This year, instead of a synchronous poster session, the posters will be available to view online, where they will be available for online comments. We will update this page with the links to these files as we near the conference. Please review CARL’s Code of Conduct before commenting on a poster.

Supporting Graduate Student Research 

Darlene Aguilar, Instructional Design Librarian at Loyola Marymount University

Where can the library support graduate student research? Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education faculty and graduate students were surveyed to provide insight on the type of support graduate students need, the level of confidence students have as researchers, and the current student use of library resources. Results show that faculty and students differ in their confidence of student’s research abilities, they prefer online asynchronous library instruction, and do not use several library services. This inquiry started with a survey, but we are currently working on a dissertation analysis and a focus group to provide more insight.

Reading Databases: Using Principles of Rhetorical Analysis to Help Students Decipher Academic Search Tools

Melissa Browne, Student Services Librarian, University of California, Davis

Many library instruction programs have close relationships with the Writing Studies/Rhetoric and Composition departments on their campus. At UC Davis, like other colleges and universities, the learning outcomes for both lower and upper-division writing courses focus on developing students’ rhetorical awareness (i.e. their ability to identify purpose, audience, context and voice) for both their writing and reading tasks, as well as their knowledge of discourse communities and genres.

This poster describes a teaching strategy intended to enhance one-shot information literacy sessions for undergraduate students enrolled in writing courses. It introduces academic databases as a genre, with recognizable features that distinguish them from other platforms students frequently use to find information, and which call for the use of specialized search strategies. By explicitly considering the purpose of the tool, its primary audience, and their research needs within the context of their writing assignments, students can make more informed choices about how to leverage search vocabulary and database limiters – their voice – effectively.

Characterizing academic databases in this way moves our teaching beyond point-and-click and aligns our research sessions more closely with core concepts the students are learning in class. It also operationalizes the concept of “searching as strategic exploration” and provides students with a metacognitive framework for interrogating a variety of search platforms.

Confronting Reality – A Circulation Team’s Strategic MOVE

Annie Hor, Head of Technical Services and Circulation, Isabel Vargas, Web Services Librarian, Kari Grimm, Circulation Coordinator, Team Circulation, CSU Stanislaus,

The University Library will be closed for two full years to undergo a complete renovation. The building will be demolished and the collections will be stored in off campus storage facilities. Library services will take place in a series of modular building units established temporarily on campus. The reality is clear, up to 75% of the students who enroll at the university during the renovation period will be spending half of their university life without a traditional library; and more than half of the graduate students will experience only the makeshift library! Circulation, the front-line service team, is confronted with the task of designing a new service model. And the team vows to make the most out of limitations. This poster session will recount the Circulation team’s year-long effort prior to the move out. Substantial projects include building a stay-on-campus functional collection and staging the collection for user inputs and buy-in; designing the use of 4,000 square feet of dispersed space allotted for study areas; identifying shelving units and furniture for the temporary library; and devising a move plan that minimizes service downtime.

The move out took place in the third week of June 2019. All the preparation and hard work paid off. It was a good experience to share.

Showcasing the Authentic Student Experience: The Library & Student Mentoring Partner to Create a First-Year Library Ambassador Program

Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Coordinator of Library Instruction,  Barbara Herrera, Student Mentoring Coordinator, Sara DeMoss, Director of Coyote PLUS Programs

This poster outlines CSU, San Bernardino’s (CSUSB) Library Ambassador initiative, a partnership between the Pfau Library and the Office of Undergraduate Studies’ Student Mentoring Program that aims to connect students in first-year courses with peers knowledgeable about library resources and services. The poster includes the history of the program, which was piloted in 2016, and addresses some of the challenges and successes encountered along the way. It details the program’s student-focused philosophy, which strives to combat library anxiety by ensuring that early exposure to the library centers authentic student research experiences, concerns, and needs. The Library Ambassador program also allows students, in select courses, to identify the Student Mentoring Program as a safe place and valuable resource to receive assistance and support as they learn how to navigate the university.

Anticipating questions from attendees, the poster briefly addresses the logistics of the program, including: how ambassadors reach students (via classroom visits in targeted courses that have a research learning outcome); how ambassadors are prepared to successfully engage with students (training and a “buddy system” in which experienced students take the lead); how the value of the program is communicated to targeted faculty; how scheduling works, and more. Finally, the poster highlights findings from assessment of the program, and we hope to solicit additional ideas for avenues for assessment and evaluation from attendees.

Democratizing Entrepreneurship: Academic Librarians in Pursuit of Inclusionary Entrepreneurship

Jordan Nielsen, Business Librarian, San Francisco State University, Tim Tully, Business Librarian, San Francisco State University

Entrepreneurship is a major driver of economic development, and many universities have devoted tremendous resources to develop and promote entrepreneurship initiatives on their campuses. Academic entrepreneurship programs, business pitch competitions, business incubation spaces, and research commercialization programs are just a few examples of this. While universities have been investing heavily in entrepreneurship initiatives, academic libraries have been challenged to figure out their role in the entrepreneurship landscape.

Entrepreneurship activities tend to be interdisciplinary in nature, and they attract interest from students, faculty, and staff across all areas and levels of the university. These programs tend to be structured in dramatically different ways from one university to the next, and they often change rapidly. While this may sound daunting, the interdisciplinary and evolving nature of entrepreneurship is exactly what makes the library the perfect partner for these endeavors. As librarians, we are well-positioned to advocate for the inclusion and support of all students and faculty in entrepreneurial teaching, learning, research, and project development. No longer are these activities exclusively the domain of business schools, and no longer will students and faculty who have entrepreneurial interests be left without the support they need.

In this presentation, academic librarians at two different institutions will describe their work with the entrepreneurship communities on their respective campuses. In particular, they will describe how librarians can leverage their expertise, along with the spaces, services, and resources of the library, to become an accessible and integral part of the campus entrepreneurship infrastructure. They will also describe how librarians can candidly and authentically serve as advocates for those who are interested in engaging in entrepreneurship regardless of their backgrounds.

Making Space for Archival Anxieties: Developing a Graduate Student Archival Research Community at UC Santa Cruz 

Alix Norton, Archivist, UC Santa Cruz

The Elisabeth Remak-Honnef Center for Archival Research and Training (CART) at UC Santa Cruz supports the professional development and research success of graduate students by providing training in archival processing techniques in its paid fellowship program. One beneficial outcome of this fellowship that is frequently expressed by graduate students is their increased familiarity working with archival materials as a researcher, in addition to the practical experience working in an academic library.

Over the last year, we have expanded CART beyond the competitive fellowship into a new community called CART Commons, which is broadly geared towards all graduate students who are embarking on or already immersed in archival research. The community exists to provide space for students to engage with one another and with archivists and librarians in considering questions related to primary source research practices.

We encourage graduate students to share not only their research successes and tips, but also their questions, challenges, and anxieties about the realities of archival research. In both CART Commons and in the fellowship, students are encouraged to bring their whole selves, and we as staff facilitators strive to create a place of authenticity, care, and understanding of the busy life of a graduate student.

This poster session will explore the successes and challenges of building a program like CART Commons, including questioning whether our plans and practices in the community are evolving to truly meet the needs of graduate students in our library. It will provide suggestions for beginning a similar community on other campuses, both for graduate and undergraduate students.

Leisure Reading in the Academic Library

Carla Arbagey, Arts & Humanities Collection Strategist Librarian

This poster session will look at the role of a leisure reading collection in the academic library through the example of the Edwin H. and Wendy L. Allen Leisure Reading Collection at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).  The collection, dedicated in April 2009, was created from the donor’s desire to share his positive experience in the library as an undergraduate student.  The collection and the surrounding lounge space provide a place for students to rest and discover new and appealing materials while taking a break from the hustle and bustle of a busy campus and academic life.  

This poster will cover details about the collection, including pictures of the space and examples of select titles, with a full title list available for download.  The poster will also feature the recent update of the collection, which aimed to add more diversity in genre, format, and the cultures and views represented.

This refresh included the purchase of more than 200 new titles and aimed to develop a leisure collection that has something for everyone, where students and faculty would be able to find leisure reading materials reflective of their tastes and their background. 

Finally, this poster will take into consideration how a leisure reading collection in the academic library can provide a place of respite from the rigors of academic life, particularly for students.  Suggestions for further development, programming, and user interaction will also be highlighted.

Help Me, Help You: Using the Institutional Review Board Process to Better Understand Student Perceptions of Learner Engagement

Amanda Roth, University of California, San Diego, Tim Chu, University of California, San Diego

Many students silently groan at the thought of completing assigned online library tutorials. This is in part due to the asynchronous nature of the environment. As the instructor is an unseen participant in the instruction session, it can be difficult to maintain learner engagement. Therefore maintaining learner engagement is critically important to this form of instructional delivery. Using videos, narration, images, and interactive activities as design elements can be helpful. However, unless you understand the student perspective on engaged learning, tutorial design elements can still fail to meet student expectations. To determine exactly how students feel about their engagement within library tutorials, we asked them. Using the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process, we designed a study to determine what design aspects of a tutorial students found engaging. For example, we asked students their preference relating to information presented as video vs images and narration. This poster will describe the Investigation of Student Learning Engagement within Library Tutorials study and it’s results. Understanding learner engagement as it relates to how students interact with asynchronous content helps learning object creators develop student-centered learning.

Reaching Undocumented and First-Generation College Students through a Common Read Program

Paizha Stoothoff, Humanities Librarian, CSU Los Angeles

One Campus, One Book (OCOB) is a grant-funded program at California State University Los Angeles that aims to stimulate a sense of community through a shared reading experience. OCOB is much more than a group of librarians selecting and promoting a book. Librarians and library staff, faculty, and other campus units work collaboratively to select a book that reflects our community and to plan activities that encourage authentic reflection and relationship building. In 2019, Cal State LA selected Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer: Undocumented Vignettes from a Pre-American Life by Dr. Alberto Ledesma.

In the hybrid memoir/graphic novel that resists the boundaries of a single genre, the author tells about his experience growing up undocumented in California and becoming a university professor. The personal and the professional intersect throughout the book as he struggles with his identity as a son, individual, student, and scholar. Cal State LA serves a student population that is 65% Latinx and 13% Asian. Many are first-generation college students. Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer explores issues our students are likely to relate to, such as impostor syndrome and finding a space and voice for underrepresented experiences (such as the immigrant experience) in academia and society.

Once the book was selected, the OCOB Committee used innovative strategies to establish safe and engaging events and discussions for students, such as soliciting input from the Dreamer’s Center and ASI. With that input we provided training to First Year Writing Program instructors, recommending that they refrain from requiring students to share their undocumented experiences. We also hosted three events which provided opportunities to listen and gain access to resources without requiring that students share their status or experiences. Events included a kick-off and book raffle, a faculty panel, and an in-person author talk by Dr. Ledesma.

Supporting Students with Children: The Roles of the University and the Library

Sally Romero, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Cal Poly Pomona, Julie Shen, Head Librarian for Reference Services, Cal Poly Pomona

Students with children are an invisible but growing population on college campuses. As a group they face multiple challenges in navigating their college experience. Many do not feel included because they do not fit into the mold of the traditional college students. They also face numerous obstacles in terms of accessibility and institutional policies. Learn more about their experiences and how universities and academic libraries can help these students succeed.

Signage and Fear: How can we develop the courage to not hide behind signs?

Camila Jenkin, Outreach Librarian, El Camino College

The El Camino College Library, like many other libraries, is undergoing a full signage audit for the first time.  In the process of completing the audit, we have had the chance to really dive deep into the emotions and impulses that lead to poor signage creation.  Creating signage that communicates trust requires the courage to not hide behind signs when faced with difficult situations.  Signs can be an easy way to defer professional judgement and retreat from scenarios, but we believe that when the roots of poor signage are addressed then a change in language and tone naturally follows.  Signage audits have much less to do with picking fonts, logos, and graphic design elements than they have to do with changing how library employees see library members and how they authentically wish to be seen. 

Collaboration on Hidden Curriculum

Judy Opdahl, Business & Economics Librarian, CSUSM

Librarians often work supporting the traditional curriculum of a discipline, but there is also work that can be done to support the hidden; those spaces where students are learning the expectations, values, and norms that allow for success in college and beyond. This poster session will share out the results of a growing collaboration between Business librarian, Director of Student Success, and Coordinator of Executives In Residence at CSUSM on Business Professional Development. As librarians can be purposeful in our efforts to create transformative learning experiences in which students (in this case business) come to reflect on their developing individual, professional, cultural identities. Come discuss and learn where the hidden curriculum may be in your disciplines.

Creating a Safe Learning Environment by Listening: Using Post-it Notes to Conduct Pre-Assessment

Luz Badillo, 2nd year MLIS Graduate Student, UCLA and Reference Assistant at UCLA Powell Library

Library instruction can be intimidating for many students, causing them to feel uncomfortable and unwilling to participate. As an MLIS graduate student, library reference assistant, and having completed previous internships in varying academic institutions, experiencing instruction from different positions has enabled me to question assessment practices and see the ways in which they can not only be useful to the instructor but benefit the students in the long run. Providing a pre-assessment activity for students to express their current opinions about the library and its resources is a great way to foster a safe, inclusive learning environment while gaining insight as to how to tailor an instruction session to truly meet the needs of the students being served.

The poster will provide an overview of a written pre-assessment activity using Post-it notes used while providing library instruction during my internship at the CSU, Long Beach Library. Assessing first year undergraduate students, the data suggests that allowing physical space to answer a pre-assessment in the form of writing enables them to be honest, see the value of the library and its resources, and think critically about the ways in which they engage with information. This student-centered pre-assessment activity ensures that students feel heard and emphasizes the importance of listening to the students we serve in order to better understand their needs and create necessary changes in the library to better support their personal and academic endeavors.

Not Just For “Those” Students: Assistive Technology For Users With & Without Disabilities

Wei Ma, MA-LIS & Cristina Springfield, MA-LIS | University Library – California State University, Dominguez Hills

How do assistive technologies intersect with diversity initiatives? How can libraries use and promote assistive technology to create inclusive environments? How can we use assistive technology to facilitate the reading and writing needs of our patrons? This poster will provide a summary of the steps an academic library has taken to widen the scope of outreach and assistance to students/faculty/staff using assistive technology.