It's Academic

Standards at a Crossroads

September 9, 2013

ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education – commonly referred to as “the Standards” – are under review and revision. The Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin recently published a brief article in the “It’s Academic” column about these coming changes (vol. 68, issue 3, page 8.)

The PaLA College & Research Division wants to hear from you. What are your thoughts on the existing Standards? What would you like to see in the new information literacy guidelines? What portions of the Standards would you like to see carried over to the new? Which of the Standards have you found to be most challenging to teach, and how could that concept be improved upon for the new guidelines?

Interested in Issues Related to Reference?

September 3, 2013

tags: Reference, rusa

by leslieawc

Submit a discussion forum proposal for Midwinter 2014. (Due 9/13)

Lead a discussion, see your name in print and find your way to stardom! Submit a discussion forum proposal to the RUSA/RSS Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee. Details are below.

Description: The RUSA/RSS Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee is soliciting topic proposals for discussion at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, January 24-28, 2014. The purpose of the discussion forum is to provide a venue for reference practitioners to discuss reference related topics of current importance and to exchange ideas. You know you love to talk about reference. Here’s your chance to network with other reference fanatics!

What to Include in Your Proposal:

The following elements need to be addressed in your proposal:

A clear, concise description of the discussion topic’s issues
Importance of the topic to reference librarians
At least three topic-related sample discussion questions that may be used to facilitate group discussion
Strategies and structure that will facilitate a lively discussion (In other words, describe your discussion forum format). Note that the session is meant to be a discussion, not a presentation. As such, no A/V equipment will be provided. The requested room setup is Hollow Square, but could be anything, so flexibility is important.

Scope of Discussion Topics: Proposed topics should have broad appeal. Try not to limit your proposal to a specific type of library. Topical categories can include, but are not limited to:

Frontline reference issues
Reference methods
Reference and information technologies
Assessment of reference
Management of reference
Research in reference

Your topic should be focused enough to be covered reasonably well within the allotted time (90 minutes).

Expectations for Discussion Forum Facilitators:

If your proposal is selected, you, or your designee, will serve as the discussion facilitator, leading the discussion and keeping things on track. As the discussion facilitator, you must:

Be up-to-date and familiar with your discussion topic.
Choose a discussion format that allows for maximum discussion. See our Tips for Discussion Forums(http://connect.ala.org/node/152608) for examples of possible formats.
Create a handout that provides a brief summary of the issue along with a few key references. (optional)
Maintain communication with the Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee throughout the planning, program, and follow-up processes.

Process: The Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee will select 2 proposals for the 2013 Annual Conference. Proposal topics will be evaluated on: impact, timeliness, relevancy, practicality (that the topic lends itself to a discussion), innovation, evidence of applicant’s knowledge, and clear focus. Proposals must be submitted by September 13, 2013 for ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia, PA. Proposal writers will be notified within 2 weeks as to whether or not their proposal was accepted. Facilitators are responsible for their own conference registration and travel expenses.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals are welcome from any ALA member.

How to Submit: Please read Tips for Discussion Forums (http://connect.ala.org/node/152608) before submitting your proposal. Complete the proposal form located here: http://discussforum.wufoo.com/forms/rusarss-discussion-forums-proposal-submittal-form/

Deadline for submission is September 13, 2013.

Contact Crystal Lentz (crystal.lentz@sos.wa.gov) with questions.

Leisure Reading in a College Library

July 22, 2013

tags: college library, leisure reading

by gregory258

It’s time for true confessions, and I must stress that what follows are my personal musings, and are not necessarily those of my colleagues or of other members of the College & Research Division.

In a recent regional meeting that represents a variety of types of libraries, one public librarian mentioned an upcoming event featuring Nicholas Sparks. My reaction? “Who?” Upon a moment’s reflection, I realized that I have, of course, heard of Sparks and I believe that once upon a time I read one his books, but the works he produces are not those that I regularly encounter in my academic library. I quipped at that meeting, “I could walk blindfolded to – and talk extensively about – the New Cambridge Medieval History reference set, but Nicholas Sparks? Not so much.”

My library prides itself on building a collection that supports the undergraduate curriculum (a noble venture, if I do say so), but that has not included putting much weight behind developing a collection that will encourage students to read outside of course requirements. If studies show – and they do – that students who read for pleasure have more expansive vocabularies, better reading comprehension, and stronger verbal skills,[1] why are colleges (like mine) not directing more resources, both financial and human, into cultivating and promoting leisure reading collections?

Many schools have adopted small collections, such as the collection that my library leases. It provides our students with access to some best-selling titles, both fiction and non-fiction, but it is small. We include that collection in the freshman library orientation game, we have promoted it from time to time in the college student newspaper, and we include notice of popular new additions to the leisure reading collection on the library’s digital sign and in our table tent signs. I suppose that we do an adequate job of making it known that we have such an offering, but I do not think we are really encouraging our students to pick up any of those books to read for the pure joy of it.

In my opinion, we do college students a disservice by not providing anything along the lines of readers’ advisory. Of course there are those students who do read for the fun of it, and who have befriended the librarians, and who may talk with us about book preferences with us on occasion, but we offer no across-the-board reading suggestions.

We have the fortunate circumstance of being located one city block away from a wonderful public library, and our students (by merely showing their college ID card) can sign up for borrowing privileges from that expansive collection, but I fear that by saying, “If you want something fun to read, you should walk to the public library,” we are furthering a culture wherein college students rarely read anything that is outside of class requirements. As a member of a profession at least largely dedicated to the culture of the book and the printed word (either in print or online), this neglect of leisure reading in an academic climate troubles me.

Alison Gregory – Lycoming College

[1] http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume32000/independent

How would you define the term “embedded librarian” ?

July 19, 2013

tags: embedded librarianship

by Bonnie Oldham

The librarians at The University of Scranton’s Weinberg Memorial Library are collaborating with faculty in the Computing Sciences and Communication Departments to plan the curriculum for a new course INTD 184 – Elequentia Perfecta. We will be teaching two sessions of information literacy and facilitating a research lab for the course. We have created a Research Guide for the course and will be listed as a Course Assistant with the Title of Librarian in the ANGEL component of the course. We will also be involved in the assessment of the course.

Because of this collaboration we have been having a conversation amongst ourselves about what it means to be an embedded librarian. One librarian thinks the notion of embedded is a two-way street, “myself as the librarian being fully cognizant of both the expectations of the professor and the interpretations students might make of assignments. . . You are a tour guide who is helping them to navigate the road to the destination. You need to know where they might run into problems and need sign posts. . .”

In her article, “The embedded librarian: strategic campus collaborations,” which was published in 2004, Barbara Dewey defines the term “embedded librarian.”

The metaphor of “embedded librarian” is inspired by the recent phenomenon of embedding journalists into various military sectors during the Iraq war and its aftermath. The concept of embedding implies a more comprehensive integration of one group with another to the extent that the group seeking to integrate is experiencing and observing, as nearly as possible, the daily life of the primary group. Embedding requires more direct and purposeful interaction than acting in parallel with another person, group, or activity. Overt purposefulness makes embedding an appropriate definition of the most comprehensive collaborations for librarians in the higher education community.

Dewey gives examples of various ways that librarians can collaborate across the university campus, and states that,

“The embedded librarian, who is truly integrated into the academic, administrative, athletic, cultural, research, teaching and learning arenas of the university, provides quality and depth to the total campus experience.”

“To be truly integrated throughout the teaching and learning activities of our campuses is the core of being a truly embedded librarian.”

Matthew Brower, a Business Reference and Instruction Librarian at the University of Colorado at Boulder, describes the characteristics of embedded librarianship in the first chapter of Embedded librarians: moving beyond one-shot instruction. According to Brower, they

– collaborate with their users, e.g. incorporating information literacy into class assignments, partnering to provide specialized research assistance to students over a semester, helping a faculty member find resources supporting their research

– form partnerships on the department and campus level

– provide needs based services

– offer convenient and user-friendly services outside of library settings

– become immersed in the culture and spaces of users

– understand the discipline including the culture and research habits of their users

How would you define the term “embedded librarian” ? Let’s continue the conversation…

Understanding Our Users

July 10, 2013

tags: faculty, students, user studies

by Amy Deuink

Two recent reports offer insight on our core library users–faculty and students. An April report from Ithaka reveals how our faculty do research and communicate with each other, while a June report from Pew Internet shows what young adults expect from the library. Those of us with daily contact with our library’s users may not find many earth shattering revelations in these reports, but they may provide data to reinforce assumptions, observations, or even local assessment of users with national data on scholarly research trends and user expectations. When communicating with faculty and administrators about library initiatives, these reports may offer valuable support.

Ithaka’s US Faculty Survey 2012 provides “insight into the evolving attitudes and practices of faculty members in the context of substantial environmental change for higher education.” From the report:

Major topics covered by the survey include:

Research processes: The processes through which scholars perform their research, focusing principally on the use of research materials in secondary and primary research.

Teaching practices: The pedagogical methods that faculty members are adopting and the ways that they draw on content and support services in their teaching.

Scholarly communications:Formal and informal methods by which scholars communicate with each other, the ways in which the types of materials and information exchanged in these processes are evolving, and needs for various kinds of publishing support services.

The library: How faculty members perceive the roles and value of their institutional library, touching on the roles the library plays in supporting many of the above activities.

Scholarly societies:How faculty members perceive the roles and value of their primary scholarly society, including in supporting both formal and informal communications between scholars.

And few highlights from Pew Internet’s Younger Americans’ Library Habits and Expectations:

The under-30 age group remains anchored in the digital age, but retains a strong relationship with print media and an affinity for libraries.

60% of younger patrons say they go to the library to study, sit and read, or watch or listen to media, significantly more than the 45% of older patrons who do this. And a majority of Americans of all age groups say libraries should have more comfortable spaces for reading, working, and relaxing.

72% say quiet study spaces are “very important.”

Readers, are there other reports or articles you want to share? Please leave them in the comments!