Mind the Social Gap: Addressing Student Social Needs through Library Programming with Limited Resources

While libraries are traditionally academic hubs, they are also potential open spaces for student engagement and socialization. Post-pandemic, students spend less time on campus and even when on campus, they prefer solitude over peer-to-peer interaction. In an era of significant budget cuts and rising commuter student populations, college libraries face a unique challenge: how do we continue to serve our communities in new and impactful ways? A team of subject-liaison librarians from public service units sought to bridge this service gap and created events in support of student community engagement. With no prior history of student programming and no dedicated budget, the librarians launched a semester-long series of social events with a focus on building community and fostering connection.

These events included trivia nights, scavenger hunts, game nights, and finals week: study breaks. We will share takeaways on securing funding, leveraging our existing resources, addressing unexpected and continuing challenges, and documenting the impact of the events based on our experiences at a public R1 university with a large commuter population.