50 Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses Ideas for larger outreach events are presented to library council consisting of department/unit heads across the Libraries and, in some cases, members of library council are asked to solicit input participation. As a library, we are sensitive to this issue and careful to work with supervisors. Libraries staff are recruited through one-on-one discussions between the event planner, through announcement in regular libraries communications (weekly staff memos), through internal listservs and Google groups, and through individuals expressing interest in participating at previous events. Supervisor support is done through informal conversations for smaller events, and specific time percentage conversations for those events taking more strategic time. Library administration sends out an email for a call for volunteers to assist with an event, program, or conference and will work with the individual supervisors on support needed. Many employees have the latitude to engage in outreach activities that interest them and can opt in if the event is open to volunteers. The same groups of people tend to work on events. We don’t have a uniform procedure for ensuring support of supervisors but event planners will sometimes reach out to supervisors to summarize time commitments and request support for that individual. Many of the events we host are coordinated by our library event planner, situated in our marketing/ communications unit. However, some events (e.g., our study break events for prep and finals weeks at the end of each semester) are coordinated by the staff in the individual libraries (so supervisor approval is not needed). The marketing/communications units provide support for these activities. For events that our marketing/communications team coordinates, we send out messages (via our internal listserv) and use Google docs to distribute schedules and provide opportunities for individuals to sign up. Generally, getting supervisor approval has not been a problem, as the Libraries’ operations managers are very supportive of having staff serve on the “front lines” during our many outreach events. Many supervisors allow volunteering work time to outreach events. Librarians and staff largely value interacting with students, and many will prioritize activities that allow them to do so. Mostly volunteer, occasionally required. Supervisors in public services areas generally support participation. Non-librarian staff sometimes participate dependent on the location of the event, for example, Carnegie Library has limited staff, so when there are building outreach events, there is an understanding that people will participate, which is supported by supervisors. Often done on a voluntary basis. We encourage all department heads/managers to allow time for service activities for all employees. Often, they have their own initiatives that they want to promote so being present at an event is a good incentive because they have their own goals that need to be met. Open calls on all staff listservs, personal requests. Staff may need to ask for permission from their supervisors for approval of time. Our library does not have a coordinated outreach program, thus staffing outreach varies by program and sponsoring departments. Staff may need to secure their supervisor’s approval for involvement. Our outreach efforts are fully supported by our administration. When soliciting volunteers, we generally send an email to all employees encouraging them to support the event if their schedule allows. All volunteering is done on paid time. Recruit through personal communications and library newsletter. Require approval by supervisors, especially for hourly staff.
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