Members Sharing presentation delivered by Joanne Famer at the 2012 BLA conference held in Stirling from 4-6 July.

1. Welcoming new students to the
library: using the European Day of
Languages as a ‘hook’
Joanne Farmer
The University of Northampton

2. Welcoming students
• International students group
– 6 members
– Support and improve library services
– Inclusive
• Induction tours

3. Refurbishment

4. European Day of Languages
• 26 September
• Also Welcome Week
• Council of Europe event
• Celebrate languages around the world
• Hook –
 Promotion of English language materials
 Welcome and engage all new students
• 3 weeks

5. Activities
• Promotion of EFL Collection
• New packaging/display

6. Activities
• Portable display projectors
• Twitter Feed & Visible Tweets
• Encourage messages
in own language

7. Other activities
• Promotion of DVDs
• Promotion of Book Exchange
• Posters from EDoL
• Screensavers on PCs
• TV display screens
• Facebook

8. Successful?
• Good time to promote EFL resources
• Realised potential use of Book Exchange
• Twitter display effective
- Colourful and interactive
- Good use of new space and portable displays
- Other groups could communicate with students
e.g. Choir, Marketing, VC

9. Successful?
but:
• Limitations with Visible Tweets
- Visible Tweets does not support all languages
e.g. Chinese (Japanese version available)
- Students without Twitter accounts
- Not as inclusive as would have liked
• EDoL – could have made more of the event

10. What next?
• Strategic Team
– International and Distance Learners
– 10 members across Library & Learning Services
– Overseas learners
– Online welcome as well as on campus
– EFL continues to grow/Language zone (Second
phase of refurbishment)
– Twitter display again?