Sherrod Library News

The Sherrod Library Makes Valentine's Day a Little Sweeter for Students: Outreach Department Events

This past Valentine’s Day individuals visiting the Charles C. Sherrod Library were treated to a tabletop display with candy, buttons, and bookish valentines, free for all to take. This display, like many others you may notice throughout the year, was born from a collaborative effort between library faculty and student workers assisting in outreach services. Though the number of individuals officially working under the banner of outreach are few (the group includes three student workers, a graduate assistant, and Librarian Jonathan Wilson), their mission is grand, seeking to engage both ETSU affiliates and the local community with the library through the creation of both educational and entertaining displays and events.

Graduate Assistant Jillian Taylor and Librarian Jonathan Wilson making buttons for the Valentine's Table

Outside of displays, the Sherrod’s outreach program also holds events, partnering often with on and off-campus entities. Some past collaborators have included Fraternity & Sorority Life, Student Counseling, and the Storytelling department. Last fall, it was a partnership between the former and the Sherrod which envisioned and executed “Ghost Stories on the Plaza,” a program which invited the ETSU and Johnson City communities to a night of spooky storytelling and fall snacks. It was library student workers who created and distributed marketing materials for this event, just as it is student workers who often get to take the lead on creating tabletop displays. “We like to give students that experience, to create these displays and flyers and share them across campus,” Wilson explained, emphasizing the importance of student work in the overall success of an outreach program.

Paul Nease and Librarian Lydia Gwyn reviewing rare local maps 

Coming up on March 23, the next outreach program will display rare books relating to women’s history, and a select collection of maps, some over one-hundred years old. The Sherrod’s Government Docs specialist, Paul Nease described this type of event as a thing where people can come in, walk through and go, “Wow, you have this!” Nease will be available throughout the event for questions, as will Katy Libby, the Sherrod's Cataloging librarian and Rare Books enthusiast.