Minnesota History Day

Starting in November 2014, 5, 429 students attended a History Day field trip, Hullabaloo, or Help Session held at various libraries throughout the state--nearly one thousand more students than last year. MNHS staff worked with individual libraries and librarians when assistance was needed to schedule research open houses, facilitate field trips between schools and libraries, and provide supplemental training materials.
20 libraries across the state of Minnesota hosted 22 Hullabaloo open houses. An additional 5 libraries hosted 7 Help Sessions across St. Paul. These events provided the necessary support to History Day students through concentrated library assistance, MNHS staff support, and mentors.
3, 161 students completed the Hullabaloo, Help Session, or Field Trip survey, either online or in person at a library event. 72% of students reported feeling more confident doing research in a library as a result of their History Day library experience. 88% believed their library visit improved their ability to do research.
More than 5, 429 middle and high school students from 120 schools participated in a library field trip, Hullabaloo or Help Session event. Of these students, 3, 161 completed the Library Legacy survey.
 62% of surveys responders attended a field trip, 38% attended a Hullabaloo or Help Session. Many students took part in more than one library experience, and we asked them to complete a survey for each event.
 Of those who responded to our survey, 70% had “visited or planned on visiting, ” a public library, 17% a college or university library, 11% a specialized library or archives, and 61% a school library. These numbers reflect the library visit students were on that day in addition to any other library research trips planned.
 70% of students reported that interaction with librarians was either “helpful” or “very helpful.”
 70% of students were able to “bring home resources” (books, articles from
databases, magazine or newspaper articles, video, music, photographs,
copies of information from websites, etc.) from their library visit that day.
 38% of students either checked out books or made copies of books.
 80% of students used books for their research.
 The majority of students felt that finding new sources was the “most helpful” aspect of their library experience, followed by talking with History Day staff, Mentors, and/or Library Guides.
 72% of students reported feeling “more confident” doing research in a library as a result of their History Day library experience.
 88% of students reported that the day’s library experience “improved” or “greatly improved” their ability to do research.
 71% found the experience, overall, to be either “excellent” or “very good.”
When possible, surveys were given to parents or guardians who were attending a library event with their student or, in some cases, picking their child up from a library event. 213 parents completed a survey.
 90% of parents rated their student’s library experience as either “very good” or “excellent.”
 35% said that speaking with History Day staff or mentors was the “most” important part of their student’s visit.
 83% reported that their student was using the library “more” for History Day compared to other school projects. 86% believed their child learned more from their History Day project.
 62% of parents reported that improved research skills is the “most important” thing their child is learning through History Day.
Teacher surveys were administered after library events. In order to receive final funds to support research field trips, teachers were required to complete the online survey. 106 teachers completed a survey.
 Of the teachers surveyed, 88% brought their students on a library field trip and 12% attended a Hullabaloo with their students. This was the only visit that 75% of teachers were facilitating for their students.
 94% of teachers rated their overall library field trip experience as either “very good” or “excellent.”
 Teachers reported that finding new sources was the “most” useful component of their library field trip experience.
 88% of teachers encouraged their students to get a library card as a result of their field trip.
 97% of teachers believe the value of History Day library programming is “extremely valuable” or “very valuable” as a resource for teaching.
 75% of teachers reported that legacy funding was critical and that their schools would have been unable to participate in library experiences without financial support.
 Of the teachers surveyed, 66% of teachers reported that their lowest performing students were “more engaged” in the library experience than in the classroom.