UIUC and Illinois State should be really proud of what these folks are doing. The three of them gave a presentation about their successes of their outreach initiatives to underrepresented populations. It involved a lot of communication, patience, and time. They worked meticulously to set up networks between groups on campus like student groups, cultural houses, and other various constituencies with the library; as well as enhancing access to a “learning commons.” (I hope I got that right – lol)
This is NOT easy work. I have been engaged in similar efforts in trying to recruit students to the internship program(previously mentioned) and have found it to be one of the most difficult components of the job.
I think the main take home of this presentation for those doing outreach or anyone who wants to connect with student services, org., etc… is PERSISTENCE!!!! It will take many emails, phone calls, and personal visits. When someone doesn’t answer me I just show up to their office…where possible. Even that doesn’t work sometimes. Most effective technique thus far: Find a dean who likes what you are doing…then have them walk you to the office of the people you want to connect with.
In my case, this happened, and when we got there, the dean said “Hi (advisors name), this is Roy Brooks and he is doing something important that our students NEED to know about and we ARE going to help him. Thanks.” And that’s all it took to get in with a particular unnamed office on my campus that I had been trying to get through to since last July!!! Mission accomplished? In Short, but it took persistence. Outreach librarians, the word of your life is…PERSISTENCE.
-Roy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment