LEAP outreach recap

Learning Edge Academic Program, or LEAP, students wrapped up finals on August 11 at University Park. This summer, the Libraries hosted a variety of outreach events for these students. It was a summer of experimentation, and we wanted to give you a recap on how it all went beyond the library instruction many LEAP “prides” had.

We kicked off this program by training the LEAP mentors to give tours of Pattee Library and Paterno Library. We saw many mentors give the tours throughout the summer and others paired up with their LEAP librarian for the tour. Thanks to those who collaborated or worked with the mentors to make sure our LEAP students had a tour of our spaces.

Along with the tours, we also hosted a LEAP Escape Room experience. We saw 30 students, all who completed the library challenge in under an hour. This event was meant to help guide the students through the library and complement our Open House event. In this challenge, they had to find a book in the stacks, use a library database, find a LibGuide, and discover that you can’t go from Pattee to Paterno unless you’re on the first floor. We received good feedback on the challenge and hope to revise the experience for future outreach events.

Finally, for six weeks, we hosted Pop-Up Library events in Redifer Commons. We had items circulate from collections, featured five subject areas, and had engaging conversations with students. It was fun to showcase the library in the residence halls and see some familiar faces week after week. Below is an image of our set up:

horizontal interior photo of table covered with display of library books

The LEAP Pop-Up Library appeared weekly during summer dinner hours in South Halls’ Redifer Commons.

We’d like to thank the following individuals for their help throughout the summer with these various LEAP outreach events; we couldn’t have done it without your help:

•        Anne Behler
•        Trace Brown
•        Jose Guerrero
•        Mark Homan
•        Janet Hughes
•        Kelly Kaiserian
•        Amanda Maple
•        Rebecca Miller
•        Julie Porterfield
•        Lauren Reiter
•        Heather Ross
•        Karla Schmidt
•        Katelyn Towns
•        Rachel White
•        Ali Zawoyski
•        PRaM’s marketing and social media expertise

– submitted by Hailley Fargo and Megan Gilpin