Student Success Librarianship : Critical Perspectives on an Evolving Profession

Student success librarian positions, while increasingly common in academic libraries, are still so new to the field that many librarians with this title are the first person in the position and their roles are ambiguous and difficult to define. They often include quantifiable metrics such as retention rates, academic persistence, and graduation rates as well as elements like well-being, belonging, and a sense of purpose. This broad scope has intensified already challenging and emotionally taxing work.
 
Student Success Librarianship: Critical Perspectives on an Evolving Profession examines this position through a critical lens and provides insight and advice to help the profession work toward a positive evolution of this important role. In three sections—Theory, Praxis, and Research—chapters written by student success librarians explore how to articulate, set boundaries for, and bring our humanity to the role; address student mental health and provide multilingual resources and support; and map both the current state of student success and a vision for its future.
 
Student success librarians can feel alone in both their love for and critiques of their profession and their roles within it. Student Success Librarianship can help you celebrate your work, find areas of improvement, and offers validation and inspiration.

Olivia Patterson (she/her) is the student success librarian at J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The first to hold this position at Atkins Library and a 2021 graduate of University of North Carolina Greensboro’s library and information science program, Olivia brings a critical and student-centered approach to her role, emphasizing the importance of supporting students as whole people. Using her undergraduate degree in sociology from UNC Asheville (‘18), Olivia applies critical theory surrounding race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability (and intersections thereof) to her work.
 
Melody Lee Rood (she/her) is the director of the Miller Learning Center and student success at the University of Georgia in Athens. Prior to her current position, Melody worked as the student success librarian at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. She received her master’s degree in library and information science from North Carolina Central University in 2016 and her bachelor’s degree in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from the University of North Carolina Asheville in 2011. Her research interests include outreach for nontraditional students, critical librarianship, open pedagogy, equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice.