How do we utilize student talent through our services while also providing student employees with opportunities to develop professional skills that extend beyond their time at the library, enhancing their career paths? This presentation presents best practices and lessons learned from more than five years of developing a student employee program at Virginia Tech.
Since 2015, the University Libraries at Virginia Tech has invested heavily in the creation of a network of studios dedicated to providing students with access to emerging and creative technologies. From 3D scanning services and an immersive environments sandbox to a large-scale design-build fabrication space, these five studios engage student users in experiential learning opportunities across a range of expertise levels and purposes. Just as important, however, is the studios’ underlying staffing model: driven by more than 40 student employees, the studios are founded on a philosophy of peer-to-peer learning, hands-on skill-building, and team-based reflective practice. As this model has continued to evolve, we have increasingly emphasized student employee learning as a component of the studios and a means for service innovation. This approach has culminated in a curriculum focused on core competencies development, staff career interests, and the production of learning objects for patron use. These projects also result in staff portfolios curating the results of their time in our employ.
In this session, participants will explore: Developing competencies-based curricula for student employees Student labor and/as experiential learning Linking library employment to student success and institutional strategic priorities. Leveraging reflection in student employee management
