Belonging in the Stacks: First-Generation Learning Labs in a Shifting Educational Landscape

Type of Presentation

Individual paper/presentation

Conference Strand

Outreach and Partnership

Target Audience

Higher Education

Second Target Audience

Higher Education

Adriana SiskoFollow

Location

Ballroom A

Relevance

This proposal directly relates to the conference theme since it addresses the establishment and inner workings of an information literacy instruction initiative targeting first-generation students.

Proposal

First-generation students represent nearly one-third of the undergraduate population at the University of Kentucky. That is more than 6,000 students in the current class. These students may face barriers in terms of gaps in academic preparation, library anxiety, and balancing work and family responsibilities with school. These barriers are compounded by today’s shifting educational landscape, marked by contested curricula, policy scrutiny, and institutional pressures. The effect is an amplified sense of risk and uncertainty. Students’ fear of choosing the “wrong” resource, hesitation to approach librarians, and avoidance of research tasks that feel fraught or unsafe could be amplified.

In response, UK Libraries partnered with CARES First-Generation Student Services to launch a series of targeted Learning Labs for first-generation scholarship recipients. These sessions were co-led by librarians, scaffolded across the semester, and designed around students’ schedules. The interactive, low-stakes format provided foundational instruction in research strategies and source evaluation while simultaneously reducing barriers to help-seeking. Student feedback revealed that participants left the labs more confident in navigating library systems and more willing to engage in dialogue with librarians and faculty about their research.

This presentation positions the Learning Labs as a case study in designing student-centered instruction within a contested educational climate. By foregrounding empathy, collaboration, and partnership with existing student support structures, the initiative demonstrates how librarians can sustain student agency and belonging while equipping learners to critically engage with information. The program highlights how information literacy pedagogy can adapt to shifting external pressures while remaining focused on empowering students to evaluate, question, and responsibly use information for both academic and civic engagement.

Attendees will gain insight into practical strategies for building collaborative instruction with student success offices and approaches for reducing library anxiety in environments of heightened scrutiny. They will also learn how similar programs can foster inquiry, dialogue, and resilience among first-generation students. Ultimately, this case study illustrates how intentional outreach and partnership can support inclusion, strengthen critical engagement with information, and position information literacy instruction as a sustaining force in a changing educational landscape.

Short Description

First-generation students face unique barriers in developing research confidence, now heightened by today’s contested educational climate. This session shares how librarians partnered with a student success office to launch Learning Labs that reduced library anxiety and empowered students to critically engage with information. Attendees will leave with replicable strategies for designing student-centered, collaborative information literacy instruction.

Keywords

first-generation students, information literacy instruction, outreach partnerships

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Feb 7th, 11:00 AM Feb 7th, 11:45 AM

Belonging in the Stacks: First-Generation Learning Labs in a Shifting Educational Landscape

Ballroom A

First-generation students represent nearly one-third of the undergraduate population at the University of Kentucky. That is more than 6,000 students in the current class. These students may face barriers in terms of gaps in academic preparation, library anxiety, and balancing work and family responsibilities with school. These barriers are compounded by today’s shifting educational landscape, marked by contested curricula, policy scrutiny, and institutional pressures. The effect is an amplified sense of risk and uncertainty. Students’ fear of choosing the “wrong” resource, hesitation to approach librarians, and avoidance of research tasks that feel fraught or unsafe could be amplified.

In response, UK Libraries partnered with CARES First-Generation Student Services to launch a series of targeted Learning Labs for first-generation scholarship recipients. These sessions were co-led by librarians, scaffolded across the semester, and designed around students’ schedules. The interactive, low-stakes format provided foundational instruction in research strategies and source evaluation while simultaneously reducing barriers to help-seeking. Student feedback revealed that participants left the labs more confident in navigating library systems and more willing to engage in dialogue with librarians and faculty about their research.

This presentation positions the Learning Labs as a case study in designing student-centered instruction within a contested educational climate. By foregrounding empathy, collaboration, and partnership with existing student support structures, the initiative demonstrates how librarians can sustain student agency and belonging while equipping learners to critically engage with information. The program highlights how information literacy pedagogy can adapt to shifting external pressures while remaining focused on empowering students to evaluate, question, and responsibly use information for both academic and civic engagement.

Attendees will gain insight into practical strategies for building collaborative instruction with student success offices and approaches for reducing library anxiety in environments of heightened scrutiny. They will also learn how similar programs can foster inquiry, dialogue, and resilience among first-generation students. Ultimately, this case study illustrates how intentional outreach and partnership can support inclusion, strengthen critical engagement with information, and position information literacy instruction as a sustaining force in a changing educational landscape.