LibGuides: ACRL/EBSS Resources for Curriculum Materials Professionals: Programming/Outreach

Community Relationships

School Partnerships
Corporate partnerships

Information literacy outreach programs with local high schools.
Establish strong relationships with your department’s partnership schools for student teacher placements. Make site visits, model read aloud strategies, discuss materials selection for the classroom, curriculum building resources, conduct PDs for school faculty & staff if the schools do not have school librarians on staff.

Host on-site storytimes or “Raising a Reader” workshop where the CMC is viewed as a safe, welcoming space in the community that seeks to engage visitors directly with interactive story time programs to foster pre-reading skills. The CMC, and by extension, the university will be viewed as a leader in promoting literacy awareness and practice.

Programming Librarian Blog
Features school librarian programming ideas, many of which could be adapted by CMCs. In particular, the first section on “Daily and Monthly Celebrations” lists two resources which compile monthly calendars of events relevant to K-12.

Many of the program or event ideas below capitalize on CMCs' children's literature collections and the unique expertise of CMC librarians :

Hosting lectures or symposia
Panel discussions on topics aimed at encouraging scholarly interest in children's literature
Book talks by children’s authors
Summer camps (math, literacy) with K-6 students
Open houses
School fairs
Make-It, Take-It events at elementary schools
Reading to children at campus child care center
Tours/instruction for parent groups, schools, students in high school cadet programs, etc.
Mock Caldecott parties
Unplug activities, such as origami, board games, coloring, etc.
T-shirt printing
Virtual reality training or gaming

Exhibitions

Traveling Exhibits from Association of Academic Museums and Galleries
List includes exhibits available for a fee.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Several traveling exhibits available for a fee.

University of Washington’s Exhibit Guidelines
Are you interested in holding an exhibition in your CMC, but aren’t sure where to start? The University of Washington’s Exhibit Guidelines are a good starting point for thinking through the many associated issues.
Library Exhibit & Display Manual
Washington and Lee University also has a Library Exhibit & Display Manual. It includes a small section at the end on assessment of library exhibits.
Using NLM Exhibits and Events to Engage Library Users and Reach the Community
This paper describes the University of Florida’s Health Science Center Library’s experience in hosting a series of traveling exhibits produced by the National Library of Medicine. Although not a CMC, this library’s experience is helpful in considering the many factors involved in producing these events as a specialized library. The paper describes rationale for exhibitions, marketing practices, and lessons learned.
Best of Both Worlds Museums, Libraries, and Archives in a Digital Age (PDF)
Information from the Smithsonian about the power of virtual exhibitions and online archives.

Bringing Art to the Library: An Undergraduate Art Education Collaborative With the Curriculum Materials Center (PDF)
Karen Reed’s paper on using art displays in the Curriculum Materials Center.
Cotsen Children's Library Online Exhibitions
Example of virtual exhibitions of special collections from the Cotsen Library.

Outreach Ideas

Partner with your university’s Alumni Affairs and/or Community Engagement offices on special events to reach a broader audience and leverage combined resources.

Partner with other programs and departments within your university to cross-pollinate your CMC’s resources/services and engage with audiences beyond the walls of your library or department. (eg. clinical labs in speech pathology, OT, PT, psychology, medical school, etc.)

An education coordinator at the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton has developed a traveling collection of primary materials to teach nonfiction subjects in schools.

Sheridan, D. (2014). Teaching the untouchable: Rare books education in elementary school classrooms. College and Research Libraries News, 75(10), 564–566. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.75.10.9213

Promote community or educator borrowing programs.