and safety induction, information about wellbeing, followed by advice from academic skills, and finally the library. There is a danger of everyone becoming lost and overwhelmed in a large volume of information.
For librarians this becomes a chal- lenge of trying to balance the right level of information, which is pitched in the right way at the right time.
Library inductions are the first oppor- tunity to create an impression of the library service to students. Academics often expect the library induction to cover everything students need to know to succeed in doing good-quality research. However, we often get a sense that students don’t remember or under- stand many of the key things they had been told in their induction sessions. Sometimes, a library induction might be a librarian’s one-shot for disseminating important information to students. We might see students in the first week of term and never again unless they choose to attend centrally provided train- ing or independently seek support using our services. Despite our best efforts at liaison work, sometimes academics re- main unaware of the benefits of embed- ding librarian support into a module. The first weeks of university life are
a significant transition for students. A transition from studying at school or college, or from being in the workplace. For many students, starting univer- sity involves a transition to a new city or country. A transition to commuting long distances on public transport or living away from home for the first time. International students have to navigate life in a new country. A JISC report about the digital experiences of international students published in 2024 highlights the impact of digital or technological shocks as students adapt to working with technology in different ways1
. Recognising the library induction as part of this transitional experience and changing the way I design inductions.
Library inductions at Huddersfield The library team at the University of Huddersfield have experimented with many different methods and ideas for breaking free from the information-heavy library induction. I have tried a lot of dif- ferent activities including drawing, book spine poetry, Lego, and treasure hunts. I frequently bring a variety of books and magazines into the classroom and give students the opportunity to see the types of items in our collections. I want to introduce students to the
unique value of print collections and their importance as a source of inspiration and information. Therefore my library inductions place a greater emphasis on book and magazine collections compared to other subject areas. This low-pressure session gives students the opportunity to look at different types of books and build excitement about what the library can offer. More widely at Huddersfield different methods have been used to make inductions more interactive and engaging. Colleagues describe using the ‘Cephalonian Method’2 which was first made popular by librarians at Cardiff University in the early 2000s. This approach involved the use of question cards which students are asked to read out during the induction. More recently, we have embraced mobile technologies and online quiz platforms to make inductions more interactive. These tools work well in lecture theatres for big cohorts. Another induction used by my col- leagues involves showing students pictures of the library and asking them to discuss with each other where they would choose to study and what services they think they would use. Prior to the pandemic, we developed a library tour activity using a platform called Action- Bound, which was part of the Flying Start project. During the pandemic, we were
June 2024
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