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Exploring ideas for pop up reference services in your community

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What are some of the places (spaces) in your town / suburb that your library could provide reference services?

Discussion notes from Reference & Information Services meeting at Tamworth, Feb 24 2016.

Back in February we raised this idea of providing pop up references services at the RISG meeting in Tamworth.

From around the room as well as from those who had video-conferenced in we quickly filled the whiteboard with a gamut of suggestions and ideas.

Some of these ideas we’d like to explore a bit more now and also ask you, yes you kind audience member, to suggest a few of your own.

Key to all of this is considering what is unique about your town? About your suburb? What festival or regular event brings whole portions of your community together in one place and how can you leverage that for your library’s reference servces?

As you can see from the whiteboard shot on the screen we came up with some existing local events that libraries can and do get involved in:

Tamworth has an Antiques Fair, Taste Festival, Fiesta le Peel, and Homeless Connect at TREC

Wollongong has monthly markets in the mall

Tuggerah and Wyong have key events such as their Harmony Day & Multicultural Fair, as well as the annual Jazz Festival, and Mardi Gras

At Port Macquarie you can experience the Festival on the Green

But what about your Council’s foyer or courtyard? Have you ever set up a pop-up library reference service there?

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What’s a unique event to your area that you can leverage for a pop up reference service?

Something that gets you out and about and in a location (space) where you may not be expected?

You can see from the previous slide that one of the suggestions that came about was to provide a pop-up library at the local saleyards.

Major events like AgQuip at Gunnedah or the weekly or monthly livestock sales across the state provide a unique location to target a key demographic that we don’t often see walk through the library door

And in thinking about to target this demographic we started to think about what resources we could possibly provide, specifically informational resources.

I also appreciate there may be members of the audience who have never experienced the dust-ridden, excrement-laden, noise-packed joy that is the local cattle salesyard in mid-Summer (indeed any time of year).

It’s a challenge, but how could you successfully market your library to this crowd?

We have just provided Richmond Upper Clarence (Casino) with Find Legal Answers and Drug Info promotional material for Casino Beef Week. The library has a stall on Saturday and they will have copies of Neighbours and the law, Legal Aid family law information/brochures. If people need legal advice then there are LawAccess/Need legal help pamphlets to give away. Also on display will be the standard drinks resin kit as well as copies of A quick guide to drugs and alcohol and Know Your Standards pocket cards to distribute.

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Pop-up library at Manly Beach for Law Week

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We think we will be taking the glasses out with us at every promo opportunity as they are a crowd puller!

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Local growers markets - a great place to provide free recipe suggestions.

Local handmade markets - where local craftspeople and artisans showcase their wares and their skills - a great place to share those ‘how-to’ resources you have

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Partnering with other organisations to

show specialist information services

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Where might you take your

reference services?

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Cathy Johnston

Ellen Forsyth

Philippa Scarf