The Kids Are All Right: How Libraries Can Best Serve Transfer Students

Librarians were concerned that transfer students’ information literacy skills lagged those of their peers because transfers did not receive the library instruction that other students got in first-year classes. The investigators conducted semi-structured interviews with transfer students to answer two research questions: (1) How do transfer students look for information? (2) From the students’ perspectives, how can the library best assist them? These interviews revealed that transfer students were confident researchers, largely because of their experiences before moving to their new institution. Transfer students were most interested in learning more about the library services and resources at their new university.