Connect & Communicate Presents: “Engagement & Community Among Student Workers: A Library Success Story”

Presented by 

Kim Karim

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm

Registration Link

Student library employees, specifically circulation desk or similar help desk workers, go through the mundane task of sitting at their assigned desk, waiting to help patrons. This waiting game can often leave students feeling undervalued in their positions and can create a disconnect in the services libraries attempt to provide. This presentation will examine how our library bridged the gap between having little to no engagement or connection among student workers to changing not only the culture of the workplace but also the environment in the entire library. Examples of past initiatives will be examined, as well as ideas currently in place and how our student employees have grown in their passion for working at our academic library.

Kim Karim is the Library Services Specialist at John G. Snowden Memorial Library at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Kim’s main responsibilities include supervising the Circulation desk, carrying out library procedures and policies, and managing student employees. In addition, she coordinates and maintains use of library facilities by serving as the primary liaison to the campus community.

We will mute participants on entry into the Zoom room. Session will be recorded and available on YouTube after the session. We will enable Zoom’s Live Transcription feature during the session.

If you would like to present with C&CS, please contact the C&CS team.

This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, Governor.

Support is also provided by the College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association.