Study Finds Library Class Potentially Helps Students Graduate

If you want to earn a college degree, consider taking a library class, a new study suggests.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students who passed Library Resources 101 were 18.5 percent more likely to earn bachelor’s degrees than classmates who never enrolled in the course. Those results were published June 16 in the journal College & Undergraduate Libraries.

“Research skills are essential to college success,” said Troy Espe, a UWSP librarian. “This study supports what librarians always have known.”

Troy Espe

Offered since 1994, Library Resources 101 teaches basic research skills. The one-credit course introduces students to the library while emphasizing online materials ranging from e-books to streaming videos.

Jennifer Huffman teaching LRES101 

Taught by librarians, the class aims to reduce students’ fears of navigating large college libraries. Librarians employ interactive activities such as a scavenger hunt and a “Jeopardy!”-themed midterm review.

“College libraries can be bewildering,” UWSP instruction librarian Dave Dettman said. “Library Resources 101 shows students where to find credible sources that their professors will accept for research assignments.”

Dave Dettman 

The study found that graduation rates increased substantially for at-risk students, including low-income and academically unprepared undergraduates. Students of color were 26.4 percent more likely to graduate after passing Library Resources 101, according to the findings.

“Diversity and retention are campus-wide goals at UWSP,” Espe said. “This study suggests that a library course contributes to both of those initiatives.”

The study is the largest of its kind. Researchers analyzed more than 33,000 student records from a 14-year span. More than 1,200 students completed Library Resources 101 between 2004 to 2018.

“We hope these promising results will raise awareness about the library class among students, parents and advisers,” Dettman said. “Students often tell us that they wish they had taken the course in their first semester of college.”

Three UWSP departments contributed to the peer-reviewed article. Along with Espe and Dettman from the UWSP Libraries, Marv Noltze from the Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness and math professor Dr. Daniel Harnett collaborated on the project as well.

Although Library Resources 101 potentially increased graduation rates, it did not improve students’ grades, researchers concluded.

“We wish there would have been a correlation with higher GPAs,” Espe said. “However, if the class helped students achieve part of the American dream by graduating from college, we’re happy with that.”

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photo by Doug Moore

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point librarian Jennifer Huffman, center, leads a midterm review in Library Resources 101. A new study has found that students who took the library class were more likely to graduate.