Library Lavatory News

Some of the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the library's restrooms have recently been graced with a new publication known as the Library Lavatory News. This monthly newsletter is the brainchild of Ms. Amy Castillo, Manager of Electronic Resources & Scholarly Communication.

1.      How did you get the idea for Library Lavatory News?

I’ve had the idea in my head for a few years after hearing another library do something similar during a conference presentation. It just seemed like something worth trying to see if we could get some exposure on our library’s electronic resources.

2.      What kinds of stories are featured in the News?

Amy Castillo, Manager of Electronic
Resources & Scholarly Communication. 

While wanting to promote our e-resources was the source of the motivation to get the newsletter together I think it’s important to keep it fairly distributed to showcase several aspects of the library. I like to make sure the newsletter features a service, any upcoming events, and promotion of at least one e-resource. It’s even better if I can tie one of those areas to another. For example, in the September 2019 LLN the e-resource featured (LearningExpress Library) tied in with an event between the library and Career Services where the resource was going to be discussed. 

    3.   How long does it take to put an issue together?

It depends on what’s going on that month and whether I need to get some assistance. I have an amazing student worker, Landry Little, who will help interview library staff to feature a service they oversee. The October 2019 newsletter took about 3 hours to pull together. 

4.      Who creates the content, and how do you get ideas?

In regards to creating content: If it’s a service feature – it’s either written by Landry, myself, or we’ve gathered information from the library’s website; events come from the library events calendar; and e-resources, it’s usually a mix between myself and the information I get from the platform provider. I like to include a logo, if possible, to have a visual tie to the e-resource. Ideas usually come from the time of semester it seems good to promote something. October is American Archives Month so we featured the Archives & Special Collections Department.

5.      Have you gotten any feedback and, if so, what was said?

So far I’ve only received good feedback. I’ve heard from staff that said they’ve gotten questions at the reference desk about an event or an e-resource in that month’s newsletter. Earlier this year a student stopped by my office after seeing the newsletter that mentioned Mango Languages so I was able to show them a bit more about the mobile app. I’ve gotten some recommendations on things to feature in future issues which helps. If anyone has additional suggestions, please let me know!    

The October 2019 issue of the Library Lavatory News.

The Library Lavatory News is a great way to find out about library events and resources.
Do you have an idea for the newsletter? Contact Amy at (254 ) 968-9868.