Recipient: Siobhan Dunne, Dublin City University Library

Project Title: Local Community Engagement: Extending the role of the academic library to meet the university’s mission

Project summary:

The relationships between Irish academic libraries and their wider communities have rarely been symbiotic. The full extent of the potential benefits for both libraries and communities has not yet been wholly realised.

This proposed research will map international best practice, examine the reasons for successful community engagement initiatives and investigate the feasibility of implementing these initiatives in an Irish context.

The project will also reflect on the outcomes of national initiatives and examine opportunities for furthering these successes. It will use Dublin City University as a case in point whilst at the same time, ensuring transferability of recommendations to other CONUL libraries.

For the purposes of this research, the term “local community” is being used in its geographical sense and refers to the general public who inhabit the surrounding areas of academic institutions.