1. •Subject Librarians
•University Archives
•Centre for Teaching and
Learning
•Humanities departments
Campus
Partners
•Social Media
•Pop-up Exhibits
•Prison Newsletter Exhibit
•Kingston Writer’s Fest
•Doors Open Kingston
Outreach
•Active learning classes
•Co-instructing sessions
•Inquiry based
assignments
•Graduate seminar on
Canadian botanicals
Instruction
•Visit Department
Meetings
•Open houses and tours
•Teaching with Special
Collections Workshop
Faculty
Engagement
Building a Special Collections Instruction Program: A Case Study at Queen’s University
Jillian Sparks, W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections
At Queen’s University we
have a fledgling instruction
program with an average of
five classes a semester despite
the presence of a campus
wide focus on inquiry. Our
small campus presence has
left us with the following
questions:
• Who are our natural
partners?
• How do we effectively
outreach to the campus and
outside community?
• How can we encourage
student research?
• How can we help faculty
integrate special collections
into their curriculum?
This study captures methods
used to increase our
instruction program during a
six month period.
Our main goals were to
increase our public awareness
and to strengthen connections
with faculty and grow our
instruction program.
Providing active learning
sessions and vault tours have
been the most effective means
for engaging faculty.
• We have strengthened ties
with Classics, Art History,
English, and History
• We hosted an English
graduate bibliography
course this summer
• We will have two Art
History internships and one
English independent study
next year
• Returning faculty and
repeat courses