Most academic libraries have reference and instruction goals and plans for students and faculty, but

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Supporting campus support staff library outreach
to secretaries and others
Most academic libraries have reference and
instruction goals and plans for students and
faculty, but fewer target other campus
constituencies. Department secretaries and staff
in most campus offices have information needs
that our resources and services address. They
need and deserve our help learning new library
resources just as much as do our core
patrons. Faculty members regularly ask
department secretaries to find articles and print
or post them to BlackBoard or WebCT, or to gather
information about desired textbooks, potential
publishers, etc. Staffs in other offices (e.g.,
multicultural affairs, athletics, or financial
aid) need information about successful projects
at peer institutions about laws, grants, and
government programs about serving special
populations, etc. A few attended campus wide
workshops on our new catalog, etc., but most
assumed that our target audience was students and
faculty, not them. DePauw University Libraries
have undertaken an outreach and training program
to serve these populations.

• You should do outreach to staff because
• You have material that staff need
• Staff in most offices can use articles in
  databases like ERIC, Education Index, and
  Professional Development Collection.
• Many read periodicals like Black Issues in Higher
  Education, Chronicle of Higher Education, and
  Change and books about education, like the New
  Directions In Higher Education series.
• Some resources support specific campus offices
  and activities. Multicultural or womens center
  staff can use ethnic or womens studies databases
  to address students practical concerns or plan
  events. Financial offices can use business
  databases.
• Everyone can use business sources to read about
  retirement and investment options, and health
  sources when facing illness or health care
  decisions. Anyone could need official info from
  OSHA, EEOC, or other government agencies.
• Secretaries are often asked to print, link to, or
  buy specific articles and books.
• New databases, software versions, and tools can
  help them be more productive, faster, and easier,
  but may have changed markedly since they last
  did research.
• Staff may not feel welcome at events focused on
  students or faculty.
• Its good for your library.
• Make it clear to staff (who may feel less valued
  than faculty and students) that you value their
  contributions, and want to help with their
  information needs.
• Increase circulation of relevant books, journals,
  etc. Get more value out of unlimited usage
  database licenses!
• Staff can recommend your valuable resources and
  services to students and faculty who they see far
  more often than you do.

• Contact and work with
• Support staff committee or union. Ask about
  common information needs, and what kinds of help
  staff members want.
• Chairs of academic departments. Ask what tasks
  faculty members want department secretaries to
  help them with.
• Human Resources. Ask about training policy,
  procedures, and collaborative opportunities.
• College deans or vice presidents, and their
  staff. Ask about their information needs, and get
  their approval, if necessary.
• Information Technology / Information Services.
  Ask if they would like to collaborate on
  workshops involving the web, proxy servers, or
  resources available via the campus network.

• Staff might want help with how to
• Find articles on how peer institutions handle
  common problems, on demographic trends, etc. Help
  them compile a list of appropriate subject
  headings. Show how to limit by education level or
  age group.
• Find specific articles using your link resolver
  (e.g. SFX, LinkFinder, or WebBridge).
• Link to, save, or print material for e-reserves,
  course packs, etc. (Explain the difference
  between a pages URL a databases article level
  link.)
• Find sources when the citation they have isnt
  100 right.
• Fill in ILL and acquisition request forms. (Which
  fields are necessary and which they can skip or
  abbreviate.)
• Set SDI notifications of the latest issues of a
  relevant trade magazine or journal.
• Do better, more focused Google searches, like how
  to limit to .edu sites.

• Specific things you could do
• Invite everyone when you give workshops or offer
  one on one training. Email the all-employee list
  (not just faculty). Announce it on your campus
  employee newsletter.
• Use inclusive language. Say our students
  instead of your classes.
• Go to their offices, so you can see exactly which
  software and hardware they have. Help install
  useful programs (like JPrint), and create
  favorites folders and shortcuts to library
  resources.
• Promote the local public library or statewide
  database packages. Most have practical, trade
  journals that are useful for people in the more
  businesslike areas of your campus.
• Give bookmarks or swag at employee recognition
  events.
• Coordinate a ½ day mini-conference for staff. In
  addition to the library, other campus offices can
  offer a variety of 15 to 45 minute workshops
  like these
• Ergonomics
• Phishing and email scams
• Harassment policy
• Shared email and e-folders

Kathryn Courtland Millis Tiffany Anderson
Hebb DePauw University LibrariesALA June 2005