Week 13: More LOEX Paper Writing, English 101, and a Fun Surprise!

Though it may not sound jam-packed, this week certainly was. Between juggling LOEX writing, teaching, and assisting patrons at the reference desk, I was definitely kept on my toes! Anne Marie and I have spent several hours fine tuning the LOEX paper, working from a modified outline I used for my presentation at the Iowa Library Association/ACRL conference. Originally we were concerned about being too long-winded, but between the two of us we have been able to be clear and concise (and stay within the required word count limit).

We also continued our work with English 101, finishing up the unit about scholarly research in preparation for their paper deadline. What is unique about this class is that essentially, the entire class writes the "same" paper. They create the same research question, analyze the same resources, take the same notes, and craft their thesis statement together. Even their bibliography is provided from the start. What is left is the writing of the paper. By extracting these elements and doing them together the students really learn the process before jumping in and trying to start from scratch on their own. By giving students this foundation, they are better prepared for assignments later in the semester, and later in their college careers, as they advance to the next level of research writing. In this last class period with the students and librarians together, we explicitly defined the connections between the different articles they dissected before. In making a chart and examining the similar factors and measures of success (factors: student engagement/involvement, metacognitive skills, locus of control, action behaviors, relationships with faculty, relationships with peers; measures of success: degree attainment and the amount of time it takes to earn the degree, cumulative grade point average), students noticed much overlap between the articles. We also worked together to define unfamiliar terms, and crafted a thesis statement together ("Engagement, internal factors, and relationships positively influence college students’ success as measured by cumulative GPA, and timeliness to graduation .").

This week I also received a fun surprise in my email inbox. I was very excited to hear that the American Library Association, New Members Round Table selected Indiana University’s IU ALA-SC as Student Chapter of the Year for our work in 2010. Having served as president in 2010 I was very excited that the efforts and activities of the membership and board were recognized. I, along with the current President, am looking forward to heading to the Annual conference in New Orleans to accept the award and represent Indiana University and the IU School of Library and Information Science!

Top Ten List: Number Seven (ILA Keynote)

From the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, in reverse chronological order:

7. Keynote Address: What t To Do With the Time That Is Given Us, given by Kenning Arlitsch from University of Utah

• As we are well aware, library services are in a state of flux. Economic pressures are mounting, and educational organizations are feeling the impact. In addition to financial considerations, library services that were once acceptable are no longer meeting the needs of library users. The shift from print to technological advances (including remote access and online education) is forcing libraries to focus less on the local collection and more on shared digital collections. Redesigning spaces (and librarian attitudes) to facilitate group work (both in person and online) is important, but what do we do with the print assets and other physical collections as they (or their format) becomes irrelevant (particularly special collections)? The move to digitize special collections not only makes a "back-up" copy, but also makes the information found within the item more easily shared and accessible to library users. One concern over digitization is the long-term preservation of the digital data (and how it adapts to upgrades in technology). Another concern, and this is regarding any information, is that data can be overwhelming. Making it understandable and usable through linking and data visualization is key. The question Arlitsch left us with was: what is your response to adversity? It is easy to stay in your comfort zone, particularly if technology is not your strong suit. But, as a public servant, it is your responsibility to adapt to the changing needs of those you serve. That may mean examining and completely redesigning the way you approach information services. 

Resources mentioned throughout:

• Planet Money, NPR
  
• The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Michael Lewis
• Disrupting College: How Disruptive Innovation Can Deliver Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education, Clayton Christensen
• Libraries are Screwed, Eli Neiburger
• Espresso Book Machine
• DataViz.org
• VisualEconomics.com
• Gapminder
• Twitter
• Kaggle

Top Ten List: Number Eight

From the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, in reverse chronological order:

8. Skillful Scaffolding: Integrating Information Literacy Outcomes into Literature Courses, given by Dan Chibnall and Dr. Amy Getty from Grand View University

• While one-shot instruction sessions may still be the norm for many classes, the presenters took an integrated IL approach to their American Literature I and Literature for Children and Adolescents courses. They provided a detailed handout to conference attendees, highlighting the skills taught the assignments, and activities associated with those skills. Throughout the semester resource evaluation skills are taught and reinforced, specifically finding quality websites, books, and journals as well as understanding scholarly vs. popular publications. Much of what the presenters were sharing is what I have been observing and actively doing in my internship. The last piece, having both instructor and librarian taking an active part in summative evaluations tied to course grades, is something not yet incorporated at UD. Based on the way the IL program has expanded over the last several years, I could see this as an eventual possibility (however, additional staffing would need to be provided to allow for the time it takes to evaluate learning artifacts).
  

Top Ten List: Number Nine

From the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, in reverse chronological order:

9. On Being Essential: Making Connections and Facilitating Access, Collection Development as Public Service, given by Kevin Engel, Rebecca Stuhr, and R. Cecilia Knight from Grinnell College

• The presenters gave a brief background about the structure within the Grinnell College Libraries. One of the points that stood out to me was their patron driven acquisition program (similar to that at UD, but specific policies differed). Their criteria for ILL initiated acquisitions looked at date published, the availability (would it arrive in the same time or less as compared to traditional ILL transactions?), and the purchasing cost (under $100). Usually items could arrive within 2 days, be cataloged the next, and be available to the patrons by the fourth day. The librarians know the items will circulate at least once. For their serials acquisitions, the librarians went through an in-depth serials review in 2008 (initiated partly as a result of strictly restricted budgets). As a result, the library cancelled 145 journals and 309 switched to online-only format. They also switched Elsevier and Wylie to a pay-per-view model. Students request Pay-per-view articles through librarians; faculty are able to access articles without that step. This approach is most appropriate for high-cost, low-use journals, and the downloads can not be used for ILL sharing. Another important thing to note: Rather than pay-per-view, it is really pay-per-day-it-is-accessed, meaning once the library has purchased access to the article, it may be accessed as many times as needed, by a variety of users during that 24-hour period with only one purchase fee being charged.
  

Top Ten List: Number Ten

From the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, in reverse chronological order:

10. Seeking Wisdom in Community: Shaping a First-Year Research Experience given by Andi Beckendorf, Germano G. Streese, of Luther College (Go Norse!)

• This session was particularly interesting to me, partially because I'm a Luther grad, and also because this program targets first-year students and their learning experiences. As a transfer student into Luther, I did not take Paideia. While I had heard stories about the course from my friends, this session allowed me to see the instructor side of the course. Germano and Andi provided a brief history, how they identified the need to modify the program (both the course and library approach). With new needs identified, the library was able to utilize LibGuides to support student learning. This integration lead to changes in what was observed at the reference desk; questions shifted from the seemingly simple "how do I," skill-based questions (that can be answered with a set of directions), to more complex, strategy-based questions.
  

Week Ten: On the Road

Week ten was filled with road trips, random music, librarian chats, conference sessions, and (of course) a Pulitzer Prize winning musical. The week began with the faculty and staff gathering to listen to run-through presentations for those presenting at the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference and the Library Technology Conference. The run-throughs allowed presenters to share what they are doing and work out some of the bugs before the "real deal." It was also a good reminder to me about what is expected of presenters (not that I haven't seen my fair share of conference presentations*).

Becky Canovan, Reference and Instruction Librarian at UD, and I then hit the road for the Twin Cities. She was presenting at LibTech and I was planning on going before I even knew that I would be at UD for my internship, and certainly before I knew she'd be presenting. It worked out nicely that we could carpool together. We arrived in the Twin Cities on Wednesday, in time to grab dinner with some awesome folks. Becky and I were staying with her friend from grad school, Amy Commers (Youth Services Librarian at South St. Paul Public Library), and met up with Rachel Slough (E-Learning Librarian at UW La Crosse) and Vicki Gruzynski (Information Services Instructor at South East Missouri State). Rachel was a classmate of mine at Indiana University, and Vicki is another IU alum. I always love spending time with librarians who love their jobs--thanks for being an inspiration, ladies! Throughout the next couple of days we attended sessions, shared ideas, caught up on some of the things happening in each others' lives. After LibTech wrapped up, Becky and I hit the road to Pella, this time for the ILA/ACRL Conference. Stay tuned for my "Top Ten List" of Library-Related Conference Sessions (a la The Late Show with David Letterman)! I wrapped up the weekend by visiting with a former teacher-colleague of mine, spending time with family, and catching Next to Normal with some Dorian Camp counselor friends at the Civic Center in Des Moines. Busy is the best way to be--especially when your time is shared with folks who are so excited about what they do and who they help.

* So far I've attended the following library-related conferences:
ILA/ACRL, Pella, IA, March 2011
LibTech, St. Paul, MN, March 2011
Brick & Click, Maryville, MO, November 2010
ILA, Coralville, IA, October 2010
ILA/ACRL, Cedar Rapids, IA, April 2010
Non-library-related conferences:
Iowa Music Educators Association, Ames, IA, November 2005-2010 (serving as Assistant to the Conference Registration Chair, 2007-2010)
International Society of Bassists Convention, Oklahoma City, OK, June 2009 (assisted with merch and registration)

Week 9: Humanities, Technology, and Presentation Preparation

The week of March 7th was filled with great discussions, observations, and reference work, and instruction experiences. Monday I observed additional RES104 Humanities sessions and worked with the students to understand the Humanities in relation to their next paper. In Humanities Day 1 the students worked in groups to find resources to provided questions. They then gave an informal presentation demonstrating how they found a resource containing the requested information.

I taught the "Q" section of Research 104 and we discussed finding credible resources to be used for their Humanities paper (we focused on web evaluation and finding relevant articles/books for their annotated bibliography, due shortly). The students submitted their website examples and, as a class, we discussed what aspects of the website made us think it was credible, and what aspects made us hesitant to use it to write papers. I also showed them a couple of databases and where to find humanities resources on the library's website. The students came up with great topics and I was excited to hear their paper ideas.

We had another Web Committee meeting, discussing more details of the changes we would like to make on the "How do I?" page. There are lots of pieces we'd like to see incorporated (embedding Jing videos, mobile interface, continuing to tweak/modify language and categories for tutorial content and other questions). In addition to technology related to the website, we are looking at bigger-picture issues such as the use of QR codes, computing in the cloud, and other software and technologies that can help UD grow in terms of technology offered to help students, faculty, and staff be their most effective.

The rest of the week was spent tweaking my ILA/ACRL presentation, "Cultivating Future Librarians: Turning Students into Colleagues Through Mentorship."

Week Nine: Classes and Conference Preparation

It is clearly evident that the spring semester is in full swing, here at UD.

On Monday we went over the web content and design components for the "How Do I?" page. We narrowed down our list to emphasize simplicity and clarity when addressing frequently asked questions and hope to include a few bells and whistles too (compared to what we currently have). One thing I was keeping in mind as we examined what we currently have and other Web sites was the accessibility. Right now the main menus are hover-over/drop down menus, which work but can be difficult for those with physical disabilities to navigate. In just glancing at the code, I found many validation errors and glanced through to see if alt text was used or longdesc. There were alt text examples, but no longdesc. Indiana University's Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Centers were helpful when I was working on my Web project for Information Architecture for the Web (a class I took this past fall). They offer a wide range of services to not only support students and their technology needs, but will also review student-created (and other) content for ease of use/accessibility. The accessibility component will be taken care of by the web-gurus here on campus, but it’s something I like to keep in mind as we brainstorm.

I observed and assisted with Speech Communication (COM101). Rather than what others might think of as a “traditional informative speech,” the students will be presenting a policy speech wherein they cover the policy within a federal bill (or state bill if approved by the instructor). In this policy speech the students will present factual evidence from both sides and then encourage their audience (their classmates) to take action on that subject. GovTrack and OpenCongress help compile the necessary information into one place, making it easily accessible and understandable. I worked with two COM101 classes last week and was impressed by the level of engagement with the topics. Throughout the instruction portion of the class, students were reminded to consider bias (personal and within the language of the bill), what problem is being solved should the bill pass, and the credibility of other sources that discuss the bill.

I worked with the students in RES104 as they learned about the humanities, and searching for humanities resources and topics. Students worked in groups to answer questions about finding specific kinds of resources (one group looked for appropriate print items, another searched general databases, another looked at specialized databases, and the last looked at print and online encyclopedia articles). That was built upon in the next session, when students examined the credibility of sources, particularly websites. In the second library session, students discussed what makes a website credible, authority, whether the website is current, chose their topic, and dove into finding sources for their next paper. I enjoyed assisting with the classes, but really appreciated leading the Humanities Day 2 session.

So much of teaching is making the topic relatable to students (and not just “because you have to write this paper soon” kind of relatable). I found myself pulling from previous experience with Wikipedia, using humor, and using examples the students provided to emphasize the importance of evaluating your resources (for credibility, bias, etc.). I also really enjoyed working with students to develop the scope of their topics. They are studying the Mississippi River Watershed which lends itself to a variety of topics.

Later in the week I helped out with the CIS101 class as they learned about plagiarism and how to avoid it. On Saturday, Anne Marie and I came in to work on our LOEX presentation/paper. We have a strong start (which is good, since I'm presenting something similar at ILA/ACRL coming up on March 18th)! I'm working with Prezi, which I have used in the past, but am trying some of the newest features (the ability to choose the three fonts, modify the colors, etc.) and have created my own "background" using images that fit my gardening theme for ILA/ACRL. Also, I was excited to get a call on Tuesday from Mary Iber, librarian at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, informing me that I received the ILA/ACRL Annual Spring Conference Scholarship for 2011! I'm excited for this opportunity and look forward to learning a lot from the sessions and meetings I attend!