Opening the Door to Student Wellness: An access services lead collaborative effort to help students

Returning after the pandemic, students wellness and mental health is at the forefront of all campus services. After an internal DEI audit, the library realized there were populations that were missing our services, resources, and space. This is a mutual effort that takes the findings of the DEI audit and combines them with the organic efforts of the library’s Access Services department to plan for wellness related services, activities, and information for our population. This presentation will highlight those efforts and showcase how the access services staff and the librarians were able to create a cohesive plan to increase programming for student wellness and information dissemination to marginalized populations. We will discuss our planning process, the budget, programming, working with administrators, data collected, as well as our continuing plans for assessment. This effort includes collaborations with multiple departments across the campus and we will discuss how we leverage these relationships to help our students. The effort to improve student wellness is mirrored by the department’s efforts to increase their own wellness awareness and efforts. The library has made a concerted effort to increase their visibility at campus events not directly connected to academics (pride events, open houses, accepted students day). The Access Services Team has focused on attending training (both provided locally by the university and through national conferences and webinars) to educate themselves to better serve our student population. The presentation will highlight some of the trainings and campus events the library attends. The Access Services team provides an incalculable resource to our students as the first presence they see when they walk in our buildings. The accessible and friendly environment they cultivate sets the tone for the library. Having an eager, educated, and attentive access services staff with a focus on wellness and mental health provides a welcoming environment. We are excited to share our experience and expertise with those who want to increase student wellness and access to resources to help with their mental health