Student Wellness and Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Activities for Promoting Health and Success

Available Formats
ALA Member
$77.40
Price
$86.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-4864-4
Published
2020
Publisher
ACRL
Pages
300
Width
7"
Height
10"
Format
Softcover
AP Categories
A
I
P

Primary tabs

You don't need to be an ALA Member to purchase from the ALA Store, but you'll be asked to create an online account/profile during the checkout to proceed. This Web Account is for both members and non-members.

  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the authors

Postsecondary institutions are high stress environments for many students: Undergraduates may be living on their own for the first time, coping with demanding academic requirements, and experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and new social relationships and identities. Advanced degree students tend to have a high level of job insecurity and are also more likely than other students to be juggling family obligations on top of their studies, research, and teaching. Mental health disorders have their peak onset during the university and college years, and severe anxiety is on the rise.

Many university libraries across North America are expanding their service offerings to include student wellness initiatives or are making their space available to other campus entities to provide wellness support as mental health issues and awareness of mental health challenges on campus have increased. Student Wellness and Academic Libraries gathers multiple perspectives on wellness programming and discussions of current activities, with case studies, commentary, and research on student wellness initiatives in academic libraries. Some chapters explore one initiative in detail, and others look at a variety of activities and how they fit within a strategy; some focus on a particular aspect of wellness, and others on a particular at-risk group.

Academic libraries have always promoted student success through teaching and research support and through instruction in information literacy, a skill that is understood to be useful not just for academic success but also for life success. For college and university students, learning to live well and attend to their mental health are life skills they can and should develop during this time, and academic libraries are increasingly playing a role in this part of the student experience. Student Wellness and Academic Libraries can help those charged with leading these efforts gain valuable insight into ideas and directions the library can take in pursuit of that goal.

Preface
Sara Holder and Amber Lannon

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Sara Holder and Amber Lannon

Chapter 1. Then You Can Start to Make It Better: How Academic Libraries Are Promoting and Fostering Student Wellness
Lorna E. Rourke

Chapter 2.. Peer Assisted Study Sessions: How Academic Libraries Can Influence Student Well-Being through Academic Programs and Intentional Partnerships
Christina Sylka, Cassie Gilpin, Kimberly Fama

Chapter 3. A Case for the Empathetic Librarian
Melissa Beuoy

Chapter 4. “I’ll Go With You”: Safety and Wellness Initiatives to Support Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Academic Library Users
Heather Cyre

Chapter 5. Cultivating Belonging: Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Leonard Lief Library, Lehman College—CUNY
Joan Jocson-Singh, Alison Lehner-Quam, and Rebecca Arzola

Chapter 6. Welcoming Students with Children: Building a Family Study Space at the University of Toronto Libraries
Kyla Everall and Jesse Carliner

Chapter 7. Wellness Support for Student Library Employees: A Staff Development Tool Kit for Library Employees Who Supervise Students
Heather Burroughs and Judy Quist

Chapter 8. The Development of Multiuse Meditation Rooms
JJ Pionke

Chapter 9. Supporting Digital Wellness and Well-Being
Julia Feerrar

Chapter 10. Designing for Wellness: A Student/Librarian Collaboration
Barbara Rockenbach, Shyamolie Biyani, and Francie Mrkich

Chapter 11. Beyond Therapy Dogs: Rethinking Animal Policies to Protect and Promote Student Wellness for All Library Users
Jacqueline Frank

Chapter 12. Student Wellness through Physical Activity: Promotion in the Academic Library
Noah Lenstra

Chapter 13. Wellness Overdue? Check In at the Weldon Library Wellness Station: Partnering for Student Wellness
Nicole Maddock, Melanie-Anne Atkins, Monica Fazekas, and Jennifer Robinson

Chapter 14. Welcoming Wellness: Collaborating with Campus Wellness Programs to Promote Student Wellness Activities in the Library and across Campus
Theresa McDevitt, Li Teng, Susan Graham, Ann Sesti, and Sara Dillon

About the Authors

Sara Holder

Sara Holder is an associate professor and Head of Research and Information Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. Prior to joining the U of I Library in 2016, she held various positions at McGill University including Director of the McGill Library Research Commons, Head of the Schulich Library of Science and Engineering, and Head of the Education Library. Sara began her career as a reference librarian in the Firestone Library at Princeton University. Her research focuses on subjects including librarian training and development, academic library management, library assessment strategies, information literacy, and collection development. She is active in several divisions of the American Library Association, and she is a frequent reviewer of books and media for the Library Journal. Sara received her MS in library and information science from Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, and her BA from Vassar College.

Amber Lannon

Amber Lannon is the University Librarian for Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). Prior to joining the Carleton Library in 2016, she held various positions at McGill University including Head of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library and Head of the Howard Ross Library of Management. She has coauthored and coedited several articles and books on a variety of topics including e-book usage, library consolidation and new service models, library management, and the role of the library in student wellness initiatives. She is a reviewer for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. In addition to her MLIS from Dalhousie University, Amber has an MBA from the University of British Columbia.