The Basic Skills Initiative and Community College Libraries Conference Diablo Valley College

April 24,2009 Participants were asked the following questions. Their answers appear in the table below. What is the greatest challenge you face in trying to implement library services to help basic skills students be more successful? What solution(s) can you brainstorm to overcome that challenge?

Challenges Solutions Reaching basic skills students and getting them to believe that library services are important to them.

Collaboration: with other basic skills departments and with campus faculty directly involved in developing BSI services and outreaches.

Budget: more basic skills classes; release time for faculty to work together; more available computer labs on campus for student use.

Provide additional locations with computers and projection screen so that workshops could be held for students.

Personnel with time allotted to create and work with basic skills students and an area set aside for this purpose.

Provide substitute librarians to allow full-time librarians time for planning and working with students.

Time to develop courses. Use grant money for this purpose. Incorporating basic skills into our current services and workload.

Great ideas, willing participants (instructors and staff). No dedicated time or funding to implement programs.

Greatest challenge in trying to implement library services to help basic skills students be more successful.

Lack of vision/leadership in this area. It’s not really been on our radar so far as a pressing need.

Getting connected with the students who need more library access skills.

Self-assessments: Have students self-assess as to their information access skills, using “real world kinds of questions.”

Getting the students in the door. Outreach with faculty to help promote the library and encourage library use through the activities, etc.

Libraries are not seen as essential players in basic skills by faculty teaching basic skills classes; it’s hard to get them to bring students in and involve the library.

The library is seen as peripheral to academics; it’s regarded as a student service, not curriculum driven.

Integrate library skills with a course such as reading.

Have the time to effectively serve basic skills students.

Collaboration with other faculty and getting the buy-in to the critical thinking component in disciplines, and the importance of library skills.

Have a true information competency component be part of a basic skills program on our campuses. Most see basic skills as only English and math.

Enlightening the student to know how library skills support their efforts.

Lack of shared definition—some see basic skills students as relegated to just particular classes while there are really basic skills students in all classes.

Increased communication with faculty and staff marketing the library.

Diablo Valley College Basic Skills and Librarians Conference Page 2

Staff stressed already. Integrate in regular assignments (drop some other things).

Lack of money or grant to free up the limited number of libraries to launch and implement our special topics course that will support the basic skills courses.

Provide support to help launch programs that are innovative in basic skills instruction.