Speaking of Books: Connecting with Faculty through a Campus Author Series Timothy Hackman University of Maryland [e-mail]

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Speaking of Books Connecting with Faculty
through a Campus Author SeriesTimothy
HackmanUniversity of Marylandthackman_at_umd.edu
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Outline

• History of Speaking of Books at University of
  Maryland
• Benefits of an author series
• Publicizing your author series
• Future directions

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Speaking of Books at UMD

• Began informally in 2005-2006 with talks by two
  English professors
• Funded by UM Libraries and College of Arts
  Humanities for 2006-2007 focus on Arts
  Humanities faculty
• Funded by UM Libraries from 2007 to present
  expanded to include all schools and colleges

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Speaking of Books at UMD

• 14 events since 2005
• Average 50 attendees per event
• Departments/Colleges represented Agriculture
  Resource Economics American Studies,
  Communication English (4), Government
  Politics History (3), Journalism,
  Public Health, Public Policy

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Benefits of an Author Series

• Provide a forum for great scholarship
• Create positive publicity for the Libraries
• Provide a service to the departments and the
  faculty to improve relations
• Foster the image of the Libraries as a learning
  space

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Benefits of an Author Series

• Brainstorming Can you think of other benefits of
  hosting a faculty author series at your library?

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Getting Started

• Start Small
• Gauge interest of your community
• Learn the ropes of planning
• Build administrative support
• Have a Plan
• What are your goals?
• Who is your primary audience?
• How can you most effectively reach them?

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Publicity Ideas

• Dont do it all by yourself
• Make personal connections
• Use the power of the network
• Look for opportunities to collaborate
• Think outside of campus

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Publicity Ideas

• Brainstorming Can you think of publicity options
  available
• On your campus?
• Through campus collaborators?
• Off-campus and in your community?

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Where Do We Go from Here?

• Greater campus integration
• Greater campus collaboration
• Broadening the scope
• Turn attendees into donors
• Speaking of Books 2.0
• University of Mississippi
• University of Virginia

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Thank You!
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Background Image Credits

• Verlyn Flieger. Interrupted Music The Making of
  Tolkiens Mythology. Kent State UP, 2005.
• Gene Roberts. The Race Beat The Press, the Civil
  Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation.
  Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
• Clare Lyons. Sex Among the Rabble An Intimate
  History of Gender and Power in the Age of
  Revolution, Philadelphia, 1730-1830. U. of North
  Carolina Press, 2006.
• Robin Sawyer. Sexpertise Real Answers to Real
  Questions About Sex. Simon Schuster, 2008.
• Psyche Williams-Forson. Building Houses Out of
  Chicken Legs Black Women, Food and Power. U. of
  North Carolina Press, 2006.
• Robert Friedel. A Culture of Improvement
  Technology and the Western Millennium. MIT Press,
  2007.

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Background Image Credits

• Barry Lee Pearson. Jook Right On Blues Stories
  and Blues Storytellers. U. of Tennessee Press,
  2005.
• Jeffrey Herf. The Jewish Enemy Nazi Propaganda
  During World War II and the Holocaust. Harvard
  UP, 2006.
• Paul Herrnson, et al. Voting Technology The
  Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot. Brookings,
  2007.
• Trevor Parry-Giles Shawn Parry-Giles. The
  Prime-time Presidency The West Wing and U.S.
  Nationalism. U. of Illinois Press, 2006.
• Vincent Carretta. Equiano, the African Biography
  of a Self-Made Man. U. of Georgia Press, 2005.
• Stanley Plumly. Posthumous Keats A Personal
  Biography. W.W. Norton, 2008.