Document Type

Presentation

Presentation Date

8-9-2013

Conference or Event Name

Indiana University Libraries Information Literacy Colloquium

Conference Location

New Albany, IN

Abstract

The academic library can play a crucial role in experiential learning, particularly through student internships. This library is one of the larger units on campus to employ student workers and we spend many hours training them to handle questions at service desks, assist with cataloging functions, help digitize materials, and a variety of other tasks. In 2011, we built on that idea of student workers and partnered with the University Honors Program to offer customized experiential learning through paid internships. These internships allowed us to spend additional time with students in preparation for their chosen careers or graduate school, helped facilitate additional research skills for the remaining undergraduate years, and even provided the opportunity for students explore their religion in more meaningful ways. Librarians work one-on-one with students from a variety of disciplines and these experiences are customized to student interests, with the library setting acting as a real world laboratory for skills training within the undergraduates’ disciplines or career interests. At the end of this session, participants will be able to do the following: describe the resources needed in order to build, measure and assess for an effective internship program; and articulate how a library internship program can provide necessary skills for careers outside the library world.

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