University of Dubuque - Charles C. Myers Library Tour

Some may find it interesting to see a few of the library spaces where I spend much of my time. I took these photos early one morning in January. (There are some important spaces I wasn't able to include as I was being careful to avoid taking pictures of students, keeping in mind photo release/consent).

Week Seven: Web Meetings, Career Week Displays, and Scheduling Reference/Instruction

The week began with a meeting that returned to an earlier discussion about the library's "How Do I?" page. Jenny, another intern, shared some examples with the committee and we discussed the features we liked and those we didn't. Quite a bit of time was spent discussing: purpose, audience(s), format(s), and the features themselves. While students are the primary audience for the FAQ/How Do I? page, we still need to keep in mind faculty and other library patrons. There is a heavy lean toward Information Literacy as the focus, but there are still elements that are straight forward Q & A. Many of us liked the clear language and the white space found on the University of Central Florida's website. We also liked the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's simple, browsable, one page format. Though fairly well hidden (those unfamiliar with the website would have to look carefully to find it), the page presents basics using headers to categorize questions (that use jargon-free language). A sub-committee (made up of Jenny, Anne Marie, Becky, and me) are going to review the websites and create an outline of the content and presentation we would like to see for the new version of the "How Do I" page. What was left of Monday was spent reviewing professional literature.

The library is almost to the implementation stages for the Library Student Worker Career Development Program, where students are paid to visit with a representative from the Career Services Office. I worked with Diana Newman, the library secretary, to finish up the brochure that will be given to students. The rest of the week was spent preparing materials for the Career Week display. I looked up various items in the catalog (general suggestions were given by Trina, our contact in the Career Services Office), printed off my list, and explored the stacks to find materials for the physical display. My cart filled with résumé writing guides, discipline-specific career guides, books geared to help students find their vocation, and popular movies about students finding their way in college and the "real world." I changed all of the items' status to "on display" should anyone be looking for them, and set them up on the reference shelves on the main floor of the library (near the main entrance). Right after I set the items up, a student came to the reference desk asking about cover letters--I was able to directly to the display and grab a book that helped her prepare her application to become a Dorm Resident Assistant!

I was also able to review my teaching with Anne Marie (who had observed me the week before). In the next few weeks I'll be assuming more solo teaching and reference desk responsibilities. We also discussed institutional repositories, library assessments, reporting library statistics to various agencies, and University accreditation (more on that in the future). Jenny and I are also going to be working together to facilitate a professional development book discussion with the librarians (happening in early April).

Week Six: Assisting, Teaching, Shadowing, and Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity

I packed a lot in to this first full week of February. On Monday I did my first solo stint at the Reference Desk because one of the librarians wasn't feeling well, so I volunteered to slide in and man the station. While I only had a couple of reference questions, it was still nice to be able to be there and help. I also observed a sociology class where students answered questions based on their readings. They considered the various types of resources needed to answer the questions (articles, books, primary, secondary, etc.) and talked about keywords for searching. After an orientation to the catalog and Academic Search Premiere, they were off to answer their questions! There are a couple of quirks to the current library catalog to keep in mind when students are searching for books. Of course, the library catalog isn't intuitive when it comes to creative student spelling and won't anticipate or offer suggestions like Google might. Another thing to keep in mind is that when the catalog finds resources that match your search terms, it bumps the most recent item to the top of the list (and the catalog recently added new e-book titles). By returning e-books as the first search results, some students were ignoring those print resources they were seeking (for those unable or unwilling to download the e-books). We showed students how to limit by material type, which helped them be more successful.

Sprinkled throughout the week was prep work and various other ongoing projects. Tuesday was a day filled with teaching (both observing and assisting). I worked with two sections of a World History class preparing for an upcoming assignment that leads them to a larger paper (due in April). We searched for relevant articles concerning a student-chosen topic within a certain time range. Students would engage with the articles, providing commentary on the viewpoints presented for their assignment, and eventually bring the information together for a longer paper. Many of the students were able to find all of the articles they needed for the rest of the semester (though for this class day, they were only required to find their first article--but we encouraged them to get as much done as they could to be ready for their upcoming article discussions).

Wednesday I observed one section and was able to teach on my own (WOO HOO!)! I worked with two World View II (WV2) classes. The first was an 8 a.m. class who, though still a little sleepy, was able to engage with information about their local organization, St. Mark's. Following the templates provided for all WV2 sessions, I began by introducing myself and what we would be doing for class that day. We discussed the "big picture" and the impact individuals can have by simply doing and being involved. The students will eventually present about their community organization at the Service Learning Fair, sharing with their peers what the organization does. After talking about various sources that may be used, and bias that goes along with sources, the students broke off into groups to answer the questions about who is involved with and benefits from the services they provide, how the organization is structured, how it is funded, and they developed additional questions to be presented to the organization representative when they met later that week.

All of the students answered questions that were provided using Moodle forums (they added threads to the posted questions). With the last 10-15 minutes of class, students reported back to the entire group a few interesting things they found as they were searching. This process was repeated for an afternoon class researching Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I enjoyed helping the students work collaboratively to find the information they were looking for. There was definitely some redirecting students away from unreliable resources toward things that would more easily help them answer their questions. At one point I used the example of a Wikipedia article I saw (and took a screenshot of) that listed a town's nickname as "The Armpit of America," and it's motto as "Too lazy to commute. Let's go on title [sic] 19." The article also notes the population as "15,579 Smiling toothless methheads." While this example is extreme, and the above mentioned information was removed that same day, it was effective in driving home the point that while Wikipedia is a fine place to start to find out basic information to steer your search in the right direction, it should not be your only source.

I returned to campus again on Friday for a shadowing session with Jon Helmke, Assistant Director for Library Systems and Technical Services. Jon teaches instruction sessions and performs liaison duties to various departments on campus (as do all of the librarians at UD), is responsible for maintaining the library systems (including Horizon and ILLiad), vendor correspondences for electronic resources, Gold Rush Electronic Resource Management System, and the Data Central Project. He supervises Meris, Sue, and Meghann (who I talked about in week five). Jon works with the University webmaster to keep a uniform look for the library's website while adding content. We discussed eventually moving from Horizon to a cloud-based system (similar to the new World Cat), or possibly even going Open Source, but at this point that just an idea they are keeping in mind but not actively pursuing.

After spending time learning more about Jon's duties, I worked on a project to learn more about the Report on the geological survey of the state of Iowa (and another from the state of Wisconsin) that had been donated. After exploring the online Library of Congress National Union Catalog, I went down to the basement archives to check out the print version (just to be sure, and to say I'd actually used the print version) and found that even though the item says it's Volume 1 (part 1 and 2 for the Iowa survey, and just one part for the Wisconsin) only one volume was ever published (we wanted to be sure it was complete before adding it to the collection).

The afternoon was filled with scholarship and creativity as the library held their annual Scholarship and Creativity Celebration which displayed scholarly works, and artistic/musical talents of those who work at UD. The reception included food (of course), music, and spoken word. It was quite the event, and wonderful to see that so many are active within their disciplines! Friday was also UD night at the Dubuque Fighting Saints game (and it was a close one too--overtime leading to a sudden death shootout, but ultimately a home team loss)!

Article 4: Promoting and Archiving Student Work through an Institutional Repository: Trinity University, LASR, and the Digital Commons

Nolan, C. W., & Costanza, J. (2006). Promoting and archiving student work through an institutional repository: Trinity University, LASR, and the Digital Commons. Serials Review, 32(2), 92-98. doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2006.03.009

Institutional repositories (IR) have typically focused on faculty scholarship. Trinity University, along with Carleton, Dickinson, and Middlebury Colleges, began an IR featuring student work in order to promote student scholarship, and help students and faculty better understand copyright issues and alternative publishing. ProQuest hosts the server, manages the accompanying software, and makes the libraries' content shared and searchable by each institution; each library independently manages it's own Digital Commons site. Traditionally, IRs have focused on faculty publications; the new idea of the student IR required education of faculty, students, and staff, though students were more receptive to the IR, noting the discoverability of their work to future employers and graduate schools. The students submit their senior papers/projects via web form to the Liberal Arts Scholarly Repository (LASR). Each institution determines collection guidelines. Some considerations for those institutions interested in beginning something similar include staffing and financial expenses, marketing the concept to the institution, collaborative work with other institutions, determining scope (which types of work are included?), pre-publication and copyright concerns in regards to future publishing, ownership and copyright, formats accepted, length of preservation commitment, metadata, migration as platforms/formats change, and departmental concerns from around campus. By developing the IR as a consortium, LASR was able to receive vendor discounts, sharing of student work throughout all participating institutions, and has the potential for sharing procedures, collection policies, and metadata creation. Authors utilizing the IR receive statistics detailing the use of their work.

Article 3: Information Literacy and First-Year Students

Orme, W. A. (2008). Information literacy and first-year students. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 2008(114), 63-70.

The definition of Information Literacy (IL) has changed as new technologies have been incorporated into higher education. What began as recognizing, locating, evaluating, and effectively using information has changed to a relational relationship based on information need and other contextual factors (previous knowledge and experience, instructor epistemological beliefs, and student characteristics). While some think of first-year students as "empty vessels," those following a more constructivist approach believe orienting the students to their new learning environment and academic culture can (and should) be done by meeting the students where they are in terms of their previous learning experiences. By using previous experience and orienting it toward this new environment, students are given meaningful learning experiences that can be used as a foundation for future learning and inquiry. Challenging held assumptions can also expand the student's knowledge base. Supporting this constructivist approach is the practice of giving additional academic assistance to "at risk" students (typically first-year, first-generation). This practice recognizes the "probable lack of a supporting environment that can help negotiate the challenges of an academic setting." Emphasis is placed on the nature of knowledge and how it is acquired, setting a foundation for lifelong learning within the students' first year.

Week Five: Archives & Special Collections, Technical Services, and Snow (Also known as the longest blog post for the shortest week)

Week five began with a wonderful orientation to the library's Archives & Special Collections given by Joel Samuels, University Archivist. After introducing ourselves (UD is working with another intern, Jenny Parker, doing her coursework online through University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), and participating in a little bit of "library school talk," we moved from Joel's office to the room housing the Archives & Special Collections. Essentially the structure is a large concrete box with an independent heating, cooling, and humidity system, and is surrounded by a layer of dead air and another layer of concrete. It is secure and fire resistant, with fire sensors throughout the space. Fire must be detected in two zones before triggering the system to release chemicals (preventing extra damage in the event of sensor malfunction).

Throughout our time in the Archives & Special Collections, University history was woven within the tour (as one might expect). I won't give a lengthy account, particularly because I am no UD history expert, but I will include a bit, to give some perspective on the types of items collected. The foundation for the University began in 1846 when the Rev. and Mrs. Peter Flury came to Dubuque to minister to German-speaking immigrants. In 1847, Flury organized the charter congregation of the German Evangelical Church. In 1849 he returned to Switzerland and the church continued under the leadership of a handful of pastors over the years, continuing Flury's mission. A highly influential church member, and eventual pastor, Adrian Van Vliet came to Dubuque and began a German school for ministers. In 1854 the German Evangelical Church of Dubuque became the First German Presbyterian Church. Van Vliet's school continued to grow, and was continued by Rev. Jacob Conzett, one of his students, after Van Vliet's death. The seminary expanded under Conzett's leadership, and reorganized a few times over the next 25 years, bringing in new leadership and refocusing the curriculum--eventually realizing the need for the use of English as opposed to the earlier German emphasis. This eventually became the Synod of the West and what we know today as University of Dubuque. More information can be found here (http://www.dbq.edu/childofthechurch/) and here (http://www.dbq.edu/library/collectionspdf/summaryhistoryofthesynodofthewest.pdf).

The archives/special collections core collection consists of items Joseph L. Mihelic, former University Archivist, compiled and organized. The collection covers a wide variety of topics/artifacts including various leaders' time at UD, papers from various offices around campus, faculty papers, related church artifacts Mihelic's files and papers from his estate, seminary documents and publications, German Presbyterian materials, Iowa history collections, various artifacts and artwork, and published works of influential UD graduates (including Tony Danza's cookbook, true story). It was fascinating to hear about the individuals whose names I recognized from various buildings around campus (though, from what I can tell, there's no Tony Danza Memorial Hall at this time). The oldest item in the collection is their copy of Martin Luther's German Bible written within 20 years of Martin Luther's death (1546). Crazy to think I was able to handle that object! They also have Luther's commentary on Galatians.

In the middle of the week we received a little bit of snow (as in thirteen inches) which caused the University to cancel classes, and also made it a two-day week for me (as I had been planning on going in on Friday anyway).

Friday was filled with shadowing in Tech. Services. The day began with shadowing in Acquisitions with Meris Muminovic. We talked about the basics of ordering and accounting and he showed us JTacq, which is basically magic. JTacq is an open source, customizable collection development purchasing agent that works by importing purchase request lists (from Books in Print or you may enter each individually), or patron requests (collected via a form on the library's website or through written slips/emails). The student requests are forwarded on for approval from library management or collection managers. The program goes through Amazon to purchase the least expensive, but new, copies of the requested materials--but Meris also checks to see if the title is duplicated in the library's YBP standing orders (which can't be returned) and the catalog's holdings. Presently, if the library has the book in e-book form or if Wartburg has a copy the UD library still purchases the print copy for the UD library (even though sharing does occur between Wartburg and UD). If a student has requested the item, the provisional record is flagged so that student/faculty member will be notified once the item is received and fully processed.

JTacq allows for budget reports to be run by importing information from SirsiDinix-Horizon. E-book purchasing is done on as needed, when requested or required for a class. If the library knows about the need for the e-book, they will purchase it right away to eliminate the added expense (each e-book gets three views, with a reduced cost for each view, before the item is fully purchased by the library). E-books are purchased through EBL, not JTacq.

The next job shadow session was in Cataloging and Interlibrary Loans with Susan Reiter. She emphasized the importance of student workers. For the Interlibrary portion of the position, Susan uses OCLC ILLiad 8.0 for handling the borrowing, lending, and document delivery needs of UD. ILLiad allows for customization. In this case, UD was able to customize the lending periods for their materials, setting the period at four weeks. As is the case with many libraries, UD prefers to work with free lending libraries and the customization allows for lists to be made in ILLiad to utilize these libraries first.

The UD "Buy, not Borrow" program purchases student requests that are: books, fairly recent publications (from the year of 2000 or newer), $50 or less. This was new to me, but makes sense if the items will be heavily used.

We briefly talked about OCLC and cataloging. UD modifies some LC call numbers for specific collections (those used for certain classes that are shelved in special areas of the library, those that are in the Curriculum Library, and those that are gifts all have modified bibliographic records, subject headings, and/or call numbers in the local catalog).

In the afternoon, we visited Meghann Toohey in serials. Part of Meghann's job is to coordinate the online Rosetta Stone language classes/use. Because of limited numbers of users (30 users), Meghann coordinates registration and enrollment in sessions. She also keeps statistics on the languages used, the number of people per session, and the types of users (faculty, students). The online version of Rosetta Stone is new to UD (just began within the last tear of two) so they are hoping to compile data to guide future use.

UD uses Ebsco for the majority of the periodical purchases (and a handful of local publishers for smaller publications) which makes accounting and requesting claims much simpler (all claims requests are done online through Ebsco and further correspondence is done through email with an Ebsco representative). We discussed Gold Rush (view UD's version here under "Find Articles"-->"Journal List": http://goldrush.coalliance.org/index.cfm?inst_code=123_UDL; learn more here: http://grweb.coalliance.org/). Gold Rush allows for searching for articles and journals, keeps online holdings and coverage dates up to date, provides a staff toolbox, allows for spreadsheets to be uploaded, and keeps subscription information and statistics all in one place (including contact information for subscription providers).

Something else new to me was the Back Serve program, which allows libraries to request print copies of journals missing from their holdings. These requests are filled by other libraries with duplicate copies of the requested materials.

Of course, throughout my time here I will continue to do some collection development work, placing titles in the preliminary ordering carts to be evaluated by Anne Marie and ordered by acquisitions.