VIVA Outreach Committee
Annual Report, July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2000

The emphasis of the VIVA Outreach Committee during its first year of existence has been on publicizing and documenting the contributions that VIVA has made to the higher education community within the Commonwealth. The web is the primary medium used to publicize and promote VIVA and VIVA resources. Accomplishments of the committee include:

VIVA Outreach Committee Web Site

A web site was developed shortly after the committee was convened. The web site is intended to serve as a medium for promoting VIVA and it was developed to be consistent with the overall look and feel of other VIVA web sites. The web site was originally developed and hosted on a server at James Madison University and eventually moved to the main VIVA server at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Outreach Committee web site may be found at: http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/

Press Releases

The committee assumed responsibility for drafting and distributing press releases about new and noteworthy VIVA resources and services. A standard format and editorial guidelines for press releases were developed. The intended audience for press releases is students and faculty at VIVA institutions. Releases are mounted in Word and HTML format on the Outreach Committee web site and announced on the VIVA listserv. Librarians at VIVA schools are encouraged to distribute press releases on their own campuses. During FY 1999-2000 the Outreach Committee drafted and distributed 9 press releases. Press releases are available at the following URL: http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/releases/

VIVA Brochure

Another project undertaken by the committee during the previous year was a redesign of the VIVA brochure. The audience for the brochure was defined as decision makers in the legislature, in SCHEV, and on local campuses. It was written is such a way to appeal to the general public as well. The brochure was updated and streamlined and a graphic artist from William and Mary was hired to develop a visually appealing design. The project was completed in January 2000. The VIVA brochure was printed and copies were distributed to all member libraries. The new VIVA brochure may be seen at: http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/promotions/VIVA-brochure-1-2000.pdf

Compilation of Publicity and Promotional Material

Another ongoing project for which the Outreach Committee assumed responsibility was the compilation of promotional material and published documents related to VIVA. Committee members identified publications that relate to VIVA and sought permission from publishers to mount articles documenting VIVA's history on the web site. The documentary history of VIVA along with miscellaneous other promotional documents may be found at: http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/promotions/

VIVA Spotlight

VIVA Spotlight was developed by the committee as a project to highlight the use of VIVA resources in support of teaching and research. VIVA Spotlight is available at http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/spotlight/

VIVA Testimonials

In response to a suggestion from the VIVA SCHEV liaison the committee began gathering testimonials from students and faculty who have benefited from VIVA resources. A concerted effort was made to gather testimonials from faculty members who received SCHEV outstanding faculty member awards. Another goal was to experiment with a variety of different presentation formats. This project is not completed but the work that has been done to date may be seen at: http://www.vivalib.org/outreach/testimonials/

The Outreach Committee will be meeting in September 2000 to discuss goals for the current academic year.