Interested in learning more about the first year experience in the library field or higher education? Not sure where to begin? There are plenty of resources to help you dig into this topic a bit further since the FYE is such a broad area in higher education.  This post will cover a few selected resources for you to consider.

By Raymond Pun and Marian Traynor

FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun recently interviewed Marian Traynor, Manager of Library User Services and Jamie Goodfellow, first year academic skills librarian, both of Sheridan College in Toronto. Their conversation focuses on how Sheridan’s library added increased prioritization and new programming to their first year experience initiative.

By Raymond Pun and Kenya Flash

In our last post, we covered how you might use Credo to teach image searching and visual literacy. This week we will be looking into how Credo can help you teach data literacy. Data literacy is the ability to read, interpret, create, and communicate data as information. Many disciplines, from communication to political science and more, expect students to show proficiency with these skills in their assignments.

By Raymond Pun and Vang Vang

Have you ever thought about creative ways to teach students how to find, interpret, and use images for their research? You may want to consider using Credo for this instructional activity.

The third installment of our Credo in Action webinar series featured two Fresno State librarians, Ray Pun and Vang Vang, discussing new and innovative ways to engage students through gamification, visual literacy, and more. With clear and practical examples, they walked us through how they’ve implemented these various strategies to expand their instruction and outreach services. Here are a few of the highlights; access the full recording and slides to see all 10!

Niketha McKenzie was tasked with creating an instructional platform to ensure Howard University’s incoming freshmen were aware of the library’s resources and services. She and her colleagues Adia Coleman and Kimberly Prosper reached out to faculty and students to assess the main obstacles first year students faced when conducting research, and where faculty wanted to improvement. As part of our Credo In Action webinar series, these librarians agreed to share what they learned, what they’ve created to address these needs, and how students and faculty have responded. Access the full webinar recording here!

The academic school year has started, and it’s a great time to think about creative ways to engage with students throughout orientation!

We recently asked librarians to send us their stories of how they put Credo to use helping students. Sol Lopez of Regis University won our contest, and a trip to ALA Chicago, for her submission on how Credo supports her school's first year experience (FYE) program by encouraging students to initiate choosing topics for their research.

First year success librarians Raymond Pun and Kate Angell recently spoke about innovative ways they’ve found to engage first year students in their respective libraries. To be clear, in Beyond Information Literacy: 10 Ways to Engage with Your First Year Students, they aren’t talking about bypassing information literacy. In fact, many of these programs and ideas work in tandem with ongoing IL initiatives. Here’s a quick sample of some of their tips, or you can watch the full webinar recording.

As the spring semester slowly wraps up for many schools across the country, your first year students should be pretty excited about completing their first academic year!