1. PRESENTED BY:
REGINA REYNOLDS-CASPER
ERIC COULBOURNE

2. ONLY THROUGH WORKING TOGETHER
CAN WE BE STRONGER!
Collaboration (aka Teamwork)
=
Strength and Less Stress

3. WHY DO IT?
 It is about having SUPPORT
 Proving our RELEVANCE
 It’s about having RESOURCES
 It’s about taking advantage of the RESOURCES
AROUND YOU
 No one knows everything!

4. LIMITATIONS:
 Staff
 Time
 Budget
 Resources
 Learn to say no gracefully
 Be aware what they are

5. RELATIONSHIPS:
Different Relationships and Their Give and Take
Academic
Library
Public Library
Academic
Program
Public Library
Academic
Library
High School
Library
Public Library Elementary
School
Libraries
Public Library Pre-Schools
and Day
Cares
Public Library Community
Academic
Library
Academic
Program
Public Library Academic
Library
Academic
Program

6. NON-TRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
 Programming [Academic and Public Library]
 Soliciting Expertise [Academic Library, Public Library, and Academic
Program]
 Programming and Education [Academic Library, Public Library, and
Academic Program]
 Programming [Public Library and Daycares]
 Resource Sharing [Academic Library and High School Library]
 Resource Sharing [Public Library and Elementary School Library]
 Programming [Public Library and Community Group]
 Staffing [Academic Program and Public Library]

8. ME VS. US:
(DON’T COMPETE - COLLABORATE!)
 Don’t think of YOU think of your PATRONS
 Break the Wall
 Secular does NOT and CANNOT exist in this global
community
Why?
We all work past our genre of library
Resources are low
We are all stretched to the limit
ME US

9. CONFERENCES:
 Opportunity to LEARN
 Opportunity to NETWORK
 Opportunity to RELATE
 Opportunity to CREATE
 Opportunity to INSPIRE
Walk a mile pushing someone else’s
bookcart!

10. IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD:
IT TAKES A STRONG COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP TO ENSURE THE LIBRARY’S
VITALITY IN THEIR COMMUNITY
 Communities are not defined by
Zip Code
Kind of Institution
County
State
Or even country
 The Library Community is GLOBAL
 We are already a melting pot - there are no borders

11. THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
 Rome was not built in a day - Don’t get discouraged
 Sometimes you have to prove your value before you are
accepted into the “community”
 You never know who you are talking to
 Always display professional courtesy
 Sometimes a face to face visit is best
 Kill ‘em with kindness
 Be persistent
 Be consistent

12. Share your buddy
experiences!
Who do you want
to be your
library buddy?

13. CONTACT INFO:
Regina Reynolds-Casper
Director of Learning Resources
Barton Community College
casperr@bartonccc.edu
Eric Coulbourne
Children’s Librarian
Great Bend Public Library
ecoulbourne@ckls.org