Our Approach to Outreach
Often when people think of outreach in the Library world, they picture staff standing behind a table at an event or festival. This is a classic example of outreach and one we do regularly. In fact, every month our Outreach Team is at the heart of First Friday, registering folks for library cards or chatting with them about Library services. But there's much more to outreach at the Camas Library.
Read to Grow: This is an early literacy program where we present storytimes at daycares that wouldn't be able to visit the Library as a group.
School Partnerships: This can include anything from Back-to-School, Literacy Nights, and PTA meetings, to being present at the Camas School District's BookMoVan stops throughout the summer. It also includes behind-the-scenes work, like Outreach Librarian Elliot Stapleton attending various meetings with school district staff, discussing resources or developing further partnerships between our two organizations.
Second Story Gallery: We consider this outreach for several reasons. First, the Gallery brings in many people who have never visited the Library, and it's a great chance to introduce them to our other offerings. Second, the Gallery affords us countless partnership opportunities to work with other community organizations and members. We meet them through our work in the Gallery, and additional projects blossom. A good example of this is the Clark County Historical Museum.
Platform for Charitable Giving: Camas patrons have voiced their desire to be able to give back. Maria Martin, Library Associate on our Outreach Team, takes the lead on creating opportunities for patrons to do just that. She recently coordinated a food drive in September and is currently partnering with Project Holiday Hope to help provide gifts for those in mental health crisis.
Volunteer Coordination: Our volunteers fall into outreach because they are our biggest advocates. We can multiply our Outreach Team exponentially with volunteers by creating ambassadors. They will support the Library in the community, advocate, and raise money. All they ask in return is that they are treated well. The coordination of our volunteers is an important part of outreach.
In the coming year, I will highlight some of the individual outreach efforts that Elliot and his team are working on.
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