It's Academic

How would you define the term “embedded librarian” ?

July 19, 2013

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!

Meet the 2014 CRD Board Candidates

June 24, 2013

tags: elections

by Linda Neyer

CRD Vice-Chair/Chair Elect

Larissa Gordon

Larissa Gordon is Information Literacy Coordinator/Reference Librarian for the Landman Library at Arcadia University. She earned a Master’s degree from Drexel University and a second Master’s degree from Arcadia University in Educational Technology. At Arcadia, she has led the development of an information literacy plan for the library, currently working on projects related to information literacy assessment. Details about one such project were presented as a paper at the most recent ACRL national conference (2013), and at a prior PaLA annual conference (2011).

Throughout her career, Larissa has been very active professionally, serving on both university and professional committees. She has been actively involved with the College and Research Division Board of PaLA since 2010, when she began serving as editor of the “It’s Academic” column for the PaLA Bulletin. Currently, she serves as news editor for the new CRD-PaLA sponsored journal Pennsylvania Libraries: Research and Practice. As a graduate of the Pennsylvania Library Association Leadership Academy (2010), Larissa is eager to continue her involvement with PaLA.

Theresa McDevitt

Theresa McDevitt is Government Documents/Outreach Librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

She has been a librarian at IUP for 27 years and has served as acting dean and associate dean there. She is interested in serving as CRD Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect because she would like to provide support and leadership in this important professional organization that offers significant networking and professional development opportunities to its members.

CRD Treasurer

Allyson Valentine

“For the past 6 months I have served as the CRD board’s treasurer and LSTA subcommittee member and I would love to continue to serve for a full term. I am a Reference and Instruction Librarian at HACC York Campus where I also teach freshman college success courses. In addition, I have taught information literacy courses at York College. I received my MLS in 2009 from Clarion University and I have my BA in English. I am a 2010 PALS graduate and I have been part of the PALS planning committee for the last three years, and the Team Leader for group projects for the past two years. I also served as the Academic Chair for the South Central Chapter of PaLA in 2012. I have enjoyed being a part of the CRD board thus far, and would welcome the opportunity to further be involved and serve the CRD as Treasurer.”

George Aulisio

“I am Assistant Professor, Public Services Librarian, and Outreach Coordinator at The University of Scranton since June 2009. I received a B.A. in Philosophy from Bloomsburg University in May 2007, an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Drexel in December 2008, and an M.L.A. in Philosophy and Metaphysics from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2012. I have been an active member of PaLA since 2007, I am a 2009 PALS graduate, I served on the 2010 PaLA Awards Committee, I have served as the Intellectual Freedom Chair for the Northeast Chapter for the past two years, and I was recently published in the inaugural issue of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research and Practice. The CRD is an organization that provides tremendous value to Pennsylvania’s academic librarians; I am running for Treasurer because I would like to support this division and help to advance its goals.”

Call for articles

June 4, 2013

tags: palrap

by Christina J. Steffy

Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice (PaLRaP) is pleased to announce that it is now accepting submissions for research, practice, and commentary articles and for news items for its second issue.

The next issue is scheduled for publication in fall 2013. For priority consideration for inclusion in this issue, articles should be submitted by August 1, 2013.

Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice (PaLRaP) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal, focusing on the unique and valuable work of librarians and libraries in Pennsylvania.

The journal includes articles from all areas of librarianship, with a special focus on activities in Pennsylvania’s academic libraries. The journal will consider all submissions that report original research (research articles), highlight innovative initiatives (practice articles), or discuss current trends/challenges (editorial/commentary). Each issue also features news items (collections, services, awards, events, etc.) from Pennsylvania’s libraries.

Section guidelines for appropriate submissions to PaLRaP can be found under the About section of the journal website.

PaLRaP is run by a volunteer staff of CRD members, each with two-year terms in various journal management positions, and it is published by the University Library System (ULS), University of Pittsburgh, through its E-Journal Publishing Program.

For more information, contact palrap@mail.pitt.edu or visit http://www.palrap.org.

The inaugural issue of PaLRaP is here!

May 2, 2013

tags: palrap

by Christina J. Steffy

The inaugural issue of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice (PaLRaP)has been published. Click here to access Volume 1, No. 1.

The journal is an open access, peer reviewed publication sharing information about the research and practices at or of interest to Pennsylvania’s academic libraries. PaLRap is run by a volunteer staff of CRD members, each with two year terms in various journal management positions, and it is published by the University Library System (ULS), University of Pittsburgh, through its E-Journal Publishing Program.