Libraries & Student Success: More Than Just Stacks
While most people do not choose where to live or where to attend school based on the available library, libraries do in fact play a significant role in the success of those seeking an education.
A recent study conducted by the Association of College and Research Libraries, or the ACRL, found that students not only "benefit from . . . information literacy instruction," but also create foundations for success when they utilize their libraries' "online [databases], study [rooms], [and] interlibrary loan [system]" as well as "one-on-one . . . reference and research assistance with a librarian" (2017). So, not only are students able to learn how to access information needed to complete their coursework, but they are also able to learn--via the information literacy instruction offered--how to properly discern which resources are relevant to their needs. This creates a skill that the student can then take with them not only through their pursuit of education, but in other aspects of their lives where discernment and information filtering is important.
Additionally, as Jon Tysse, Institutional Research Analyst at Lewis & Clark Community College, mentions in the following video, "The impact of libraries on student success," use of library services increases course success as well as the "persistence rates" of said students (Tysse, 2017).
Student persistence is a key factor in this discussion, as it relates to the actual retention of students at an institution. The more we help students create a solid base of skills to better handle their workload, the more likely they are to complete their educational pursuits, and the more likely they are to complete their educational pursuits, the more opportunities they will have to succeed in the future.
What are some things libraries can do to help facilitate student success?
Margaret Weaver, of the University of Cumbria, provides these suggestions in her article "Student Journey Work: A Review of Academic Library Contributions to Student Transition and Success":
Helping students to commit and engage academically including embedding support
within courses;
Catering for diverse student groups and tackling non-use of the library and its
resources;
Understanding individual differences and experiences including exposure to and use
of technology and mobile access and providing suitable alternatives;
Identifying and playing an active role at trigger points for student withdrawal and
students “at risk” of leaving;
Collaborating with other institutional support areas to provide integrated and
seamless support (Weaver, 2013).
A recent study conducted by the Association of College and Research Libraries, or the ACRL, found that students not only "benefit from . . . information literacy instruction," but also create foundations for success when they utilize their libraries' "online [databases], study [rooms], [and] interlibrary loan [system]" as well as "one-on-one . . . reference and research assistance with a librarian" (2017). So, not only are students able to learn how to access information needed to complete their coursework, but they are also able to learn--via the information literacy instruction offered--how to properly discern which resources are relevant to their needs. This creates a skill that the student can then take with them not only through their pursuit of education, but in other aspects of their lives where discernment and information filtering is important.
Additionally, as Jon Tysse, Institutional Research Analyst at Lewis & Clark Community College, mentions in the following video, "The impact of libraries on student success," use of library services increases course success as well as the "persistence rates" of said students (Tysse, 2017).
Student persistence is a key factor in this discussion, as it relates to the actual retention of students at an institution. The more we help students create a solid base of skills to better handle their workload, the more likely they are to complete their educational pursuits, and the more likely they are to complete their educational pursuits, the more opportunities they will have to succeed in the future.
What are some things libraries can do to help facilitate student success?
Margaret Weaver, of the University of Cumbria, provides these suggestions in her article "Student Journey Work: A Review of Academic Library Contributions to Student Transition and Success":
Helping students to commit and engage academically including embedding support
within courses;
Catering for diverse student groups and tackling non-use of the library and its
resources;
Understanding individual differences and experiences including exposure to and use
of technology and mobile access and providing suitable alternatives;
Identifying and playing an active role at trigger points for student withdrawal and
students “at risk” of leaving;
Collaborating with other institutional support areas to provide integrated and
seamless support (Weaver, 2013).
Ultimately, by recognizing the range of services students need that extend beyond books, whether that means teaching a patron how to create a PowerPoint presentation or where to search for academic articles in specialized databases, libraries and librarians become readily accessible guides to pathways of success that may otherwise be abandoned.
-- Nicole
New ACRL report highlights library contributions to student learning and success. (2017,
May 10). American Library Association. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from
http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/new-acrl-report-highlights-
library-contributions-student-learning-and-success
May 10). American Library Association. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from
http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2017/05/new-acrl-report-highlights-
library-contributions-student-learning-and-success
Tysse, J. [Blackboard Inc.]. (2017, June 13). The impact of libraries on student success (Jon
Tysse, Lewis & Clark Community College) [Video file]. Retrieved
Weaver, M. (2013). Student Journey Work: A Review of Academic Library Contributions to
Student Transition and Success. New Review Of Academic Librarianship, 19 (2), 101-124.
doi:10.1080/13614533.2013.800754
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