Student success is one of the most critical drivers of the value of academic libraries, no matter the discipline or specialisation. With an ever-changing technological and pedagogical landscape, librarians are constantly challenged to innovate and redefine their roles. In this post, academic librarians from the National University of Singapore Libraries unlock major insights into strategies that promote student success, and the importance of co-creation and interdisciplinarity needed to thrive and transform in this evolving library landscape.

Introduction
At the National University of Singapore (NUS), student success is not just defined in terms of academics, but also holistic measures such as community, social and relational outcomes. Accordingly, NUS Libraries has placed greater emphasis on newer facets of librarianship, such as placemaking and technology The large and diverse student body and a rapidly changing educational environment has caused our librarians to expand support for interdisciplinary programmes and learning. With constant changes in the educational landscape, how should librarians evolve their roles to help students achieve success?

In this post, we recap our recent American Library Association International Relations Round Table (IRRT) webinar, in which we share three (and a half) strategies that demonstrate how the many facets of the academic library can work jointly to support student success. We also explore how we co-create solutions with students, building a deeper synergistic relationship with our users.

Strategy 1: Reimagine the Library’s Sense of Place through Placemaking
NUS Libraries has increased our emphasis on strategic placemaking, with a particular focus on collaboration and co-location with community partners, to create memorable community spaces and experiences within our libraries.

To that end, we’ve re-designed our library spaces to create a greater sense of place and offer more utility to our users. Our renovated Central Library and newly-opened Medicine+Science Library offer expanded study areas, technology exploration zones, and even cafés.

Beyond catering to diverse student needs, the overhauled library spaces play a central role in creating memorable event series with key partners. These events run the gamut from community mobilization such as Health screenings and blood donation drives, to academic events such as our Annual Physics Conference (APC), and Comparative Botany talk, and even lifestyle events with an academic flavour, such as our recent Gimbap Making workshop! These events support students’ academic success and interest in learning, positioning the libraries as a thriving hub that nurtures both intellectual and social development.

University students and staff having a rollin’ good time at our Gimbap-making workshop, where participants learned to make Korean rice rolls, as well as the cultural background and nutritional science behind this popular Korean dish. (Photocredit: Patrick Pu)

Strategy 2: Innovate Learning through Technology
As catalyst of innovation, libraries offer collaborative, technology-equipped spaces for experiential learning. Evolving with the education and research landscapes, NUS Libraries has seamlessly integrated technology into our curriculum and research to support the University’s push to adopt blended learning.

A screenshot of the Panji 360imx project

One way that NUS Libraries leverages technology to bring collections alive is through immersive and experiential digital experiences. Panji Across SEA: Love That Transcends Time, adapted from one of the most well-known versions of Javanese Panji tales found in NUS Libraries’ Singapore-Malaysia Collection, is an immersive 3D storytelling project developed for our 360imx theatrette.

Participants in Train to Bishan, an interactive mystery Escape Room game played in NUS Libraries’ Tech Central facility. (Photocredit: Magdeline Ng)

Immersive technology can be combined with game-play concepts to great effect. Dr Magdeline Ng, Cluster Head for NUSL’s Digital Strategy and Innovation Cluster, describes how we leverage our tech facilities, and incorporate our collections into gamified learning experiences,

“The Escape Room format gives us an opportunity to tangibly demonstrate how the digital and immersive technology available at Tech Central can really enhance the learning experience […] It also gives us a chance to let our community experience our wider collections in a different context and show how technology enables us to look at topics in a fresh way.”

Solving Escape Room puzzles with the use involving VR Technology (Photocredit: Magdeline Ng)

Strategy 3: Raising the Profile of our Collections
To increase the visibility of its extensive collections, NUS Libraries has developed initiatives to facilitate exploration and integration into our university’s various research endeavours. For example, we inaugurated our Undergraduate Research Library Fellowship (URLF) in 2022, offering undergraduate students a stipend, research assistance, and privileged access to our collections to support their research (See here for an example of a student project).

Undergraduate Research Library Fellow, Shaun Wongosari, showcasing his research project at the Undergraduate Research Library Fellowship Symposium (Photocredit: Shelley Wu)

These Undergraduate Library Fellows also help to drive collection development, working closely with their librarian mentors to identify key needs and gaps in our collections. Our Undergraduate Library Fellows are valuable ambassadors to the library – sharing and communicating first-hand accounts of the value of our collections for student research and scholarship.

…AND A HALF-STRATEGY!
As promised – we have a bonus “half-strategy” for you! We see it as a half strategy because the library alone does not have all the answers. For us, none of the above strategies and approaches will work without the active participation of our communities. Co-creation is the opposite of the “deficit-mindset” – the idea that the library has all the answers to our community’s needs and problems. Instead, we recognise that our community has complementary strengths that are invaluable to our efforts.  Co-creation with students and faculty is the constant throughline that informs and enriches our approaches. It is a symbiotic relationship that works to mutual benefit – with our community’s inputs helping to shape NUS Libraries’ offerings and value proposition, which feeds back to our learning community in the form of enhanced learning experiences, which contribute to their lifelong learning and increases their future employability.

Active collaboration is the cornerstone of all our strategies, acting as a force multiplier that enables us to “transcend the traditional role of being custodians of knowledge and material, into creators of experiences and discovery for our community and beyond.” (Ng, 2024).

Our latest webinar elaborates on each of the strategies and more. Featuring panelists specialised practicing librarians in their respective fields, they provide valuable insight into the lay of the student success land. Watch it here.

Librarians from NUS Libraries and ALA IRRT Webinar Committee. From top left to bottom right: Delin GUERRA, LIM Siu Chen, Gandhimathy DURAIRAJ, Dr. Magdeline NG Tao Tao, WONG Suei Nee, Steven CHOW Dick Mun, CHAI Yee Xin, Gladys TOH Mei Jun, HERMAN Felani Bin Md Yunos, Dr. Danilo Baylen

Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge Gladys Toh, Gandhimathy Durairaj, Herman Felani, Magdeline Ng, Steven Chow (speakers at ALA IRRT Webinar); and Tel-Imaginarium and Placemaking teams at NUS Libraries whose work is featured in this writeup.

Contributed by Chai Yee Xin, LIM Siu Chen, Magdeline Ng, and Wong Suei Nee; edited by Marcus Wong and Natalie Pang.

References
Royal Society of Chemistry. (2024). Librarian Spotlight: Magdeline Ng. Royal Society of Chemistry. https://www.rsc.org/journals-books-databases/librarians-information/library-insights/librarian-spotlight-magdeline-ng/