Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, University Libraries made significant efforts to enhance and improve the ways in which they communicated and connected with students and staff due to the move offsite and to online teaching and learning environments. The Teaching and Research Development team recognised the increased significance of communicating and promoting Library initiatives in a consistent, clear, and organised way across the University. Due to the ineffectiveness of ad-hoc social media posting and promotion, the team adopted a structured, sustainable and strategic approach to promoting library initiatives which enabled them to work seamlessly and effectively. The process consists of key steps and a team-wide approach which has ensured that promotional and outreach initiatives remain consistent, creative, high-quality and informative despite the impact of external and internal factors. The strategy has also continued to foster and enhance collegiality and collaboration within the team due to the participation and engagement of all team members.
Saoirse and Fiona aim to outline the main concepts and structures around TRD’s promotional strategy used at MU Library to promote teaching and learning supports and initiatives in a continually changing environment. They will discuss the importance of the initial planning-stages of the promotional process and how they coordinate effectively within the wider (TRD) team. They aim to outline the value of having structured themes, identifying key stakeholders and target-audiences, as well as the advantages of scheduling material across multiple formats and packaging material accordingly. Practical examples will be illustrated on how their approach and process complements the use of sustainable promotional practices and how material can be re-usable and recycled for future initiatives. They will also share key takeaways from their experience of developing an effective, structured, and sustainable strategy for promoting library initiatives.