMd College of Education, and Prince Georges County Pub­ lic Schools to establish a program to encour­ age library school students to becom e school library m edia specialists. The libraries’ role is to provide training in information resources for the students w ho are involved in the pro­ gram, as well as for teachers in the schools w here the students are placed for an intern­ ship experience. • N o r t h w e s t e r n H ig h S c h o o l. UMd has a long-standing relationship w ith Northwest­ ern High School in College Park, Maryland, and the libraries now participate in a pro­ gram to encourage at-risk Hispanic students to th in k a b o u t g o in g in to c o lle g e p re p courses. This year the students read the book W hen I Was P uerto R ic a n b y E sm eralda Santiago, then w ent to the library and learned to conduct research on the author and on Puerto Ricans in the United States (http://www. lib .u m d .ed u /U M C P /M C K /n w h s.h tm l an d h tt p :/ /w w w .li b .u m d .e d u / U M C P / M C K / nwhs2.html). The benefits of collaborative partnerships are: good public relations; increased visibil­ ity and connections on campus; enhanced library staff morale; greater opportunity to contribute to your comm unity; and better recruitment for the university. Tips before you leap • Think long term. • D on’t raise expectations that you are not willing to continue to fulfill. • Build close personal relationships with key people. • Gather evaluation data and testimonials from participants and share them with all partners. • D o a process analysis after each event. University of Missouri-Kansas City Collaborative partnerships at UMKC, an ur­ b an cam pus of students 27 to 28 years old on average, have b een in effect from 1 to 35 years. They have engendered high visibility, increased credibility, and good will in the broader community. They serve as building blocks for further outreach activities and bring priceless benefits, including new endowments and excitem ent for all participants. UMKC’s have collaborations w ith the following: • U n iv e r s it y A c a d e m y S c h o o l. UMKC w orks closely w ith this charter school. These junior high/high school faculty mem bers are given adjunct faculty status and therefore have access to library resources, including circula­ tion, electronic databases and an online cata­ log, and library instruction for themselves and their students. Currently there are 218 stu­ dents in grades 7, 8, and 9 in a student-cen­ tered environm ent that focuses o n critical thinking, cultural diversity, an d leadership. • H ic k m a n M ills S c h o o l D is tr ic t M an­ a g e m e n t S c h o o l . UMKC w orks w ith this school to provide access to library resources for students and faculty, including circulation, electronic databases and an online catalog, a n d library instruction. T he m anagem ent school serves all grades (K-12) and is for stu­ dents w ho, because o f behavior difficulties, have been perm anently expelled from Mis­ souri public schools, w hich m eans they are http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/MCK/ C&RL News ■ February 2001 / 167 denied enrollm ent in any Missouri school by virtue of the Missouri Safe Schools Act. • UMKC H ig h S c h o o l C o l l e g e P r o ­ gram. UMKC w orks w ith local high schools to provide library instruction particularly for those students enrolled in the UMKC High School College Program. The high school program offers 619 classes for college credit throughout the greater m etropolitan area and the western corridor of Missouri in 55 high schools. The library supports this program by providing full access to th e resources and services o f the library for these 7,000 stu­ dents and 225 adjunct faculty. • UMKC w orks w ith the T r u m a n P r e s i ­ dential Library, the UMKC H is to r y D e p a r t­ m ent, and l o c a l h i g h s c h o o l h is t o r y te a c h ­ ers an d s tu d e n ts to facilitate access to 2 mil­ lion pages of presidential documents and 1,500 books relating to the presidency that were trans­ ferred from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum to UMKC’s Miller Nichols Library. To celebrate th e establishm ent o f the col­ lection, the Truman Library and UMKC hosted an event on February 25, 2000, at the Miller Nichols Library. Students from Paseo High School, the Barstow School, an d UMKC e n ­ gaged in a research w orkshop using materi­ als in the collection. The w orkshop illustrated the unique and challenging character o f origi­ nal historical docum ents, and helped students analyze the inform ation from the collection to make their o w n judgm ents a b o u t p ast events. Miller Nichols Library faculty continue to partner w ith UMKC faculty in the History D e­ partment an d local high schools in using this collection. Library faculty an d staff, for ex­ ample, have created a com plim entary Web site fe a tu rin g re c o rd in g s o f p re s id e n tia l speeches from the library's special sou n d recording co llectio n s (h ttp ://w w w .u m k c . e d u /lib /s p e c - c o l/T r u m a n /P r e s S p e e c h e s / presspeeches.htm). University of Massachusetts, Amherst UMass has an extraordinary n u m b er of part­ nerships as w ell as a w onderful W eb pres­ ence, setting the context of these services into their strategic plan and explaining specific services for the business community. In 1997, w ith the new director, there w as a new planning process instituted, including outreach, diversity an d multiculturalism, and a focus o n library as place. An outreach w ork­ ing group w as form ed and in 1998 the librar­ ies’ administration created new positions— out­ reach specialist and communications special­ ist— and established a Library Outreach Com­ mittee. A plan w as released in August 2000, highlighting many outreach activities that are not new, but providing a new em phasis on the packaging and communication to others on campus (http://w w w .um ass. ed u /o u treach /). • U M ass A m h e r st l ib r a r ie s O ff-C am pu s O u tr e a c h S itu a tio n a n d P la n , A u g u st 2 0 0 0 ( h t t p : / / w w w . u m a s s . e d u / o u t r e a c h or_libraries_stratplan_00. h tm ). • U M ass A m h e r s t L ib r a r ie s P la n n i n g fo r O u tr e a c h (http:/ww w.library.um ass.edu/ plan). • B u sin ess R esou rces at th e W.E.B. Du Bois Library fo r M assachu setts R esid en ts a n d Or­ gan ization s, including recent Business Outreach Events (http://www.libraiy.umass.edu/subject/ business/community.html). • M a ssB e d r o c k : M a s s a c h u s e tts B u s i­ n e s s a n d E c o n o m ic D e v e l o p m e n t R e fe r ­ e n c e O n lin e C e n te r f o r K n o w le d g e , a digi­ tal library designed to offer m ultiple access points to selected business data an d service referrals (http://w w w .m assbedrock.org) . • M u ltic u ltu r a l o u t r e a c h a n d e v e n t s a s a w a y t o b u i l d c o m m u n i t y , in c lu d in g H ispam érica conference and Latino Heritage Month (http://www.library.umass.edu/latino/) and the Multilingual Poetiy Fest 2000, using a LSTA grant from M assachusetts Board o f Li­ brary C om m issioners (h ttp ://w w w .lib ra ry . u m ass.ed u /ev e n ts/p o etry /). UMass Libraries also sponsors the ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, and Native American) Library Career Dinner, building com m unity by inviting stu­ dents o f color to en ter the professional com ­ m unity o f librarians. A w elcom ing, academ ic library environm ent is an ideal place for re­ cruitment. T he staff reactions to these partnerships are positive and many staff librarians and n o n ­ librarians participate o n a volunteer basis. For som e projects, new staff have b een ad d ed b ased o n project funding. But w hat contin­ ues to b e a challenge is how to best integrate partnerships into existing w ork. A very im portant benefit has also b e e n the opportunity to learn about our com m u­ n it ie s , t h e i r n e e d s a n d t h e i r w a n ts . (c o n tin u e d on p a g e 186) http://www.umkc http://www.umass http://www.umass.edu/outreach http:/www.library.umass.edu/ http://www.libraiy.umass.edu/subject/ http://www.massbedrock.org http://www.library.umass.edu/latino/ http://www.library umass.edu/events/poetry/ C&RL News ■ February 2001 / 169 170 / C&RL News ■ February 2001 C&RL News ■ February 2001 / 171 186 / C&RL News ■ February 2001 tomation at the University of Ghent in Bel­ gium, delivered the closing plenary address on the O pen Archives Metadata Harvesting (OAMH) protocol and implications for schol­ arly communication. His presentation can be found on the CNI Web site at www.cni.org. Van de Sompel described the OAMH pro­ tocol as “a low-barrier interoperability specifi­ cation for the recurrent exchange o f metadata between systems.” The OAMH protocol allows for federated services such as SDI, alerting, and linking services; database synchronization; and harvesting the deep Web. The OAHM pro­ tocol advances the interoperability of electronic preprints as a means to prom ote their global acceptance as a “decom posed” scholarly com­ munication system. Van de Sompel posited that in the current scholarly communication system, it is increas­ ingly difficult for libraries to fulfill their funda­ mental role o f safeguarding equality of access to scholarly information. He encouraged librar- ( “Teaching stu d en ts.. ” continued fr o m page 143) 4. Leilani Hall, “A hom egrow n program for raising faculty information com petence,” Computers in Libraries 19, no. 8 (1999): 28- 34. 5. Pixey Anne Mosley, “Creating a library assignment w orkshop for university faculty,” The J o u rn a l o f A cadem ic Librarianship 24, no. 1 (1998): 33-41. ( “C om m unity sciences … con tin u ed fr o m page 162) • M ed L in e. This is the prim er biom edi­ cal database from the National Institutes of Health, w hich comprises the Index Medicus, Dental Literature Index, and the International Nursing Index. It provides the m ost com ­ prehensive coverage from m ore than 3,500 journals in all areas o f m edicine. Access: ( “B uilding co m m u n ity … ” cont. fr o m page 167) U nderstanding our potential future users’ re­ sults in better programs and services. Part­ nerships often save m oney and labor and attract increased funding. Final recommendations A final recom m endation is the University o f ies to rethink themselves and to become pro­ active in exploring alternatives for scholarly communications, like the OAI (see http://www. openarchives.org/). Concluding that there are new opportuni­ ties for shaping a sustainable scholarly com­ munication system, van de Sompel outlined the advantages libraries bring to the mix. Li­ braries are close to authors; are in a good p o ­ sition to archive institutional materials; are quick to embrace new technologies; have veiy knowledgable people; provide a level of re­ dundancy in services that is no longer required in a digital environment; and safeguard equity of access through global representation. Van de Sompel w arned that libraries as organizations are slow moving, hosted by slowly moving institutions; that libraries are slow to recognize that a new technology may allow for new m odes of operating; and that th e in fo rm a tio n w o rld ru n s o n In tern et time.-—Betsy Wilson ■ 6. Gloria J. Leckie, “Desperately seeking citations: U ncovering faculty assum ptions about the undergraduate research process,” The J o u rn a l o f A cadem ic Librarianship 22 (1996): 201-08. 7. Janet R. Cottrell, “Information literacy, com puter literacy, and good teaching prac­ tices: Firm foundations for faculty develop­ m ent.” A cadem ic Exchange Quarterly 3 (Fall 1999): 43-51. ■ h t t p : / / w w w . n l m . n i h . g o v / d a t a b a s e s / freemedl.html. • U n C over. Table of Content and fee- based fax document delivery service to more than 18,000 journal tides from 1988 to the present. Use the UnCover “Com plete service for older material. UnCover also offers articles from more than 2,500 journals via UnCover D esktop Image Deliv­ ery. Access: http://uncw eb.carl.org/. ■ C onnecticut Libraries Partnerships guide. It includes “Selected Examples of Current Part­ n e rs h ip s”; “Form ing New Partnerships: A G uide”; “Library Criteria for New Partner­ ships”; “Reviewing Existing Partnerships”; and a “P a r t n e r s h i p P r o p o s a l Form" ( h ttp ://s p irit.lib .u c o n n .e d u /in fo r m a tio n / PartnershipDocument.html). ■ http://www.cni.org openarchives.org/ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/ http://uncweb.carl.org/ http://spirit.lib.uconn.edu/information/