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Peer reference assistants in a small liberal arts college: case study

Kasia Gonnerman (St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA)
Ken Johnson (St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA)

Reference Services Review

ISSN: 0090-7324

Article publication date: 8 August 2016

734

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how to create and sustain a successful mentoring program for reference student assistants in the liberal arts environment. The study delineates student training, program assessment and the impact on reference practice in a way that can be used at other institutions considering implementing a similar initiative.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study is written by professionals who have been deeply engaged in initiating, running and assessing the program. It presents the value of the program in an unbiased and objective manner by including the voices of the student mentees themselves reflecting on the experience.

Findings

The mentorship program has proven to be worthwhile and rewarding in equal measures to both the mentees and reference librarians working with our future successors. It serves an important role in inspiring and encouraging library student workers to become interested in academic librarianship as a career choice and it prepares them to be successful students in library and information science graduate programs.

Originality/value

Although the discussion of training reference student assistants per se is not rare in the library literature, this particular program is unique in several ways: its main intent is to mentor students who are interested in pursuing librarianship as a career goal; it occurs in the context of a liberal arts college rather than in a larger university setting, especially those offering degrees in information and library science; and it empowers students to provide in-depth independent reference services for their peers and faculty.

Keywords

Citation

Gonnerman, K. and Johnson, K. (2016), "Peer reference assistants in a small liberal arts college: case study", Reference Services Review, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 292-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-11-2015-0048

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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