Public Engagement and the
University Library:
Library Services and Land-Grant Mission at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
What is Public Engagement?
Public engagement “is faculty members, staff and
students collaborating with communities,
agencies, organizations, business and
government to address critical societal issues and
to share the University's intellectual and cultural
assets.”
http://www.oc.uiuc.edu/engagement/
Campus Commitment
The University of Illinois Strategic Plan
•
Initiative 3: Prepare Students for Leadership in a
Global Environment (pp.50-51)
– GOAL: Create opportunities for civic engagement
and/or community-based learning within 50% of
academic units
•
Initiative 5: Build Partnerships within the C-U
Community (public schools) (pp.58-59)
– GOAL: Assist the College of Education leadership in
focusing on collaborating with local community
schools to strengthen and model effective Universitycommunity partnerships
Library Commitment
The University Library Strategic Plan
•
"The Library takes seriously its obligations
to extend its resources and services to the
community; we view ourselves as an
integral part of UIUC’s land grant
mission.”
– Goal 2e. "Improve our partnerships,
collaborations, and outreach activities to
enhance services to Library users on and off
campus.”
•
Action Item: "Develop a set of robust services for
members of the local community."
Commitment in Action:
Public Engagement @ Your Library
o
Central Circulation
o Community Borrower Program
o
Central Reference
o Alumni Services
o Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
o
Office of Information Literacy and Instruction
o K-12 Programs
o
Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
o American Music Month Celebration
o America String Festival
Campus Connection:
Cultural Engagement Council
Heirlooms, Artifacts, & Family Treasures:
A Preservation Emporium
“Have you ever wondered how to preserve that old film
of family memories or take care of Grandma’s quilt?
Meet and talk with preservation experts at this
informational event. Visitors are welcome to bring in
small, hand-held items or images of larger items in
order to discuss specific preservation questions with
the specialists. Experts will be available in a variety of
specialized areas ranging from antiquities to modern
digital media.”
http://www.oc.uiuc.edu/engagement/arts_and_cultural/
Campus Connection:
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
o
o
o
o
Grant-funded membership organization
101 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes on
campuses in 46 states (and the District of
Columbia).
Academic non-credit programs
UIUC faculty recruited to teach classes:
o All That Jazz
o Dangerous Detectives and Deadly Dames
o The Tempest
http://www.olli.uiuc.edu/
OLLI and the University Library:
Access, Orientation, and More
Library tours
• Workshops utilizing online resources, information seeking
skills, and original artifacts and documents focusing on
the acquisition and preservation of and access to vital
material culture held in UIUC libraries, archives, and
museums
• “The Things We Keep: Capturing and Preserving Our
Cultural Heritage” - a six-week course to be taught Fall
2007 that includes sessions in the following departments:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University Archives,
Illinois History and Lincoln Collection and the Sousa
Archives and Center for American Music
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/learn/osher/
•
An Engaging Future:
Community Outreach Planning Group
SUBGROUP OF THE USER EDUCATION COMMITTEE
•
Stephanie Atkins, Chair
Action Plan:
1. Develop a three-year plan for outreach
activities
2. Develop measurable goals to assess the
impact of the outreach activities.
3. Identify potential tools and methods to
assess progress and impact.
Questions?
For More Information
•
Scott Walter swalter@uiuc.edu
•
Merinda Hensley mhensle1@uiuc.edu
•
Stephanie Atkins ssatkins@uiuc.edu
•
Lisa Hinchliffe ljanicke@uiuc.edu
•
Scott Schwartz schwrtzs@uiuc.edu