Business/SPEA Library curating careers

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently awarded the $249,975 federal National Leadership Grant to West Chester University, in West Chester, Pennsylvania; Indiana University Bloomington; Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Delaware County Community College, serving Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania. The independent federal agency awarded $257 million in federal funds to libraries and museums in 2022. 

Project director Grace Liu, associate professor and business librarian at West Chester University, spearheaded the grant request in collaboration with business faculty and the Career Development center at WCU, and brought together librarians from the three institutions to develop the CareerLit Learning Module Series. The ultimate goal is to distribute an online series geared for freshmen and sophomores that is free for use by colleges and universities. It can be used as an independent course offered by libraries and business schools, or it could be integrated into business classes. The course will be ready by 2027. to use free under the direction of their college’s library system and in career courses by 2027. 

“I want to help students make that leap from college to career in a more informed way,” said Liu. “I thought about the role libraries can play in career services. I think career planning and preparation can be enhanced by collaboration with the library; I feel like this need is widespread.” 

The learning module, Stonebraker said, will complement, not replace, services typically offered by college career counselors. She said students attending colleges without extensive career services will especially benefit from the module.  

Liu explained college career services often focus on writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing skills, and helping students find specific jobs. The series will "broaden their horizons and understanding of their career pathways earlier in their academic careers,” Liu said. 

Students will get a better look at career options, explore career resources and opportunities, and create a personalized road map toward career success. While the grant proposal was focused on the business career model, the content and principles can be applicable to other majors as well, Liu said.  

Students will create a structured pathway to identify career goals aligned with their intrinsic values and personal definitions of success. For example, students will think about factors motivating their career goals, how they define success and happiness, and the lifestyle they want, Stonebraker said. They will benefit, she added, from the research expertise, resources, and knowledge of the business librarians who are creating the units.  

A distinctive feature of this learning module development is the inclusion of experts from various disciplines, integrating knowledge from the fields of career management, career counseling, organizational behavior, positive psychology, design thinking, and library and information science.  

IU Libraries will receive $10,000 of the total grant funds, primarily for conducting focus groups with students to shape the instructional methods, give advice on creating modules, and pilot the prototypes.  

Stonebraker explained, “We will help them start envisioning where they want to go and where they want to go next.”  

IU Libraries’ Business/SPEA Library primarily serves the students from IU’s Kelley School of Business and O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Its services, resources and space are tailored to support the specific information needs of these programs. This library destination is located on the first floor of the SPEA building in room PV 150, where the O'Neill SPEA building meets Kelley’s Hodge Hall.