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Student Engagement and the Academic Library. by Loanne Snavely, Editor. Libraries are under attack—charges that the book is dead, and that libraries are. Although academic libraries are being challenged to face a very different and changing landscape in the twenty-first century because of technology and its.

As we look towards , there are big plans on the horizon for this collection. Our spring will be devoted to tying the collection more closely to programming, making a stronger connection between our leisure reading and viewing DVD collection, and assessing if the things we are doing are actually impacting circulation and patrons who use the collection. Do you have a leisure reading collection in your library? Do you help maintain the collection? If you are in charge of this collection, what are some challenges you face and what are exciting elements of this sort of collection in an academic library?

Bridget Jones Meets Mr. Challenges of Contemporary Fiction. The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 33 5 , — Journal of Academic Librarianship , 2 1 , 15— The Acquisitions Librarian , 15 29 , 63— National Endowment for the Arts. A survey of literacy reading in America. Collection Management , 27 2 , 55— Recreational Reading Collections in Academic Libraries. Collection Management , 30 2 , 73— Academic Libraries and Extracurricular Reading Promotion. So, you might have heard of a machine that disenspers short stories.

With a press of a button, you can print off 1, 3, or 5 minute short stories or poetry. Penn State got several dispensers in spring and PLA just finished up their Courage writing contest , and I can only assume some more libraries will be getting their own dispensers in the next several years. I love watching students approach the dispenser, some not quite sure what they are all about. They press the button and the machine whirls a bit, gearing up to print the story.

They smile when they pull it out of the dispenser, folding it carefully while they walk away.

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Short Edition started in and the company created their dispensers in Libraries have gravitated towards these dispensers and the mission behind the company, we seem like a natural fit. When Penn State first got our dispensers, they were fun machines we had in our library and in spaces across campus. But we wanted to do more than just have students print out stories; we wanted to build a program that could showcase student, faculty, and staff writing.

I became part of the group tasked with building this program in fall In the past year, I have learned a lot — about Short Edition, the creative writing scene at University Park and the campuses, and how to take a fuzzy vision for a program and turn it into something a bit more defined.

I got involved because our administration had felt strongly there should be students involved with the editorial process and naturally, the Student Engagement Librarian knows some students. Other than some loose guidelines from the Editorial Board at Short Edition, we really had the chance to create what we wanted. Running these contests seem like the best way to get content onto our website and our dispensers — having a broad, general theme and prize money seems to attract more writers than a rolling submission process. The other aspect about this project is now that we have some consistency around contests, our Editorial Board and guidelines, we are adding other elements to the program.

Community members in Centre county can now add their content to our website and dispensers, we are adding dispensers to some of our campuses across the state of Pennsylvania, and working locally with the high school to see what their program could look like. In that way, this program is elastic, willing to bend in what direction we think is best, at the time.

In all of this, when you chart uncharted territory, people look to you for advice or ways forward. I send along documentation, neatly packaged in a Box folder, explaining some of the unique elements of our program.

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Maybe, in the future, we can find a way to connect them, in a contest or through our Editorial Boards. I have been a huge fan for years, and find his comics relevant to many areas of life. As a reference librarian, I get a lot of the same questions day in and day out. I know that a lot of you can relate.

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But just like anything done well, building this sort of collection takes time, energy, and resources. Finally, I always like to remember that my residency position and my colleagues are the reason that I have had great opportunities over the past year. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Everyone has a chance to contribute and learn from each other. Todd marked it as to-read Jan 09,

How do I find a book on my topic? How does the printing system work? Can you help me connect my laptop to the Wi-Fi here?

Where is the bathroom? How does citation work? It happens in the classroom, too. How do I narrow these results down to scholarly journals only? Can I put a book on hold from off campus? And I see the same thing happen to my colleagues, especially during this time of semester, when midterms are gearing up and every other student we see is working on one of a handful of similar assignments.

If students already knew how to find resources or write citations or even where the classroom is, what would they need me for at the reference desk? Everyone has to learn a thing before they know it. How have you never seen The Godfather? I highly recommend it. Here, let me show you where to find them and how they work. I do not present this as an excuse for learned helplessness or not doing the work. My college has a lot of non-traditional returning students who may not have done this kind of work in a long time and during the intervening years, the majority of the process has changed , a lot of students from underprivileged schools who may have been focused on different priorities from citation and evaluating sources , and a lot of students who are not high academic achievers, and just want to fulfill degree requirements so they can learn a trade, so their English paper is not the high priority it is to some other students, who may want to transfer to a four-year university and major in literature.

Next month will mark my one year anniversary at American University. I am glad to say that my first year has been fantastic. I have great colleagues and amazing support from the library. I have also had the opportunity to participate in symposiums, attend conferences, contribute to university service, and meet great people from outside the library and around the university. I know that for myself, I can be a bit shy. However, I know that I am also a professional and that going outside of your comfort zone and experiencing new things is vital for not only personal growth, but professional growth.

For me, going outside my comfort zone means talking and interacting to people outside the library. I am currently working on a project where I have reached out to different departments in the university.

Student Engagement and the Academic Library

Through those email exchanges and meetings, I have learned more about our students and the challenges that lie for incoming freshman. One of the great things about my residency is that I have the opportunity to work with other departments, such as technical services or access services. I also participate in the marketing and social media groups, which has not only librarians, but other staff members from departments within the library. These are great opportunities to meet new people and learn about what others do at the library and what their interests are.

As a new librarian, I was excited about all the conferences and all the great locations they would be held at. However, these conferences cost money and with airfare, hotel, and food, it can get expensive! I am lucky enough to have professional development funds through my position. I also know that not everyone has funds through their place of employment and so they cannot attend many if any conferences that are not in their area. I would suggest looking within your own place of employment and finding workshops or small symposiums taking place. Librarians who are focusing significant attention and staffing resources on undergraduates--and are thinking creatively about what engages this specific group of students--are forging the future for academic librar In spite of the doom and gloom predicted in the press for the future of libraries, these institutions aren't at the top of the endangered species list just yet.

Librarians who are focusing significant attention and staffing resources on undergraduates--and are thinking creatively about what engages this specific group of students--are forging the future for academic libraries. Student Engagement and the Academic Library explores how initiatives that involve high impact educational practices and other creative programs can effectively engage undergraduate students with academic libraries. The methodologies described in this work serve to draw students in and make their learning meaningful, both through curricular initiatives as well as through co-curricular and self-initiated activities, disciplinary initiatives, and partnerships across the university.

This book will benefit any librarian seeking to further engage their college-age student populations, and will be especially helpful to libraries that are struggling to establish their programs and initiatives with today's students. Paperback , pages. Published July 19th by Libraries Unlimited first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Student Engagement and the Academic Library , please sign up.

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Student Engagement - Sarah Bosler

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