Call for Contributions

In order to feature a variety of perspectives from across the academic library community, we invite you to share your stories, experiences, examples, anecdotes, or case studies regarding the presence and needs of parenting students at your institutions. These 100-400 word commentaries will be used throughout the book to illustrate the content. We are looking for:

• Reflections on your awareness of the presence and needs of student parents

• Anecdotes about your interactions and experiences with student parents

• Observations of student parents in the physical space of the library

• How your academic library does – or does not – support student parents through the library’s policies, spaces and/or culture

Selected submissions will bring awareness to the various ways in which academic libraries are currently supporting student parents, bring attention to academic libraries’ gaps in services, or identify ways to improve library support and inclusion for this often overlooked and underserved student population.

While we are interested in positive stories, we also welcome accounts of less successful ventures – we believe in learning from mistakes, missteps, and by identifying gaps in services.

While we would like to provide credit for your work, we understand if you prefer to remain anonymous. The submission form provides three options: to be identified as the author of your submission; to be credited without being connected to your work; and to remain completely anonymous.

Please submit a brief description of your proposed ideas by July 31th, 2022 (N.B. If the deadline has passed but you would still like to submit, please go ahead and reach out to the authors. We may still be able to include your submission).

Topics of Interest

• Information about the presence and needs of parenting students

• University library policies regarding parenting students and children (including shifting policies and policy language)

• Ways to support parenting students

• What current academic libraries are offering in terms of services and spaces for student parents

• Experiences with library efforts to support parent students (particularly through policies, spaces, culture)

• One-on-one interviews and interaction with parenting students

• Needs assessment of student parents

• Individual case studies and personal experiences of student parents

• Particular challenges students parents face

• Childcare and student parents

• Institutional policies, spaces, and culture re: student parents (i.e. how is your university family friendly? Or not?)

• DEI efforts and student parents

• Collaborative efforts across campus and/or the community to support student parents

• Success (or lack of success) in getting key stakeholders involved

• What community colleges are doing to support student parents

Guidelines

• Final submissions should be 100 to 400 words

• Please follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition Notes and Bibliography format for citations

Timeline

• Deadline to submit brief proposals: August 31, 2022

• Submissions reviewed and decisions made: September 30, 2022 - all potential authors will be contacted by this date

• Submissions due: December 1, 2022

• Anticipated completed manuscript: March 2023