Pop-Goes-The-Library! Using a Pop-Up Library to Reach STEM Students
A Pop-Up Library program was started at the New Jersey Institute of Technology as an innovative means of outreach and education for our science and engineering students to increase library visibility by promoting and providing library services outside of the library. Due to program requirements undergraduate science and engineering students’ focus on fundamentals like introductory math, physics, laboratory and design assignments early in their major. This often results in fewer opportunities than liberal arts students to interact with library resources and librarians until they are farther along in their undergraduate studies. Postponing library use may contribute to a reluctance to seek help when library resources are needed. The benefits of taking the library to the students include providing opportunities for the library staff to meet more students and faculty on their turf, promote library research resources, and create follow-up appointments for one-on-one research assistance. This paper discusses the implementation details of the program, such as, determining the best locations, the marketing and publicity strategies, and the types of resources and services that were used. The effectiveness of the pop-up library program was assessed by the popularity, satisfaction, and feedback of users surveyed. It was concluded that using innovative ways of promoting and providing library reference services encourages interaction with science and engineering students who may not primarily seek the library as a means of support and assistance.
Joanne Dera has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University and an MLIS in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. She is currently the Science and Engineering Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and liaison to the departments of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Physics. Having worked as a Professional Engineer in the Power Industry, she understands what industry expects of new engineers and uses her practical experience in both engineering and higher education to improve the research skills of engineering students before they embark on their professional careers.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7100-926X
New Jersey Institute of Technology
[biography]
Davida Scharf has a B.A. from Barnard College in Art and Architectural History, an MLS from Columbia University, and a PhD from the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information in the area of educational assessment and information literacy. She is currently Director of Reference and Instruction at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ.
Joseph Mercuri is a Technical Reference Librarian at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He is the library liaison for the Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Informatics, Information Technology, and Mathematical Sciences departments.
Raymond Vasquez is the Research and User Services Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is also the liaison librarian to the Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Technology and Mechanical and Computer Engineering academic departments.
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