The Fun Stuff: Creative Programming to Foster Student Belonging and Ease Library Anxiety

Carroll Community College has taken a creative approach to addressing students’ library anxiety while also seeking to support student belonging on campus and in the library. Activities that allow for low-stakes interactions between students and library staff help students to feel more at ease in the library, connecting them more deeply to this important campus resource and developing their comfort when academic stakes are higher. Pop-Tart tasting, crafternoon activities, and helping to build a community Lego project are all programs that invite students into the library and encourage them to have fun and make connections. Attendance data and participant feedback show that these activities have been well-received and that the relationships students establish benefit them as they use the library to undertake more rigorous academic tasks. Professional librarians play a critical role in facilitating development of information literacy. In addition, decreasing anxiety around seeking assistance from librarians removes a barrier for students. This type of programming could readily be replicated at other institutions in part because of its cost effectiveness.

Innovator

• Emily Hampton Haynes, Assistant Director, Library, and Head, Public Services