myLibrarian: A practical and conceptual evolution of personal librarian programs

Abstract

As academic librarians we are always looking for new ways to engage students and especially new undergraduate students. Personal librarian programs have been one such way of attempting to create personalized connections between the library and new students. However the peak of such programs was the early 2010s and typical program components do not always fit today's settings. Students are less likely to engage in widespread emails and may not always understand what their librarian or library can do for them. This program attempted to incorporate best practices and findings from a scoping review on personal librarian programs, adapt to its own institutional setting which included a strong liaison librarian program, and include new ways for students to connect with a librarian including based on their unique background, and language spoken. The 2020-2021 academic year has been the pilot year for this program and this poster will share progress to date and invite you to discuss and share input to continue the evolution of this new approach to personal librarian programs in academic libraries.