The study compares both quantitative and qualitative data from a survey of library student employees (N=30) and student employee supervisors (N=3) to data collected from NACE and other employer surveys. The research analyzes the connection between competencies sought by library supervisors and employers with the training and skills acquired by students while employed in the library.

While critical thinking is highly valued by the students and by prospective employers, the student and supervisor experiences indicate that training and application of critical thinking in their library employment experiences are low. The paper provides constructive suggestions on how academic libraries might effectively leverage career readiness competencies with their student employees while on the job and how assessment data might be collected to gauge improvement in these areas. The paper proposed isolates the top employer-ranked competency (critical thinking) and interrogates the student employment experience for engagement with critical thinking during their library employment, training, and student perceived importance to their academic majors and future careers.

This paper will provide insight into the student employment experience in libraries and how to leverage this to demonstrate the impact of student employment in libraries as well as possible areas to focus student and supervisor professional development. Libraries invest significant resources in student employees and this paper will offer some pathways to enhance the return on investment on student employment in libraries.