Between Acceptance and Attendance Jannelle Ruswick, Instruction Coordinator Introducing the Library to New International Students

Acceptance Internet Always open Multi-lingual guides IM and s 7-30 days before Weekly in-library orientations Personal attention Welcome packets Week before Auditorium speeches Daily in-library orientations Resource fairs All hands on deck! Classes begin More in-library orientations More resource fairs Seriously, all hands on deck! Attendance

 Private PhD-granting institution in Chicago  7,787 students  35% undergrad, 65% grad  STEM+ (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)  Psychology, Business, Law, Architecture

 High ratio of international students  43% international  over 100 countries represented

Make new friends …and keep the old

Build Relationships Big 3 Targets  International Center  Orientation Committee  Admissions Office

Know your students Survey, respond, repeat

Gate and Proxy Counts  Where are they coming from?  Determine statistical significance  Scan all IDs in specific times for two weeks  Count all proxy use  Output: Excel file with demographic data, no names or IDs.  Conduct biannually to track changes  Spring semester, 2009 and 2011

Top 3 Countries of Origin Institute of International Education. (2010). "Top 25 Places of Origin of International Students, 2008/ /10." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from

Takeaways  Learned as much as we could about libraries in these three countries.  Empirical evidence for outreach  Users and nonusers  Can use this to ask for more resources!

Survey  Given to all in-library orientation attendees every semester  Offered online to current students in 2007  iTunes gift card from random drawing  Seeking information about previous library use and current library confusion

Do you find anything confusing about the library?  “Yes,,, finding one book is like finding a pin in a haystack, and something I've noticed is that most international students are too shy to ask for help.”  “How the books are sorted, they should be by departments.”

Do you find anything confusing about the library?  “There is a couple of tables and chairs on the first floor reserved for eating. But frequently I found it occupied by group studiers. Then I have to walk to MTCC to finish lunch or dinner.”  “where is quiet seats”

Fixes  General How to Find Books LibGuide  International Students LibGuide  Simplify signs  Not “Intersession Hours” but “Hours for August”  Bilingual signs  Designated quiet spaces  Makes library feel more like home

Enhance your online presence After all, it is the “World” Wide Web

Provide Online Materials  Learn before arriving  Multi-lingual guides are welcoming  Get information without having to ask  But if they do ask, they can type at their own pace

Library.iit.edu/students Guides placed where current students were looking for them.

Multilingual Library Virtual Tour Translated by volunteer students into Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Hindi.

Bilingual library guides  Online research guides in Chinese  On topics they want to know about  Research papers  Plagiarism  Finding articles

Reuse and Repurpose  Most content already existed  In user-friendly location  Inclusive feeling

Welcome early arrivers Internet, air conditioning, long hours

Orientation Methods  Big auditorium lectures  Library tours  Library workshops  Resource fairs  Informal hellos

Auditorium Orientations Pros Cons  Reach wide audience  Surface topics only  No promotion needed  Legitimized  Advertise other events  Impersonal  Surface topics only  One of many lectures

Library Tours and Workshops Textbooks Library Catalog Reference services

Make up for the cons Auditorium Orientation’s cons Workshop’s pros  Impersonal  Surface topics only  One of many lectures  Personal  In-depth topics  Top questions asked by international students  Interactive with students

Student Resource Fairs

Recommendations  Know and consult your international population  Look around your library space and end confusion  Repackage current materials and get them online  Make a new content priority list  Prepare your staff for the 30 day triathlon  Do it all with a smile

Questions? Jannelle Ruswick library.iit.edu/students Yi Han, Diversity and Outreach Fair Exhibit Hall 3-5pm Today!