Service Beyond Our Walls: The System-wide Outreach Model

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

Montgomery County Public Libraries’ (MCPL) Outreach Team has expanded the library’s presence beyond the walls of our physical buildings. This is a new model for MCPL, and it was developed when the previous outreach method, a mobile van, was eliminated. This created an opportunity to design a service that would be more robust, more flexible and would reach more underserved residents. The Outreach Team began service in November of 2013, has grown the knowledge of our resources beyond our current customers by extending the reach of MCPL services and collections to potential customers and new Americans where they live, gather and meet. Success has been measured by new user registrations, an increase in the awareness of MCPL’s online resources and by contacting non-users, new Americans and underserved communities outside our walls to educate them about the free access to the rich resources of Montgomery County Public Libraries.