Public Programs in Academic Libraries: A 'nice-to-have' or an essential post-pandemic strategy?

Public Programs are traditionally seen as the domain of Public Libraries, with Academic Libraries focused on providing information and services exclusively to students, teaching staff and researchers. What happens when an Academic Library adopts the Public Library approach of creating a comprehensive schedule of Public Programs? This presentation will detail the birth of Deakin Library’s new Public Programs and Exhibitions team which responds to the library’s strategic objective to nurture a vibrant scholarly community as part of a 5-year Library Plan. The result is a new library model for public programs, exhibitions and partnerships with cultural heritage organisations and community.

Public Programs Coordinators Dominique Coorey and Lucinda Buckley will share their learnings on creating an engaging and relevant series of Public Programs with a focus on forging strong partnerships with faculty, university departments, student groups and community. This presentation will also outline some of the strategies, skills, and resources required to create a program of inviting Academic Library events and activations across multiple university campuses, along with a discussion on the impacts and outcomes of this new initiative.

Author Bio

Lucinda Buckley is a Public Programs Coordinator at Deakin University, with a background in academic librarianship.

Author Bio

Dominique Coorey is a Public Programs Coordinator at Deakin University, with a background in academic librarianship.