Student Employment in Academic Libraries (SEAL) Symposium 2024

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/43450

The Student Employment in Academic Libraries Virtual Symposium seeks to showcase educationally purposeful student employment. We're providing a space for colleagues who care deeply for the growth and success of students to share ideas about student employment, and connect with and learn from other practitioners. Our focus is on approaches to student employment that are compassionate, strive to be inclusive and equitable, and center learners and learning.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 22

Student Partners Developing a Library Student Employment Program
(2024-10-25) Campbell, Ashley; Bhavsar, Dharshi; Vo, Nghi; Nwaiwu, Uzo
Our team is committed to enhancing the student employment experience at the University Library through a combination of in-depth research and innovative design. Comprising individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, we aim to understand the unique needs and challenges student employees face. By conducting thorough research and gathering comprehensive feedback, we design programs that address critical aspects such as professional development, job satisfaction, career growth, and a sense of belonging in the workplace. Using data-driven analysis, we strive to improve the efficiency and overall satisfaction of the student employment system. Ultimately, our initiative seeks to create a more supportive and fulfilling work environment, better preparing student employees for both academic success and future career opportunities, helping them thrive within the university and beyond.
Mentoring Student Employees
(2024-10-24) Garcia, Julieta
At California State University, Northridge (CSUN), 70% of the total population of full-time students are first generation higher education students. As one of a few Archivists at CSUN, I process archival collections, however, most of my time is spent managing student employees in Special Collections and Archives (SC/A). Many colleagues believe that I solely hire history majors; to their surprise, I do not. Since becoming the Student Employee supervisor for the unit, I have used my own experience and campus resources to manage student employees. This includes, focusing on the individual and showing them how this temporary position can translate into their own careers by teaching them about being resourceful, applying to new positions and internships, and graduating or pursuing other careers that are better suited for them, even if it means transferring to another university.
Panel: Ask a Student!
(2024-10-25) LaPorte, Molly; Wan, Shu; Fiema, Madeline
Join us to hear our student employee panel and listen as they give their perspective on working in academic libraries. Four students from academic libraries across the United States are answering your questions about all things student employment. Want to know their thoughts on training? Professional development? Working late? Ask your questions and join us to hear their insights.
Panel: Community Building Among Library Student Employees
(2024-10-24) Geiling, Clark; Vorobeva-Sears, Ekaterina; Forbes, Christine
This panel presentation will focus on community building strategies and projects to establish greater connection among library student employees. Library professionals at two different academic libraries will answer questions about their recent work in this arena. They’ll discuss their motivation, the benefits of undertaking this work for both library employees and student employees, as well as considerations to remember in order to establish an engaged, connected, and supportive community environment for library student employees.
International Student Library Employees as Affective-Service Providers
(2024-10-25) Wan, Shu
Reviewing my work experience at the University of Iowa Libraries, this essay aims to reflect on the significance of hiring international students as college librarians from the perspective of an "ethics of care" in the following three sections. The first section focuses on the urgent need for student employees of international backgrounds to fulfill librarian roles. An increasing number of international students', especially those of East Asian backgrounds, distinct needs for library services have been consistently overlooked in the recent past. However, strict budgeting in higher education prevents college libraries from hiring librarians with bi- or multi-lingual proficiency, which could be improved by instead hiring international student employees. The second section turns to my experience as an international student library employee. Enrolled as an MLIS student at the University of Iowa, I worked in the reference services in the university library between 2019 and 2020. When providing reference services to students originally coming from China, I used both the Chinese language and their familiar examples to help those international students in searching for resources. In addition, I also offered direction for those students who needed help with other library services provided entirely in English. The last section discusses the ethnic implications of international student employees in libraries from an "ethics of care" perspective. As shown in the second section, I also provided emotional support for international student patrons. This support fulfills the "affective" component of "ethics of care," which I argue should be integrated into the routine of reference services.
Student Ownership of Library Spaces
(2024-10-24) Boothby Rice, Andrea
As a small academic library, we heavily rely on students to keep our doors open. However, in the past, this reliance has essentially amounted to paid study time and threats to hold students accountable. Over the past two years, the Public Services team has worked towards creating a collaborative space that prepares students for their post-undergraduate careers. We achieve this by centering them in our practices and policies, offering student led training, creating a mentoring cohort, and involving students in projects that align with their interests. Our goal is for student employees to feel a sense of ownership, not only as students but also as stewards of the library services. This 20-minute presentation will examine key points in our development and address ongoing questions we continue to explore.
Sharing is Caring: Implementing an Ethic of Care at UMN's Digital Library Services
(2024-10-25) Neira, Isabella; Mahoney, Ahnna; Berger, Theresa; Godshall, Kathleen; Weber, Ciara
This presentation will highlight the ways in which both student staff and supervisors at the University of Minnesota’s Digital Library Services unit (DLS) have embraced Joan Tronto’s fifth feminist ethic of care on plurality, communication, trust and respect, and care to create a modern, supportive work environment in special collections digitization. Through student testimonials and accompanying commentary from supervisors, we will highlight the ways in which these particular qualities are represented in our approaches to holistic decision-making, project delegation, assessment of personal interests, development of close mentoring relationships, and serving communities of users. Our presentation will reflect the reciprocal, relationship-centered environment we have fostered in DLS by featuring a text-messaging like format. We choose this style not only because it represents the modern nature of the work we do, but also because it demonstrates the camaraderie and open communication that defines DLS as a unit.
The Value of Floor Time: Evaluating Where Students Are & Where They Want to Go
(2024-10-24) Rupinski, Leigh
“Floor time” encourages people to take 10-15 minutes lying on the floor to decompress and ground yourself. In a therapy setting, floortime can also refer to a technique of engaging with a child’s interests and then creating challenges to promote development. Both uses of the word get at my approach to student employee evaluations. In evaluation conversations, the initial skills rating serves a “floor” from which we can build on the student’s individual strengths, discover growth areas, and most importantly, introduce praise and safety. After the first evaluation, we progress into more collaborative conversational models that help students identify and understand their own strengths in the workplace and identify what directions they want to take in the future to get the most out of their experience.
Nurturing Professional Growth for Student Employees in Academic Libraries
(2024-10-25) Jackson, Lindsey
The Texas Tech University Architecture Library employs 7-8 student associates for daily operations, including circulation and customer service. In fall 2023, we launched a professional development component student associate job. This initiative requires them to pursue projects of their choice during work hours, aligned with their career goals. Students can use various resources, including the university's Udemy subscription, to enhance their skills. In addition to regular communication about their day-to-day work, the public services librarian conducts periodic check-ins throughout the semester to discuss students’ progress on their professional development projects. Creating space for the professional growth of student employees embodies an ethics of care. This approach creates a supportive workplace culture at a time when students are starting to envision their professional futures beyond their library roles. This practice goes beyond typical employment responsibilities, actively contributing to the holistic development of student workers.
I'm Not Crying, You're Crying, or, Student Exit Interviews as a High Impact Practice
(2024-10-24) Anderson, Robin
Graduating college can be a source of significant stress for students. To help students identify how they have grown personally and professionally from their college experiences, library staff conduct exit interviews with graduating student workers. The exit interviews give students space to reflect on challenges they have overcome and transferable skills they have gained, celebrating their achievements and preparing them for similar questions in job interviews. The exit interviews also benefit library staff by sharing student perceptions of work tasks and environment, areas for library improvement, and the positive impact that library work has had on students. Formally invited to reciprocate the care they have received as library employees, students leave their job empowered for the broader world.

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