Minimal Effort for Maximum Outreach to broaden your library’s impact!

Gayle Gunderson, Colorado Christian University

Mark Kille, Naropa University

May 21, 2010

(Gayle Gunderson did a great job in the first part of the presentation, where she talked

about a series of collaborations with faculty, students and staff that arose naturally out of

her library’s exhibition of “Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times” in

2009. You should consider contacting her to find out more about it. I did the second part of

the presentation, which follows here.)

Two smaller collaborations…

Dead Man Walking Theater Project

(April 2010)

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi

Keynote Lecture and Symposium

(October 2009)

Naropa University

a Buddhist-inspired, non-sectarian, private liberal arts institution in Boulder, CO

2009 undergraduate enrollment: 464

2009 graduate enrollment: 592

2009 student-faculty ratio: 12:1

Total number of permanent professional positions in the University Library and Archives: 1

Images of the Allen Ginsberg Library

Know your goal and target audience.

Be flexible.

Don’t stress the metrics.

“Any topic, any audience, anywhere, anytime.”

Benefits

• Enhanced visibility for the library.

• Improved goodwill among colleagues.

• Greater accountability.

• Insight into perspectives of colleagues and students.

Drawbacks

• A lot is not under your control.

• The potential exists to become a victim of your success.

• Collaborators may presume on your discretion in applying library policies.

In conclusion…

“How can you defy fear? Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you become hungry. Similarly with fear. But I have learned to train myself to live with this fear.”

“I have never been convinced throughout my life that one needs to be imitating others.”

–Shirin Ebadi

Thanks for being part of this shared experience with us—we wish you the best in your own “natural collaborations”!