Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries

Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries is about librarians taking an active role in engaging with the community they are supposed to serve. The editors recognize that “[m]any students and faculty alike do not turn to the library first for either their research or their social needs” (xvi). The challenge for libraries in the new century is to be more visible and active. Outreach has become more and more the focus of academic libraries. In the introduction the editors present their view that academic-only outreach alone is not sufficient. Bonnand and Hansen want to move the understanding of outreach beyond more technology or coffee shops to building relationships. Social outreach to students is now part of what libraries must do; this engagement is what creates community. This book presents a wide variety of projects that academic libraries have undertaken to build community, expand the borders of engagement with library users, and broaden what the library understands as community.