Students are the heart of our libraries, as both users and employees. Their expertise and perspective are assets to building an environment that meets student user needs. Our library leveraged open pedagogy, rapid contextual design, and agile management practices to foster student employee participation and implementation of library procedures and training. We recentered our training to embrace our university’s value of creating practical, applicable knowledge that works for students outside the academic environment.

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Sometimes though, the best-laid plans go awry. In this session we will share what went well as we shifted to a student-run desk and where we still have (plenty) of room to grow that is embraced and expected with our management model. By integrating the best practices from our groups’ collective extensive experience, critical theory, and practical management techniques, attendees will walk away with practical skills, theoretical frameworks, and techniques to try in their home institutions.

Kristin Conlin – Online Learning Librarian, University of Baltimore
There are many paths we can take in life. I am a voracious explorer and chose to try several routes before deciding on my current career path.

Immersed in history and building access points through my work at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, my interest was piqued in the constructing accessible digital content which led me to librarianship. Simultaneous to my educational pursuits, I maintained a head coaching position at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. I coached rowers and coxswains through a new language and bodily awareness in a sport that demands dedication, precision, and sleep deprivation.

In all of these pursuits, the common thread was making information accessible. I embrace the vision of our library to build information literacy among our students, and show those students how that literacy is empowering and relevant.

Sean Hogan – Assistant Director for Access Services & Facilities, University of Baltimore
Sean Hogan is the Assistant Director for Access Services & Facilities at the University of Baltimore. Sean began his library career in 2000 as a stacks assistant at Syracuse University’s Science & Technology library. While at SU, he worked his way to Access Services supervisor at Bird Library as he earned his MSLIS. In 2008 he was appointed Access Services librarian at the Catholic University of America. In 2015 he became the University of Baltimore’s first Resource Sharing Librarian. His research includes assessment in Access Services with particular focus on individual user behavior. Currently his research is focused on library student employees and their contributions to the organization.

Allison Jennings-Roche – Reference & Instruction Librarian, University of Baltimore
Allison Jennings-Roche is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at the University of Baltimore. She graduated with her MLIS from the University of Maryland in December 2019, where she specialized in Diversity and Inclusion. She previously earned a MA in Legal and Ethical Studies and a BA in English Literature and Political Science. Allison has a broad professional background in student affairs, yoga and group fitness, public libraries, and academic library services. Her research interests include critical theory, andragogy, the intersection of statistics and information literacy, the ethics of citation practices, and the role of relationships in information-seeking behavior. Allison’s interdisciplinary background informs her expansive view of librarianship as she seeks out opportunities to promote information literacy beyond institutional barriers.

Tammy Taylor – Circulation Supervisor, University of Baltimore
Tammy Taylor is the Circulation Supervisor in the Access Services Department at the Robert L. Bogomolny Library at University of Baltimore. She has worked at UB for 32 years. She is responsible for the interviewing, hiring, training, evaluations and scheduling of student employees. Throughout her career at UB she has worked with more than 100 student employees. While currently working with students at the Information Desk (something new RLB started in June 2018), in the past she has worked with students at a traditional circulation desk. Many things have changed regarding student employees and their job duties, but one thing has remained the same – the knowledge that student employees are the heart and soul of the library. Without them we would not be as successful as we are today – we are enriched by the potential that grows when student employees take on leadership roles.