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“When considering information literacy programs, librarians most often are focused on teaching students about resources for their academic work while they are at our institutions, and the vast majority of these resources are subscription resources that will no longer be accessible once our students cease being students,” said award chair Eric A. Kidwell, director of the library, professor, and Title IX coordinator at Huntington College. “What impressed the CLS Leadership Committee about Williams’ submission was the focus on teaching students about research resources available to them post-graduation as they transition into their careers and into their communities.”

Academic librarians teach students how to find information using expensive subscription databases, yet students typically lose access to those databases upon graduation. The Business Research Workshop was created to address this issue by offering participants free training on open and public access business information resources they can use throughout their career, including government search portals, trade sites, advanced Google tools, and public library offerings. While the workshop focuses on business information, the format and content can be easily modified to address the needs of students in other disciplines.

“The Butler University Library’s initiative has also developed valuable partnerships with outside agencies such as the local public library and those in the local business community,” continued Kidwell, “and partnerships such as these yield numerous benefits for Butler students, the library, and the university. The committee believes that the Butler University Library’s initiative developed by Williams can serve as a model for other academic libraries, regardless of type, size, or geographic location, and is applicable to disciplines beyond business administration.”