Continuing Studies Division partners with libraries and bookstore

For more than five years Jim McManamy and Ileana Rodriguez have gone to the library every Monday night. They don’t go to read, check out a video, or do research on the Internet, but to tell a story of their own: how adults in the Madison area can continue their education.

McManamy and Rodriguez, who are part of the Student Services office of the Division of Continuing Studies, work closely with the Madison Public Library to provide free counseling and outreach services to adults in the community.

Pat Fessenden, right, assistant dean of the Division of Continuing Studies and director of its Student Services Office, answers questions at Borders-East Bookstore about returning to college. Fessenden and other staff from Continuing Studies help adults who want to continue their education. The university advisers also share materials about a wide range of university programming, including classes for children, and personal and professional development workshops for adults. Photo: Mary Lock Albrecht

“Some of the people we meet at libraries have appointments but many just drop by when they see our sign and table,” says McManamy. “We talk to them about many different educational topics: how to complete a GED, how to start out as a freshman when you are already 45 years old, how to continue a college degree you started many years ago or how to go about changing careers. Every week is a new experience.

“We want adults to know about the opportunities available to them to continue their education,” adds McManamy, who has been a counselor with the Division of Continuing Studies for nearly 14 years. “We believe more people would go back to school if they knew how to take those first steps.”

“The Madison Public Library System has been wonderful to work with,” says outreach specialist Rodriguez. “They give us a prominent space in their libraries and tell visitors about our services.”

Sometimes the assistance needed is simple, but it can make a difference. Rodriguez recently helped a library visitor develop a resume; the woman returned in two weeks to report she got the job.

The Student Services team also presents sessions on obtaining financial assistance, and schedules career interest inventories, such as the Strong Interest Inventory, so adults can determine where their interests lie.

After the success at local libraries, the Division of Continuing Studies recently found a new community partner in sharing educational possibilities: Borders-East Bookstore on Madison’s east side.

“So far we’ve had people stopping to get all kinds of information — from classes for youth, to how to enroll in the university for just one course, to how to take professional development and personal enrichment classes,” says Judith Strand, an advisor with Student Services and coordinator of the Borders-East and University partnership.

“We were pleased to have the university come to our store because it gives our customers another outlet for their interest in learning,” says Alison Jones, general manager of the Borders-East site.

“We look forward to building a continuing relationship at the site,” Strand says. “We think our efforts in the community can help build on the university’s goal of making the university a ‘resource for a lifetime’.”