The Library Student Ambassadors hosted an “Instagram Takeover” of the UMich Students Instagram account last week, sharing past and upcoming library events, what students can use the library for, as well as library resources students have access to. Each day last week, the ambassadors made posts or shared stories of various fun ways students can engage with the library, starting with upcoming events such as Board Game Night and Sip and Paint, and finishing the takeover with a lot of fascinating book recommendations, like Kim Ji-Young: Born 1982.
Personally, I had a delightful time viewing and reading my fellow ambassadors’ creative posts during the takeover. We each were given much creative freedom to craft fun, eye-catching posts that would draw students’ attention and get them excited about the library’s offerings this semester, and in general. My duty was to curate some notable book recommendations, and as an avid reader and book connoisseur, I’m confident students won’t be able to put down the selections our team chose!
Some of the notable things our ambassadors highlighted during our Instagram Takeover were the study spaces and “hidden gems” the university libraries offer. The Clark Commons, Shapiro Library Basement, and Art, Architecture & Engineering Library Computing Space, for example, are great places for students to collaborate for group projects, buckle down and study for exams, or just hang out in a comfortable environment with friends. One of the hidden gems in the Shapiro Library is the Design Lab PIE (Prototype, Inspire, Explore) Space on the 1st floor of the library which offers many free resources in a vending machine, including seed packets!
All in all, the Instagram Takeover was a lovely experience that allowed us to engage our campus community members in a fun, low-stakes environment. Everything we do here at the library is out of love and a desire to improve the student experience here at Michigan, so we are all thankful we can help do that in many ways!