ALA Conference 2009: Academic-PL Collaborations Explored

ALA 2009: Alliances include branch library, programs, service opportunities

Bill Goodwyn -- Library Journal, 7/16/2009

• "The Little Library That Could"
• "The Mouse and the Elephant"
• An unresolved collaboration
• A time for service

So, how can public libraries and academic libraries work together? Each case depends on local conditions, according to a session titled “Our Town, Common Ground,” presented by the College Libraries Section (CLS) on July 12 at the American Library Association Annual Conferenc. 

Judy Neale, Coordinator of Community Outreach, Cameron University Library, Lawton, OK, calls partner library the Lawton Public Library “The Little Library That Could.” She described collaborative programs that bring faculty presentations to public library patrons and the sharing of grant funds to bolster shrinking budgets at both institutions.

Another analogy from children’s literature was the mouse and the elephant, cited by Keith Washburn, Director of Lorain County Community College’s (OH) Library/Learning Resources Center (the elephant) and Janet Stoffer, director of the Elyria Public Library (the mouse).

Now the public library has a branch in LCCC’s state of the art library. That took resolving technical problems (two library cards are needed to access both sets of collections, as the two libraries use different integrated library systems), and in agreeing on operational and policy issues.

Left unresolved
Not all stories have resolultions, as was demonstrated by Sarah Palfrey, director of the Summersville Public Library, WV. A collaboration with the local campus of Glenville State College led Summersville to open a new public library that could support the college curriculum, with increased hours and support from the college. 

Now the college is the independent New River Community and Technical College, Nicholas County Campus. However, a new library board has questioned the partnership. Meanwhile, the mayor, city council, and an e-mail campaign run by students have all asked for the funding and cooperation necessary to keep the partnership in place.

During the Q & A portion of the presentation, Palfrey was applauded by an audience member originally from West Virginia, for her efforts in bringing educational cooperation to a part of the state that needs it.

Learning local history
At Mississippi State University, Starkville, the Day One Program, gives incoming students an opportunity to serve the community, including at the Starkville Public Library. There they help to preserve local historical documents, researching local history, and through public relations initiatives that include writing articles for the local newspaper. 

MSU’s April Heiselt, assistant professor of education and service learning coordinator; Bob Wolverton, Jr., associate professor, library; and Susan Hall, associate professor, library, work with the student groups, called Action Teams, which are required to perform 20 hours of service and to visit service sites ten times during the course of their service tasks. 

Their successes can be measured in detailed notes that are kept by each group, through the number of questions asked and answered, by the cooperation between academic units, and by the sheer critical mass of volunteers.

Bill Goodwyn, LJ Guest Contributor, is a graphic designer and MLIS student at Dominican University in River Forest, IL.

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