Jumping Over the Desk: Active Outreach to Increase Student Engagement

Abstract

The Access Services department at American University Library has taken a novel approach to promoting our services and events. Rather than relying on larger institutional or library wide marketing efforts, we’ve founded a Services Promotion cross-functional Committee represented by staff members from the five teams that comprise the AU Library’s Access Services department (Circulation, Course Reserves, Technology Services, ILL and Media Services). This committee supports efforts aimed at promoting our services, resources and programming, relying upon social media, outreach to student groups and university partners, making sure to leverage the connections, knowledge and ideas of our student workers. This presentation will document these attempts (including Residence Hall Jeopardy, Silent Rave, Why I love my library video, and Study Break Scavenger Hunt to name a few), charting what went well, what went wrong and what we will improve upon in the future.