Outreach and Communications: Key Activities and Accomplishments

FY 19-20

Designing and building a dramatically new library environment to serve as a catalyst for academic enterprise at Temple.

A major project of this year was continuing to get campus and neighbors acclimated to Charles Library. We created various orientation materials, such as a tour and a self-guided scavenger hunt, and also sat at an info table in the building’s opening weeks.
We also developed a more extensive brochure about Charles Library, though we have not sent it to print due to the changes in the building as a result of COVID-19.
Another aspect of this goal was planning programming to open the building, on which we collaborated with partners across the university. My team was also responsible for keeping web content up-to-date during the original move into Charles and the subsequent closure in the spring, as well as utilizing social media to broadcast updates and changes.

Enriching the environment for learning and student success.

Our goal in this area was to develop a new marketing campaign to support LRS staff outreach. We needed to put this project on hold for other priorities. We did, however, take over coordination of workshops and put together a summer workshop series for the first time.
We will continue to handle coordination of workshops moving forward.
Finally, this year we had to move our Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards online. In lieu of the ceremony, we created a web presence for the awards in a very short timeline.

Developing programs, services, and resources to enhance intellectual productivity, scholarly infrastructure, new modes of research and clinical care services

We promoted library resources and services through programming and other marketing materials. Examples of programming to promote our services and resources include our all campus opening celebration of Charles Library, as well as the programs we did in collaboration with SCRC to promote our collections.

Exploring new opportunities in publishing and scholarly communication.

This year, we helped Research Data Services and Scholarly Communication Strategic Steering Teams promote their offerings. Examples include putting together new materials for the Research Data Grants program and promoting scholarly communication initiatives through social media.
We also worked with Annie Johnson and the Press on the Labor events for the NEH grant and the institutional repository.

Seeking partners in innovation and experimentation to add value to library programs and to identify new avenues for economic support.

We worked with new local artists and academics for this year’s Beyond the Page series. One way we expanded in this area is by hosting the Creative Writing program’s Poets & Writers series.
We also deepened our relationships with the Wellness Resource Center.

Serving as a center of intellectual and cultural life.

Our programming is one way we are able to bring people together and serve as a center of intellectual and cultural life. This year, we had a specific goal of increasing attendance by 5%. We ended up increasing attendance by over 20%.

Serving as a repository of record for archival, rare, and unique materials and providing broad access to those collections.

We developed programs and materials to promote SCRC and Blockson collections, and collaborated with their staff on exhibitions, especially in our new dedicated exhibition space.

Building a world-class staff for leadership in the research library enterprise.

The Outreach & Communications SST continued to organize AMA sessions, revamped the TULUP Staff Newsletter, and began a series of open houses.
We also launched and worked on updates for the Staff Outreach & Communications toolkit.
Three members of the Outreach and Communications department attended the Library Marketing and Communications Conference, and we all pursued various professional development activities on their own.

Sharing the vision, making connections, broadening support.

We are always developing new ways to promote library resources and services, including social media, partnerships on and off campus, and programming. One way we did this was to be in close contact with central marketing, student reporters at the university, and outside media. We coordinated with various teams on this project and there were a number of resulting articles.
This year, we grew our social media following greatly. On Instagram, for instance, we almost doubled our follower count (1,009 followers at the end of June 2019, 1,824 at the end of July 2020). This was a significant help to us when we moved online and social media became a central service point for questions and assistance. As part of this, two of our team members began a Libraries’ Social Media Managers group, which has been essential for connecting the work we’ve been doing on our various platforms.
We published the Libraries’ third annual report, along with the newsletters, appeal letters, programming mailers, and other materials we work on.
We created a more extended guide for Charles Library, though it was not sent to print, and refreshed service guides and info brochures for the new space.
We moved the Short Edition story dispenser into Charles Library and ran another contest for Temple writers to submit their stories.

FY 18-19

Programming:

Continued to offer high-quality public programming, despite other priorities with the move
Programming theme was Access & Opportunity: we offered 49 total programs and had over 3,000 attendees, increasing attendance 6%
Deepened partnerships for our programs, and ended up with an on-campus partner for every program we offered
Refined the programming process as a department, updating our programming workflow document, creating a programming cancellation/rescheduling document, and creating KBUG (Know Before yoU Go) documents for attendees and speakers
Worked to audit some of our own library services as part of the theme: made changes to our print materials and our physical space (for instance, leaving room for wheelchairs) after meeting with Disability Resource Service; started collecting donations for Cherry Pantry, and ran a brief fine forgiveness program to spread awareness for the pantry; began other new initiatives, like an Access & Opportunity themed reading list at the beginning of the semester
Formed the Public Programming Working Group, which met regularly and acted as an advising group for our programming
Held creative writing contest to launch the new Short Edition story dispenser: set internal goal of 30 submissions and received 100 submissions - Received the second-highest application rate ever for the Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards (97 applications)
Managed loss of access to our lecture hall in the spring semester: found new partners and new locations to continue our tradition of offering strong programming - Received more feedback than ever before from faculty about how our programs were relevant and they wanted to have their classes involved

Publications and social media:

Created the Libraries’ second Annual Report
Managed the staff newsletter Don’t Hit Delete, all library eblasts, the Beyond the Page mailer, and other one-off mailings or design pieces
Worked closely with External Affairs on their projects, such as the newsletter, appeal letters, and collections calendar
Deepened social media engagement, gained followers across platforms - Increased our social media assessment strategies, and now have a spreadsheet where we track engagement across platforms
Began developing materials for Charles Library

Paley closure and move to Charles:

Communicating the closure and move to our community has been a major task this year
Put together a “Goodbye, Paley… Hello, Charles!” campaign as a way to honor Paley while still building excitement for Charles
Had some of our highest engagement rates ever when posting this content, which ranged from old photos of Paley paired with renderings of Charles, to the “Mean Tweets: Paley Library Edition” video we created with staff
This task involved working more closely with SM+C than we have in the past and communicating with other partners like the TU Portal team and the Provost’s office
Sent regular move emails to staff
Wrote and maintained the move FAQ on the website
Sent Paley Library out in style with a farewell party on the last day: a big success, with roughly 250 attendees Set up video booth to record goodbyes to Paley, worked with John Pyle to edit video together

Other highlights:

Worked closely with other departments on outreach and promotion
Worked closely on website project: Beckie Dashiell worked on copy, Kaitlyn Semborski is on the UX group, and Sara Wilson sits on the web advisory committee
Strengthened partnerships with other campus libraries, setting up department “field trips” and working to highlight them in the next AR
Served as Libraries’ liaisons to media, and worked closely with Temple media

Strategic Steering Team:

This was the first full year the Outreach & Communications SST was a group. We focused largely on staff communications this year.
Launched and analyzed staff communications survey
Created document analyzing survey and providing recommendations, which was shared with all staff
Introduced the popular Ask Me Anything (AMA) style information sharing sessions on Slack. So far we have had AMAs about the collections move, SCRC, the DSC, and about space and technology in Charles Library
Created survey to take recommendations for topics and AMA-improvements
Served as sounding board for move communications materials
Worked on staff communications toolkit, which will launch next year

FY 17-18

This year, outreach and communication functions moved from their home in the department of external affairs and advancement and are now under the leadership of Associate University Librarian for Research & Instructional Services Steven Bell. As part of this split, Sara Wilson was hired as the new Library Outreach and Communications Administrator. The team also includes Rebecca Dashiell, Editor, and Kaitlyn Semborski, Lead Administrative Specialist. Kaitlyn continued to work with external communications through the end of the fiscal year.
Despite the department split, the outreach and communications department worked closely with external communications throughout the year to support their goals, collaborating on ongoing projects like the newsletter, appeals, and calendar, as well as one-off projects such as materials for donor events. A major point of collaboration for the teams this year was the lead up to and announcement of the naming gift for the new Charles Library. For this project, we worked together on materials and coordinated the announcement to internal and external stakeholders.
The Libraries’ Beyond the Page public programming season held approximately 40 programs in FY ’17-18. We welcomed an estimated 2,000 students, staff, faculty, and community members to the Libraries for lectures, panels, performances, and more. Programs maintain and build new audiences within the Temple community and expose these audiences to broader library resources and offerings. To assess our programs and expand our audience, we created new online forms for mailing list sign up, and online avenues for programming feedback from both attendees and faculty.
Our curated programming for the year explored the role of communities in our lives. We asked questions like: how are we shaped by the language we use, the institutions we take part in, the places we’ve lived, and the people around us? We partnered with Temple Contemporary to bring lexicographer Kory Stamper, hosted a screening of the film Quest by Temple alum Jonathan Olshefski followed by a Q&A with the director and film subjects, and served as a site for an exhibition of never-before-seen photographs of Michelle Obama and a talk from the White House photographer who took them. We experimented with new programming formats, such as a live recording of the podcast Book Fight! by Temple English faculty Mike Ingram and Tom McAllister, and a follow up workshop about podcasting for academics.
Our programming also included many ongoing series and collaborations, including Beyond the Notes, Chat in the Stacks, and the Midday Arts Series. These collaborative, interdisciplinary series involved partnerships with the Office of Sustainability, Temple Contemporary, the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts, the Klein College of Media and Communication, the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts, and the Boyer College of Music and Dance, among others.
We promoted the Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards, now in its fourteenth year, through new channels and ended up with a historic number of applicants. Our goal was to get over 100, and we received 124. Awards were presented in six broad categories: humanities; social sciences; STEM disciplines; creative works and media production; sustainability and the environment; and an award for general education courses.
The Libraries’ first print and digital annual report was published in the fall of 2017, and work began on a second.
We worked with the web team to promote the new Library Search updates.
The Outreach & Communications Strategic Steering Team started meeting in February 2018. Between then and the end of the fiscal year, the team created their own charge and goals, started a Google calendar for programs and meetings open to all staff, oversaw the formation of the Public Programming Working Group, and launched an internal communications survey for staff.
We developed the Save Time! campaign to promote LRS, and worked closely with library staff to promote their workshops and initiatives.
We continued Crunch Time Cafe offerings, and expanded our offerings to include a partnership with Campus Rec to offer yoga in the lecture hall.
We promoted various library week initiatives such as Banned Books Week and National Library Week, with tabling, displays, and social media coverage.
We developed new web initiatives, such as increased social media posting, more interaction with our followers, and a new series of blog posts featuring upcoming Beyond the Page speakers. We also explored social media as a site for advertising and received positive outcomes for posts we paid to promote. (For example, we promoted the Livingstone Awards and received a historic number of applications. We also promoted the talk with former White House photographer Michelle Lucidon and had standing room only at that program.)