At the innovative Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries, librarians don’t just wait for the questions to come to them. They leave the building and embed the public library in the community. Through a series of projects and experiments, the Douglas County librarians have explored a new dimension of modern reference service, one that places their expertise at points of need to respond to the questions the public didn’t take to the library. By helping to define and answer questions in context, the embedded librarians add value to their community.

Presented by: Jamie LaRue, director, Colbe Galston, business librarian and Amy Long, Parker library manager, Douglas County Libraries (CO)

Access Recording

• View Recording (combined archive of audio, chat, and slides)
• Leaving Fort Ref - Reaching Out with Reference a self-paced course based on this webinar, created by WebJunction (You will be prompted to log in to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

• View Slides (pdf)
• View Chat (xls)

Related Resources and Links

• Handout: Community Reference (doc)
• Read written webinar recap
• Community Reference: Making Libraries Indispensable in a New Way, American Libraries, May/June 2012
• Jamie LaRue's Website
• Higher Education Report (pdf): Put together by a team of librarians and administrators seeking to answer a question around higher education in Douglas County, addressing a recurring theme in community meetings during that that year.
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Report: Research collected for the Castle Pines Economic Development group. They were asked by the City Council to make a recommendation, so Amy offered to put together this executive summary on the issues to help assist them with their recommendations.
• WebJunction webinar on Community-Led Libraries
• On Embedded Librarianship:
  • David Shumaker's Book and Blog, The Embedded Librarian
  • Buffy J. Hamilton in TechSource LTR, Embedded Librarianship: Tools and Practices, presentation, Taking Embedded Librarianship to the Next Level: Action Steps and Practices
  • Cheryl Becker, A New Kind of Librarian

Questions to consider:

• Can you name three community LEADERS that are really doing something in your community?
  
• Can you name three ORGANIZATIONS that are doing significant work in your community?
  
• Can you name three ISSUES that will be critical focuses for your community in the next 18-24 months?