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Presentation Type
Panel Presentation
Abstract
University of California, Santa Cruz’s library has embraced a user-centric approach, embedding student perspectives in library research projects to ensure services reflect the needs and voices of our diverse population. Our goal is to understand and support these unique needs.
This panel will discuss multiple case studies of students partnering with librarians at various levels of engagement, from research subject to co-investigator. Projects include hiring undergraduates to work on library user experience and OER projects, co-conducting mixed-methods research on publishing with graduate students, and co-researching AI tools with undergraduates.
The deliberate involvement of students in this work is symbiotic and generative, not extractive. Through some projects, students have gained skills and experience that they can contribute to career readiness. Other projects have generated feedback from students that librarians incorporate into library services. We compensate students with salary, skill-building, career development, authorship, and job references.
Panelists will discuss research design, student recruitment, and mentoring, providing participants with concrete strategies for creating flexible experiential learning opportunities. These approaches model student partnerships that broaden students’ professional opportunities and strengthen the library’s ability to respond to evolving needs.
Sustaining and Scaling: Partnering with Students in Research Projects
University of California, Santa Cruz’s library has embraced a user-centric approach, embedding student perspectives in library research projects to ensure services reflect the needs and voices of our diverse population. Our goal is to understand and support these unique needs.
This panel will discuss multiple case studies of students partnering with librarians at various levels of engagement, from research subject to co-investigator. Projects include hiring undergraduates to work on library user experience and OER projects, co-conducting mixed-methods research on publishing with graduate students, and co-researching AI tools with undergraduates.
The deliberate involvement of students in this work is symbiotic and generative, not extractive. Through some projects, students have gained skills and experience that they can contribute to career readiness. Other projects have generated feedback from students that librarians incorporate into library services. We compensate students with salary, skill-building, career development, authorship, and job references.
Panelists will discuss research design, student recruitment, and mentoring, providing participants with concrete strategies for creating flexible experiential learning opportunities. These approaches model student partnerships that broaden students’ professional opportunities and strengthen the library’s ability to respond to evolving needs.