Student Employees Lead UTA Libraries Branches, Transforming Service Model

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries is operating their branches in the Architecture & Fine Arts and Science & Engineering buildings a little differently these days.

Before COVID-19 rolled through north Texas in March 2020, the branches were always staffed by at least one full-time staff member in addition to student leads—student employees with advanced training and experience who lead their peer teams in daily tasks and maintain the flow of organizational processes. The new staffing model, rolled out this fall, calls for two student leads at each branch location with full-time staff on-call and available to support from Central Library.

Guest Services Lead Student Specialist Devon Peralta says the goal was to allow the student leads to utilize their skills to problem solve and grow as leaders within a supported environment—a goal that was very much achieved in the Fall 2021 semester.

“I am so proud and happy with how fast they were able to be self-lead at the branches,” Peralta said. “I have seen the leads develop as a group and have come up with new ideas and suggestions to improve the space—they really own it, which is what we want.”

The program has been so successful that not only will the model remain in place for Spring 2022, but the Libraries plans to hire 8-10 new leads for Central Library to provide peer-to-peer leadership opportunities in that space as well.

Student Staff Coordinator Jessica Patrick supports Peralta with ongoing training, scheduling, and hiring for student employees in guest services, including those in the branches. She credits the success of this semester to the dedication and work ethic of their student leads.

“The branches ran so smoothly this semester, and that is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our student leads,” Patrick said. “From day one, they were connected to the space and hit the ground running, resolving issues on their own and consistently communicating with each other and full-time staff.”

Patrick hopes that next semester will provide even more opportunities to help the student leads grow as leaders.

“This semester the leads proved that they can manage the daily operations of the branches,” Patrick said. “We also want them to gain skills in people management and have a connection to each library and our department as a whole.”

For Alexandra Landeros, a student lead for the Science & Engineering (SEL) branch, the new staffing model was a bit of an adjustment.

“I’m not going to lie—I was a little nervous,” Landeros said. “Before the pandemic, I always knew a supervisor would be here, and I would rely on them to answer any questions I had, even if I knew the answer, because I just wanted to make sure.”

Landeros, a double major in marketing and management who has worked for the Libraries for two and a half years, quickly learned to trust her own instincts, and even built upon them.

“I think we’ve all learned how to be better leaders,” Landeros said. “We’re students just like the people we help—we understand their struggles. I think being in school and developing those leadership skills was definitely a big success.”

Travis Jones, a transfer student pursuing a bachelor’s in Business Administration and Management, has served as a lead in all three public branches of UTA Libraries since September. As a new student employee, he can’t see the branches being run any other way.

“When I stepped into the role, it just kind of felt like this is how it should be,” Jones said. “This is natural for me, because I’ve held this responsibility and managed these kinds of tasks before.”

Jones, who just turned 29 and served six years in the United States Air Force before returning to school, believes his past experiences (and the experience of his peers) lend themselves to the student lead roles in the Libraries.

“Earlier this semester, we had a water leak in SEL,” Jones said. “Afterwards, I was told, ‘wow, you did a great job [handling that situation],’ and I think that shows that students can be put in charge or have some greater levels of responsibility.”