Da “sdraiati” ad “arruolati”

Abstract

For many years now Italian University Libraries have had the opportunity to benefit from part-time job students to support librarian staff. The students’ part-time job is a form of study right support that translates into adjunctive personnel for libraries. The so-called “studenti 150 ore” (150 hours being the duration of the collaboration) are an important resource for the library staff but in previous years they were not credited enough and their job was not organized at best. The present article describes the project that has been realized by a group of librarians working in the different libraries of the University Library System of Modena and Reggio Emilia since 2013. The aim was to define a common practice of management for the students collaboration and to give librarians useful reference instruments. The result was a collaborative editing of guidelines. These guidelines define the principles of the collaboration between librarians and students, describe and provide the tools to train students when they start working in the libraries and support the work organization. They also provide an outline for the collection of feeback. Special attention was paid to the training of students with the creation of an online tutorial. The students’ feedback is given through a self-assessment questionnaire which is part of the tutorial. The experience is monitored throughout by the librarians and with a final interview. The guidelines are completed with a number of attachments with practical instructions for librarians.