Presented at EDUCAUSE Annual Conferences and Information Discovery and Retrieval

The University of Rochester Libraries undertook a two-year study of undergraduate students, focusing on how they do research. Anthropological methodologies, such as cultural probes, were used to construct a holistic picture of the lives of undergraduates. The study results have informed how we make decisions and effected changes to align our efforts with the needs and expectations of Net Generation undergraduates.

Join this panel that continues the discussion addressed in a 2006 EDUCAUSE Quarterly article by McDonald and Thomas on the disconnects between library culture and millennial generation values. Panelists will cover three broad areas of demographics, design, and social outreach as related to the needs of the millennial library researcher.

Libraries provide access to a wealth of information resources for students to learn outside the classroom. Unfortunately, these resources are not typically organized around student needs. We will describe a project in development to support student learning by providing course-centric views of library resources for all courses taught at North Carolina State University.

Trinity University's Coates Library adapted an immersive marketing campaign strategy known as an alternate reality game when designing the library's 2006 new student orientation. Objectives emphasized critical thinking skills, orientation to the online and physical environments, interactions with librarians, and entertaining engagement.