It's Academic

Our look at PaLA Annual Conference sessions sponsored by CRD continues with a look at two sessions focused on information literacy.  The first session listed focuses on introducing audio books to students (especially those who don’t enjoy reading), while the second session dives into the idea of focusing information literacy sessions across multiple disciplines on consistent outcomes instead of specific assignments.

Title: Are You Hearing This? Introducing College Age Reluctant Readers to the Joy of Audio Books

Presenter: Annie Jansen, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Penn State Brandywine

Abstract: This session will relate the findings of a pre- and post- cohort survey of students in an entry level composition class for students with low SAT scores. The survey asked about levels of engagement with “leisure” reading texts before and after the semester, which included two book club lunches and small group discussions of a book of their choosing. The book was available on a Kindle Fire, which allowed for reading text, listening to audio, or simultaneous text and audio. Research shows that literacy skills are built using audio just as much as with visual reading. Audio is used to improve fluency, expand vocabulary, and increase motivation to interact with books. Students are able to listen to the text and follow along, but most importantly, are able to jump the hurdles that may have impeded them from reading.

Time: Sunday, October 14th 4:00pm-5:15pm

Title: Seamless Library Instruction: Scaffolding Lessons across the Curriculum

Presenters: Jill Carew, Librarian, HACC-York
Kathleen Heidecker, Librarian, HACC-Gettysburg
Andrea Metz, Librarian, HACC-Gettysburg
Allyson Valentine, Librarian, HACC-York

Abstract: Librarians strive to design unique lessons to support specific assignments and work diligently with classroom instructors to address information literacy. Yet, there are concerns that library instruction is repetitive and generic. Often classroom faculty request the same type of lesson across multiple disciplines and course levels. HACC has eight full-time and 16 adjunct librarians who provide instruction across five campuses and virtually. In 2017, librarians taught 958 faceto-face classes and were embedded in 143 virtual classes. The challenge is teaching consistently in courses across campuses and meeting the needs of a diverse student population. We addressed this challenge by building a scaffolded instruction program that connects course learning outcomes with the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) framework. After listing course learning outcomes, we identified library activities corresponding with those specific outcomes. We then connected specific ACRL frameworks to our scaffolded lessons. This allowed us to look at student learning as a whole, moving instruction from assignment specific to outcome specific. It offered an opportunity for campuses to share and organize lessons and opened conversation between librarians and classroom faculty about scaffolded library instruction. Join us for this session to discuss how you can implement a similar structure at your institution.

Time: Monday, October 15th 9:00am-10:15am

With PaLA’s annual conference rapidly approaching we here at It’s Academic! want to shed some light on the upcoming conference sessions that CRD is sponsoring. We will be devoting some space to each program over the next five weeks, and if you read something you like make sure to check out the session at the annual conference! We will lead off this series with a session focusing on collaboration across colleges and the support of at-risk first-year students.

Title: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Inter-College Collaboration Using IL Instruction to Support At-Risk First-Year Students

Presenters: Christine Iannicelli, Instructional Technology Librarian, Ursinus College
Diane Skorina, Director of Research, Teaching & Learning Services, Ursinus College
Ronalee Ciocco, Director of Library Services, Washington and Jefferson College Samantha Martin, Research & Collections Librarian, Washington and Jefferson College

Abstract: Librarians from five colleges, funded by an Institute for Museum and Library Services Sparks! Ignition grant, collaborated to develop an information literacy instruction program based on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The project was designed to investigate the impact of information literacy instruction on the success and persistence of at-risk first year students. Representatives from the institutions will report on how they collaborated with experts and each other to develop the instructional activities and assessments and build partnerships with faculty. They will also present the research findings and their goals going forward. Presenters will then facilitate discussion around potential collaborative efforts inspired by the Framework.

Sunday, October 14th 2:30pm-3:45pm

https://library.uoregon.edu/digital-scholarship-services

Scholarly output today is not just text anymore. This statement may now seem axiomatic. If it is, however, libraries cannot afford to simply acknowledge it; they must embrace it. But not every library has access to all the latest tools for enabling digitally-oriented research, much less the capacity for such things as developing mobile apps designed to aid meta-analysis or to disseminate big data visualizations. What every library does have is the ability to consider the range of its activities, to ask what makes the most sense. Is it OA publishing? Is it makerspaces? What’s the scope of the disciplines to be served? Whose involvement is required?

A first step can be to begin a conversation around emergent forms of scholarly communication. Next discuss what service nodes should your library provide: teaching & learning, technology & tools, and/or spaces & expertise.  Then decide what resources need to be redistributed so that your library can meet the digital scholarship needs of the community you serve. And keep asking throughout: What do we want to do and why are we doing it? You may be community building by bringing disparate pockets of scholars together in new and interesting ways, or simply facilitating collaboration that exists to do more. Ongoing honest needs assessment is necessary.

Some libraries provide consultation services. Others host workshops and events. While still others build cyberinfrastructure for digital curation and preservation. There is no one correct path for every library when it comes to supporting digital scholarship. Examining what you have and what you do is critical. While simply ceding space, without committing some library involvement is a mistake.

It is essential to explain what you have and what you do. Be sure to keep a public list of activities or project involvement. Be clear about the relationship between mission and priorities. Be certain to foster stakeholder champions. Interest cannot be conjured. It needs to be intentionally fostered. Always be ready to answer the question: Why the library?

Here are a few nascent responses. If the mission of the library is to support research and promote scholarship, then today that must include e-research and digital scholarship. If the library is for everyone, then a culture of technical expertise is required given the pervasiveness of technology in our society, and not just electronic computing but even virtual reality. If we are to prepare our users for an increasingly globalized knowledge base, economy and ecosystem, then we must immerse ourselves and invest in shaping competencies and instilling best practices.

The entrée for a lot of libraries is still digital humanities. Some may still be mystified because the match seems star-crossed, and yet libraries cannot afford to ignore the signs. One short report that may help is “Building Capacity for Digital Humanities: A Framework for Institutional Planning” (https://library.educause.edu/resources/2017/5/building-capacity-for-digital-humanities-a-framework-for-institutional-planning).

Seton Hill University is observing its Centennial this year.   Although the origins of “the Hill” date back to 1885, 1918 was the year that it became a college.   Prior to that there were various educational institutions – an academy, junior college, and conservatories of music and art. There have been many events to celebrate this milestone, including the stories of our founders and their history.   However, at our Fall Workshop to open the current semester, the Provost stated, that although we look back to the Sisters of Charity who began the work here, in a sense we are all founders. We all bring our own gifts and talents to further the mission of the University.

This led me to reflect on my own time here and I wonder if this is something that all of us should do at our institutions. It is so easy for us to become isolated and not see ourselves as part of the bigger picture.   Institutions should not be static, but instead should be evolving.

Sr. Francesca Brownlee, a previous directress of Saint Joseph Academy and the “guiding spirit” and tireless foot soldier in the effort to move Seton Hill from secondary school to college, was named dean of the college in 1919, a position in which she served until 1929. Sr. Francesca is widely believed to be the author of an article in the 1919 Seton Hill Bulletin that contains a directive, which became one of the school’s guiding principles:

“If the management of Seton Hill find a way of doing things that is better than their present method they will replace all of that method or any part of it without scruple, for they are bound by no traditions and they fear nothing but God’s disfavor and the closed mind.” Seton Hill Then and Now (1919)

Rather than just furthering the mission of the library, I should want to help shape the future of the entire university. So far, I have been able to do this in several ways:

1. When choosing committee service, I try to select areas that are not directly related to my position, but which serve the university as a whole. This helps me to be part of the bigger picture.
2. When participating in program reviews, I don’t just provide information on library resources, but attend all meetings and contribute to other areas of the review.
3. In addition to the usual LibGuides for patrons, I have created guides on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Catholic Social Teaching, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. I have also created a private LibGuide for our Board of Trustees. This is helpful because although we are a Catholic institution, many of our students, faculty, and staff are not Catholic. This helps everyone to understand the foundation of our history and mission.

In a more intentional way, I plan to find other means in the future to continue to be a “Founder.” I think that this will also help me to be a better librarian.