Reshaping Library Programming for Graduate Students Through Strategic Partnerships and Adaptation
Start Date
3-17-2026 3:00 PM
End Date
3-17-2026 3:30 PM
Keywords
library programming, adaptation, scaling, collaboration, graduate students
Description of Proposal
In the wake of Covid-19, support structures dedicated to graduate student success at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN) underwent dramatic shifts. Centralized in-person events for graduate students were discontinued, departmental identities strengthened, and library outreach responsibilities were reshaped by institutional changes, including a reduction of library staff. This panel examines how academic libraries can adapt and innovate with decreased capacity to meet the diverse needs of graduate students. Panelists will share strategies for expanding campus partnerships and sustaining and scaling initiatives that equip graduate students – especially first-year, international, and BIPOC students – with essential research skills and opportunities for community building.
Panelists will highlight several collaborations and initiatives that we considered a success, which could mean that they reached a large number of grad students, strengthened relationships with the Graduate School, or were customized well for a specific community of students. The panel will discuss an evolving collaboration with the Graduate School Diversity Office to develop interdisciplinary and personalized library experiences for an undergraduate-to-graduate school bridge program called the First Year Institute. The discussion will also touch on other successful experimental outreach and promotional efforts like targeted newsletters, departmental partnerships, and revised workshop formats. The panel will also reflect on initiatives that did not have a good return on investment, and the lessons learned from those attempts, and discuss the results of new initiatives like a graduate student-focused workshop series to foster engagement. The panel will emphasize practices that support graduate students’ multifaceted roles as advanced researchers, beginning professional academics, instructors, and job seekers.
This session will be interactive as the panel will engage with audience members through poll questions about library programming for graduate students, including questions about types and formats of programs, university collaborators, outreach, and graduate student needs. Poll results will lead to a meaningful discussion among session attendees on library programming for graduate students. The panel will also share findings from a recent scan of LIS published literature and conference sessions on library programming for graduate students.
Reshaping Library Programming for Graduate Students Through Strategic Partnerships and Adaptation
In the wake of Covid-19, support structures dedicated to graduate student success at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN) underwent dramatic shifts. Centralized in-person events for graduate students were discontinued, departmental identities strengthened, and library outreach responsibilities were reshaped by institutional changes, including a reduction of library staff. This panel examines how academic libraries can adapt and innovate with decreased capacity to meet the diverse needs of graduate students. Panelists will share strategies for expanding campus partnerships and sustaining and scaling initiatives that equip graduate students – especially first-year, international, and BIPOC students – with essential research skills and opportunities for community building.
Panelists will highlight several collaborations and initiatives that we considered a success, which could mean that they reached a large number of grad students, strengthened relationships with the Graduate School, or were customized well for a specific community of students. The panel will discuss an evolving collaboration with the Graduate School Diversity Office to develop interdisciplinary and personalized library experiences for an undergraduate-to-graduate school bridge program called the First Year Institute. The discussion will also touch on other successful experimental outreach and promotional efforts like targeted newsletters, departmental partnerships, and revised workshop formats. The panel will also reflect on initiatives that did not have a good return on investment, and the lessons learned from those attempts, and discuss the results of new initiatives like a graduate student-focused workshop series to foster engagement. The panel will emphasize practices that support graduate students’ multifaceted roles as advanced researchers, beginning professional academics, instructors, and job seekers.
This session will be interactive as the panel will engage with audience members through poll questions about library programming for graduate students, including questions about types and formats of programs, university collaborators, outreach, and graduate student needs. Poll results will lead to a meaningful discussion among session attendees on library programming for graduate students. The panel will also share findings from a recent scan of LIS published literature and conference sessions on library programming for graduate students.
What takeaways will attendees learn from your session?
Methods for collaborating with university departments to plan, organize, and promote library programming for graduate students
Concrete strategies for adapting and scaling programming with decreased library capacity
Overview of what attendees as well as other librarians in the field are doing for programming for graduate students