Being there at a distance: Connecting the academic library to students who study abroad

Abstract

Like many liberal arts colleges, Colby College prides itself on its global focus, opportunities for undergraduate research, and the high number of students who study abroad during their junior year of college. Because of this, we as reference and research librarians wanted to better connect with our students abroad—students who often go off the radar in the intimate campus-focused environment of a small academic library. In this article, we’d like to talk about our outreach to students before and during study abroad, our assessment of its effects, and what we learned.