Over the past two years, Everett Library at Queens University of Charlotte has increasingly served as the campus anchor by supporting and engaging students with the campus community and each other. Library staff have intentionally partnered with Student Life, Athletics, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, student clubs and organizations, the Office of Alumni Relations, and the Advancement Office in an effort to shift student perceptions of the library. These efforts have effectively helped students recognize the library as a centralized space for civic engagement, social activity, and support. For example, several library student employees have worked to increase community election awareness and voter registration and have collaborated with staff to create corresponding displays and marketing campaigns. Library staff have also partnered with Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries, which regularly sends a liaison to the library to connect students to public library services and programming. Additionally, the Access Services Librarian advocated for, evaluated, helped provide, and arranged marketing for the accessibility software Read&Write and OrbitNote.
This presentation will share how a small staff creatively partnered with various campus groups and became an anchor for the student community. Next steps and sustaining support for library outreach will also be discussed.
About the Presenters Andrea Stanfield is the Director of Everett Library at Queens University of Charlotte. Sarah Sowa is the Archives and Special Collections Librarian, and Sherrill Shiraz is the Systems and Digital Resources Librarian.
