marcela y. isuster & catherine fahey. bewitching the town: community collaborations in academic...

Image: dresdnhope

Who are we? Why are we here?

Salem• Part of the Greater Boston Area• Known for the Witch Trials and all things Halloween• Tourist destination: 1 million visitors a year (City of Salem, 2007)

Museums Shops Restaurants Festivals Historical sights

• Very active community• Diverse community• Home to Salem State University

Salem and the North Shore

Salem State University (SSU)

• Service oriented university• Around nine thousand students (82%

undergraduate, 18% graduate)• Students: one of the 4 top consumer groups in

downtown Salem (City of Salem, 2007)• 3rd top employer in Salem (City of Salem,

2015)

Salem and SSU

Not our biggest fans!

Salem and SSU

Types of Collaboration

• Direct collaborations Business owners Enterprise Center Peabody Essex Museum (PEM)

• Supporting service learning initiatives Communications Business

Working with Community Groups

Peabody Essex Museum

• China trade/export art• Historic houses• American decorative art• Native American art• Contemporary art

Summer Bridge Academy

• 6 week preparatory summer program for incoming freshmen

• Collaboration among Library, Center for Academic Excellence, English/Independent Studies, and Peabody Essex Museum began in 2010

Richard Hunt (Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), birth 1951); John Livingston (Adopted Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), birth 1951)Door, 1984

Role of the Library

• Teach 5 week information literacy course

• Provide research support

• Visit PEM with students

PEM Guides

• Research docents– Bibliographies– Web content– Exhibit guides

Mr. Odell (American); Thomas Russell (American)Full-hull model, about 1804 Fully-rigged model of the ship FRIENDSHIP (1797)

Role of the Library

• Collaborate with PEM Lead Interpretive Planner on course content

• Co-teach guide training course (4 weeks)

• Create LibGuide and training material

“...teaching methodology in which students learn through thoughtfully organized service

and structured reflection tied directly to academic objectives. Service activities,

conducted with and meeting the needs of a community partner, foster civic responsibility

and deepen academic understanding.”

What is Service Learning?

• Small towns with active economies Small business Tourism Large companies

(Route 128)• Potential for growth• Lack of resources

Supporting Service Learning Initiatives

Types of Projects

• Plan a marketing/expansion strategy• Help reignite the innovation cluster• Create a business directory of downtown

Gloucester

Create a business directory of downtown Gloucester

• Students in BUS 22: Business Plan Development for Non-Business Majors

• Asked by the City of Gloucester to create a directory of the businesses in the city’s downtown

• Also asked to look for gaps in the types of products and services offered

Images: Courtesy of John McArdle

Role of the Library

• Put research within the service learning framework

• Create print and online research aids Very specific

needs

Role of the Library

• Serve as research consultant: In class On the field

Benefits

• Boosts the university’s image• Raises the library’s profile• Improves usage• Seeing students out of the classroom• Librarians get to work with different

populations/materials

Challenges

• TIME!• Location• Administration• Finding opportunities• Finding resources• Access inequality

Useful Links• Salem State University: http://www.salemstate.edu/• City of Salem: http://salem.com/Pages/index• PEM: http://www.pem.org• Summer Bridge Information Literacy 2013: http

://libguides.salemstate.edu/summerbridgelibrary• PEM Guides: http://libguides.salemstate.edu/PEMGuides• Service Learning at SSU: https://

www.salemstate.edu/community/25147.php • City of Gloucester: http://gloucester-ma.gov/ • All About That Gloucester Guide: http://

libguides.salemstate.edu/gloucester

Thank You!

Catherine Fahey, Humanities Librariancfahey@salemstate.edu

Marcela Y. Isuster, Business Librarianmisuster@salemstate.edu