By Marie R. Kennedy, Cheryl LaGuardia, and Raymond Pun

FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun recently interviewed Marie R. Kennedy and Cheryl LaGuardia, co-authors of Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians (Second Edition). They shared their thoughts and marketing strategies for promoting e-resources to students, particularly those in the FYE.

By Orlando Leon and Raymond Pun

Hackathons support high-impact practices (HIP) through student engagement with innovative research and collaboration. In this interview, FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun talks with Orlando Leon, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Fresno State about Leon’s experiences and thoughts on hackathons, and delves into the important skills students gain from organizing and participating in such events.

By Paschalia Terzi, Joseph Yap, and Raymond Pun

FYE correspondent Raymond Pun recently interviewed librarians from Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan to talk about how they reach out to first year students. Introducing students to the "Western" style academic library is a big transition for some, along with the more universal transitions students face when arriving on campus. Their conversation touches on the challenges of building an institution-wide information literacy program, as well as collaborative efforts with various offices and departments. 

By Danielle Rapue and Raymond Pun

FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun recently interviewed Danielle Rapue from Pasadena City College to talk about her experiences in teaching research skills and information literacy to students online. Danielle shares some of her experiences and thoughts about teaching these classes, and how important and helpful they can be for academic librarians today.

By Hiromi Kubo and Raymond Pun

April 21-28 is Money Smart Week (MSW)! Co-sponsored and promoted by ALA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, this national campaign aims to help consumers manage their personal finances and develop financial literacy skills. Many libraries participate in this effort by promoting financial trainings and resources to students and the general public. It is also an opportunity to focus conversations and training on this important matter and how it relates to managing student debt and loans. Below are some ideas to consider as you prepare for MSW in your library!

By Jody Burum and Raymond Pun

FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun talks with Jody Burum, Career Counselor at Fresno State, who discusses the importance of Career Development/Internship experiences in the academic curriculum. Career development/Internships are considered a high impact practice (HIP), an active learning approach that can increase student engagement and retention. In this post, they explore how their collaboration supports students' career success.

Since 1996, April has been designated National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poetry through greater awareness and public engagement. Your library's participation in this annual observance can serve as a fun way to engage students and cultivate the type of interactive relationships essential for first year success initiatives and more. Here are a few activities to consider:

By Ariana Santiago and Raymond Pun

FYE Correspondent Ray Pun talks with Ariana Santiago, Instruction Librarian at the University of Houston, about her work supporting FYE programs and first year students through collaborative efforts and student engagement programs. In this interview Ariana also talks about how she and her colleagues make instruction relevant, engaging, and practical, and how they’re working to create a welcoming environment in the library.

Addressing information literacy with first year students is a multifaceted challenge. Librarians may be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the Framework for Information Literacy’s threshold concepts. Faculty buy-in (or lack thereof) can help or hinder. Students potentially hold misconceptions, as illustrated by Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe’s research. Finally, some institutions, such as my community college, do not provide 1) a formal first year experience and/or 2) a credit-bearing IL course. You know where this leads: a Framework-skittish instructional librarian standing for about an hour in front of students who think they can Google the answer to anything and faculty who just want you to “show some databases.”

By Anne Marie Gruber and Raymond Pun

In this blog series, FYE Correspondent Raymond Pun will interview academic librarians who integrate high-impact practices (HIPs) into their work. The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) has defined HIPs as active learning approaches that can increase student engagement and retention. Service-learning is considered a HIP, and in this interview, Ray speaks with Anne Marie Gruber, Instruction and Liaison Librarian at the Rod Library in the University of Northern Iowa, to learn more about this HIP in action.