The Faculty-in-Residence Program at OU

“Effective learning

environments blur

boundaries between

classroom and out-of-

class experiences,

making learning a more

seamless process.

Residence halls are the

place to make this

happen.”

The Antell-Riggs FIR Family

Home Sweet Dorm!

This ain’t the dorm room I lived in during college!

The Alphabet Soup of Housing Governance

CC – Center Coordinator RD – Resident Director PA – Programming Assistant RA’s – Resident Assistants PC’s – President’s Council HCSA – Housing Center

Student Association

Programming Requirements for Housing Staff

RA’s – 16 programs per semester, with at least one in each category

Community BuildingHealthy LifestylesMulticulturalCommunity ServiceFaculty-in-ResidenceAdopt-A-FacultyIntellectual DiscussionsAcademic Success

Library Programs in the Dormitories: “Intellectual Discussions”

“When Books are Outlawed, only Outlaws Will Read Books: A Conversation in Observance of Banned Books Week”

A highly successful program – about 50 participants

Guest speaker from library school Display of 100 challenged books Discussion – has your favorite

book been banned?

Library Programs in the Dormitories: “Intellectual Discussions”

“African American Fiction Book Club”

A not-so-successful program – a good idea that I didn’t implement well

Students and parents loved the idea Students did not have the time or

energy to read for pleasure during the first few months of their freshman year

Might try this again in the Spring with better planning

Library Programs in the Dormitories: “Academic Success”

“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bizzell Library”

Mixed success Library tour followed by

refreshments and discussion Students are somewhat reluctant

to give up an evening for a library tour

Library Programs in the Dormitories: “Academic Success”

“Research Rescue”

Highly successful event One-on-one help with library

research, using laptops and wireless internet connections in the dorm social lounge

Bringing the library into the dorm . . . through the magic of laptops and wireless internet.

Research Rescue, April 2004

Librarian Twila helps Jennifer and her friend with a paper. Research Rescue, April 2004

The Momentum of Successful Relationships with Housing Staff

Housing staff members have started coming to me with requests for programming and instruction

Headlands summer institute for Native American pre-med students

Informal instruction sessions and reference requests, both in and out of the library

“Cookies & Milk Story Hour”

The “children” gather in their pajamas to hear the story. “Cookies & Milk” Storytime with “Mama Liz,” Fall 2003

A Few Random Ideas for Future Programs

Program on avoiding plagiarism Instruction on specific databases

(using the Housing computer lab) Information literacy instruction

The Live-In Librarian’s Tips for Taking the Library to the Dorms

Find out the structure of Housing governance at your college or university – especially who is responsible for programming

Find out the staff’s programming requirements

The Live-In Librarian’s Tips for Taking the Library to the Dorms (con’t)

Pay a visit to the dormitories on a weekday evening.

Check out the spaces, the technology, the “traffic flow.”

Eat a meal in the cafeteria. (Really!)

The Live-In Librarian’s Tips for Taking the Library to the Dorms (con’t)

Offer ideas to the staff who do programming, but accept lots of input from them

They know their residents – so they are in the best position to know what content, format, and time of day is most likely to result in a successful program

The Live-In Librarian’s Tips for Taking the Library to the Dorms (con’t)

Always include food! Use all available publicity

avenues – flyers, press releases to the campus newspaper, email lists, website announcements

Let your housing “partner” help with publicity inside the building – flyering, making posters, word-of-mouth