Satellite Outreach Services Program to Under-Represented Students: Being in Their Space, Not on MySpace

Abstract

to make library services more accessible to under-represented students doing academic research, locating information about careers and majors, and learning about library services and programs. UNM & UL Description The University of New Mexico-Albuquerque Campus is 119 years old, opening its doors in 1889. It is centrally located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, along the middle Rio Grande Valley. UNM is a Carnegie Research University/Very High research activity institution offering 210 certificate and degree programs. The US Department of Education has also given UNM the designation of "High Hispanic Enrollment." The University Libraries' system has four branch libraries: Centennial Science and Engineering Library (biology, science, engineering, and mathematics), Fine Arts and Design Library (art, architecture, music, dance, and theatre), Parish Memorial Library (business, economics, and management), and Zimmerman (education, humanities, and social sciences). Four additional research programs that reflect New Mexico's diverse population and area of service include the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, CHIPOTLE (Chicano/Hispano/Latino Research Program), Division of Iberian and Latin American Resources and Services, and the Indigenous Nations Library Program. UMM Student Demographics/Population The UNM Albuquerque main campus in fall 2007 enrolled 25,749 students. Of those students, 750 (2.9%) were African American, 1,543 (5.99 %) American Indian, and 8,023 (31.16%) Hispanic, for a total minority population of 40.05%. The average age of UNM undergraduates is 23.4, which is slightly higher than the national average. Students

Reference as Outreach: Meeting Users Where They Are

“…These programs' previous experience with service to academic programs and student advocacy groups as well as indigenous and Spanish-speaking peoples often not associated with the university illustrated opportunities for library integration into the community. Moreover, the SOS, a model they have helped to steward at the multiethnic centers since 2006 (Aguilar & Keating, 2009), has evolved into a place where in-depth research consultation sessions evolve and relationships emerge. Students realize that using this desk is their opportunity for a thorough reference interaction.…”

“…INLP librarians, one Navajo and the other from the Santo Domingo Pueblo, share multiple duties. One is responsible for collection development, managing SOS at the minority student services centers (Aguilar & Keating, 2009), conducting library instruction classes, and working in partnership with the Native American Studies and Anthropology as an active member of these academic communities. As an engaged librarian, she often organizes special research workshops to facilitate American Indian student success at the university level.…”

The power of peers: approaches from writing and libraries

“…Within the library context, many texts on effective teaching of IL focus on the teacher-student relationship (Booth, 2011;Klipfel and Cook, 2017) but the library literature on student-led peer learning is fairly new (Bodemer, 2014;Rinto et al, 2017;Fargo, 2018). The benefits of peer teaching for libraries are many; not only can peer teaching extend the capacity of libraries to integrate IL into more courses but peer teachers can serve as library ambassadors, sharing awareness of resources and services to a wider audience (Aguilar and Keating, 2009;Faix et al, 2010). The proximity of students to their peers makes them an accessible resource for classmates who are intimidated or confused about library research or meeting with a librarian or their professor (Mellon, 1986).…”

Sharing the value and impact of outreach: Taking a multifaceted approach to outreach assessment

“…Other librarians have implemented regular Plus/Delta meetings where those who staffed the event have an opportunity to reflect on the event and share their ideas for future changes (Otto, Meade, Stafford, & Wahler, 2016). Still others have collected reference or circulation statistics as a measure of impact of outreach programming (Aguilar & Keating, 2009;Maloney, 2012;Torrence, 2015).…”