Two days into the fall semester, the Libraries held another highly successful Open House for Graduate Students.

Graduate students are intensive users of the university library, and their research needs are very different from those of undergraduates. In addition to their roles as students, they often work as teaching assistants. So their demands on library resources overlap with those of university faculty.

They are doubly in need of our help! Therefore, we try to establish relationships with graduate students as soon as they arrive on campus.

More than 150 students from 29 disciplines attended our Open House for Graduate Students on August 21. Students were able to meet the subject librarian who specializes in their discipline, learn about library resources, and register for interlibrary loan and Library Express delivery to their departmental offices. We offered refreshments and gave away prizes.

While we had their attention, we administered surveys so that next year we’ll be even better prepared to meet graduate students’ unique research and teaching needs.

At the Open House, the Library Society signed up 36 new student members. Their memberships were sponsored by an anonymous donor.