Open AccessCuriosity as Outreach: Flipping Outreach on its Head
Author(s) -
Paulina Borrego,
Anne Graham,
Ellen Lutz,
Melanie Radik,
Rebecca Reznik-Zellen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
issues in science and technology librarianship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.303
H-Index - 15
ISSN - 1092-1206
DOI - 10.29173/istl54
Subject(s) - outreach , trips architecture , public relations , curiosity , service (business) , medical education , sociology , business , psychology , political science , computer science , marketing , medicine , social psychology , law , parallel computing
Science and Engineering Library staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst visited several sites on campus in a novel outreach initiative that involved all nine staff members taking “field trips” without agendas. We demonstrate that outreach without the explicit goal of promoting a specific resource or service can be an effective use of time, and can build social capital that shares the goals of traditional outreach. Involving all staff in this outreach effort was a valuable team building experience, exposing the depth of our interests and expertise to each other and to our campus community.