Outreach opportunities present themselves when you least expect it. If staff is available, even eleventh-hour outreach should be accommodated. Serving the underserved is crucial to a library’s overall mission. For example, the local Boys and Girls Club or 4-H might call and mention how nice it would be if the library could be present at their upcoming annual event. Remember, you need not wait for them to call. You can initiate a call suggesting library presence after reading an article about the event in the local newspaper. Along the same lines, the library could invite the local 4-H to put up a display and provide materials inside the library to provide information for interested children. This could, however, be a step leading toward that outreach opportunity.
Many schools have special evening events such as a family night or an open house. Here is an opportunity for area public libraries to directly connect with area families. Staff could storytell, booktalk, lead a sing along, or some other activity.
School and public library staff alike can reach adults who live or work with children by offering to speak at teacher in-services, neighborhood meetings, etc. about library services, upcoming programs, new materials, or special collections.
In Boise, an annual event called KidsFair is held at the fairgrounds. Here is the perfect opportunity to reach non-users and the underserved. Due to the length of time and enormity of the venue, in this case several libraries work together to staff a booth and present information about library programs, collections, and services. It puts the library amid other fun activities in a fun environment that succeeds in drawing a great number of children and families, and gets word out to those unfamiliar with libraries about all the wonderful free materials and programs available to them.
Even if you find yourself unable to staff an outreach event, it would be a good idea to offer to provide a display and materials for the community to peruse and take home. You could even design a special bookmark tailored to the event. For example, if there’s a rodeo in town you could contact the host site and offer to create a bookmark promoting the library and featuring books about cowboys, horses, and rodeos. If it’s a quilt show, your bookmark could feature both picture books about quilts like Flournoy’s The Patchwork Quilt, and nonfiction books that teach kids how to quilt and talk about the history of quilting. When children get interested in something they will want to read and learn more about it.
School library outreach includes involvement in the classroom and special school events. Do not wait for teachers to bring classes to you, rather, make special presentations during national library week or children’s book week in classrooms or at all school assemblies.
The extent of your outreach abilities is not what is important. What is
important is the effort made in reaching the underserved or non-users. If making
one school visit/ assembly presentation a year, or dropping some materials off
at the local clinic, change the course of even one child’s life, that is
successful outreach.
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