Description

 The week before classes start, we give orientation presentations to incoming freshmen in the Corps of Cadets. Working with groups of approximately 150-300 students each, we talk about library resources likely to be helpful for first-year students.  In particular, we discuss the following resources:

• Campus library locations and unique features

• Corps of Cadets-focused collections in special collections

• AskUs (reference)

• Media collections

• Course reserves

• Get It For Me (interlibrary loan)

• Writing Center

Because the Cadets are exhausted during their orientation week, we keep the presentation fast-paced and engaging by including multiple speakers and adding interactivity.  In particular, we bring volunteer cadets up on stage to answer questions about the library, using PollEverywhere so they can poll the audience of their peers to help answer the questions. 

Audience Description

Incoming freshmen in the Corps of Cadets

Cost

Cost is minimal.  Librarians bring a few prizes to incentivize participation.  Prizes are typically something we already have in stock.

Timing 

This orientation occurs during the week before fall classes begin on campus, typically in mid-August.

Suggested Duration

The presentation typically lasts an hour, but the group is quite large and is divided into smaller sub-groups based on their military branch affiliation. It is common for the librarians to have to give the presentation 3 to 4 times throughout the day to reach all the groups.

Resources needed 

Two or more presenters to switch up the pace, PollEverywhere embedded into a PowerPoint presentation.

Tips for Success

Engage students in friendly competition to help maintain attention. If more than one branch is represented, play off military rivalries by asking if the Navy knows the answer to this question, or if the Army will be the ones who know about their library.

Assessment Ideas

Assess and adjust in the moment by gauging participation and energy levels. They’re physically and mentally tired, so they’ll get sleepy if the pace gets slow.

Partners and Stakeholders

Corps of Cadets

Additional Resources/Bibliography

Be All That You Can Be: Targeting Library Orientations to Military Cadets

S LeMire, SJ Graves, ZC Medlin - Planning Library Orientations, 2018

Submitted by 

Sarah LeMire, Texas A&M University Libraries

Creative Commons license