Associate Senior Librarian (Former) University of Cincinnati
Background: A practicum experience was created in collaboration with a library science student from the University of Kentucky, and a Health Sciences Librarian from the University of Cincinnati. The aim of the practicum was to ensure that the library science student had a good grasp of the professional competencies before entering a full-time librarian position. The competencies that the student and librarian felt were best accomplished during the practicum included the Instruction & Instructional Design competency, and the Evidence-Based Practice & Research competency.
Description: The development of this practicum began with meetings between the student and the Health Sciences Librarian. The two discussed what competencies the student felt like she needed to focus on the most, and included a discussion on research interests. This discussion led to the creation of two projects. Project One was research-based, and Project Two focused on analyzing how librarians were instructing at the University of Cincinnati. Implementation focused on meeting the University’s practicum requirements. The student would work 140 hours over the course of the semester. Due to the nature of the first project, the student and librarian decided that the student would work 2 hours a day for the entire semester.
Conclusion: Outcomes of this practicum included three separate deliverables all with ties to the professional competencies. The student completed a survey review of over 150 articles for a research project, wrote a report focusing on strengths and areas of growth for the University of Cincinnati library instruction, and developed a multi-media project to meet the university course requirements. A combination of hands-on experience, project deliverable development, and a focus on the professional competencies led to a highly successful practicum experience. The final purpose of this paper is to discuss how the projects related to the competencies, the benefits of the experience for both librarian and student, and recommendations for implementing such a practicum experience across different institutions.
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