The Live-In Librarian

Abstract

Because of the proliferation of remote resources that allow users to complete research without visiting a library in person, many academic librarians have responded with outreach initiatives that extend library services to a variety of campus locations. Residence halls, however, have received little attention as an outreach venue despite the fact that most universities stress the importance of housing’s educational mission. In the three years that University of Oklahoma librarian Karen Antell lived as Faculty-in-Residence, she developed extensive library and educational programming for the students in her residence hall. These experiences formed the basis of a successful continuing outreach program to students in university housing even after Antell was no longer living in the dormitory. This article describes these programs and places them in the context of other institutions’ outreach efforts, identifying factors necessary for successful library outreach to residence halls