Taking the Conversation Outside: A Partnered Library-Writing Center Experiment to Facilitate Queer Scholarly Engagement Outside the Classroom
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Diversity and Inclusion
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
K-12
Location
Ballroom B
Relevance
The proposed presentation draws heavily on the Framework for Information Literacy ("Scholarship as Conversation") to guide (1) partnership with writing centers, (2) workshop design for student learning outside the traditional classroom, and (3) scholarly engagement for marginalized student populations, particularly LGBTQ+ students.
Proposal
Traditionally, academic libraries have dedicated the lion’s share of their efforts to integrating library instruction into classrooms and curricula. While important, this strategy may not recognize (1) how student learning often happens outside the classroom, where academic lessons prove themselves meaningful as lived experience, and (2) how, for marginalized and underrepresented students, classroom learning can appear divorced from their lives. How can academic librarians design student learning experiences which are not expressly tied to academic programs? How can we foster relevant scholarly engagement for marginalized students?
In 2023, I successfully proposed that our library’s Inclusive Excellence Committee sponsor the university’s Queer Trans Conference and secure a place for me as the library’s representative on the planning committee. The 2022 inaugural conference had been awarded a university Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, in part for its number of enthusiastic student presenters. Asking myself the above questions, I organized colleagues to create a LibGuide to support successful student proposals and to design a pre-conference event which used our leisure reading collection to connect students to relevant conference sessions.
LGBTQ+ students appreciated the chance to reflect on their experiences through a scholarly lens; however, they also wished this opportunity wasn’t confined to the window of the conference’s three days. Listening to this feedback, I realized there was an opportunity to (1) more strategically use the “Scholarship as Conversation” Frame to thoughtfully facilitate how LGBTQ+ students enter, navigate, and continue their conference conversations; and (2) partner with the writing center to leverage their own threshold concepts and pedagogical expertise to design a series of workshops before, during, and after the 2025 conference.
In this presentation, I share the partnered design of our 6-part workshop series, according to information literacy and writing center threshold concepts, as an experiment in how to conceive sustained scholarly engagement for LGBTQ+ – and otherwise marginalized – students outside the traditional classroom. I will also engage the audience in discussion of ways to assess such engagement and connect it to curricular learning.
Short Description
In this presentation, I share how our library partnered with the writing center to design a pilot workshop series meant to sustain scholarly engagement for LGBTQ+ – and otherwise marginalized – students outside the traditional classroom. Using both information literacy and writing center threshold concepts, we planned a 6-part workshop series in support of the university’s annual Queer Trans Conference. I share how we conceived our sessions to facilitate how students enter, navigate, and continue their conference conversations.
Keywords
Scholarly Engagement; Library Workshops; Student Belonging; LGBTQ+ Students; Writing Centers; Collaboration; Student Success; Peer-to-Peer Learning; University Conferences; Mentorship
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ezell, Jason, "Taking the Conversation Outside: A Partnered Library-Writing Center Experiment to Facilitate Queer Scholarly Engagement Outside the Classroom" (2025). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 10.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2025/2025/10
Taking the Conversation Outside: A Partnered Library-Writing Center Experiment to Facilitate Queer Scholarly Engagement Outside the Classroom
Ballroom B
Traditionally, academic libraries have dedicated the lion’s share of their efforts to integrating library instruction into classrooms and curricula. While important, this strategy may not recognize (1) how student learning often happens outside the classroom, where academic lessons prove themselves meaningful as lived experience, and (2) how, for marginalized and underrepresented students, classroom learning can appear divorced from their lives. How can academic librarians design student learning experiences which are not expressly tied to academic programs? How can we foster relevant scholarly engagement for marginalized students?
In 2023, I successfully proposed that our library’s Inclusive Excellence Committee sponsor the university’s Queer Trans Conference and secure a place for me as the library’s representative on the planning committee. The 2022 inaugural conference had been awarded a university Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, in part for its number of enthusiastic student presenters. Asking myself the above questions, I organized colleagues to create a LibGuide to support successful student proposals and to design a pre-conference event which used our leisure reading collection to connect students to relevant conference sessions.
LGBTQ+ students appreciated the chance to reflect on their experiences through a scholarly lens; however, they also wished this opportunity wasn’t confined to the window of the conference’s three days. Listening to this feedback, I realized there was an opportunity to (1) more strategically use the “Scholarship as Conversation” Frame to thoughtfully facilitate how LGBTQ+ students enter, navigate, and continue their conference conversations; and (2) partner with the writing center to leverage their own threshold concepts and pedagogical expertise to design a series of workshops before, during, and after the 2025 conference.
In this presentation, I share the partnered design of our 6-part workshop series, according to information literacy and writing center threshold concepts, as an experiment in how to conceive sustained scholarly engagement for LGBTQ+ – and otherwise marginalized – students outside the traditional classroom. I will also engage the audience in discussion of ways to assess such engagement and connect it to curricular learning.
