Retaining students by embedding librarians into undergraduate research experiences

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify an important area for librarians to positively impact student retention. Design/methodology/approach This programmatic and conceptual piece describes how embedding librarians into the growing enterprise of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) lays a framework for a context in which libraries and librarians directly contribute to the retention of undergraduate students. Findings Librarians are capable of directly contributing to the retention of students. While their efforts, it is contended, contribute routinely and to the actual retention of students, it is difficult for their efforts to register in the assessment of retention used by administrators. This discrepancy can be solved if librarians play a more explicit (and quantifiable) role in retaining students. Research limitations/implications UREs are a growing, but generally untapped trend for librarians; however, because UREs generally correlate with academic success and student retention, they offer librarians a useful entry point to contribute to the academic mission of colleges and universities, and in a measurable way. Practical implications Embedded librarianship poses a number of hurdles for its practitioners; however, it also has the potential for libraries and librarians to become more explicitly connected to overall institutional goals and strengthen their positions in the academy more broadly. Social implications Improving the scientific literacy of undergraduate students and aiding them on their path toward graduation is meaningfully enhanced through the embedding of librarians into the college curriculum. Originality/value Systematically embedding librarians into UREs is not strongly represented in the literature.

A Survey of Instructional Support for Undergraduate Research Programs

“…Such involvement theoretically accords several benefits, including contributing to student retention, helping to secure external funding for research, and aiding in the general push toward increased student-centeredness. 35 In this case study, a librarian was embedded in a social sciences lab at Penn State Altoona, where he worked at the experimental design phase to help undergraduate researchers examine the scholarly literature and perform background research. The effort led to a partnership with two teaching faculty in designing course curriculum for a proposed first-year research seminar.…”

The University Digital Library as a Center for Increasing the Digital Competences of Students

“…With the exponential increase of information resources of major scientific and research libraries, students are faced with the problem of how selectively and efficiently to use these resources. Some library organizations and leading universities in the world have already developed programs and initiatives for building information literacy of students and carrying out the mission of universities [27][28][29][30][31]. The results of the study of Buchanan et al [27, p. 105] show that based on the information in the curriculum of information literacy, the librarians have developed a plan to introduce library instruction at critical points in the courses to improve the learning process.…”

Servicios Académicos en Learning Commons de Bibliotecas Universitarias: Una respuesta a los requerimientos educativos actuales

“…Asimismo, gracias a la flexibilidad de sus espacios, los Ambientes para el aprendizaje pueden funcionar como el escenario idóneo para dinámicas de integración y bienvenida entre el alumnado. Indudablemente, a la par de estas actividades (y a fin de que la biblioteca universitaria no sea vista únicamente como un espacio de apoyo para actividades y eventos esporádicos o de carácter meramente lúdico), el LC y sus responsables deben comprometerse en otras iniciativas de fondo pertenecientes al terreno de la enseñanza y la investigación que deberán llevarse a cabo de manera permanente (Knapp, Rowland y Charles, 2014).…”