Before COVID-19 disrupted CUNY’s spring semester, I had a few afternoons at the City Tech library to orient myself and to observe the staff, faculty, and students in action. My first impression of the library is that it is a busy and welcoming place. I am always glad to see a bustling library. It is a good sign that a community values and relies on its staff, space, and services.
I spent some time on the reference desk, where I helped a few students who were quite patient with me (thank you!). I was also able to observe Prof. Almeida teach two classes where she shared good strategies for working on research assignments. Once our campus reopens, more reference desk time and further class observations will be very helpful to me in understanding the particular needs of City Tech students.
In the meantime, I am focusing on the library’s online information literacy (info lit) resources, in particular our tutorials and orientation sites. To get a sense of the info lit landscape, I’m visiting other CUNY library websites to check out their online tutorials. In addition, by searching for academic libraries on Instagram and Youtube, I am exploring how those platforms best provide info lit instruction to their students. I’m looking for materials that are engaging, current, and relevant to the City Tech community, for example, this video from Lehman Library. Ultimately, I am interested in what works and what doesn’t in online library tutorials. By applying that knowledge, I hope to enhance, update, and expand our info lit resources.
