Librarians as Community Partners

Starred review from March 15, 2010
Thirty-seven public, school, and academic librarians here share "how we did outreach good" and produce a joyful collection. These examples will inspire and fire up staff involved with event planning, programming, and extending their library's presence and effectiveness in the community. Beyond a bounty of ideas are practical suggestions and examples that can be used for the library to approach organizations, groups, and governmental entities for grant applications. While the creative is foremost, the financial and efficient are also addressed with the essential details of who did what, how it was funded, and the nature of follow-up. This reviewer's favorite examplethe Edible Book Contestcomes complete with advice on cleanup and disasters. VERDICT Success always requires resources, dedication, and much planning, but even the smallest library with a handful of staff could benefit from this book. Wherever there is a need to increase awareness of library services in the community or reach out to groups that are under utilizing your library, this handbook can be useful. For all libraries.J. Sara Paulk, Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Cty. Lib., Fitzgerald, GA

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Editor Smallwood has brought together 66 short articles by 34 practicing librarians in a wide range of libraries. Separated into 10 parts, the volume provides snapshots of outreach solutions to meet a variety of needs. Following a section highlighting 9 sample outreach programs, the work offers sections meeting needs for specific populations (seniors, youth, those in correctional facilities) as well as on special collections, local media, book festivals, and classroom and diversity outreach. The final section covers community-group collaboration. It is hard to understand the organization of these parts, and some information, such as outreach to seniors, is scattered across several different articles. Although the ideas presented are useful, there are no guidelines for reproducing these successes or assisting readers in designing their own outreach.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)