“Why are these people here at this hour?”
“They’ve been here all day.”
“Don’t they have jobs?”
“Don’t they have WiFi at home?”
Staff and patrons alike have likely uttered questions and statements like these when quiet areas, study rooms, tables, and equipment are quickly in-use shortly after opening. Some of these patrons will be leisure readers, retirees, or business owners, but a sizable number of these individuals are likely a member of the large online student populations that now makes up 1/3 of all US college attendance (Lederman, 2018).
Save for the tell-tale signs of textbooks and book bags, it can be hard to identify online and non-traditional (not of average college-age) students since it is common for such users to stay for hours, day after day, and never engage with the library staff save for getting help with printing, or to figure out the WiFi password (Cooke, 2010, p. 211). Basic customer service, at least, mandates that we ask if some needs help at times (especially if we make eye contact). But most staff are satisfied with the quick and quiet negative and go about their business. And if they’re not asking questions, some reference staff may say, they don’t need or want our help.
Au contraire.
While librarians are cognizant of the wealth of tools the library has that could help a college student, most college students, especially online students with no access to a university library, have no idea. In most cases, they are in the library for the quiet space that’s away from home, an area that has free WiFi, access to expensive computers and software, and (depending on their library) a coffee kiosk. In that case, likely, the student might only be aware of the physical library resources and not the reference ones (Antell, 2004, p. 229-230). It is up to the library staff, and particularly the librarians, to purposely engage this busy user group in such a way that automatically highlights what they will get out of it.
Adult learning theory states that adults are only willing to spend time and energy on new things when they can rationalize the benefit (Curtis, 2019, p. 23-30). There is no such thing as ‘inherent value’ in library resources to a layperson. Library staff has to present it (quickly) in such a way that grabs their attention towards their specific need.
A common situation in Central Ohio involves online nursing students since it is the administrative home to a large number of online nursing schools such as Felbry, Hondros, and Academia College of Nursing. These programs have administrative buildings, but no academic library. Public Libraries all around Columbus see many of these students at all times of day, watching their lectures, writing papers, or studying for tests. A short and simple conversation may be all that’s needed to interest and engage these busy adults such as, “Are you a nursing/medical student? Do you have a minute? I can show you a few things that will really help you.”
And you can’t just hand them a brochure and send them on their way. Show them. Engage audio, visual, and reading/writing learners by taking a few minutes and looking up the last topic they wrote a paper on in EBSCOHost. Show how the citation tool just made their paper-writing lives significantly easier, academically speaking. Go and point out how Issues & Controversies database lays out both sides of a persuasive argument – just like that vaccine paper they have to write in two weeks. Or show how Consumer Health Complete gives examples of how a patient-oriented document is worded differently than professional literature, again, just like they have to do in class.
How will you know what they’re doing in class? By using the reference interview and simply saying, “What do you have to do in class?” or “Give me an example of something you have had to do for a class.”. Online and non-traditional students in a public library are already physically, emotionally, and monetarily invested in passing. The information you’re presenting is a solid argument for winning their attention.
Just in case you think that a public library doesn’t have much for college -academic students, take a look at how to spin each of these databases that are common to many public libraries:
Consumer Health Complete
“I do have the DM-5 and the Merck. I have something else that you can use at home, too.”
EBSCOHost
“You can get peer-reviewed articles along with an auto-generated citation in minutes.”
OhioLink
“Did you know you could potentially get your textbooks for free next quarter?”
Points of View Reference Center
“Are you writing a persuasive paper? I have something that could help you with your argument and your resources.”
ReferenceUSA
“You need case studies and statistics? I have a tool that can give you demographic data.”
Each library will have different databases and populations with unique needs, even when it comes to online or non-traditional students. The best way for the library staff to marry the two together is to get to know both the resource and the potential users and spell out the direct application in as simple terms as possible. And the very first step is to get out there on the floor and start saying, “Hello”.
References
Antell, Karen. (2004). Why Do College Students Use Public Libraries? A Phenomenological Study. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 43(3), 227-236.
Cooke, N. (2010). Becoming an Andragogical Librarian: Using Library Instruction as a Tool to Combat Library Anxiety and Empower Adult Learners. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 16(2), 208–227.
Curtis, J. A. (2019). Teaching adult learners: a guide for public librarians. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.
Lederman, D. (2018, November 7). Online Education Ascends. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/11/07/new-data-online-enrollments-grow-and-share-overall-enrollment#.XWSKY7I4U2Y.link
Tobin, E. M. (2018, February 8). Public Libraries Are Reinventing Access to Higher Education. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Retrieved from https://mellon.org/resources/shared-experiences-blog/public-libraries-are-reinventing-access-higher-education/
– Jessica C.
OLC - RISD 