Call for Proposals

We are soliciting chapter proposals for our forthcoming ACRL book, The Community College Library: Outreach and Engagement with an anticipated publication date of Spring 2027. This book is part of the book series, The Community College Library.  With 1,167 public and independent community colleges across the United States, community colleges are educating nearly half of the undergraduates in the nation.  Community colleges serve a unique student population including high school students, first-generation students, parents, veterans, homeless students, returning students, those looking to transfer to a four-year university, those seeking technical vocational skills, and many more.This series aims to highlight the work, dedication, challenges, and innovation occurring in community college libraries across the country. 

Focus of the Book:

This edited volume will present chapters written by community college librarians leading outreach programs across the United States. In order to create equity in access, inclusivity, promote social justice, and support the whole student, community college librarians must actively reach out and engage all students. Outreach is that attempt to promote and provide services to students, particularly those who are traditionally underserved. It can also be an opportunity to engage the broader community to support student learning. This book will compile examples of innovative, engaging, and effective outreach programs in community college libraries. Each chapter will provide details on such programs including program purpose or mission, required resources and labor, outcomes, challenges and opportunities, sustainability of programs, and other processes or collaborations needed to make the program successful. 

Possible topics:

• Book clubs
• Finals activities
• Exhibits
• Cultural events
• Library participation in campus events
• Unlikely partnerships
• Social media
• Creative marketing campaigns
• Collaborations across campus (student services, students organizations, faculty)
• External collaborations
• Community partnerships
• Student advisory boards

Don’t see an outreach topic here that you would like to write about?   That’s okay!  We want you to submit your proposal! If you have any questions, contact the editors at thecclibrary@gmail.com to discuss how your idea may fit within this book’s scope.

Proposal Guidelines:

Interested authors are invited to submit a proposal and fill out the short online proposal form. The form will require: 

• Author names, job titles, and institutional affiliations
• A working chapter title
• An abstract up to 500 words
• A current CV

Proposals are due by April 20, 2026 and must be submitted via online form.

Acceptance

• Contributors will be notified of their status (acceptance or rejection) within 3-4 weeks of the due date of proposals.
• Completed chapters will be approximately 2,500 – 4,000 words in length excluding endnotes and bibliography.

Timeline

• The first draft of chapters will be due August 28, 2026, and final draft on November 20, 2026.
• Projected publication date: Spring 2027

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Kaela Casey, Librarian, Ventura College

Janet Pinkley, Head of Access Services, CSU Channel Islands, and Adjunct Librarian, Ventura College

Contact us at: thecclibrary@gmail.com

https://sites.google.com/view/thecclibrary/home/outreach-and-engagement