Cultivating Career Literacy: Facilitating the Most Important Research Project Your Students Will Ever Face

Choosing the right career path and learning the steps necessary to take that path will likely be the most important independent research project your students undertake, especially in the current economic climate. The library is an invaluable resource for students who are exploring potential career paths or currently seeking employment. Unlike individual academic departments, the library is an institution-wide resource with the ability to reach students from all subject areas and education levels. Librarians are uniquely positioned to collaborate across the grain of university, college, and high school communities by offering resources to support the career search of all students, regardless of their academic backgrounds or their stages in the career research process. The career search provides an excellent opportunity to teach research methods in an engaging and meaningful way to students, and it creates a viable platform for establishing collaborative partnerships with departments on college and university campuses and with area high schools