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Web site improved for international students
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“The anonymity and convenience of the Internet are particularly helpful to them.”
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UB's large international student population an economic, cultural, educational boon
The 4,000-plus international students who began classes this semester at UB are finding enhanced resources on the UB Libraries' Web site suggested by their peers and developed by the libraries especially for them.
The project was conducted over the past several months by Dorothy Tao, associate librarian, and Ligaya Ganster, senior assistant librarian. They serve as liaisons for international students, who now make up nearly 15 percent of UB's student population, the largest percentage of any public research university in the United States.
Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education, calls the Web project "an excellent service for our international students, many of whom are intimidated by our huge decentralized library system."
"We had our own ideas of what was needed, of course, but to insure that we offered students information they want in a format they can easily use, we enlisted the aid of other international students who served as advisors and focus group members," Ganster says.
The result of the joint effort is UB's Resources for International Students.
"We offer a detailed library orientation for international students before classes begin and, of course, all of our librarians are available in person to assist," says Ganster, "but these students have special needs.
"If they run into a problem, for instance, some of them may have difficulty asking for help in person," Tao says. "They are young and in a foreign country, many for the first time. They may not know the proper etiquette for asking for help or are afraid their English isn't adequate to the task. Others come from cultures in which they are not encouraged to question those who are older or in authority. So the anonymity and convenience of the Internet are particularly helpful to them."
The new Web pages include many new features of particular use to those students. They explain the libraries' Ask a Librarian services in language very clear to non-native English speakers, describing how to use instant messaging, email and the libraries' Facebook pages.
The pages also offer research tips, explain the interlibrary loan process and describe how documents can be expressed to the user upon request. They present a multilingual glossary of library terms and a link to a site that translates English library terms into multiple languages.
There also is an explanation of how to use UB's open-stack library system.
"This may seem obvious, but open stacks are not found worldwide," says Tao. "Many students come from countries in which users cannot peruse library collections, but must request a specific book or document and wait for the librarian to bring it to them. Recognition of this difference and guidance in using the open stacks is most welcome by students already overwhelmed with new experiences."
At the suggestion of the student advisors, the site also describes how to find books, audio and video recordings in foreign languages in the collection for leisure reading and entertainment.
There are links to language dictionaries and to multilanguage periodicals and foreign language newspapers, some in the UB collection and others online at Lexis Nexis Academic, the Foreign Language News Guide, the MIT Libraries and the Internet Public Library.
In addition, there is information about how to access a variety of English-as-a-second-language resources at UB and links to others on the Web.
"We will also add two downloadable library tours in Japanese and Mandarin," Ganster notes, Most students speak English as a requirement of their studies here, but these will offer additional assistance."
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