Issue 3: The Outreach Issue

All we can say is Wow! Our library workers are passionate about outreach. Before the BCLA Perspectives editorial board even had a chance to realize there's no clear definition of outreach in the library world, we’d received numerous submissions with examples from...

The BCLA Perspectives editorial board had already approved the theme and sent out a call for submissions before someone thought to ask: “But what is outreach?” In that conversation we realized a concrete definition and boundaries eluded us--but the meaning and...

Responding to community needs is a cornerstone of Richmond Public Library’s mission, and social media is an important part of the Library’s toolkit. In addition to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Richmond Public Library (RPL) uses WeChat to raise awareness of library...

Outreach at CapU library is a relatively new endeavor, and through trying different events and locations, I have learned that there are generally two very different ways to look at the success of outreach events. The first outcome shows high numbers of interactions in...

‘A Day in the Life’ is a feature by BCLA’s Public Libraries Interest Group. The aim is to highlight interesting folks from around the province who are doing amazing things in public libraries. If you, or someone you know, would make a good profile, please email Heidi...

In library collections, VHS tapes pose a dual challenge as a format that is both rapidly degrading and becoming obsolete. In the spring of 2017, the Langara College Library began a large-scale, long-term project to deaccession VHS tapes in the Media Collection....

The year I turned 50, I discovered reading fanfiction (fanfic). It all started after I watched The Last Jedi. I jokingly called it my mid-life crisis, my obsession with Star Wars’ characters Kylo Ren and Rey of Jakku. I learned what “shipping” (a desire for fictional...

I would like to introduce you to LiLi, the Nissan Cube at the center of Library Live and On Tour. The outreach service, provided by Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) is going on its sixth year of meeting the community in the community. My typical morning with LiLi...

Or, what does outreach look like when you’re a small, domain-specific, community library, run by volunteers with very limited time, which has no funding, and which has recently moved locations therefore losing touch with many past patrons? Out On The Shelves Library...

At the BC Library Conference closing keynote this year, we heard from attendees about the diversity of library workers, noting specifically that library schools are not diverse, with some saying that outreach at the educational program stage is too late. BCLA...