Abstract
Librarians are increasingly focused on incorporating outreach, engagement, collaboration, and innovation into everyday tasks such as programming, collection development, instruction, and reference support. Many libraries are turning their attention to what is happening outside of their spaces to improve services and resources inside their spaces. Some institutions are moving away from traditional models of reference, instruction, and collection development and toward creating active mobile spaces where communities can come together to collectively produce, curate, and consume information. The Rutgers University Art Library looks outside its walls to connect with the local campus and New Brunswick communities with the goal of providing innovative programming that engages a wide range of patrons while highlighting the library’s collections and local scholarly research. This paper will look at outreach and engagement and examine how these activities affect collection development and highlight library collections. Six case studies from the Rutgers University Libraries will be used as examples: The Rutgers Art Library Exhibition Spaces (RALES), the Rutgers University Libraries Coloring initiatives, button-making, LEGO play, an Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, and Banned Books Week.