Presenters: Susie O'Connor and Natalia Bowdoin Presented at the virtual Georgia Libraries Conference in October 2020. How do we properly welcome newcomers to our campuses and communities during social distancing? Come learn about our involvement in the City of Augusta’s Welcome Week for immigrants and community members and our work helping plan the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Week of Welcome celebrating the return of new and continuing students to campus. We will relate our experience working with immigrants, new and international students, and our new neighbors in the Central Savannah River Area. We will discuss newcomer’s information needs, and opportunities and challenges of putting on these events during COVID-19.

1. Creating a Culture of
Welcome:
Celebrating Diversity and Serving the
Information Needs of Newcomers
During COVID-19
Susie O'Connor and Natalia Taylor Bowdoin
Gregg-Graniteville Library
University of South Carolina Aiken

2. Introduction
• Involvement with Welcoming Augusta
• Connection with interests and
experiences
• Service as university expectation
• Campus commitment to diversity
and inclusion
Natalia Taylor-Bowdoin
Susie O'Connor

3. Welcoming America -- Parent Organization
• Organization Overview
• Non-partisan non-profit
• Originated in 2009
• "Provides roadmap and support for communities to become more inclusive of
immigrants and all residents." ~ https://www.welcomingamerica.org/
• Any organization can join their network and participate in building a welcoming
community
• Welcoming Week as Specific Focus every September
• Sept 12-20, 2020
• #CreatingHomeTogether #WelcomingWeek
• https://www.welcomingamerica.org/programs/welcoming-week

4. UofSCA's Week of Welcome
Campus Week of Welcome or "WOW"
• Celebrates the students' return to campus in the fall
• Fun events & activities
• Campus partners
• Student Life, Clubs, International Programs, Greek Life, the library, & other
campus groups
• Focus on welcoming environment for diverse groups (traditional students,
commuters, LGBTQ, veterans, international students, greek life)

5. Week of Welcome/Welcoming Week
• Week of Welcome/adapted for COVID
• Bringing Welcoming Week to campus
• Ice credit
• Map
• International Students Panel
• Welcome signs
• ALA Welcome Posters and Bookmarks
• Next year?

6. Planning Timeline
• 2019
• Six weeks of planning
• Final schedule of events came out August 29th
• Kick-off happened September 13th
• 2020
• Planning started January (seven months)
• Group planned in person & virtual events
• In July group decided on mostly virtual events
• Canceled pickle ball and disc golf until next year
• Kept in person voter registration (election year)
• Final schedule came out August 31st
• Debriefing Scheduled for the Monday following Welcome week events

7. Diversity in Planning Group
• Originated from local community member working non-profit human
services area. She put out a call on facebook and other social media
to garner interest. Current planning group has eight members.
• Organic, flexible, shared responsibility. Each activity had a leader or
group.

8. Welcoming Augusta
Schedule of Events

9. Our Community
Partners
• Imagination Station
• CSRA League of Women Voters
• The Book Tavern
• International Programs and
Student Life at UofSC Aiken

10. Welcoming Augusta Kickoff
Event Schedule
• Solicited participation from local
immigrant community
• Programming content was participant
driven
• Cooking demos and recipes
• Music
• Dancing
• Craft
• Love of sports
• Benefits of participation

11. Community Participation

12. ALA Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and
Displaced Persons (SRIDP) Sub-Committee
Part of the American Library Association's Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services
(ODLOS) Advisory Committee. SRIDP supports and promotes ALA, libraries, and communities to
ensure that libraries provide the best possible services to support refugees, immigrants and
displaced persons.
• SRIDP Welcoming Week guide for libraries available
here: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/Welcoming%20We
ek%20Toolkit.pdf
• Project Welcome: https://publish.illinois.edu/projectwelcome/
• New Americans Library Project/Toolkit for New Americans: https://newamericans.ala.org/
• More ALA Resources: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advocacy/diversity/libraries-respond-
immigrants-refugees-and-asylum-seekers

13. Looking Forward
• Encouraging greater participation/membership in planning group
• More coordination between campuses (USCA and Augusta University) and
community
• Mayor or City Council involvement
• In-person? COVID? Mix of virtual and in-person?
• Promoting a welcoming community throughout the year
• What are you currently doing? What would you like to do to become a more
welcoming community?

14. Q&A
Thank you for coming!
Reach out to us!
Susie O'Connor / susano@usca.edu
Natalia Taylor Bowdoin / nataliab@usca.edu