One with the Force on a Cosmic Quest: Lessons Learned from Bootcamps

Start Date

3-17-2020 11:15 AM

End Date

3-17-2020 11:45 AM

Author(s) Bio

Mou Chakraborty is the Director of External Library Services for SU Libraries. She also oversees distance library services. Her prior positions included Special Collections/Reference Librarian at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Distance & Technology Librarian at Nova Southeastern University, and medical librarian positions in Boston and Missouri. In all of her positions spanning more than two decades, Mou has provided meaningful information literacy involving active learning techniques and creative assignments. An active member in multiple library associations, Mou has presented at many conferences nationally and regionally, conducted interactive workshops on customer service and has published articles and a book. Mou holds an MA in English from University of Calcutta, India, and Masters in Library and Information Science from University of Missouri-Columbia, USA.

Keywords

Bootcamp, collaboration, stakeholder, survey, theme

Description of Proposal

Graduate students often feel disconnected from the main campus. This is even more evident in the non-traditional students who are returning to graduate schools. Salisbury University (SU) offers a wide array of services to the graduate students who may not always be aware of these resources. In response to a campus-wide growing need for equipping graduate students with adequate research skills, SU Libraries partnered with the Office of Graduate Students to host a daylong Graduate Student Bootcamp for incoming and relatively new students.

The objective was to expose them to the vast array of services and resources available to them from across the campus. In the two consecutive years, the Star Wars themed and the Avengers/Superhero themed bootcamps offered various sessions starting with a breakfast panel with key administrators and faculty. Food and door prizes were a big hit! The daylong bootcamp ended with a yoga/mindfulness session. Faculty, administrators, and staff from across campus led the various sessions. Registration exceeded expectations. Based on student feedback the university’s Graduate Council recommended offering such bootcamps twice a year!

The presentation will report on the planning, implementation, and outcome of the very successful bootcamps which were very different from standard writing bootcamps. The presentation will not only include the colorful visuals of the bootcamps’ thematically inspired flyers, LibGuides, pictures from the sessions, but will also include graphical results of the pre-test and the post session surveys from both years. The presentation will also touch on the strong relationship between the library and some of the graduate programs where the faculty liaisons play key roles.

What takeaways will attendees learn from your session?

Some of the key takeaways for other librarians -- learning about the planning process; communication with stakeholders from across campus; what worked and what could be improved in the future (for ex. promoting better to distance students). Having a theme and naming the sessions based on the theme was appreciated by all! I'd be glad to share the pre-and post session survey questions.

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Mar 17th, 11:15 AM Mar 17th, 11:45 AM

One with the Force on a Cosmic Quest: Lessons Learned from Bootcamps

Graduate students often feel disconnected from the main campus. This is even more evident in the non-traditional students who are returning to graduate schools. Salisbury University (SU) offers a wide array of services to the graduate students who may not always be aware of these resources. In response to a campus-wide growing need for equipping graduate students with adequate research skills, SU Libraries partnered with the Office of Graduate Students to host a daylong Graduate Student Bootcamp for incoming and relatively new students.

The objective was to expose them to the vast array of services and resources available to them from across the campus. In the two consecutive years, the Star Wars themed and the Avengers/Superhero themed bootcamps offered various sessions starting with a breakfast panel with key administrators and faculty. Food and door prizes were a big hit! The daylong bootcamp ended with a yoga/mindfulness session. Faculty, administrators, and staff from across campus led the various sessions. Registration exceeded expectations. Based on student feedback the university’s Graduate Council recommended offering such bootcamps twice a year!

The presentation will report on the planning, implementation, and outcome of the very successful bootcamps which were very different from standard writing bootcamps. The presentation will not only include the colorful visuals of the bootcamps’ thematically inspired flyers, LibGuides, pictures from the sessions, but will also include graphical results of the pre-test and the post session surveys from both years. The presentation will also touch on the strong relationship between the library and some of the graduate programs where the faculty liaisons play key roles.