Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Outreach and Partnership
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
K-12
Location
Ballroom A
Relevance
This session highlights how our collaborative efforts advance information literacy by introducing high school students to academic research practices through librarian-led workshops. This collaboration fosters critical inquiry by emphasizing the development of advanced search strategies and critical source evaluation. It also supports equitable access to higher education and strengthens connections between secondary and postsecondary learning environments.
Proposal
For many high school students, visiting a college campus can inspire future aspirations and reduce anxiety by allowing them to visualize themselves as college students. This presentation highlights our experiences as academic librarians collaborating with local high school teachers and librarians to introduce students to the foundations of academic research and critical inquiry while also exposing them to both the college library and the campus environment. Through interactive workshops held on site in the high school library and then on a college campus in an academic library, students had the opportunity to engage with college-level research tools, explore the academic library, and participate in discussions about evaluating sources, recognizing bias, and navigating information in the age of generative AI.
We will share our approach to designing developmentally appropriate and intellectually engaging instruction and discuss how partnerships such as this foster student agency, support equitable access to higher education, and build bridges between secondary and postsecondary learning environments. Attendees will walk away with actionable strategies and frameworks to approach K12 or other community engagement initiatives in the academic library and leave with practical strategies for initiating similar collaborations in their own communities.
Participants will be able to:
-
Understand the benefits and challenges of university–high school library collaborations.
-
Explore developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that support student agency in regard to information literacy skill development and critical thinking capacity of high school students.
-
Analyze examples of outreach and identify key elements that can inform their own school collaboration efforts or plans.
Short Description
Academic librarians partnered with local teachers to introduce high school students to college-level research through interactive workshops. Students explored research tools, evaluated sources, and discussed AI’s impact on information. A follow-up campus visit deepened their experience. This session offers practical strategies for building partnerships that promote student agency, equitable access to higher education, and future college success.
Keywords
high school students, college library, collaboration, transitions to college
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Nichols, Lisa and Bischoff, Helen E., "Leveling Up: Introducing High School Students to the College Library" (2026). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 28.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2026/2026/28
Leveling Up: Introducing High School Students to the College Library
Ballroom A
For many high school students, visiting a college campus can inspire future aspirations and reduce anxiety by allowing them to visualize themselves as college students. This presentation highlights our experiences as academic librarians collaborating with local high school teachers and librarians to introduce students to the foundations of academic research and critical inquiry while also exposing them to both the college library and the campus environment. Through interactive workshops held on site in the high school library and then on a college campus in an academic library, students had the opportunity to engage with college-level research tools, explore the academic library, and participate in discussions about evaluating sources, recognizing bias, and navigating information in the age of generative AI.
We will share our approach to designing developmentally appropriate and intellectually engaging instruction and discuss how partnerships such as this foster student agency, support equitable access to higher education, and build bridges between secondary and postsecondary learning environments. Attendees will walk away with actionable strategies and frameworks to approach K12 or other community engagement initiatives in the academic library and leave with practical strategies for initiating similar collaborations in their own communities.
Participants will be able to:
-
Understand the benefits and challenges of university–high school library collaborations.
-
Explore developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that support student agency in regard to information literacy skill development and critical thinking capacity of high school students.
-
Analyze examples of outreach and identify key elements that can inform their own school collaboration efforts or plans.
