Bismarck State College Library: A Year in Review

Money Smart Mystics It all started in the Summer of 2024. Marlene Anderson, Director of Library Services, and I were discussing how we could make our programs more cohesive for the 2024-2025 academic year. We really wanted to highlight Financial Literacy - the ability to understand, evaluate, and communicate information about money and financial services, enabling informed financial decisions because we had noticed it was an issue many students struggled with. Then, the mail came and what arrived was so serendipitous that we had to laugh. The Bank of North Dakota was rolling out a new program all across North Dakota focused on improving financial literacy called Smart with My Money! Once we had more information, we reached out to the BSC Bookstore to see if we could incentivize the program. Thus, Money Smart Mystics was born! For the first year of this program, students completed activities and answered questions about financial literacy, such as “Did you buy or rent your textbooks?” or “Watch a video related to money”, to receive $10 off a $50 purchase at the BSC Bookstore. It was a major success! Nearly 200 students – online and on-campus – participated. We couldn’t have done it without those at the BSC Bookstore, who attached bookmarks for tracking points at check-out; faculty, who included financial wellness as part of their classroom activities; staff, who helped man the Money Smart Mystics tabling events; and, of course, students, who gave presentations and spread the news about the program to their friends. This fall, we are planning to elevate the experience with limited-time only events and badges. The questions and activities will also be more interesting and specific. We reviewed the comments we received about the activities and the program as a whole to ensure the rewards are achievable and meaningful for both online and on-campus students. We’re still working on some details, but I can hardly wait to see how the second year of this long-term program goes. Blackboard One of the reasons Money Smart Mystics became successful was because the Library decided to use BlackBoard, BSC’s Learning Management System for online learning, as another location for library reference services. Thanks to Emily Gullicks, Learning Management Systems Technician, the Library has two non-term, informational course shells – one for students, one for faculty. All BSC students are automatically enrolled in the student course. Since students are already using BlackBoard for their regular course work, we created a library “course” for general information, announcements, and FAQs like “How does printing at the library work?” and “Can you buy this book for the collection?” As we were organizing the course, we realized that using it for programming would be a great way to encourage more interaction. In the end, students clicked into their BSC Library – Students course often, whether it was for the Money Smart Mystics challenge, the Library Lovers Challenge, a quick link to the library catalog, or something else. All BSC faculty are automatically enrolled in the BSC Library - Faculty course, which includes Library FAQs and links; a place for instructional materials; and options for requesting library instruction, orientations, and our computer lab. We wanted to ensure that all faculty knew the BSC Library supports them in their endeavors. The BSC Comi-Con The best program of 2024-2025, in our opinion, was Comi-Con! The theme for National Library Week 2025 was “Drawn to the Library”. The aim was to amplify art, graphic novels, and the creative ways libraries inspire people. As a graphic novel enthusiast and nerd, I went from Graphic Novels to Comi-Con real fast. We were able to pull off something amazing with the help of several student clubs, such as the Cultural Exchange Club, Drama Club, MESA Gaming Club, and the LGBT+ Club; the Student Government Association; the Art Department; and the fantastic people from Buildings & Grounds. We had student art sales and displays; the Artsy-Crafty sisters, two North Dakota artists who sold bookmarks, stickers, and other artwork; Mario Kart on the Switch; music from the MYX; and so much more. An estimated 200 people celebrated with us! We plan to do it again during National Library Week 2026, April 19-25, so mark your calendars. The Library Flood In the last days of December 2024, a second-floor water heater in Skogen Hall burst, flooding the library on the ground floor. Water rained through the ceiling in the Archives and open stacks area, even getting behind the paint in some places. Although we lost many books and other assorted artifacts, we are grateful for the many people in the BSC family who stepped in to help us. As of this first week of June, our physical book and archive collections are still closed to the public and repairs are underway. Our hope is that this fall, we will be closer to resuming normal library operations. Conclusion All in all, 2024-2025 was a BIG year for the BSC Library. We hosted many successful programs, introduced new initiatives, and lived through a flood, one of the worst things to happen to a library. We can’t wait to see what the 2025-2026 school year will bring and we hope to see you along the way!