mar09b.indd


David Salinero and Cynthia Beardsley 

Enhancing
the
academic
experience


The
library
and
campus
engagement



Delta State University (DSU), situated in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, 
wrestles with many of the typical problems 
associated with smaller regional universities. 
Chief among them are improving retention 
and graduation rates, creating safe and nur­
turing learning environments, and produc­
ing solid informed citizens. The answers to 
these problems do not usually come easily 
or quickly. Yet, engagement, with its intense 
focus on student learning and a multifaceted 
appreciation of the academic experience, of­
fers a possible solution. In 2004, DSU created a 
Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of its 
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
(SACS) accreditation reaffirmation and made 
student engagement the centerpiece. Once 
SACS approved the university’s QEP, engage­
ment became more than just a philosophical 
issue, it became a tangible and necessary area 
of assessment. 

Far from the sole realm of administrators 
and teaching faculty, student engagement 
found a natural home at DSU’s Roberts­La­
Forge Library. In fact, the library was in a 
prime position to help the university achieve 
its new goals, since the librarians were al­
ready involved in many engagement­centered 
programs. 

Defi nition 
While the topic is often discussed around 
campus, there remains some debate about 
what constitutes “student engagement”; there­
fore, before the library could even highlight 
or categorize its engagement initiatives, some 
agreement on terminology had to be shaped. 
When searching the literature for steadfast 
principles or guidelines, one would be hard 

pressed to fi nd consistent answers. McMahon 
and Portelli examined numerous defi nitions 
of student engagement and reported that cur­
rent conceptions oftentimes are “too narrow 
[or] do not address fundamental questions 
. . . that relate to the question about purposes 
of engagement.”1 

Kuh used a forthright postulation of student 
engagement when he stated the, “(student) en­
gagement premise is deceptively simple, even 
self­evident: The more students study a sub­
ject, the more they learn about it.”2 Ultimately, 
however, any definition used for meaningful 
application and purpose must originate from, 
and be contingent upon, the collaborative 
efforts among students, faculty, and adminis­
tration for the enrichment of student learning, 
achievement of lifelong learning skills, and the 
fulfillment of responsibilities related to higher­
education accountability. 

Student engagement 
Remembering Kuh’s “simple” defi nition, if 
more time spent with students equals more 
effective learning, then assimilating them just 
as they enter college makes the most sense. 
Despite all of the library’s user­friendly signage 
and innovative outreach programs, incoming 
freshmen can still be overwhelmed by a place 
that seems so daunting, big, and just plain 
confusing. Making students more comfortable 
and allowing them to see the library staff as 
friendly and welcoming remains the biggest 

David Salinero is reference/instructional services/ 
g o v e r n m e n t  d o c u m e n t s  l i b r a r i a n ,  e - m a i l :  
dsaliner@deltastate.edu, Cynthia Beardsley is reference/ 
instructional services librarian at Delta State University, 
e-mail: cbeardsley@deltastate.edu 
© 2009 David Salinero and Cynthia Beardsley 

150C&RL News March 2009

mailto:cbeardsley@deltastate.edu
mailto:dsaliner@deltastate.edu


hurdle; the best (if not the only) remedy seems 
to be repeated, meaningful contact between 
librarian and student. 

As a first step, the library has taken an 
active interest in Emerging Scholars, DSU’s 
freshmen orientation course that introduces 
new students to college life and the world 
of academic expectations. Usually short on 
lecture, this session falls heavily on an activ­
ity that typically involves some iteration of a 
scavenger hunt or other interactive exchange 
where the students are required to cooper­
ate with each other and acquaint themselves 
with the library’s resources. While this type 
of course is nothing new, the library has 
tried to create an experience that meets the 
course leaders’ expectations and purposes and 
achieves the library’s primary goal of easing 
students into the fold. Make no mistake! The 
librarians have no misconceptions that they are 
creating information literacy experts. Actually, 
information literacy plays a very minor part. 
Instead, the librarian simply wants that fi rst 
level of contact. 

In addition to providing the single library 
session in Emerging Scholars, some librarians 
have even chosen to serve as mentors for 
the entire course. This level of participation 
increases the visibility of the library/librar­
ian as part of the wider educational process, 
produces greater communication between 
the librarian and the rest of the campus, and 
creates a valuable bond between the librarian 
and student. 

LIB 101­Fundamentals of Information 
Literacy, the library instruction program’s 
flagship, possibly serves as the library’s most 
concentrated engagement effort. Two over­
arching goals exist for the course: “Improve 
student’s critical thinking skills necessary to 
identify, evaluate, and use diverse information 
resources effectively [and secondly], improve 
the cultural awareness of students and help 
them to gain knowledge and an appreciation 
of social issues of the contemporary environ­
ment.”3 These goals align themselves with 
other universities’ information literacy courses; 
but, more importantly, they serve to fulfi ll key 
QEP goals, such as “increased student­student 

interaction and faculty­student interaction . . 
. increased use of technology and web­based 
communication . . . and engagement in free­
flowing, multi­directional communication.”4 

Although the university and library set these 
goals a few years ago, they are just as relevant 
today, especially with online courses and 2.0 
technologies becoming the norm. 

Another DSU service that the library has 
provided for a number of years is “Reference 
by Appointment”—personalized research 
sessions designed for students or faculty and 
facilitated by DSU reference librarians. These 
meetings foster engagement on several levels: 
students find a more relaxed environment to 
learn about the library’s services and resources; 
librarians enable students to incorporate 
critical thinking skills into their research; and 
faculty discover new resources and fi nd new 
partners for course content delivery. 

Faculty engagement 
The previously described programs do not stray 
far from the library’s traditional roles; at a glance, 
instruction and information literacy sit at the 
core of most of them. However, with the avail­
ability of service opportunities around campus, 
librarians have become an even bigger part of 
the engagement picture. In 2006, DSU placed a 
librarian on the Student Engagement Commit­
tee (SEC), a byproduct of QEP. As a member 
of this committee, the librarian participates in 
discussions affecting the entire campus, and 
also brings a unique perspective not necessarily 
appreciated by faculty who may only see their 
students in the classroom. 

Topics entertained by the committee in­
clude curriculum changes, service learning, 
and, most recently, faculty engagement. With 
the notion that student engagement begins 
with faculty, SEC created an entire seminar for 
new faculty members focusing on academic is­
sues, introducing them to DSU, and more spe­
cifically, inculcating them during each “class” 
with the university’s engagement theme. 

The library had little trouble finding a place 
in this course. Actually, SEC adopted a service 
that the library had already been offering for 
years. At the beginning of each fall semester, 

March 2009  151 C&RL News 



the library hosts an orientation that introduces 
new faculty to library services and also gives 
them a first glimpse into collection develop­
ment policies and procedures. 

As an added bonus, each new faculty mem­
ber receives a generous stipend to spend on 
library materials. While only one session, the 
value of the library component far outweighs its 
brevity. SEC gets a trustworthy ally for its new 
faculty program, and the library gets to spread 
its wares while contributing to a positive faculty 
retention effort. 

As mentioned previously, advanced tech­
nologies are no longer a luxury, but an essential 
part of the higher education experience. DSU 
ensured this integration when, through a tech­
nology­related QEP goal, it called for increased 
faculty professional development, evidence of 
Web­based assignments, and the presence of 
advanced technologies listed in syllabi. For its 
part, the library could not stand by idly. Not 
only would the library have to update its own 
services, but librarians would also have to know 
how faculty were using technology in order to 
assist students while they were completing as­
signments in the library.5 

For many new faculty, QEP is a mystery. 
Add to that the anxiety they must feel knowing 
that assignments and syllabi will be assessed. 
To ease this anxiety, the library began offering 
a unique service that illustrates several ways that 
faculty can incorporate technology into their 
coursework and safely fulfill QEP requirements 
by using any number of the library’s services. 

Some examples include adding course ma­
terials to electronic reserves, using the library’s 
plagiarism detection software, and creating 

more research­based assignments necessitating 
the library’s instructional and reference services. 
Although this initial service targeted new faculty, 
librarians believe that this service can benefi t all 
teaching faculty members. 

Conclusion 
Whether it is through serving on the SEC 
committee, acting as a freshmen mentor, or 
teaching LIB 101, DSU’s librarians have found 
numerous ways to participate in the university’s 
engagement activities. Although QEP has not 
changed the library’s mission or practices, it 
has changed how the library thinks about and 
defines its student­related activities. Working 
closely with teachers and administrators, the 
librarians are fulfilling the university’s charge, 
taking part in many nontraditional library roles, 
and, most importantly, creating a more engaged 
student body. 

Notes 
1. Brenda McMahon and John P. Portelli, “En­

gagement for What? Beyond Popular Discourses 
of Student Engagement,” Leadership and Policy 
in Schools 3, no. 1 (2004): 62, 65. 

2. George D. Kuh, “What We’re Learning 
about Student Engagement from NSSE,” Change 
35, no. 2 (March/April 2003): 25. 

3. Roberts­LaForge Library, Library Services 
Unit Specific QEP Learning Goals for 2004­2005 
(internal document, Roberts­LaForge Library, 
Delta State University, 2004), 1–2. 

4. Ibid. 
5. Delta State University, Quality Enhance­

ment Plan: A Strategic Plan for Increasing 
Student Engagement (2004). 

152C&RL News March 2009