A Welcoming Service at UCI Libraries: Developing our Student Assistants as Partners in Serving UCI

The UCI Libraries is committed to supporting diversity and inclusive excellence on campus. One of the ways we embody this commitment is the way we train Ask Us Reference Desk student assistants to assist other students and patrons. What began as a pilot program is now a permanent student assistant position. We have spent three years assessing new methods of training to see how we can best empower our student assistants to more fully serve our patrons’ needs. Our goal is to bring out their natural self-sufficiency and professional demeanor, improve their communication skills, and broaden their understanding of how to best serve a diverse group of patrons. To do this, we have created a set of initial training modules as well as ongoing training activities using Slack. The results of this training are student assistants who are more confident and engaged in the training process and in their position and who are better prepared for their future careers.