Loans, Logins, and Lasting the Course: Academic Library Use and Student Retention

Abstract

Activities and services that improve student engagement and retention in the higher education sector are important not only to individual students’ success but also to university planning and funding. This paper reports on a study carried out to explore whether use of the library by new university students is associated with continued enrolment. Limited to commencing students in March 2010 at Curtin University, the study drew on demographic data from the university’s enrolment system and instances of library use from the library’s management system. Results of the statistical analyses indicate that library use is associated with retention, and, importantly, that library use in the early weeks of a student’s first semester is associated with retention. Findings from this study suggest that academic libraries can contribute to the retention of students by offering carefully targeted programs and services. Copyright 2010 Australian Academic and Research Libraries.