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Library and marketing class collaborate to create next generation learning landscape

Sabra Brock (Touro College, New York, New York, USA)
Sara Tabaei (Touro College, New York, New York, USA)

Reference Services Review

ISSN: 0090-7324

Article publication date: 16 August 2011

1244

Abstract

Purpose

In order to increase students' awareness and usage of the college library, an undergraduate marketing class collaborated with an academic librarian to create and develop new marketing ideas for the library. This case study aims to detail the results of the class‐faculty‐librarian collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

Student teams produced marketing plans for the library as their semester project.

Findings

Students became strong advocates of the library as they became familiar with its resources, collections, and its overall value to them. A variety of feasible ideas for promoting the services and resources of the library resulted from student‐led research. This study confirms the value shown in previous studies of including students in the development of library marketing plans. It also shows that student learning interest and engagement significantly increases with the opportunity to solve a real‐world problem. This insight corroborates user‐centered and problem‐based learning methods for marketing classes and for identifying and improving students' information literacy skills.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to one undergraduate college in a major northeastern city in the USA; therefore, the results may be only generalized to similar contexts.

Practical implications

In total, nine specific recommendations for practitioners are offered.

Originality/value

This case study documents the use of a real‐world problem in marketing a library from conceptualization, class study and original proposals, through to implementation of ideas.

Keywords

Citation

Brock, S. and Tabaei, S. (2011), "Library and marketing class collaborate to create next generation learning landscape", Reference Services Review, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 362-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321111161377

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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