Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
The personal librarian program was embedded into the First Year Student Success classes at Kankakee Community College to ensure freshman instruction in resources and supports available within the library while focusing on creating campus community connections with librarians. As a part of this collaboration, new library curriculum was created to involve students in the library using a variety of different modalities. Students completed an asynchronous assignment connecting typical syllabus elements to library services that may help, a class tour with basic book searching activity, and then a one-on-one meeting with their personal librarian who walked them through database research basics and answered questions. This program was developed with the goals of creating connections that would impact retention and centering the library as a supportive space. Retention has been a primary goal at KCC, and the personal librarian program aimed to serve as one of the points of individual connection on campus that could help retain a student to the following semester and beyond. As a result of the initial implementation of the personal librarian program within the FYE courses at KCC and the encouraging resulting data, other conversations have begun on campus about additional course-level interventions that could be instituted to encourage connection with students. This program has provided a model for others to follow on campus in designing and executing course-level interventions to provide one layer of the current retention initiative of surrounding each student with a team focused on their success as students.
Recommended Citation
Mixon, L., & Conner, T. (2024). Fostering Student Connection to the Library: Personal Librarians and First-Year Experience. In . Abdeljawad & D. Theiss (Eds.) Small to mid-size academic library: Collaborations and outreach. Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.
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