Info Commons Puts the Libraries on Common Ground with Undergraduates

They're speaking in hushed voices, of course, but there's some talking going on in the center of the main level of the Walter C. Langsam Library, and it has students spreading the word across campus. It's a University Libraries initiative that's bringing the personal touch to a very large resource, offering a smile and direction to students who are still learning about all the Libraries have to offer.

Info Commons is an initiative that's taking the libraries beyond their physical presence on campus, into the colleges, classrooms and - with its virtual resources - into the homes and dorms of students who are still learning how to locate information. Cheryl Albrecht, senior librarian and head of the Information Services Division, says Info Commons is supplemented with the Success Challenge funding awarded to the libraries to support the needs of undergraduates and increase student retention. She adds Info Commons also was created in the spirit of the university's Quality Service Initiative.

The heart of Info Commons is on the fourth floor of Langsam Library, where six UC student peer mentors are scheduled to work around the library's hours of operation. The student peer mentors underwent training in November and December and work with five librarians who assist the initiative. Pamela Bach is Info Commons Coordinator. "The librarians have a dual role. They can certainly provide additional service if a peer mentor can only take the student so far. They also serve as mentors to the peer mentors in terms of helping them develop their skills," she says.

Bach adds that the peer mentors provide personalized assistance, whether it's taking a student to the stacks to help him or her locate a book, or using the online catalog. "If they're unfamiliar with the library, it can seem overwhelming. The peer mentors provide assistance at the point where the student needs it. We're walking them through the process to show them how to build their own independent research skills."

Peer mentor Amir Nagavi of Finneytown became interested in the job after Honors Scholars were encouraged to inquire about the positions. The second-year biology major says he had used library services before his training, but was amazed to learn about the wealth of the resources online. "I think there are a lot of students who come here and they don't know all the resources they have access to. They're pretty much lost and when we show them there's a way to get to those resources, it helps them out a lot."

Bach adds the peer mentors bring an "abundance of knowledge from the student perspective. We field lots of different questions here (in Info Commons) that may not be research oriented, but instead may be, 'I'm not sure how to find my classes,' or 'I'm not sure if my professor has a web site.' The peer mentors can address their questions from the student perspective."

Digital design major Barbara Brattain says that perspective was a big help when she looked up friend and peer mentor Amir Nagavi at Info Commons. Brattain, a second year student from Berlin Heights, Ohio, says she had previously used the library as a quiet place to study, but a paper for a global studies class required more research. "I was looking for anything, from journals to books and I had no clue where to begin. Amir was a great help. He helped me go through the search engines and from what I couldn't find in the journals, we tracked down books. It was fabulous. I could not have done it without him. I would have been at a real loss if I hadn't had anyone to help me."

Albrecht adds the Info Commons area at Langsam will be flexible as it continues to adapt to the changing needs of students. She says four large, flat-screen computers were installed so students can work on group assignments and have assistance on site. A total of 16 additional computers were added to the dozens already installed on the floor, and Albrecht says more network printers were ordered as well.

The initiative builds on the hiring of First Year Experience librarian James Krusling back in 2000. Krusling develops library-related programming and services to assist new students. Albrecht says that programming is connecting the libraries to new students as well as their professors.

Furthermore, Bach says more than 900 undergraduate students were served in the Libraries' electronic classrooms last fall quarter through the Success Challenge funding alone. If they're not on campus, assistance is still at their fingertips. The Libraries resources are featured on the First Year Experience website.

"We'll continue to work on breaking down barriers that interfere with student success, and to explore how the libraries can develop an improved infrastructure to support the work of our patrons," says Albrecht. "We're working to bring the frontline people from across all departments together to try to make service as seamless as possible."