Sponsored by Washington Art Library Resources Committee (WALRC)
Speakers:Reaching Across the Aisle: The Library as Bridge Between Science and Art- Shannon Marie Robinson, Fine Arts Liaison Librarian, Denison University
Dr. Strangetune, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Merge- Ann Lindell, Head, Architecture & Fine Arts Library, University of Florida
Ask the People, Serve the People: A Collaborative Assessment Project at UCLA- Allison Benedetti, Librarian for Advanced Research and Engagement, UCLA Library
Moderator:Lyndsay Bratton, Kress Fellow in Art Librarianship, Yale University
Collaboration in higher education is becoming increasingly crucial with ever-increasing demands on resources and widening ranges of expertise. As a result, academic libraries are becoming more enterprising by finding new ways to collaborate more effectively and creatively. The three presenters in this session all faced different challenges where collaboration provided an effective means for successful innovation.
Ann Lindell, at the University of Florida will discuss the decision that was made to close the Music Library facility and merge its collections and professional staff with the Architecture & Fine Arts Library. This change involved many departments and multiple facilities and her paper will address the topics of advocacy and communication during times of change, patron activism, and strategies for managing expectations both internal and external.
Allison Benedetti will discuss how renovated space at the UCLA Library resulted in bringing in users from diverse subject areas. A team of librarians launched a multi-modal assessment project in order to better understand the complex needs of varying disciplines and students and to be proactive in addressing and scaling responses to newly arising challenges. The initiative provides an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on campus to promote this project and guide it through to implementation.
Shannon Robinson, a fine art liaison librarian at Denison University, will discuss how she and a science liaison librarian are implementing intra-institutional collaborative activities between science and art faculty members to support the STEAM movement, which champions adding Art to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. Successes, failures, and future efforts will be addressed, reflecting on how librarians can foster the STEM to STEAM movement at their institutions.
