Recruiting, training, and retaining student assistants across the library is challenging. Student assistant supervisors in public services collaborated to develop a full-year cycle of professional development for student assistants at a public university. Students create a learning community focused on collaborative learning and work on projects commonly found within internships. Recruiting, training, and retaining student assistants across the library can be a challenging prospect. Engaging students via high-impact practices (HIPs) demonstrates the value of a job within the library for holistic intellectual and career development. Student assistant supervisors in public services collaborated to develop a full-year cycle of professional development for student assistants in the University Library at a Master's-L (Carnegie Classification) public university. Student assistants attended their first week-long training boot camp in summer 2017, which was combined with bi-weekly modules in Blackboard for ongoing training and reflection throughout the academic year. Through this program, students create a learning community within the Library which focuses on collaborative learning. Some supervisors have also developed projects and practices commonly found within internships, offering students deeper engagement with core principles in library and information science, giving them the opportunity to view library work as a potential career after graduation.
