Your Name and Title: Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco, Instruction Librarian

Library, School, or Organization Name: UC Merced

Co-Presenter Name(s): Sara Davidson, Head, User Communication and Instruction

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Merced, CA

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): Academic Librarians interested in outreach, Library students (undergraduate and graduate)

Short Session Description (one line):

Our experience using the SCVNGR app as a platform for our Welcome Week Campus Trek taught us a lot about what to consider when embarking on mobile-based outreach events in the future.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

This summer, UC Merced’s Library used the mobile app SCVNGR as a platform for our Welcome Week Campus Trek. Starting in June, we planned the event, collaborated with other groups, and designed challenges we hoped would teach our students about campus resources and opportunities. Then we launched the Trek.

Our results illuminated the types of issues that can arise through the use of this sort of outreach, and gave us insight into what to consider when embarking on these types of events in the future.

Among the topics we’ll be addressing are the benefits and challenges involved in using SCVNGR, what we learned from our experiences, and what we recommend to other librarians who are considering using mobile apps in outreach in the future.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: http://ucmercedlibrary.info, http://scvngr.com, http://libguides.ucmercedlibrary.info/scvngr