Amanda Rhew
LIS 688
Promotion Exercise
April 25, 2011
Promoting Student Life (University Archives)
Introduction
The University Archives are an essential piece of history at UNCG. While they provide a
great amount of information to various audiences, they are sometimes overlooked or forgotten
about. While University Archives should look to attract graduate students and researchers in
particular fields, they should also build a base with undergraduate students, faculty, and
Greensboro residents. These audiences could become the graduate students or researchers of the
future.
Promotion is an essential part of drawing all of these audiences into the University
Archives. If nobody knows the purpose of the department or if they are even there, there will not
be many patrons utilizing the services that the University Archives has to offer. There are many
different ways to promote the department to specific types of audiences. Not every promotional
tactic will work on a specific audience. Each audience has to be treated as unique.
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students need to be introduced to the University Archives early in their
college careers. There are many undergraduates that have no clue about the department. The
typical undergraduate that is not in a major that lends itself to needing the University Archives
has no idea that it even exists. There have been surveys done on the UNCG campus about the
Archives. A typical undergraduate student has no idea where it is located or what its purpose is.
This needs to change. These are students that will go on to graduate school or become outside
researchers. They will eventually need the Archives. If they do not know anything about it, they
will be losing out on a valuable resource in their professional and academic careers.
Outreach is essential to connecting to these students. The University Archives should
organize tours and information session specifically geared toward the undergraduate students. At
the SOAR orientation every semester, the Archives should introduce the department and what
they have to offer these incoming students. By promoting themselves at the beginning of their
academic careers, the Archives will be able to gain more interest from students in the long run.
Graduate Students
Graduate students are completely different from undergraduate students. These students
have already completed a four-year degree and should have some type of experience in research.
These students should be one of the primary audiences that the University Archives serve.
Students seeking in various programs can find many useful materials in the Archives. Some of
the majors include History, English, Dance, and Music.
Tours are one of the ways that the Archives can draw in graduate students. By offering
tours of the facilities, the students will know exactly where they need to go to get materials that
they need to complete their studies. Listservs would also be beneficial to reaching out to the
graduate. By using listservs, staff at the Archives can reach out to a larger amount of the student
population. They can email students about events and services at the University Archives.
Outside Researchers
Outside researchers are another major audience for the University Archives. These
researchers come from all over the world to use the Archives. There are many different types of
researchers that use materials that the Archives house. There are many different reasons that
researchers come to the Archives. Some are writing books or articles. Others are doing research
for presentations. All these people need to be up to date with what the Archives offer them.
For outside researchers, listservs would be the best and easiest way to promote the
Archives. The staff could email information about upcoming events, additions to the collection,
and more helpful information. Holding workshops or lectures that could be viewed over the
Internet would also be beneficial. By doing this, the Archives encourage researchers from all
over the world to see what they have to offer.
Greensboro Residents
The last audience that the Archives could reach out to is the residents of Greensboro.
These are people who grew up in the city and are now raising their families here. The residents
of the city would have an interest in the history of UNCG. The University Archives can reach
out to these people. By showing them the resources that UNCG has in their collections, they
might be able to draw even more people into the Archives and the university itself. People that
know what they university has to offer would be more likely to send their children there.
Promoting the Archives is one way to show what the university can offer people. The
Archives should hold events on day of historic events. Events like Founder’s Day could draw
people into the Archives. Staff could also hold tours and workshops about how to use the
materials. By reaching out to residents, the Archives can build a stronger following and user
base.
Conclusion
The University Archives reaches out to many different audiences on a daily basis. From
their biggest users, graduate students and researchers, to their new users, undergraduates and
residents, the Archives has a responsibility to assist these users in finding what they need and
promoting the history of the university. The University Archives has many different
opportunities to promote itself to these large audiences. Not every promotion technique will
work on the all audiences. The staff of the Archives has a responsibility to know what level of
promotion will work with certain user groups. By knowing their users and their needs, the
University Archives can increase the amount of people who visit their facilities.