Engagement Through Transformation at the University Library

The modernization of curriculum, shared spaces, and engagement are at the forefront of CSULB’s efforts to reimagine our campus to best meet the demands of today’s students. To ready ourselves for the future of learning, we are reimagining what student engagement looks like, and in the process, diving into an invigorating process of transformation. 

Often the heart of student congregation, university libraries serve a vital role on college campuses, both as an important center for engaging students and a hub for sharing and obtaining information. At CSULB, we are rethinking the future of this valuable resource, and trailblazing a high-level approach to reimagining this structure beyond a center of intellect.  

This past academic year, the library boosted student engagement as an interactive hub of inclusivity, interaction, and creativity. Through a strategic plan and mission statement launched this year, library leaders aim to, among other priorities, solidify an investment in organizational and employee growth, as well as cultivate outreach initiatives to partner with our campus community. The plan also seeks to develop intuitive and inclusive spaces and provide equitable access to its collections in all formats. Growth and inclusivity served as blueprints for our strategic elevation to reimagine the library beyond traditional perspectives. 

Dean Elizabeth Dill, who took the helm of the University Library in August, said her vision for the future of this space “is that we are a vessel of social justice – that we create and adhere to an anti-racist agenda.” 

“Libraries must embrace and elevate historically excluded and minoritized populations in all aspects of its programming, services, collections, spaces, and its library workers,” Dill said. “Beach 2030 is about building an equitable and empowering culture; that is precisely what CSULB University Library will do!" 

The action plan is paving the way for a motivated and united campus. In the spirit of its strategic priority focused on being an integral part of the University through collaboration with the campus and community, the library’s Pillars of Participation program, launched in the Fall of 2022, fostered a sense of ownership, participation, and communal engagement as students were encouraged to express themselves through art, writing, and collective thought. On the two main pillars of the library, students were emboldened to graffiti with chalk markers. Shared topics included universal questions, book recommendations, inspiring quotes, and more. The pillars are a visual representation of the library’s connection to its diverse community, perspectives, and interests. It serves as an example of CSULB’s efforts to sculpt Beach graduates into engaged citizens and professional, creative leaders.  

Our leveraged relationships between the CSULB library and students have also bridged the gap between creativity and academia. Creativity led the way during Spring 2023’s finals season thanks to the library’s first-ever “Elbee’s Search and Rescue.” A highly interactive stress-busting activity, the search and rescue hid small shark plushies around the Library’s book stacks for students to find and exchange at the Circulation Desk for swag bags containing snacks, gear, and a self-care pocket zine. The power of technology came into play as students remained highly engaged through the Library’s Instagram page, where clues surrounding the plushies’ whereabouts were shared. As a result, 100 swag bags were given out during a time when roughly 20,000 students were using the University Library during finals week. Activities like this one exhibit the library’s transformation into a place of study and play, adaptive to our students’ mental health needs as we recognize the importance of combatting stress in academia. 

As we are propelled further into an advanced digital age, our belief that creativity is an agent of success guides our reimaginative efforts to reshape shared spaces and what student success looks like, both in knowledge and character.  At our library – one of the most visited areas on campus — this is especially true, as we rise to meet the challenges and harness the opportunities of our time.