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 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.
Tailoring Student Staff Projects as Ethics of Care
(2024-10-25) Kohout-Tailor, Jessica; Commons, Tyler; Fiema, Madeline; Arredondo, Ivanna; Niemiec, Christian
The purpose of our Learning Commons is to provide a central learning hub for students to find peer research assistance, use flexible learning spaces, consult with experts from student support services, attend workshops, or engage in other activities that support their academic success, professional development, or wellbeing. We hire and train Peer Research Specialists where student staff are trained to answer reference and research questions at the Learning Commons Help Desk. They also work on higher-level projects that aim to build their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills and engage students in the space. We tailor these projects to the professional growth and/or the personal interests of student staff. Learn how we use the ethics of care to create student projects and hear from students on the projects they have facilitated and completed. Projects include a food pantry drive, caring for a hydroponic garden, scavenger hunts, and more!
Senior Information and Borrowing: The Positive Impact of Recognition and Promotion
(2024-10-24) Calo, Mary; Aldwinckle-Povey, Joshua
In January 2023, the Brandeis Library Public Services Department launched a new student staff position; Senior Information and Borrowing Assistant. Prior to this position, Public Services offered one sole position resulting in a stagnant experience for those who worked over several years. The vision was born from the Department’s commitment to an “ethic of care” approach towards student supervision. Library staff sought to o er student staff the opportunity to develop professional skills, while acknowledging their exceptional. The position allowed for Library staff to recognize those students who demonstrated skills like leadership, knowledge, empathy, and critical thinking through a promotional opportunity. This presentation by the Manager of Public Services, Mary Calo, and former Senior Information and Borrowing Assistant, Joshua Aldwinckle-Povey, will explore the motivation for and development of this role, success of the program, impact to student staff, and o er testimonials from current Senior Information and Borrowing Assistants.
Checking In: Slowing Down and Doing Less to Empower Students
(2024-10-24) Gingerich, Monica
Penn State's President Bendapudi has said, "We can do anything, but we can't do everything." Taking this sentiment and a culture of care for our student employees in mind, I threw out my carefully curated training guide for the year in lieu of slowing down and checking in with my student employees to assess their capacity. This poster explores the power of developing training around “check-ins” with student employees at bi-weekly training meetings, and empowering students to choose future projects and training topics based on their interests and mental load availability. The results of this simple practice of “check-ins” helped build relationships and foster a supportive environment for library student employees to grow in their roles as Peer Research Consultants. How to build “check-ins” into your training, build a program based on student need and input, and reflections on the process will be discussed.
Raise the Bar – They Can Reach It! Students in Library Leadership
(2024-10-25) Drolet, Claire
Over the last several years, the Krauskopf Memorial Library at Delaware Valley University has been developing a student employment program that goes well beyond the basic check in / check out and shelving tasks. Using student feedback, focus groups, and the NACE core competencies, our students are now learning information literacy, curation, marketing, customer service, supervisory, and teamwork skills. This serves the library well, but more importantly, it makes the students' jobs more challenging, professionally beneficial, and satisfying. Custom tasks are created and given to students to help them pursue things they are passionate about, and supervisory responsibilities and training are given to those who want to step up and learn to lead their peers. We are raising the bar - because we know they can reach it!
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.

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