JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY, ROME Elisabetta Morani, Head Librarian Isabella Clough Marinaro, Professor Livia Piotto, Reference Librarian 8th AMICAL Conference April 27 – 30, 2011 Beirut, Lebanon

CAMPUS FACILITIES THE NEW TIBER CAMPUS Classrooms Student Services Tiber Lab Cafeteria THE OLD GUARINI CAMPUS Classrooms Aula Magna Library Computer Labs Offices THE GIANICOLO RESIDENCE Dorms Housing offices Study room open 24/7 (residents only) Gym

TEACHERS AND ACADEMIC PROGRAMS 13 MAJORS Art History Business Administration Classical Studies Communications Economics and Finance English Literature History Humanistic Studies International Affairs International Business Italian Studies Marketing Political Science MULTICULTURAL FACULTY OVER 100 PROFESSORS, 85% ADJUNTS 1-2% 21%23% 41% Got their final degree from

STUDENTS, SPRING 2011 DEGREE-SEEKING AGE o 29% less than 21 YRS old o 26% 21 YRS old o 15% 22 YRS old o 30% over 22 YRS old GENDER 57% FEMALE 43% MALE PROVENANCE 18% from international schools 23% from US high schools 31% from Italian high schools From several different countries WORKLOAD (average): 4.5 courses STUDY ABROAD AGE o 9% less than 21 YRS old o 63% 21 YRS old o 25% 22 YRS old o 3% over 22 YRS old GENDER 71% FEMALE 29% MALE PROVENANCE Coming from 141 different schools 10% come alone, the others in groups from the same schools 100% US WORKLOAD (average): 4 courses % 16% Other countries: 9%

Finding a space here is like finding a parking space in Rome! Degree-seeking student

FOCUS Understand priorities for the project of expanding the library Learn more about how our students study and do research Foster collaboration with faculty

HYBRID USERS… Still use the pen for note taking, in class assignments, outlines, highlighting, agendas and to do lists

We love tables!!! …NEED TABLES

SPARTAN HOUSING… Apartments shared by 4-6 people 2 out of 18 interviewees reported not having tables at home Average of books held at home: 3-7

…HOMEY LIBRARY The Library has all what you need: computers, nice staff, two different areas, one quiet and one for study groups, not too many books. Its homey, relaxed, all the people know each other. Study abroad student

Its small, but you study surrounded by books, and this expresses the role of the library, which is the place for the academic community. Studying is a deep personal experience, but must be shared Degree-seeking student THE INTELLECTUAL HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

EACH MOOD HAS ITS OWN SPACE

RESEARCH PRACTICES

WHAT THEY ARE DOING WELL Meet deadlines Adapt to times and places Juggle travelling or working and studying Collaborate with peers Dialogue with Professors Use technologies Do internet searches We constantly talked, in class and via . It was a very dynamic relationship Google is the students best friend. After Wikipedia, to be honest

WHERE THEY GET STUCK Framing / narrowing research questions Keyword searching Selecting appropriate resources Evaluating sources Understanding plagiarism Availing themselves of support services (tutoring labs, writing center, etc.) Work at the last minute, mostly at night, skipping outlines and editing I start with big ideas and then I lose myself A source is good when it provides clear information and covers what I need [...] One source is better than using three different ones I wrote my paper in one day and it was probably the weekend before we had to hand it in

CONCLUSIONS FROM A FACULTY PERSPECTIVE Faculty have an almost exclusive role in guiding students research We are therefore the key to o Encouraging students to use library resources and reference services o Guiding students to appropriate support services o Training students in time management and essay-writing process o Fostering information literacy I believe that the library can become more appealing first of all when the professors give instruction to use the library. Thats how it would start

SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTION Propose Learning and Teaching Center integrating library, academic support services and faculty The Center may start with organizing faculty development workshops on: Services, resources and research tools available in the library Embedding information literacy in course assignments Outlining a progression of discrete phases towards the final research paper