Student Use of Librarian Expertise during Design Competitions: A Study of Efficacy and Resource Use

Engineering librarians at Texas A&M University in College Station partnered with the university's College of Engineering to provide information assistance to students participating in Aggies Invent, a series of 48-hour design competitions conducted in the college's makerspace. To assess the impact of librarian-student consultations, the authors collected data on the questions asked and resources used, and they surveyed the participants after each competition. Results indicated that most questions were business-related, followed by engineering queries, and that participants used both business and engineering resources. Google products were also heavily used, although often in conjunction with other library resources and in an intentional manner. Overall, students found the librarian consultations useful in their designs and presentations.