Profiles of academic library services for international students

Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students PROFILES OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY SERVICES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS By Amanda B Click ISBN 978-157440- 509-5 ©2018 Primary Research Group Inc Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students ii Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Table of Contents About the Author v Introduction vi References x Pennsylvania State University: Creative Collaboration Introduction PSU Libraries PSU International Student Population PSU Libraries Support for International Students PSU Librarian’s Reflections Conclusion 10 References 11 George Washington University: New Support Models 12 Introduction 13 GW Libraries 13 GW International Student Population 14 GW Libraries’ Support for International Students 15 GW Librarian’s Reflections 17 Conclusion 19 References 19 San José State University: Energetic Teamwork 20 Introduction 21 The SJSU Library 22 The SJSU International Student Population 23 King Library Support for International Students 23 SJSU Librarians’ Reflections 26 Conclusion 27 References 28 Parkland College: Targeted Collections 29 Introduction 30 The Parkland College Library 30 iii Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Parkland International Student Population 31 Parkland Library Support for International Students 32 Parkland Librarian’s Reflections 33 Conclusion 35 References 36 Virginia International University: Scaffolded Instruction 37 Introduction 38 The VIU Library 39 VIU International Student Population 39 VIU Library Support for International Students 40 VIU Librarians’ Reflections 44 Conclusion 45 References 46 University of Colorado Boulder: Innovative Programming 47 Introduction 48 CU Boulder Libraries 49 CU Boulder International Student Population 50 CU Boulder Libraries Support for International Students 50 CU Boulder Librarians’ Reflections 55 Conclusion 56 References 57 iv Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students About the Author Amanda B Click is the Business Librarian at American University in Washington, DC She earned her PhD from the School of Information & Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology From 2008 to 2011, Amanda was an instruction and reference librarian and the coordinator of instruction at the American University in Cairo Her research interests include the globalization of higher education, academic integrity, information literacy, and library services for diverse populations Amanda has published her work in College & Research Libraries, Reference Services Review, Libri, and the International Information & Library Review She co-edited Library and Information Science in the Middle East and North Africa, a volume in IFLA’s “Global Studies in Libraries and Information” series v Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Introduction According to the Institute of International Education’s 2017 Open Doors Report, during the academic year 2015-2016, the international student population in the United States surpassed one million for the first time - although the numbers are beginning to flatten after years of growth The most common countries of origin for international students studying in the United States are China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Canada Engineering, business and management, and math and computer science are by far the most popular fields of study Not everyone views this as a positive effect of globalization A Wall Street Journal article refers to Chinese students who are “clamoring for American credentials” but “are ill prepared for an American college education” (Belkin & Jordan, 2016) But the benefits of international students on U.S campuses are clear to many A National Bureau of Economic working paper demonstrated that public universities depended on international students paying out-of-state tuition rates to partially offset the reduction in state funding (Bound, Braga, Khanna & Turner, 2016) A recent New York Times article observed that the current decline in international student enrollment has contributed to financial difficulties for universities that depended on the $39 billion in revenue provided by this population (Saul, 2018) Not all the benefits are financial, of course International students in the American classroom support global perspectives and diverse learning environments (Trice, 2003), as well as help prepare students to work in intercultural vi Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students environments (Pandit, 2013) A survey conducted at universities in Canada and Denmark showed that faculty and staff believe that international students benefit universities in many ways, including “intercultural diversity and awareness, strong work ethic and study habits, intellectual curiosity and a more interesting social environment” (Vinther & Slethaug, 2015, p 92) A study of three university cohorts indicated that domestic students who interacted with international students reported higher levels of development in areas such as learning a new language, relating to other people, acquiring new skills, and developing original ideas and solutions (Luo & Jamieson-Drake, 2013) Many academic librarians make concerted efforts to support special populations on their campuses, such as international students These students may struggle with unfamiliar academic expectations related to communication, research and writing This report profiles six academic libraries and the work that they to support international students The following universities and colleges are included: • Pennsylvania State University • The George Washington University • San José State University • Parkland College • Virginia International University • University of Colorado Boulder They were selected for their interesting work with international students, as well as their geographical and institutional diversity Pennsylvania State University (PSU) is made up of 24 campuses and hosts close to 10,000 international students vii Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students The PSU librarians collaborate with both on-campus and community partners to develop creative outreach opportunities The George Washington University (GWU), a private university in the heart of Washington, DC, embeds librarians in the English for Academic Purposes program and has designed specialized workshops for international graduate students The library at San José State University (SJSU) in Silicon Valley, serves as both the main library for the university and the San José Public Library system The librarians here developed a creative and popular series of events for International Week – on a tight budget Parkland College, a community college in Champaign, IL, serves many international student language learners One focus of the collection development work here is ESL materials such as TOEFL test preparation resources Virginia International University (VIU) serves almost exclusively international students The VIU librarians have designed scaffolded instruction for ESL students, based on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education Librarians at the University of Colorado Boulder have applied for and received grants to support outreach for international students They developed both online learning objects and thoughtful programming for this population Each of the profiles, which are based on interviews with librarians, describes the institution, library, and international student population Specific examples of outreach, instruction, and other types of support are covered The librarians from each institution shared specific recommendations as well They cover topics ranging from marketing to effective communication to collection management These profiles offer creative ideas and practical advice for providing services, and research viii Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students and social support Despite flattening enrollment numbers in the U.S., there are still more than one million students who can benefit from the assistance that librarians can provide ix Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students References Belkin, D., & Jordan, M (2016, March 18) Wave of Chinese hits U.S schools, sparking discord The Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/heavy-recruitment-of-chinese-students-sowsdiscord-on-u-s-campuses-1458224413 Brown, J., Braga, B., Khanna, G., & Turner, S (2016) A passage to America: University funding and international students National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No 22981 Institute of International Education (2017) Open Doors report on international education exchange Retrieved from https://www.iie.org/Research-andInsights/Open-Doors/Open-Doors-2017-Media-Information Luo, J., & Jamieson-Drake, D (2013) Examining the educational benefits of interacting with international students Journal of International Students, 3(2), 85-101 Pandit, K (2013) International students and diversity: Challenges and opportunities for campus internationalization In H C Alberts & H D Hazen (Eds.), International students and scholars in the United States: Coming from abroad (pp 131-141) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan Trice, A G (2003) Faculty perceptions of graduate international students: The benefits and challenges Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(4), 379-403 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303257120 Vinther, J., & Slethaug, G (2015) The impact of international students on the university work environment: A comparative study of a Canadian and a Danish university Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 92108 https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2014.985308 x Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Collections The VIU library focuses on collecting materials that support international students as they develop English language skills This includes graphic novels, grammar and language learning books and materials, and children’s books Penguin Readers, a series of books written at specific grades of grammatical complexity and vocabulary level, are especially popular Dictionaries are also in high demand and the library holds two unabridged versions in reference, but many different types are available for students to check out Prater notes, “We like to collect coffee table – type books, with lots of images and short descriptions These are particularly useful for adult ESL learners.” In addition, the library provides an extensive list of ESL websites, including materials such as dictionaries, language-learning activities, and listening resources (http://library.viu.edu/Research_Help/other_online_resources) Outreach The VIU library lays out a marketing plan each semester In the fall of 2016, they focused on email, signage around campus, and Facebook to promote library resources and services Between October and December, they made regular marketing pushes covering the EBSCO Discovery Service, computer science eBooks, interlibrary loan, study rooms, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and more “Our students come from very different library experiences Some students used printonly collections while others utilized hybrid print/electronic with varying degrees of off-campus accessibility Our job is to make students aware of the collection, offcampus accessibility, and on-campus library accommodations,” explained Prater 43 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students The library also participates in new student orientation The format at VIU involves guides taking groups of students from table to table to learn about university services The library table provides a basic overview, covering topics like interlibrary loan and accessing resources on- and off-campus, with a display board, a brochure, and each group’s interaction with a librarian VIU librarians have learned that it is important to provide information in different formats Instructions on how to use the library databases are available both as online tutorials and PDF handouts The library also offers support for new instructors, with an online tutorial and workshops that cover topics such as eBooks and other library resources The library conducts a faculty survey at the end of the fall and spring terms, as well as student surveys Questions are changed throughout the year as needed, and generally cover topics such as satisfaction with the library staff, collection, instruction, online library system, and accessing the library off-campus In the past, the library has implemented changes based on faculty and student feedback Students responded that the library did not have enough computer science books and so the library promoted available computer science books in its marketing campaign The faculty expressed satisfaction with the library staff and system, but concern about the journal holdings The library plans to survey the faculty about their suggestions for journals to add to the collection VIU Librarians’ Reflections Challenges VIU librarians have learned that the Library of Congress (LC) classification system is a major stumbling block for students Their students prefer print books to 44 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students eBooks in most cases – although this is not the case for journal articles One of the most common questions at the reference desk is “how I find a book on the shelf.” Instruction librarians make a point to explain the LC system during the library instruction session for the introductory course in each school Students also struggle with citations, so librarians teach students about how to use and cite information properly They demonstrate tools that help with citation building but emphasize the importance of carefully checking the result In addition, students often need guidance identifying the type of information they find online Recommendations Seek out existing resources to support your goals The VIU librarians developed a robust and effective instruction program for the ESL program, using tools like the ACRL Framework and Library Instruction Cookbook Be mindful that international students have a wide variety of experiences with many different library systems For example, the VIU librarians discovered that a student might have had access to a much larger library in the past, but with closed stacks and no off-campus access or ebooks available Develop a marketing plan so that outreach does not fall by the wayside during the busiest points in the semester Use multiple approaches to reach students and faculty, including social media and traditional methods Conclusion Virginia International University philosophy, not surprisingly, has a global focus The University aims to “attract and retain excellent students from all over the world as well as from the U.S.” and “prepare students for the global workforce” 45 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students (VIU, n.d.) The library has embraced the mission of supporting a primarily international student body, as their instruction, collections, and outreach activities make clear References Association of College and Research Libraries (2016) Framework for information literacy for higher education Available at http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework Fain, P (2016, June 24) Accreditor on life support Inside Higher Ed Available at https://www.insidehighered.com Saul, S (2017, March 16) Amid ‘Trump Effect’ fear, 40% of colleges see dip in foreign applicants New York Times Available at https://www.nytimes.com/ Sittler, R., & Cook, D (2009) The library instruction cookbook Chicago, IL: Association of College & Research Libraries Virginia International University (n.d.) Philosophy Available at http://www.viu.edu/our-university/about-viu/mission-statement.html Accessed 20 December 2017 46 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students University of Colorado Boulder: Innovative Programming 47 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Introduction The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) is the flagship university of the University of Colorado System CU Boulder is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), and is nationally ranked in aerospace engineering, atomic/molecular/optical physics, ceramics, education policy, environmental law, geology, physical chemistry and quantum physics (U.S News & World Report, 2017) CU Boulder comprises four campuses; it has nine degree-conferring colleges, schools, and programs: School of Education, School of Law, College of Arts & Sciences, Continuing Education, Leeds School of Business, College of Music, Program in Environment Design, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and College of Media, Communication and Information In fall of 2016, 26,433 undergraduate students and 5,428 graduate students enrolled at CU Boulder According to the University’s Office of Data Analytics, the student population was 56% male and 44% female; 6,956 were U.S students of color Ben Hall, Business Librarian, Xiang Li, Chinese and Asian Studies Librarian, and Bebe Chang, Arts and Humanities Librarian, were interviewed for this profile Hall is the Business Reference and Instruction librarian in the William M White Business Library at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries Benjamin has worked in the Libraries and supported the Leeds School of Business since 2016 He earned his bachelor’s degree in English in 2011 from Georgetown University and his Master's in Library Science in 2015 from the University of Denver As a social science researcher, his work investigates students in transition from Colorado high school libraries to the CU Boulder Libraries system His research currently explores 48 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students students' use and perception of academic libraries as twenty-first century spaces of information and social capital building Li is the Chinese & Asian Studies librarian at the University of Colorado Libraries She earned her bachelor’s and master's degrees in Chinese philosophy from Peking University in 1999 and 2002, respectively, and her master’s degrees in Asian Studies and Information Science from University of Michigan in 2007 Xiang’s role in the Libraries is to help acquire and build library collections in several Asian languages, including Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, Farsi, and Arabic Her research interests include collection development and library instruction Her research currently involves examining international students’ use of academic libraries Chang has been at CU Boulder since 2015 in a variety of roles, including subject specialist for the Department of English and co-coordinator of the CU intercampus Publish, not Perish! Development Team Prior to taking her current position, she worked as a journalist in Guyana and an ESL teacher in Vietnam These experiences, and her time as an international student in Canada make it easy for Chang to empathize with the international students at CU Boulder “It’s important that librarians develop care and compassion for these students,” she notes, “and this can be cultivated by spending time with them both in and outside of the library.” She advocates for regularly attending student group meetings and developing targeted programs for this population CU Boulder Libraries The CU Boulder library system (CU Libraries) consists of a main library (Norlin) and four branch libraries: William M White Business Library; Howard B 49 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Waltz Music Library; Gemmill Library of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics; and Jerry Crail Earth Sciences and Map Library CU Libraries are a member of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, a cooperative of Colorado and Wyoming research libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance, a group of 32 research libraries located in the Midwest and Western states, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Center for Research Libraries CU Libraries hold the largest collection in the Rocky Mountain region with over 12 million books, periodicals, government publications, audiovisual materials, microforms, maps, manuscripts, papers and computer-based resources CU Boulder International Student Population CU Boulder has enrolled more than 1,000 international students since 1991, and over 2,000 international students since 2014 In fall of 2016, 3,079 international students from more than 100 countries enrolled at CU: 63% undergraduate students, and 37% graduate students China represents 35% of the international student population, followed by India, 17%; Saudi Arabia, 7%; and Kuwait, 5% The major areas of study for international students are computer science, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and economics CU Boulder Libraries Support for International Students CU Libraries provide support for international students in a variety of ways, from workshops to unique events Librarians are also embedded in centers and programs such as the International English Center, and the Asian Studies Department Subject specialists provide library instruction to international students each semester 50 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Library Tours: Vernacular Language Videos In 2012, CU Libraries received a $2,000 Diversity and Excellence Grant from the Academic Affairs Office to develop a series of library tour videos for international students Diversity and Excellence Grants are intended to “promote inclusive excellence and diversity throughout the University of Colorado System” (University of Colorado, 2017) CU Libraries’ vernacular language videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/CUBoulderLibraries) were designed to showcase collections, study spaces, high tech computer labs, and service desks that support students’ learning, teaching and research The goal for these videos was to remove the language barrier, promote inclusivity, and to shorten the time spent learning to use the library and its services CU Libraries created twelve vernacular language videos for three libraries (Norlin, Business, and Gemmill), in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic languages These languages were selected based on current and projected CU international student enrollment numbers A group of three librarians wrote scripts for the videos and then recruited international students who were native speakers; CU Libraries hired these students to narrate the videos and to lead the library tours on camera Faculty in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations provided feedback and helped with translations Tours were filmed and edited by CU Libraries’ Media Services team More detail about this project can be found in “Building Bridges: Outreach to International Students Via Vernacular Language Videos” (Li, McDowell, & Wang, 2016) 51 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Culture Bridge Programming In early 2016, a team of Libraries’ faculty and staff (Culture Bridge Team) convened to promote intercultural understanding between international and domestic students The Culture Bridge Team received a grant for $1,500 from the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) International Library and Cultural Exchange Interest Group (ILCE-IG) to support an initiative that fosters student engagement and belonging on campus The ILCE-IG grant was intended to support projects that “celebrate non-dominant cultures living in Colorado” (CAL ILCE-IG, 2017) In total, the award supported five different programs: a talent show, a photography contest, and three speed friending events More details about these programs can be found in “Culture Bridge: Connecting Domestic and International Students in an Academic Library” (Chang, Hall, & Li, 2017) CU Libraries International Talent Show, themed The World’s Your Stage!, was hosted in the Center for British & Irish Studies in Norlin Library on January 26th, 2017 (http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/CultureBridge/talent-show) The show was open to all CU students, and talents highlighting cultural diversity were encouraged Entry forms were solicited via Qualtrics, a survey tool, and a final performance list was printed based on the thirteen acts submitted A panel of judges was recruited from various campus units, and included the head of the Music Library, the head of digital asset management and preservation, the head cataloger for special collections and archives, as well as the program coordinator for International Student and Scholar Services On the evening of the show, 66 students, faculty, 52 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students and staff attended the event The winner, a first-year aerospace engineering student from India, performed Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance In Fall 2016 and Spring 2017, the Culture Bridge Team hosted “Speed Friending” in the libraries (http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/CultureBridge/speedfriending) The goal was to connect domestic and international students in “a lowpressure, fun setting.” Speed Friending was promoted as an easy icebreaker; students interacted with partners for five minutes and then rotated to new partners Participants were also provided a list of themed questions such as, “What’s your favorite food?”, “Where were you born?”, and “What superpower would you most like to have?” The CU Boulder libraries hosted speed-friending events in Norlin Library and the Gemmill Library of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics The events were held for 90 minutes and included free pizza and soda A total of 60 students attended these events CU Libraries Speed Friending was featured in ProgrammingLibrarian.org (http://www.programminglibrarian.org/programs/speedfriending) and in The Daily Camera (http://www.dailycamera.com/cunews/ci_30438474/cu-boulder-speed-friending-events-aim-forge-ties) In Spring 2016, the Culture Bridge Team hosted an international photo contest, themed Global Information Landscapes, for any CU Boulder student traveling or studying abroad (http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/CultureBridge/photo-contest) As a rule, all submitted images had to be captured outside of the United States Participants uploaded photo submissions to Instagram and applied two hashtags to each post: #cublibraries #cubeglobal Forty-three submissions were received via the hashtags 53 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students and prizes were awarded based on adherence to the theme The winning photograph was submitted by a CU Boulder student studying abroad in the Czech Republic, who captured the Old Town A-line metro stop in the capital, Prague Second and third-place winners captured images in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, and Cairo, Egypt, respectively In fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, the Culture Bridge Team will be implementing a new slate of programs: a second-annual talent show, an international coffee hour, and a week of international films in the libraries Partnerships Throughout implementation, the Culture Bridge Team collaborated with the International Student and Scholar Services, the Study Abroad Office, the Office of International Education, the Engineering Center, the Office of Graduate & Family Housing, as well as, CU Engage and the CU International student club For each program, the Team posted event fliers, and targeted messages to international students on CU Libraries’ social media platforms (@cublibraries): Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Within the library, the Culture Bridge Team worked closely with the Media Services Department, the Outreach Group, and CU Libraries subject specialists The Media Services Department recorded the talent show and posted the video on the CU Boulder Libraries YouTube Channel (http://bit.ly/cubtalent) 54 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students CU Boulder Librarians’ Reflections Challenges Promotion and messaging are big challenges in outreach According to Ben Hall, “While the guidelines for Culture Bridge programming seemed clear and concise to the team, many international students experienced difficulties understanding program themes.” In particular, the photo contest and speed friending “caused some confusion.” For the photo contest, students were encouraged to “capture photos of information landscapes” abroad Unfortunately, many students (domestic and international) interpreted the word “landscape” as an opportunity to capture natural landscapes (mountains, seas, beaches), rather than information landscapes (signs, guidebooks, or menus) Similarly, the concept of speed friending required considerable clarification among both domestic and international students Recommendations Actively look for funding opportunities, both on- and off-campus The Culture Bridge team applied for and received not only the Colorado Library Association ILCE-IG grant to develop the Culture Bridge program, but also a Diversity and Excellence Grant from the Academic Affairs Office Promote programming far and wide ProgrammingLibrarian.org approached the Culture Bridge team to write a project description about the speed friending events, and The Daily Camera, a Boulder newspaper, published a story about them as well 55 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Provide students with opportunities that are fun and creative Make a particular effort to describe events clearly, taking language into consideration – What might an information landscape look like? How does one participate in “speed friending?” Conclusion The University Libraries’ mission calls for “connecting knowledge, information and people.” According to the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Colorado Boulder, one of CU Boulder’s Flagship 2030 initiatives is to become a “truly international university” (CU Boulder Office of the Chancellor, n.d.) The Culture Bridge Team is guided by these principles, as is evidenced by its creative and consistent efforts to support international students, both academically and socially 56 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students References CAL ILCE-IG (2017) Grants& Awards Retrieved September 19, 2017 from https://ilceig.wordpress.com/grants-awards/ Chang, B., Hall, B., & Li, X (2017, June 25) Culture bridge: Connecting domestic and international students in an academic library Poster presented at the American Library Association, Chicago, Illinois Available at http://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_facpapers/91/ Li, X., McDowell, K., Wang, X (2016) Building bridges: outreach to international students via vernacular language videos Reference Services Review, 44(3), 324-340 https://doi.org/10.1108/rsr-10-2015-0044 U.S News & World Report (2017) University of Colorado Boulder Best Colleges Rankings Retrieved September 19, 2017 from https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/cu-boulder-1370/overall-rankings University of Colorado (2017) Diversity and Excellent Grants Retrieved September 19, 2017 from http://www.cu.edu/oaa/grants/diversityexcellence-grants University of Colorado Boulder Office of the Chancellor (n.d.) Flagship 2030 Strategic Plan Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/chancellor/sites/default/files/attachedfiles/cuflagship.pdf 57 .. .Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students ii Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Table of Contents About the Author... https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2014.985308 x Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students Pennsylvania State University: Creative Collaboration Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students. .. http://strategicplan.psu.edu/ 11 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students George Washington University: New Support Models 12 Profiles of Academic Library Services for International Students