Postmortem: Understanding the Life and Death of a Multi-Year Writing Program in an Academic Library

A shared interest in a month-long novel writing event inspired two reference and instruction librarians to develop a serialized program built around writing and research. Through leveraging resources and partnerships, the librarians planned to foster creativity and confidence in research writing skills within an ethos of community. This project relied on multiple forms of outreach and assessment with an intention that would be meaningful and valuable to the students. The goal from the beginning was to develop an event that incorporated the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, fit the library’s mission, and engaged participatory popular culture consumption and production. This case study documents the origins, disruptions, and ultimate end of Lightning Writing, a library-forward writing program that positively impacted students’ writing and their opinions of the library, as well as the lessons learned in planning, marketing, and assessment.