Pull Up a Chair: A Speaker Series Finds a New Home in the Library
- Conference Year
- Online Northwest 2026
- Session
- 3
- Type
- Breakout Session
- Presenters
- Rochelle Simth, University of Idaho
- Abstract
The University of Idaho Library, on a shoestring budget and with no dedicated auditorium, carved out space and invested in new technology to host a longstanding campus interdisciplinary colloquium series in dire need of a new home. In the process, we forged stronger connections to faculty, students, and the community beyond the university’s borders. This is a replicable model and is proving wildly successful for all concerned; it may even inspire conference attendees to start speaker series of their own.
Learning outcomes: Rethink existing library spaces in order to accommodate programming that welcomes the entire community Develop new opportunities to partner with teaching faculty, graduate students and other scholars in order to build lasting relationships Center the library as a nexus of interdisciplinary exchange on campus
Relevance: As a land grant university library in a large state with a widely dispersed population, making the talks available for asynchronous remote attendees is a priority for the library as the colloquium series settles into its new home. There have been many requests for this, and we have created recordings for a few of the talks. Incorporating this as a feature of the entire program is a logistical challenge that we are working on.