Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2018 9:15 AM
End Date
19-4-2018 10:30 AM
Keywords
public libraries, library usage, college students
Biography
My name is Bri Shelton. I'm a senior sociology major and part-time librarian. I chose this project because I wanted to see how this demographic fared in terms of public library usage, since I'm both a college student and librarian.
Major
Sociology
Advisor for this project
Marty Laubach
Abstract
In this study, I argue that college students use public libraries in addition to or instead of academic libraries, regardless of whether they are a traditional or nontraditional student. I present research that has been conducted over the last decade about how millennials frequent a public library’s digital services, and that nontraditional students may venture to public libraries to better suit their needs. My own results have generated that students at Marshall University have visited a public library either since coming to college or before coming to Marshall, and that most of the programming and services they suggest would entice them to visit the Cabell County Public Library or one in their hometown are actually already in place at the institution. This leads me to my conclusion that although Marshall students are not engaging with the Cabell County Public Library and the services they offer, it does not mean they are uninterested entirely. If the library advertised on campus or catered programming specifically to college students, many of them say they would visit the library in either a physical or digital capacity because they understand the importance of public libraries and the impact they have on the community.
Public Library Usage Among College Students
In this study, I argue that college students use public libraries in addition to or instead of academic libraries, regardless of whether they are a traditional or nontraditional student. I present research that has been conducted over the last decade about how millennials frequent a public library’s digital services, and that nontraditional students may venture to public libraries to better suit their needs. My own results have generated that students at Marshall University have visited a public library either since coming to college or before coming to Marshall, and that most of the programming and services they suggest would entice them to visit the Cabell County Public Library or one in their hometown are actually already in place at the institution. This leads me to my conclusion that although Marshall students are not engaging with the Cabell County Public Library and the services they offer, it does not mean they are uninterested entirely. If the library advertised on campus or catered programming specifically to college students, many of them say they would visit the library in either a physical or digital capacity because they understand the importance of public libraries and the impact they have on the community.
