Partners for Success Eileen K. Bosch – Sr. Assistant Librarian CSU Long Beach

One of the largest campus in CSU System Urban campus, located in the greater Long Beach-LA area 35,000 students and 4,000 staff and faculty Second largest four-year university in California No. 3 best value public college in the nation (Princeton Review, 2007) 2 California State University Long Beach

Over 1,200 international students enrolled Top 10 countries represented: 1.Japan India Korea Taiwan Saudi Arabia China Vietnam Hong Kong Indonesia Germany Overview of International Students Source: Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (Fall, 2007)

Challenges & Implications Anxiety and overwhelming sensation Library classification systems & organization of materials Underutilization of library services Communication barriers Technology barriers Physical barriers Learning styles

Chinese Proverb Tell me and I forget Teach me and I remember Involve me and I learn

Typical Int’l Student Orientation Attend Plenary Session Host University Library table at Int’l Students Fair Customized Tour and Library Workshop in the Library

Presenting LI Maintain a clear line of sight Pace your speech Mark transitions Offer several comprehension checks Ask for raised hands, volunteers Address library anxiety by increasing interactions Promote positive affective and active learning environment Evaluations

Did they “get” it?

Making Connections on Campus Know your campus Look for potential partnerships on campus Get involved with International Programs and Student Services Keep open communications Be friendly, flexible, and persistent Send s offering services every beginning and end of semester

Partners for Success ( ) Reached 360 international students during International Student Orientation Week 260 students (Fall 2007) 100 students (Spring 2008) About 20% of these students contact me directly in a regular basis

Implement “Meet & Greet Your Librarian” event Offer exclusive library workshops to graduate students Advertise research/writing paper clinics in the Library Create a webpage for international students Institutionalize orientation sessions to int’l and study abroad students Partners for Success - Future Plans

References 7 Khoza, T. (2006). Providing services for culturally diverse students in academic libraries. University of South Africa (Thesis). Mehra, B. & Dania B. (2007). International students’ perceptions of their information seeking strategies. Paper presented at Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS). Wang, J. & Frank, D. (2002). Cross-cultural communication: Implications for effective information services in academic libraries. Libraries and the Academy, V. 2 (2), pp Retrieved from Project Muse April 4, 2007 at

Int’l Student Services: My New CSULB Family Daniel Yoder, Director Int’l Student Services Hide Okuno, Graduate Student Ryuhei Araya, Undergraduate Student QUESTIONS: Before Library Orientation Tell us about 3 challenges that you experienced in US Academic Libraries After Library Orientation Did you still have these challenges? Were you able to overcome those initial challenges? What are the new challenges?