Yearly Archives: 2024

Shelving the Status Quo: Improving the Student Employment Experience at Penfield Library

Peer-Reviewed Article, , , ,

By Morgan Bond, Electronic Resources and Systems Librarian
State University of New York at Oswego,

Erin Kovalsky, Principal Law Librarian
New York State Unified Court System,

and

Zachary Vickery, University Archivist Librarian
State University of New York at Oswego

Abstract

Student employment in academic libraries supports the overall student experience by both complementing traditional studies, and bolstering students’ sense of belonging. Three librarians at a regional comprehensive university worked to create and implement a Library Employment Program for college students in an effort to align with university and library missions, visions, and values. A critical examination of processes across four library units led to changes to the application process, onboarding materials, evaluative tools, and an increased focus on career preparation. Effectiveness of the changes were mixed; while positive results were observed with the adoption of a new recruitment platform and a more inclusive student employment handbook, new evaluative tools were difficult for student supervisors to use consistently, and students struggled with communicating transferable job skills. Creating a library-wide Student Employment Program offers opportunities to develop and utilize consistent practices for all student supervisors to follow, but generating buy-in can be difficult and time-consuming before demonstrable results are observed.

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Formalizing the Informal: Making Conversations with Faculty Count

Essay, , ,

by Jenna Pitera
Instruction Librarian
Union College

My colleagues joke that I am always selling. I am an instruction librarian at a small liberal arts college that calls itself ‘very relationship based.’ When I came to Union College in Upstate New York, in a barely post-pandemic world, I had an uphill battle to climb when I tried to communicate the utility of our library to the campus. During the pandemic, the library was a rockstar amongst campus services, finding innovative ways to continue services and instruction in a remote environment, but despite my colleagues’ immense efforts, many faculty had moved to a research instruction model where they sprinkled how to find research articles into their standard lessons, using the methods they employ in their own research rather than working with librarians. “I just teach my students what I do” said an economics faculty member to me when I asked him how he works with the library. “I know how to find articles.”
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Bringing on the Social: Infrastructuring Libraries Through Zine-making Workshops

Peer-Reviewed Article, , ,

By Lisa Engström, Senior Lecturer in Information Studies,
Lund University, Sweden
and
Johanna Rivano Eckerdal, Associate Professor of Information Studies,
Lund University, Sweden

Abstract

Public libraries serve as social infrastructures that foster interpersonal connections and promote well-being and cohesion. In order to explore the role played by libraries in the process of social infrastructuring, we conducted a zine-making workshop with librarians. This workshop facilitated collegial conversations and provided an opportunity for participants to familiarize themselves with the concept of social infrastructure and its practical implications in connection with their work. Consequently, both the researchers and librarians gained insight into how libraries function as social infrastructures, and identified areas that require improvement. Furthermore, the workshop also deepened our understanding of how the concept of social infrastructure can be put into practice. Continue reading Bringing on the Social: Infrastructuring Libraries Through Zine-making Workshops →