SummerStart Activities at the Libraries
by Abby Kasowitz-Scheer, Interim Head, Department of Learning and Academic Engagement
During the week of July 11, 2022 the Libraries hosted incoming first year students in the SummerStart Program for three different events.
On Tuesday, July 12, three librarians and two Information Literacy (IL) Scholars taught introductory library sessions to all ten sections (four sessions total) of CLS 100 (the SummerStart Seminar class). These sessions were part of SummerStart’s “Becoming Orange” series, designed to introduce students to various departments and support services on campus. The Libraries sessions introduced students to resources and services available at the Libraries and included brief demonstrations of research tools on the Libraries website. Following the sessions, students were encouraged to complete an online orientation quiz for the opportunity to win a prize.
On Wednesday, July 13, the Libraries held a game night in Bird Library for thirty SummerStart students, complete with a library and trivia Kahoot!, several "Minute-to-Win-It" challenges, a variety of board games (some from our game collection), and other activities.
Finally, on Friday, July 15, 123 students attended the SummerStart Resource Fair on the first floor of Bird Library, which featured over 25 campus departments, including the Libraries.
Many Libraries staff and student assistants were involved in planning and staffing these events. Roles included teaching the introductory sessions, planning and running activities and games, compiling materials to hand out to students, setting up and taking down furniture for the resource fair, staffing the Libraries table at the resource fair, and generally providing help and support. As always, the Libraries appreciate our ongoing collaboration with colleagues at the Student Outreach and Retention Office to welcome these new students to the Libraries and to our campus.
