Building a High School to College Connection via E-Publishing

Abstract

This poster describes how Drake Memorial Library at the College at Brockport is partnering with the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library to encourage publication of winning high school essays and creative works in a college institutional repository. The Sokol High School Literary Awards Program is an annual creative writing contest for high school students in grades nine through twelve that has been sponsored by the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library since 1958. Prizes are awarded in the categories of poetry, prose and performance. The process of establishing this collaboration, developing a workflow, and obtaining permissions in preparation for publication are highlighted. Learning outcomes include sharing how this library outreach program can be replicated and enhanced by others. The goal is to increase visibility for open access student scholarship and enhance self-advocacy. The project introduces students to publishing an online work for their resume, college applications, etc. The partnership establishes a connection between the student authors and Brockport that can be the start of a college pathway for the future. We have partnered with the Sokol Award program for the past five years (since 2015), and have now published a total of 35 articles in this collection. The collection can be viewed globally and winning student works have been downloaded collectively over 1242 times in the past five years.