Making Students Part of the Team: The LITS Ambassador Program at Hamilton College

  • When: 11:00-11:45 AM, Thursday, June 18
  • Where: Room 107, Oechsle Center for Global Education
  • Presenter:
    • Maureen Scoones, Associate Director of IT Process Improvement & Education, Hamilton College
    • Kristin L. Strohmeyer, Research and Outreach Librarian, Hamilton College

It would seem that in a world connected 24×7, keeping in touch with and understanding the needs and expectations of today’s college students, relative to library and information technology would be easy, right? Well, as the the theme of this year’s conference says, “The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be.”

Initially created in 2010 as the ITS Technology Ambassador program at Hamilton College, we sought to provide agile support and instruction to faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, the Ambassadors served as liaisons between the student body and ITS. Four and a half years later, the Library & Information Technology Services (LITS) Ambassador program has evolved, as our organization has evolved, and now provides a regular forum for discussion with students about their needs. The LITS Ambassadors assist with the planning, implementation, communication, and support of LITS initiatives, policies, and resources, serve on the LITS Faculty Committee, and represent LITS in the Student Assembly. During this presentation, we’ll discuss the structure of the program, reveal our “aha moments” in the day of the life of a student, and talk about our plans for the program in the future.

About the Presenters

Maureen Scoones is the Associate Director of IT Process Improvement and Education in Library & Information Technology Services at Hamilton College. In her role, she collaborates with administrative offices to improve business processes and with instructional technologists and librarians to help faculty incorporate information and technology resources into teaching, learning and research. She also coordinates LITS communication efforts and oversees technology education opportunities and annual ITS assessment activities.

Maureen is a Frye Fellow (2008). She has made presentations at ACRL, EDUCAUSE, NERCOMP, CLAC, and ACM-SIGUCCS. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Syracuse University.”

Kristin L. Strohmeyer is the Research and Outreach Librarian at Hamilton College. Kristin is the departmental liaison for many humanities departments and history, providing instruction and research assistance to those faculty and students. She is actively involved in instruction and outreach to the college campus and beyond. She is past-president of the Eastern New York Chapter of ACRL, and is a member of the American Library Association’s Library Instruction Round Table. Kristin received her B.A. in English Literature and Medieval History from Potsdam College in New York, and her M.S. in Library Science from Simmons College in Boston.