Digital Public Library of America » Blog Archive » Join the DPLA Community Reps! Application for 5th Class Now Open

"We are pleased to announce that the application for the fifth class of the DPLA Community Reps program is now open! Learn more below, tell a friend or colleague, and complete the application form to apply by April 24, 2017.

What is the DPLA Community Reps program?

In brief, we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers who are willing to help us bring DPLA to their local communities through outreach activities. A local community could be a school, library, academic campus, professional network, or another group of folks who you think might be interested in DPLA and what it has to offer. Reps give a small commitment of time to community engagement, and check-ins with DPLA staff. We have worked with hundreds of terrific reps from diverse places and professions so far.

Community Reps are…

• • enthusiastic about DPLA. Some reps are broadly interested in what DPLA is up to, while others choose to focus on specific aspects of DPLA’s work, such as our education resources, using the research portal for family research, initiatives around ebooks, or technical development using our API.
  • committed to connecting to their communities. The single most important factor in selection is the applicant’s ability to clearly identify communities they can serve, such as a school, a neighborhood, or a professional network, and plan relevant outreach activities for them.
  • a network of volunteers across the country and around the world. Community Reps generously offer their time to plan at least one DPLA-related outreach activity for their community in the course of one year. We welcome community reps from all fifty states and countries beyond the US.
  • an essential element of DPLA’s outreach network. Community Reps help us connect DPLA with new audiences across the country and around the world. Outreach can take a variety of forms, both in person and online, such as a workshop for teachers, a presentation at a local conference, a blog post series, a hackathon, or a webinar.

To answer general inquiries about what type of work reps normally engage in and to provide information about the program in general, we’re offering an open information and Q&A session with DPLA staff members and current community reps.  

Reps Info Session: Tuesday, April 11 at 5:00pm Eastern. If you would like to join this webinar, please register."