PASCAL Member Conference

Amid rising mental health problems among college students, library staff at a regional comprehensive university sought training on recognizing and supporting students in distress. Partnering with counseling services and engaging in conversations with the campus community, library staff recognized an increased need to destigmatize mental illness and promote visibility through student outreach. Library staff have endeavored to encourage conversations around mental health by collaborating with university departments and student organizations, hosting multiple outreach events, and creating a new grant-based wellness collection and online resource guide (LibGuide). Staff also featured the library's mascot on wellness-focused buttons, pins, and stickers. Student employees got involved in library outreach by helping design materials and translating them into Spanish. Four years in, learn about the library's continued efforts to promote student mental health. We'll discuss outcomes (expected and unexpected), lessons learned, and where we plan to grow from here.