Congratulations to Arran Bradstock from Maynooth University Library, whose blog post was highly commended in the CONUL Training and Development Library Assistant Blog Awards 2025.
A Story for the Ages: A Tale of Engagement and Impact
Introduction: My Time in the Facilities s Events TeamAs the Library Assistant in Maynooth University (MU) Library’s ‘Facilities C Events’ team, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide range of interesting events. From art exhibitions and book launches to coffee mornings and library tours, these events vary in size and audience and have given me some interesting insights into how a university library can connect with the public in meaningful ways. The importance of this can’t be overstated, as indicated by the MU Strategic Plan 2023-2028 where engaging with communities is among the key aspects of its Five-Year Focus.
The Maynooth Through the Ages history lecture series stands as a remarkable success in community engagement. From February to April in 2025, we hosted weekly talks and tours in and around the library, all free to the public and covering a wide span of topics from a host of excellent speakers. In this blog, I’ll give an overview of the series and highlight how I contributed to the events.
The History Lecture Series: A Growing Success
Maynooth Through the Ages first ran in 2023, a cross- departmental series co-organised by the Library, the MU History Department, and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. It was the brainchild of Prof Terence Dooley, Head of MU History Department, and Elaine Bean, Senior Library Assistant, with Dr Ciarán Reilly, Assistant Professor in the History Department joining in 2024. Due to popular demand, it returned for a third year in 2025.
While much of the series’ success stems from the excellent quality of talks and tours, (each of which could warrant its own write-up), it was also an organisational success. Every event in the series ran smoothly and we regularly had a full house of 130 attendees, with many familiar faces returning week after week, year after year.
While much of the series’ success stems from the excellent quality of talks and tours, (each of which could warrant its own write-up), it was also an organisational success. Every event in the series ran smoothly and we regularly had a full house of 130 attendees, with many familiar faces returning week after week, year after year.
This success was recognised at the 2025 MU President’s Awards ceremony, when the Maynooth Through the Ages Team of Elaine Bean and Dr Ciarán Riley received the Vice President’s Award in the Public Engagement Awards category.
Preparation, Promotion, Coordination: My Role in Organising the Events
Even a small event involves a lot of organising and management. With additional factors like public access, ticketed entry due to high demand, having multiple occurrences to make a series of connected events, etc., the level of planning involved increases significantly.
Working closely with Elaine, my focus covered the following areas:
• Preparation:
- Assisting with updating the library website with details of each event,
- Dealing with cancellations and managing the waitlist on Eventbrite,
- Monitoring a shared email inbox and responding to queries about the event.
• Promotion:
- Sharing posts on the library’s social media accounts,
- Live social media posting during the events,
- Liaising with the videographer and uploading videos of the events to the library’s YouTube channel.
• Coordination:
- Working with the team to set up the room on the day of each event,
- Liaising with the speakers before each talk and getting quotes for social media,
- Greeting attendees before each talk and meeting groups of tour-goers at the designated meeting points.
What I’ve learned is that, whether an event is large or small every aspect needs to be considered and given the attention and professional approach it needs.
Reflection: The Importance s Power of Community Engagement (or: A Lesson for University Libraries?)
Our skills as event organisers in the library, coupled with the expertise of the History Department, made for a winning formula of interdepartmental strengths. So, is this just an isolated success story (which would still be worth writing about!), or is there something other libraries can take
away? To me, it highlights the unique role university libraries can play in creating meaningful, inclusive experiences for the wider public through open-access events.
Events like Maynooth Through the Ages can bring in new people from different walks of life, kickstart conversations and collaborations between disciplines, and deepen the connection between the library and the local area. We were
delighted to hear that several attendees have since registered for courses in the History Department, a testament to both the success of this event series and the power of community engagement.
This experience reaffirms the vital role libraries play as bridges between academia and the wider community, fostering curiosity, learning, and lasting connections.
Relevant Links (listed alphabetically):
• Dr Ciarán Riley - University Webpage: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/ciar-n-reilly
• Elaine Bean - University Webpage:
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/elaine-bean
• Maynooth Through the Ages - Webpage:
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/maynooth-through-ages-0
• MU President’s Awards 2025 - Webpage:
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/mu-president-s-awards- recognise-and-celebrate-staff
• MU Strategic Plan 2023-2028 – Engagement and Partnerships Webpage: https://strategy.maynoothuniversity.ie/our-five-year-focus/#engagement-and- partnerships
• Prof Terence Dooley - University Webpage: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/terence-dooley
• Videos of Previous Years’ Talks – YouTube Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3tEZGQqCJ0-wmlmJRCWMJbzmcl6Vizhh
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