To help Illinois State University students cope with the stress of finals, Milner Library handed out a free “Finals Thriving Kit” at the service desk on the main floor of the library.
The partnership between Milner Library and Redbird Well was a hit with students, as they distributed over 100 kits to students in need.
Outreach and Student Engagement Librarian Stephanie Burnham helped put the kits together and believes they had a positive impact on students.
“Student success is one of Milner's core values. We do that academically by providing access to materials, research, expertise and things like this," Burnham said. "We also recognize that we need to make sure we are supporting students outside of academics.”
“We knew that a ton of students were already using our space to study for their finals, so this was really good [for students] to take a break, decompress and have some snacks to keep the morale high,” Burnham continued.
Burnham also recognizes the stress that students go through during finals week.
“We wanted to congratulate students on their hard work and dedication. Essentially, this was like a little treat so students could keep spirits up,” Burnham said.
The kits contained a Milner Library sticker and office supply kit, a flyer for Redbird Well, a Student Counseling Services pen and a snack.
While the kits were in limited supply, Burnham wanted students to know that the Milner Library was there for them.
“We provide something at all times. One of the big things that Milner does and promotes is the personal librarians. We have a bunch of librarians here who each have a discipline or a major that they specialize in, and they can support students in that work,” Burnham said. “If a student has a major or discipline-specific question, we have experts ready to help them.”
“Coming up, when we get back for the spring semester, we are working on putting together some fun welcome back program,” Burnham continued.
