The Smathers Libraries Fall Fest Committee is charged with planning, facilitating, and managing the Libraries’ annual Fall Fest event. The purpose of this event is to promote library services, as well as provide information and outreach to new and returning UF (University of Florida) students during the fall semester in a fun and engaging way that aligns with the Smathers Libraries mission to facilitate knowledge creation and encourage creativity and inquiry. The event aims to do so through user-centered demonstrations of services provided by the Libraries and engagement with the UF community by representatives of all library units.
The Fall Fest Committee is charged to accomplish the following objectives:
- Identify services for the event that support the Libraries’ mission statement and support the UF community
- Plan an event with a unique and timely theme with the interests of the UF student community in mind
- Plan activities that are engaging and interesting for both the UF community and our unit representatives at the event
- Collaborate with library units to elicit volunteer participation
- Collaborate with other UF departments to develop a distinctive event that will attract students from all academic disciplines
- Work with approved vendors to produce handouts such as t-shirts, snacks, etc.
- Promote and market the event through various avenues, including social media, newsletters, and local media
- Facilitate feedback from other library units before and after the event to continuously improve
Commitment of team:
- Bi-weekly meeting planning meetings (via Zoom) until the month prior to event, then shift to weekly meetings (meetings are approximately one hour in length)
- Regular team communication occurs on the Fall Fest Teams channel
- Each team member agrees to a commitment to some component of the event (other tasks might be assigned depending on the scope of the event as it develops):
- Graphics & thematic design
- Marketing and social media
- Volunteer coordination
- Vendor liaison (t-shirts, food, etc.)
- Day-of participation at the event
Responsibilities of Chair and Members:
- The committee belongs to the entire committee! The chair’s role is to facilitate and to adjust processes as needed. The team should review the charge each summer and propose changes as needed.
- Chair/Co-chair: The chair is responsible for convening and rescheduling meetings, sending out a call for agenda items, distributing the agenda at least 24 hours in advance, communicating with the A.D. on priorities and plans, and ensuring meeting notes are made available. Chairs facilitate meetings and help guide conversations toward recommendations/plans. The chair reports to the committee when decisions are made by library administration and, in some cases, they make final decisions that cannot be made agreed upon by the team. The chair should seek consensus, but not necessarily unanimity. The chair should meet one-on-one with new team members to ensure they have the tools to be successful (onboarding).
- Team Members: The team members are responsible for accepting/declining meeting invitations, contributing to the development of the agenda, taking notes on a round-robin basis, and volunteering to take on responsibility for team projects and initiatives. If given more than 2 weeks of advance notice, team members should work to adjust schedules to attend the meetings. It is the responsibility of team members to speak up on ways to improve process and support the larger team. If you feel the charge is vague, an event or project did not go as planned, or that facilitation of meetings could be improved then share your thoughts with the chair.
Chair:
- Robin Fowler, Marston Science Library
Committee Representatives (as of 2023):
- Beth Zavoyski, Marston Science Library
- Cindy Craig, Library West
- Neil Weijer, SASC
- Sarah Coates, SASC
- April Helena, Acquisitions
- Courtney Pyche, HSCL
Advisors:
- Alex Avelino, Director of Marketing and Communications
The Fall Fest Committee reports to Valrie Minson, Associate Dean for Academic Support Services.