Community Engagement: Leveraging Library Online Tools to Support Local Historical Organizations

Among Floridians, Jacksonville is known as the “First Coast.” It is a reference to the fact that Northeast Florida has some of the oldest European settlements in North America. The numerous local historical organizations are forever challenged to preserve and share the rich history of “all that is Jacksonville–including early settlers, 19th- and 20th-century urban planning and architecture, civil rights and Black history, city governance, and our national parks heritage.” They often do not have the resources needed, but local academic libraries are rich in resources and tools that can benefit organizations outside the library and help bring more awareness to the organizations and the collections they have. As the role of academic libraries continues to evolve with technological changes, libraries are continuously looking for ways to reinvent themselves and expand their role within their university and throughout the greater community.