Supporting Student Parents in the Academic Library: Designing Spaces, Policies, and Services, Kelsey Keyes and Ellie Dworak, Association of College and Research Libraries, 2024. 312p. Softcover, 82.00. 9798892555531

It is clear from the first pages of this book that authors Keyes and Dworak care deeply about students who are also parents, an increasing population found on college campuses. Supporting Student Parents in the Academic Library opens with the authors’ own experiences observing student parents on their campuses and point out their relative invisibility, both in physical spaces, consideration in policies, and in the data collected at higher education institutions. They note “our point is to highlight the fact that a lack of data being collected about students’ parenting status renders them less visible, and thus this group continues to be underserved” (xviii). While some chapters may digress into a discussion of higher education in more general terms rather than focusing on the library, ultimately the book is a detailed, timely, and thoughtful consideration of students who are parents, providing helpful tips on how academic libraries can support this often-ignored set of scholars.

The book is divided into four parts, thirteen chapters, with the authors describing their work as “part toolkit, part treatise, and part call to action” (xxi). Each chapter opens with several learning objectives which provide scope and overview to the subject matter. Chapters close with discussion questions to encourage further thinking on how information might be relevant to readers and their campus libraries. Part 1 provides a summary of the scant data that is currently collected about student parents enrolled in higher education as well as the challenges these students are likely to encounter. Through this examination the reader is given a bleak picture of higher education reporting regarding student parents and of the data that any researcher working with this population must piece together through various reporting agencies. The authors’ data gathering resulted from a survey at Boise State University and offers a glimpse at how many students are parents, the challenges they face, and what support might help them graduate (xv). The answers to the questions of “why” were missing and still need consideration. Part 2 focuses on what the authors’ study did not address and pushes the discussion beyond higher education and into the realm of university libraries, offering examples of what successful partnerships with student parents can look like. Part 3 zooms out and looks to other organizations and institutions to examine how they are supporting parenting students. Part 4 dives into how the authors collected information for the book from their own institution, including survey results and methodology. Finally, the seven appendixes provide additional materials including project plans, budgeting, and surveys discussed throughout the work. Useful “Field Notes” contained throughout the book offered sound, practical advice on integrating parenting students into library services.

The need for closer study, along with better/more data, is vital for understanding student parents. If one of the primary issues is, as the authors argue, the lack of data that even acknowledges the presence of student parents, then pointing this out early is a necessary strategy; however, the amount of detail provided in the opening four chapters can feel very overwhelming. Keyes and Dworak examine and discuss every major reporting agency, offering takeaways as well as critiques. While it is helpful to acknowledge data gaps, starting with this level of detail left little room for excitement or momentum to move beyond the (lack of) numbers and into the bountiful practical advice, which is often desired early in an informational book, particularly one that is arguing for institution-wide change.

Part 2 leads off with a thorough discussion of policies and how academic libraries can and should do better at directly addressing children and student parents in their institutional policies. Chapter 5 “explores the academic libraries of eighty of the largest four-year institutions across the United States and analyzes their policies—or, rather, lack of policies—regarding children in the library,” an eye-opening examination that convincingly argues all academic libraries should directly address children and parenting students in an accessible and accepting manner within their written policies (83). These four chapters along with the final two, which discuss the authors’ own survey methods, have the most practical advice for librarians looking to examine and implement changes to their own libraries. Overall, Keyes and Dworak found that student parents are a “diverse group” who are not getting their needs met (or even considered) (243). Supporting Student Parents in the Academic Library is a detailed and well-rounded study examining the needs of student parents and how higher education should include them in planning library services; although, the reader may do well to pick and choose the chapters most applicable to their institution and interests. — Hannah Cole, Research & Instruction Librarian, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona