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In Fall 2004, the Library Instruction Services Department in Shields Library created two posters that appeared on 39 community buses frequented by UC Davis students and members of the public traveling on the routes around Davis. Since then, the department has systematized its approach as the library outreach campaign has expanded to include billboards, motion video ads and mini movies, instruction posters and handouts, and the bus posters can be seen on 48 buses throughout the academic year.

From Portmanteau to Extreme Research:

In 2005-2006 (Series I Posters) the department launched a multi-pronged visual media campaign to bring our core message of library services (help desks, workshops, answers) to students in their environment. The posters, following a portmanteau theme, combined words related to libraries and research. After feedback from students, the core message for 2006-2007 (Series II Posters), takes a "hands-on" approach; focusing on research tools (subject guides, catalogs & databases) and research help.

Customize the UC Davis Library Posters for your Library

A selection of the posters have been prepared as blank templates for download in photoshop format for use by interested libraries or educational institutions. In order to use the copyrighted poster templates, please provide your name, contact information and name of library/institution. All users will be required to retain the UC Regents copyright and credit notes at the foot of the posters. Contact the library instruction team via email to request the posters that you would like to use for your library. You will be asked for contact information, location and type of library and asked to participate in a follow-up survey. The posters are copyrighted to UC Regents with a creative commons license held by the library instruction team. The posters cannot be sold, used commercially or distributed. All interested parties are asked to contact the Library Instruction team for the download location (libinfo @ ucdavis.edu).

Printing the Posters

Check your campus for possible printing locations which charge by linear foot rather than by square foot (common to some commerical operations). The posters shown here were printed on an HP 42 inch wide color plotter. Check your campus or neighborhod for possible printing locations which charge by linear foot rather than by square foot (common to some commerical operations). For our bus posters, it was necessary to outsource the lamination of the posters to a local copy shop. All other posters are mounted on foam core (32x40 inches or 40x60 inches). This year we are planning to print the exterior posters on vinyl rather than glossy or semi-gloss paper. The exterior posters remain outside for two weeks at a time in the Memorial Union patio kiosk at UC Davis.

Bus Posters: Series I

The 2005-2006 posters that comprise Series I feature the portmanteau terms created by the library instruction team and nighttime images of the library showing the interior courtyard rather than the familiar facade. The library instruction team includes: Melissa Brown, Sheila Cunningham, Lee Riggs, Bernadette Swanson, Sandra Vella, and student graphic artists: Amy Ving Luu, Alex Marin, Jenny Yang and Nicole Fogarty and the printing expertise of Hector Villicana from the Library Systems Department.

Bus Posters: Series II

In Fall 2006, the theme is about student's library research, from daily checklists and music while you work, to the academic edge of of using library research tools for Extreme Research TM.

Using the Templates & Inspirational Variations:

University of California Irvine's Library has created a series of posters inspired from our poster series. They have created wonderful graphics for the themed series and created their own set of posters, but have retained the one very popular Researchology definition. http://staging.ucmercedlibrary.info/news/index_posters.html

Customize the UC Davis Library Posters for your Library

A selection of the posters have been prepared as blank templates for download in photoshop format for use by interested libraries or educational institutions. In order to use the copyrighted poster templates, please provide your name, contact information and name of library/institution. All users will be required to retain the UC Regents copyright and credit notes at the foot of the posters. Contact the library instruction team via email to request the posters that you would like to use for your library. You will be asked for contact information, location and type of library and asked to participate in a follow-up survey. The posters are copyrighted to UC Regents with a creative commons license held by the library instruction team. The posters cannot be sold, used commercially or distributed. All interested parties are asked to contact the Library Instruction team for the download location (libinfo @ ucdavis.edu).

Researchology: the art and science of finding the right stuff.