It Takes a Village to Raise a Tent: A Case Study in Pitching the Academic Library to Incoming Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Rather than continuing to pursue formal inclusion in the University of Western Ontario’s O-Week program, Western Libraries shifted its approach to library orientation for incoming undergraduate students by launching its very own orientation campaign in the fall of 2005. The following article details the planning process and subsequent launch of Western Libraries’ inaugural system-wide library orientation initiative, the aim of which was to position Western Libraries strategically as a key contributor to ‘the best student experience’ at Western. The overall impact of the campaign, as well as its influence on future orientation initiatives at the University of Western Ontario are also considered here.