HOT(Here-or-There) Library Orientation for Military Students and Veterans

Abstract

Active duty military and veteran students are more racially and ethnically diverse, than in previous generations. They have unique academic needs and challenges that can make for a difficult transition from a military to a less-structured university environment. While academic institutions have adapted quickly to enroll military students, library engagement efforts have been limited to traditional reference and instruction services delivered on-campus or military bases. As a way to seek a better understanding of the needs and perspectives of this diverse student population, the libraries at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa and Hawaiʻi Pacific University, have partnered to pilot an outreach program by hosting library orientations tailored to military students during the fall 2021. This outreach initiative is done in collaboration with military programs and student orientation stakeholders at both universities. The library orientations will be offered as a "Here or There" (HOT) blended synchronous learning setting, which was used at UH Manoa during COVID-19. The orientation will emulate Texas A&M University Libraries' "Orienting Student Veterans to the Library," strategy which uses an in-processing checklist format which seeks to complement the training of military personnel. We aim to facilitate military students' transition in their academic lives.