2014 Charleston Library Conference

The College of William and Mary Library offered collection development grants to its teaching faculty in order to supplement their research and teaching. This program also helped the library to fill in some holes in its collections while adding material that was essential to faculty research and curricular needs. This program will show how a new funding opportunity carved out of the material budget was developed to promote the library as well as enhance liaison collaboration with faculty. The panel will discuss the logistics of the grant process, what was gained, and mistakes made in its first year of a new collection development initiative.

This presentation will:

• Show library subject liaisons to use new ways to develop relationships with faculty by learning their current research methods and helping them develop new courses;


• Offer collection management and budget managers an alternative for adding flexibility to materials budgets;


• Demonstrate to public services and outreach librarians a new way to promote the library, its services, and collections. 

An outline of the presentation:

1. Process of promoting collection grants to faculty. 


2. Discussion of different ways liaisons collaborated with faculty.


3. Review of proposals and breakdown of proposals.


4. Lessons learned.


5. Budgetary aspect of the program – allocations, types of materials purchased.