It's Academic

Reflections on my first PaLA conference

November 6, 2018

Jessica Showalter discusses her poster with Pennsylvania Library Association President Tina Hertel. Image: Bonnie Imler

A few weeks ago, I presented a poster at the Pennsylvania Library Association conference in Harrisburg. I’ve presented at academic conferences before, but this was the first time I presented at PaLA and a few experiences surprised me.

Big conference with small conference feel

When I arrived at the conference, I noticed that there were hundreds of attendees. However, when I interacted with conference organizers at the registration desk and at other stations, I felt welcomed as an individual rather than rushed along as part of the big crowd. They even kindly let me store my 3’ x 4’ poster behind the desk so I wouldn’t have to awkwardly drag it along to sessions—whew!

A focus on interactive sessions

As I mentioned, I’ve attended academic conferences before. I have a background in English literature, and the style at many of these conferences is usually a panel of 3-4 speakers who each read an 8-10 page paper followed by a Q & A session (although more and more conferences are experimenting with adding lightning rounds or roundtables in addition to the lecture-style presentations). On the other hand, many of the PaLA sessions were highly interactive, asking attendees to sketch wish-list floorplans or draw reflective diagrams or participate in impromptu polls. I appreciated this hands-on engagement, and I plan to incorporate it into future presentations of my own.

Networking—with co-workers

One of the biggest surprises was that not only did I get to meet library folks from other institutions, I also got to meet many other Penn State Libraries staff as well. I work at Penn State Altoona and rarely get the chance to visit other Penn State campuses, so being at PaLA let me meet library staff from some of the over 20 other Penn State commonwealth campuses and branch libraries that I may recognize by name from emails but haven’t had the chance yet to meet in person.

The value of live tweets

Following the conference hashtag on Twitter (#PaLA2018) helped me catch up with sessions I couldn’t attend. It also let me connect with fellow library folks, even after the conference ended. I’m grateful for the attendees who put time and effort into live-tweeting for their followers.

Looking forward to next year’s conference!

Jessica Showalter is an Information Resources and Services Support Specialist at Penn State Altoona’s Eiche Library. Say hello on Twitter @libraryjms

C&CS Presents: Deconstructing Environmental Conflict: Bias, News, Perspective, Nov 15 at 1pm EST

November 5, 2018

by Erin B.

Connect and Communicate Series Presents

Deconstructing Environmental Conflict: Bias, News, Perspective

Presented by Sharon Radcliffe, CSU East Bay

November 15 at 1 pm EST (10 am PST)

Teaching students to understand different perspectives and be able to (and see the importance of) checking facts and corroborating viewpoints a, especially when dealing with controversial issues, including those centered around the environment and sustainable living, has never been so important. With an administration constantly butting heads with scientists on such basic issues as climate change and the desirable direction of energy production, students need to feel empowered to analyze, and understand conflict and sort through facts and opinions in order to form their own ideas. In this interactive presentation, the audience will discover some ways of integrating instruction in bias, (word connotations), structure of argument, and perspective into information literacy lesson or course, focusing discussion around recent environmental conflicts including the Dakota pipeline, the Mauna Kea telescope project, and the Flint Water crisis. Techniques for having students work in groups analyzing documents, media, and articles relating to an environmental conflict will be discussed, along with readings related to bias in news. The group approach fits with both a social constructivist and critical pedagogy approach to teaching. A list of sources relating to news bias will be provided, along with articles to read for background on environmental issues, including cultural perspectives. Connections between bias and language will be discussed; including how to derive clues from author’s tone, to infer purpose. How to teach students the importance of finding corroborating evidence will also be discussed. The audience will be able to brainstorm their own ideas on information literacy, evaluating news, and environmental/sustainability topics.

Sharon Radcliffe has been a librarian working in public, academic and special libraries, including the Environmental Protection Agency, for over 25 years. She is currently the Business Librarian at California State University, East Bay where she serves on the Sustainability Committee. She recently attended the Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop at CSU Channel Islands, sponsored by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). At CSU East Bay She has helped develop Institutional Learning Outcomes in both sustainability and information literacy and also helped draft course descriptions for the new sustainability minor. She also developed student internship descriptions for the “Academic Core” building project, which will house the new library. She is involved in many ways in promoting sustainability at CSU East Bay through her teaching and work on the sustainability committee. As library faculty library liaison for the College of Business and Economics, she also selects books for the library on sustainability from a business and economic perspective. She has taught many online courses on business research, research methodology, visual literacy, and learning theory for both RUSA and Simmons College of Library and Information Studies.

C&CS is supported by PaLA and the CRD, and we thank them for our support. The session will be made available on the C&CS page after the session. If you would like to participate as a speaker for the series, please let us know! https://crdpala.org/connect-communicate/

Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons with Print Disabilities

November 4, 2018

by Michele G. Anfuso

Imagine not having access to printed works due to blindness, a visual impairment, or a perceptual or reading disability, such as dyslexia. Imagine not having the ability to focus your eyes on printed material or not being able to handle or manipulate a book in your hands due to autism or Parkinson’s disease. The miracle of picking up a book, reading it, comprehending the material on the page, and filing it away for future access and dissemination is something which the majority of us simply take for granted. A trip to your local public library might reveal a selection of audiobooks and large print titles, which certainly are accessible alternatives to the standard print format. Be that as it may, astonishingly less than 7% of published books are made available globally in these alternative formats, which in addition to audio and large print, also includes Braille and Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) formats.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, declares that this lack of equal accessibility has been a key factor of the book famine which plagues our world. The Marrakesh Treaty, which states that “without books, journals, and magazines, people are cut off from life,” was developed by the WIPO in 2013 and later entered into force in September of 2016. It created obligatory changes which, by becoming national law, would grant equal access to printed materials. Since then, many countries have been bringing their copyright laws into accordance with the Marrakesh Treaty on the grounds that they are either party to the Treaty or because they intend to join the Treaty in the near future. Obstacles due to copyright law are a partial reason behind the limited access to alternative formats of printed materials, and the Marrakesh Treaty seeks to address these obstacles.

We believe that the Marrakesh Treaty is the most significant development in the lives of blind and visually impaired people since the invention of Braille, nearly 200 years ago.”

Penny Hartin, Chief Executive Officer

World Blind Union

The World Blind Union (WBU) first proposed a draft of the treaty to the WIPO members. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), along with other library partners, strongly supported negotiations which lasted over five years at the WIPO, and participated in the Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh, Morroco, which saw the Treaty’s implementation. Hence, libraries are really at the forefront of this necessary accommodation.

The Marrakesh treaty may be accessed here.

Information has been retrieved from the document Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities: A practical guide for librarians.

C&CS Update + “Haunted Libraries” Link

October 25, 2018

by Erin B.

Hi all, just an update from the Connect and Communicate Team!
We are working hard to coordinate our spring programming, but do have a session scheduled on Nov 16! More details about that will be coming soon.

In the meantime, our page contains some of the past sessions from this group, and since it’s the season, I’m just going to leave the link for Mark’s “Haunted Libraries” (2017) talk here:

Enjoy your Halloween candies and parties!
~Erin

Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month

October 19, 2018

by Judith Koveleskie

Although most people have heard of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia, Lewy Body Dementia is a type of dementia that few people have heard of, yet 1.4 million people have been diagnosed in the United States. As academic librarians, we can help to make more people aware of this disorder, so that more people with LBD can be accurately diagnosed. Even within the medical profession, many people have little knowledge of this disease so educating our students enrolled in the health sciences is extremely important.

A correct diagnosis is required so that proper treatment can begin. Many medications, which improve other forms of dementia, can make Lewy Body Dementia worse. Sadly, many people can see multiple doctors over several years before they are correctly diagnosed with LBD. In addition, there are physical symptoms not present in other types of dementia and so physical, occupational, and speech therapy may be necessary. There is no cure, but proper treatment can significantly improve the quality of a patient’s life.

October is Lewy Body Dementia Awareness month. For more information, contact the Lewy Body Dementia Association.