It's Academic

Making Streaming Media Sustainable

July 21, 2023

I often think about Woody Allen’s well-known statement that “80% of success in life is just showing up.” There are many ways this manifests in our professional lives. Undergrads are less likely to succeed if they don’t show up for class. Being present at faculty meetings is more likely to improve relationships with our liaison departments. One way just “showing up” has benefitted me is by joining a research project outside my liaison areas.

In July 2021, Ithaka S+R (the research arm of Ithaka, which runs JSTOR) put out a call for participation for their Making Streaming Media Sustainable research project. “Streaming media” in this context means streaming films and music from vendors like Kanopy and Alexander Street Press. Gaining a better understanding of these platforms’ usage is crucial to containing library spending on them. The project aimed “…to share evidence about and strategies around streaming media licensing terms” and “examine patron practices and needs when working with streaming content.” The project was divided into two parts: Ithaka S+R would conduct a nationwide survey of collection development librarians and researchers at 24 participating universities would conduct structured interviews with instructors to discuss how they use streaming media in their classes.

The Pitt Libraries leadership team decided we should be a part of the project, so our then-Associate University Librarian (AUL) sent out an invitation to join the team. I was intrigued by the invitation, but also hesitant. While I fielded the occasional purchase requests from my liaison faculty, audiovisual media acquisitions and contracts were (and are) far out of my comfort zone! Fortunately, deep knowledge of these areas wasn’t required. Since real growth happens in both librarianship and life when we step into the unknown, I decided to join the project.

For our portion of the project, my colleagues and I virtually interviewed 10 Oakland campus instructors who largely taught in foreign languages and the hard sciences (neither of which are my liaison areas). Ithaka S+R provided the interview protocol, which asked instructors, among other things, how they find films and use them in their classes. The corrected interview transcripts were then sent to Ithaka S+R for use in their final report, which is linked below. In brief, we found that instructors felt students had less ability to read a text and were more comfortable with media. Instructors also didn’t expect students to pay for access to streaming media and view it qualitatively differently than print texts. An incidental finding was instructors’ concern about their students’ mental health and the toll the pandemic had taken on them.

This has been an enormously rewarding experience in many ways. First, I got to talk with instructors I never would have had I not been a part of this project. Second, I gained an understanding of how our instructors conceptualize use of streaming media in their classes and how those understandings fit in with national trends. Finally, the interview protocol’s structure and language offer a template for future conversations with my faculty about class design and assigned materials.

So, whenever a professional opportunity comes along and you’re unsure about it, show up. It could be a great experience!

For those interested in the final Ithaka S+R reports, here are the links:

Quiet Quitting

July 6, 2023

by Kayla Van Osten

I’ve been thinking a lot about the recently popular term “quiet quitting.” This is the act of only preforming your job requirements and not going above and beyond your job duties in an effort to not become burned out. Like many others, I’ve also suffered from burnout, but I don’t like this term. To me, “quitting” assumes that all work stops. For me, it’s more of a “quiet no.” A gentle reminder that our mental health is important. That work will still get done, but not at the expense of our health. That boundaries are essential.

Libraries and library workers are revered in many ways. We even have an action figure wearing a cape and described as a hero. If heroes often make sacrifices for the greater good, what does that say about librarians? Maybe the work we do is heroic, but we’re still human.

We’re no strangers to budget cuts or even hiring freezes. We’re often asked to do more with less. When I was in college and decided I wanted to explore librarianship as a possible career, I found an internship at a local public library to learn more. I remember discussing my interest with the librarians there, and immediately being told by one in particular, “there’s no money in libraries, don’t become a librarian.” That was over 10 years ago. If library workers were stressed and burned out 10 years ago and still are, then clearly something needs to change. A quiet, polite “no” to adding one more thing to your plate may be the start of the solution.

When talking about quiet quitting, it’s important to also recognize the privilege of being able to say “no.” There will always be circumstances where saying “no” truly is not on option. Maybe your library has very few workers, or you’re the only one with certain expertise. But I want to challenge us to find ways, even small ones, to protect ourselves. This could be not volunteering to take the notes for the meeting, or blocking off your lunch hour in your calendar and committing to take your deserved breaks. If you’re in a manager role, it’s also important to model this behavior. Check in with your staff to see how they are coping and offer support if you’re able.

Saying “no” takes practice. Offer yourself grace and self-compassion, and reap the benefits of a quiet no.

Reflection on DEI opportunities for a health librarian

June 30, 2023

by mabogino1

I appreciate this chance to share and reflect on my librarian experience through this blog. Diversity equity and inclusion. Such an important topic. With diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, the library profession can continue to grow into a strong community of professionals. Over this past year I have humbly had the opportunity to engage in learning and training about how to recognize my own personal biases, how to create inclusive environments for all people and participate in learning on topic of the devastating and long-lasting effects of racism within healthcare and medicine. I thought I would take this opportunity to share and shine a light on the wonderful initiatives that I have had an opportunity to participate in through libraries and the library professional development support groups. These examples can help you too, as you search, as I did, for meaningful ways to participate and encourage change.

Creation of a racism and medicine toolkit of knowledge resources.

With the help of librarians and medical staff a creation of a curated group of resources specifically geared to educational health professionals

Creation and management of Gold Humanism Book Collection focused on diverse voices and perspectives.

Work with local library chapters and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees to look for ways to make a difference. Example of some of the projects I have had a chance to work on.

Monthly newsletters sharing resources opportunities for training and exposure to informational materials on various topics including some topics such as LGBTQ health and invisible disabilities.
Work with locally recognized established organizations within the field of diversity and inclusive education

Establishment and maintaining a Volunteer and Services partnership with local organizations that promote inclusivity and diversity practices.

Committing to volunteer hours to support ongoing programs that benefit diverse communities.

-Marlowe B.

A return on investing in student employees

June 29, 2023

by Kim Karim

By: Kim Karim

Libraries train their student employees in many areas including, but not limited to: circulation, outreach, ducement delivery and archiving. Whether the training is on-the-job or over a period of several days before or during the semester, student employees are given the information and tools they need to help each library carry out its mission and services to their college community.

During the summer of 2022, our Head of Access Services and I created and carried out a two-day student training program, which varied greatly from the training I would do during each student’s library shift. The more students that were hired before the semester started (which was usually more for the fall), the busier I would be the first several weeks into the academic year. My very first academic semester was nearly five years ago when I was hired to be the Circulation Supervisor. I not only had to learn all the policies and procedures myself, but in turn had to teach nine new student employees that same information. I started one month before the semester began. It was stressful!

Thinking back to that time, it would have been extremely helpful to have a designated training period with those students as a group. Repeating the same information over and over to students each day, for multiple days and weeks in a row, was extremely daunting. Information got lost and the connection with my students waivered, as by the end of the day I was mentally drained from repeating myself. Our new training program, however, which was planned and executed with little negative outcome, is not only better for me as their supervisor, but better overall for the students.

They are able to get all the information about the library at the same time and in the same capacity as their peers. They are able to ask questions more freely, work together with their peers using hands-on activities, and feel better prepared heading into the semester with a real understanding of how our library functions.

The return? Students begin to form a real connection with their peers and the staff. This happened right away with our students, both returning and new. This fall, we hope to continue to build on the success of our first training experience. With any luck, a new batch of enthusiastic employees will rise up and begin their successful tenure at the circulation desk.

Reminder – Connect and Communicate Presents “I Want It That Way: Student and Faculty Attitudes Toward Ebook Piracy”

June 27, 2023

by Alex K.

Presented by

Haley Dittbrenner & Rob Sieczkiewicz

Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 3:00 pm

Registration Link

Do you know how common digital piracy is on your campus? Are you curious about why students use pirate sites to download eBooks, and what their instructors think about this? In this interactive conversation, we will discuss the findings of our survey of Susquehanna University students and faculty, and explore attendees’ attitudes toward and experience with shadow libraries. Finally, we will conclude with a conversation about how these findings about the use of pirate sites might be used to inform library Open Educational Resources (OER) programs.

Haley Dittbrenner is a junior student at Susquehanna University. She studies creative and professional writing as well as publishing and editing. She currently works as a student manager at the Blough-Weis Library. She wants to make a career out of open access and publishing librarianship. Rob Sieczkiewicz is Associate Professor and Director of the Blough-Weis Library at Susquehanna University. Previously he was a digital scholarship and instruction librarian, and before that a university archivist. His research interests include digital humanities, information literacy, and open access.

We will mute participants on entry into the Zoom room. We will mute participants on entry into the Zoom room. We will enable Zoom’s Live Transcription feature during the session, and it will be recorded and available on the C&CS YouTube page afterwards.

If you would like to present with the Connect & Communicate Series, please contact the C&CS team.

This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, Governor.

Support is also provided by the College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association.