Session Description:
This paper will summarize 400+ responses to a student questionnaire used to assess an OER program. Students’ responses showed that they were concerned about textbook affordability, liked their open and affordable course content, and unanimously supported continuing the program. However, responses also suggested a reliance on mobile devices, the relative invisibility of library resources, and the need for education about copyright and potential piracy. In addition to having direct implications for the use of open and affordable materials, these results reveal information about students’ digital environment and the role of the library in their academic experience.

Session Description:
Data and its management continues to grow in importance in academic libraries, and the focus is overwhelmingly on newly-produced digital data. However, data in paper or analog format exists across our campuses in varying locations and is equally important. With a focus on life sciences data, we have mainly explored analog material in selected labs and centers on campus and in the University Archives. We have discovered that it is an institutional asset although some is not well preserved, almost none is easily discoverable, quite a bit could be shareable, and some has high potential for reuse.

Session Description:
ACRL recommends that librarians with faculty status have the same privileges and responsibilities as other faculty on campus. Previous study revealed librarians feel that being on an equal footing with other faculty improves their relationship. It is not clear whether teaching faculty feel the same way. The paper presents a recent research investigating faculty perceptions of academic librarians in two types of institutions: those granting and not granting librarians faculty status. We found that, among faculty who were aware of their local librarians’ status, a higher percentage perceived closer relationships. Librarians in-depth academic participation can help strengthen the faculty-librarian partnership.

Session Description:
Many US students are opting to begin their college education at a community college and complete their coursework after transfer to a university. In this case study, more than 900 graduates from a large community college transfer to a nearby university every year. This population is likely to miss the initial university library instruction opportunities usually available to first-year students. This paper will present findings of transfer student data from a survey and interviews conducted to uncover the challenges and opportunities of the transfer student experience and how this impacts their comfort level and ability to do library research.

Session Description:
How interculturally competent and inclusive are library faculty and staff, really? And how do we know? In this session we will share the findings of a study that assessed the intercultural competence of library workers, individually and collectively. In the study, library workers were encouraged to expose themselves to other cultures over a 6 month period. After the exposure period, the workers were re-assessed for growth. We will share the findings and discuss intercultural competence in library services and other ways to create inclusive services and course, through the people that create them.