Unmasking the Impact of Engaged Librarians on Undergraduate Research

Madhuri Vikram Tikam

Abstract

Embedded Librarianship is nothing but working outside of traditional boundaries and to engage with students and patrons in an authentic way while gaining understanding of their day-to-day information needs. Embedded librarianship is about understanding the specific requirement of the project by being part of the project team. The embedded librarian should be able to analyze and synthesize the collected information and convert it into suitable format. They are expected to offer trusted advice in place of just service delivery as in traditional librarianship. Embedded librarianship ensures maximum utilization of resources and yields effective outcomes. This paper discusses an engaged librarianship project carried out at an eminent undergraduate college library in the city area of Mumbai, India. It aims to analyze outcomes of Research Guidance Program of undergraduate students conducted by an engaged librarian. A survey and interview method were used to collate the achieved outcomes and expectations of 960 undergraduate students participated in The Research Guidance Program. The impact of the program on library and its users was studied. The results of the program were motivating. It benefitted all the stakeholders. The students gained the foundational research and information-literacy skills, teachers developed a better collaboration with the library and library acquired better recognition and increased library utilization. The study revealed the need of Research Guidance Program for undergraduate students.

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