It's Academic

SquirrellyLibrarian: Joe Janes is my new hero!

November 15, 2007

If you ever have a chance to hear Joe Janes speak, take it – he’s a riot. I just heard him speak on Reference 2.0 at Internet Librarian. Check out my blog for more:

SquirrellyLibrarian: Joe Janes is my new hero!

Vickie

Just Nuts about Rainie!

November 15, 2007

by CRD of PaLA

Just Nuts about Rainie!

I had the good fortunate to hear Lee Rainie at both PaLA 2007 and Internet Librarian 2007.

If you’d like to find out more about the latest research from Pew Internet & American Life Study, check out my blog.

Vickie

State of the State Networks
James Hollinger, Acting Director of Library Development, Office of Commonwealth Libraries
Chris Matire, Director of Strategic Partnerships, PALINET
Dan Iddings, Executive Director of PALCI
Joseph Scorza, Executive Director, HSLC

James Hollinger spoke first.
-Looking at and discussing Open Source initiative for ILS, following Georgia PINES – possibly using one library card for entire state, bypassing need for ILL.
-Also looking at content management technologies for library web sites (like Oregon’s).
-Commissioner of Libraries is interested in providing leadership in preservation of library materials; developing a model for what a position might look like; what kind of leadership role can they provide; next few months should flesh out more
-Continuing education
-Providing network for small, rural libraries

Joe Scorza
-Access PA Millennium System – subsidized; now have over 80 libraries and adding 4-5 a month; separate databases, centralized authority control
-Access PA Digital Repository- have approx. 40 projects http://www.accesspadigital.org/
-Federated Search – WebFeat Enterprise Edition, signed in April 2007; licensed as well as freely available databases; can search across metadata collections; are setting it up to search all Access PA Digital collections; primarily a public search tool; four interfaces, including Academic, recognizes IP; implementation Fall 2007; looking at a geo-location product, can connect from anywhere in PA; Access PA is looking at technology that will push users back to their own libraries
-Power Library – will be integrated into federated search systems; will provide access to both the new and old interfaces
–AskHere PA Virtual Ref Service – 80+ libraries participate; over 47,000 questions since inception; Chat2 most recent software development (screen readers, Chat Lite)

Chris Martire, PALINET
-Collaborative efforts, 614 members, 4 areas: ed and consulting, technology leadership, consortial savings, member outreach & support
1-Education and Consulting 50-60 % of classes are ‘Live Online’; participate in WebJunction (training managed by OCLC); Network Education Exchange – bring back other workshops back to our area too; Access PA training
-Consulting – Disaster Preparedness; PALCI Libraries & Philadelphia Alliance for Response (Fidelity Foundation & Heritage Preservation)
-PA Advisory Committee on Collaborative Digitization; Laura Blanchard, Part-Time Coordinator, new approach to determine digitization priority; will be a Technical Issues Working Group (will be holding a Digitization Expo)

2-Technology Leadership: Podcasts (http://blog.palinet.org/podcast/; Open Source Initiatives (software LibLime – Koha and Evergreen software, can get a discount; will be announcing other applications in a Technology Sandbox, cooperative effort with NELINET– DSpace, etc.); Gates Opportunity Online Hardware grants – administer for PA; Technology Workshops (emerging technology, Web sites, specific workshops, etc.)

3-Consortial Savings – work closely with state groups: KLN, PALCI, VALE (NJ), MDL (MD) for academics; WorldCat on the Web Group Offer, negotiated a significant discount; establishing new groups: Hospital-wide groups serving smaller, private hospitals

4-Outreach & Support: PALINET Support Center (recruiting for additional staff); RLG Transition (for those libraries that had not been members of OCLC); bolstering communication via Member Spotlight Series & PALINET News E-Newsletter (weekly); PALINET Leadership Network – beta prototype at ALA in June 07, launching to members in early 2008, Walt Crawford will be taking a leadership role in the Leadership Network; PALINET Conference in Oct. in Baltimore (looking at a catalog futures)

Dan Iddings, PALCI
-New staff, John Barnett, new Full Time Director working in areas of collections, development; New offices in Library Services Building in Pittsburgh; New programs; New newsletter!

–RapidILL – fast delivery of journal articles less than 24 hours; unmediated/automated discovery of article suppliers; unmediated delivery of articles to requesters; unmediated delivery of articles held in open source collections, delivery in less than 30 minutes; 6-8 libraries currently involved, including U of Penn and Marywood, Drexel, Lycoming, Rutgers, Kutztown
-membership now 72 libraries
-new from PALINET, PACSCL & PALCI (3Ps) – Pennsylvania Digital Library, conceived by the 3Ps, implemented by the University of Pittsburgh’s Univ of Library System, is now functional

Demo of the Pennsylvania Digital Library – Mike Bolam and Brian Gregg from U of Pitt
-statewide digital metadata depository
-have built on Open Archives Initiative (OAI) and are asking folks to let them know of digital collections so that they can be ‘harvested’
-Institutions can register their collections online, but if you’re a member of AccessPA Digital project, your materials will be going into it automatically
-If not registered with Open Archives Initiative, need to be sure that your data is OAI compliant; go to your vendor if not sure (strongly recommend registration with OAI) – it’s a good thing; then register with their site
-Once you’re registered, it is up to individual library to make sure records are displaying properly, etc.
-Need more data to be able to massage the system
-When you think of searching the system, think of it as a type of union catalog; it only contains the data records, doesn’t store the content, the better your description, the better your results; they can work with proprietary or copyrighted materials since only accessing metadata
-(Google had not been finding this stuff)

Q & A
-Can we let Google know or have them work? Will be looking at. Perhaps Google Scholar?
(Side note from Joe Scorza: Entire AccessPA database will be loaded into Google Books.)
-Commericial resources like Readex and Gale will not be harvested.

-Open Source: is everyone working together on these initiatives? Yes, they are talking among themselves; are aware of what each other is doing. There is some overlap…
Are creating some platforms to create some synergy…

-ILL – AccessPA is now using ILLiad

-Rapid ILL – works within ILLiad; designated groups (contact DanIddings for more info)

DMCA, TEACH, and Copyright in Higher Education

October 17, 2007

by CRD of PaLA

DMCA, TEACH, and Copyright in Higher Education

by Becky Albitz, Electronic Resources & Copyright Librarian, Penn State

Brief History of Copyright
Copyright are rights granted by U. S. Congress to an author or creator of an original work; does not require registration with the U. S. Copyright office, although registration has its benefits (to file an infringment suit and collect damages, for example). U. S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8; codified in the Copyright Act of 1976; updated in 1998 to take care of digital stuff and bring the U. S. in compliance with other countries’ treaties.

You can actually (as the public) can do a lot with copyrighted works, covered under Fair Use.

Doctrine of First Use (Section 109)
-permits you, as holder of a copyrighted work, to sell, lend, rent, or dispose of the physical manifestation of that copyrighted work without permission
-you do not own the copyright to the work, just the physical object
-does not apply to personal copies of computer programs and phonorecords

Doctrine of Fair Use (section 107)
-the stuff we do in higher education
-reserves in libraries falls under this category
-4 factors: 1) purpose and character of use, whehter such use is of a commercial or for nonprofit educational purposes; 2) published or unpublished (published weighted more); 3) amount and substantiality of the portion used (how much? CONFU was an attempt to prescribe, but not accepted by ALA); 4) actual market effect

Court Cases establishing Fair Use boundaries
1-Basic Books v. Kinko’s Graphics Corp (educational vs. for-profit use) (Supreme Court decision)
2- Sony v. Universal Studios (Betamax) and Newmark, et al. v. Turner, et al. — when can you make copies of movies and shows on TV; the technology became the issue. For personal use; were not available for sale.
3- Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (how much is too much?) Time to Heal, autobio by Gerald Ford. Time got first serial rights, but Nation published 400 words, the core of the work.
4-Ludlow Music v. JibJab (copyright infringement or parody?) -“This Land is Your Land” – Woody Guthrie’s estate sued; settled out of court; lawyers posted their letters online, parody was motive. Tune was actually in the publicd domain. Never got to court, and there was no settlement.

Permitted copying (libraries and archives) – section 108
ILL, individual patron use, preservation of unpublished works, replacement of damaged, lost, or stolen published works, or whose format is obsolete

There is a push to update this with, with the Section 108 Working Group; Librarian of Congress can accept or reject the report

Performance and display – Section 110
-big areas for problems in libraries – vido, dvds and films – are exempt from copying

When can you show a film
-in a regularly scheduled class
-in a classroom or similar place
-if tape off TV, can keep for 40 days
-has been updated under TEACH
-Movie Licensing, Inc. will sell licenses for showing commercial films

-essentially can’t show film in public places

DMCA
-passed in 1998, updated 1976 copyright law
-prohibits circumvention of technological protection measures
-prohibits alteration of info embedded in digital works (watermarks, e.g.)
-limits online service providers’ liability; someone at an institution has to be designated for take-down notices; have to take down material only

-more info: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

-Exceptions to anti-circumvention prohibition: every 3 years, Librarian of Congress may make exceptions for certain classes of works; newest wrinkle: in 2006, permitted circumvention of copyright protection of a/v works included in the educational library of a college or university’s film or media studies dept. — media studies of film professors may circumvent — very specific; has to be listed as a film course; has caused a lot of problems; film industry did NOT like this exception, probably reason exception was kept so narrow

Bono Copyright Extension Act
-passed with DMCA; extended copyright from life of holder +50 years to 70 years before stuff goes into public domain
-extension challenged in the Supreme Court-Eldred vs. Ashcroft; Supreme Court refused to hear the course, because Congress has the sole right to change copyright

TEACH Act
-passed in 2002 to address concerns surrounding distance education not addressed inthe DMCA
-primarily makes changes to section 110
-institutions may choose to be TEACH Act compliant or not
-TEACH can be used along with fair use- neither is mutually exclusive

To be TEACH Act compliant
1-have to be a nonprofit accredited educational institution or a governmental agency
2-have a policy on use of copyrighted materials
3-provide accurate information to faculty, students and staff about copyright
4-your systems may not interfere with the technological controls for the materials you want to use
5-the materials you want to use must be specifically for students in your class
6-only those students in a class may access the material…
and lots more! (see PowerPoint)

If you do all this stuff, you can use copyrighted materials, print, audio, and video, without seeking permissions or paying fees, BUT TEACH Act is intended to justify use for distance learners, not to replace face-to-face classroom interaction and is NOT to be used as justification for electronic reserves.

Licensing and Copyright
-When you sign a license for an electronic resource, book, video, etc., you give up your copyrights.
-Contract law trumps copyright law
-Know your rights under copyright, and negotiate to have those rights reinstated in the contracts you negotiate!

Understanding the Problem Before You Solve it: Effective Resource-Based Assignments

October 16, 2007

by CRD of PaLA

Understanding the Problem Before You Solve it: Effective Resource-Based Assignments
Terry Mech, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Terry began with the statement that Middle States is concerned with the teaching and learning experience. Terry next ‘assessed’ our assumptions about effective library assignments.

Osmosis – many faculty and students evidently believe they can learn by osmosis.

Full-time students spend about 16 hours a week, about 10% of their total time in a week. Many studies have shown that little learning takes place in class (including in our 50-minute one-shot sessions).

So how do students become info lit? He referenced a study called “Connecting the Dots” which found that a well-designed resource-based assignment increased student retention and learning and their sense of what they can accomplish.

Today’s students — no less intelligent than previous generations. However, they have diverse learning styles & preferences; are visual & kinesthetic learners; have a positive view of technology & their ability to use it.

Students of today —
need to see ‘big picture’ before disaggregating, expect customization & choices; low threshold for boredom; aliterate, read less; self-assured & self-focused; ‘prove it to me’ mentality; wants something in exchange; multi-taskers; take word of their peers over the word of the expert; hate busy work; responds well to ‘coaching’; like to know the payoff, don’t like getting frustrated; weak general knowledge & facts; impatient

Today’s students:
-Like structure & clarity
-Like immediate responses
-Like to solve problems
-Like to apply to ‘real situations’
-Like collaborative work
-Like to share what they know

35% of college students report large gaps in at least one area, and 86% report some gaps in at least one area. However, employers/instructors are more dissatisfied with high school’s skills prep; especially with students’ ability to read and understand complicated materials. So students are aware of shortcomings, but not of scope of their shortcomings.

Kolb Learning Style Inventory
4-stage learning cycle
-Concrete experience
-Active experimentation
-Reflective observation
-Abstract conceptualization

Students 70% are active learners 30% are passive learners
Faculty 46% are active learners 54% are passive learners

Scherdin 2002 studies show that librarians, like most faculty, are mostly introverts

Faculty socialization: faculty share a strong belief in education, yet most never really aspired to be college teachers. Many faculty by nature do not enjoy the social interaction central to teaching (Bess, 1982). Grad schools produce subject specialist not undergraduate teachers.

In past not as many students went to college; those that did, taught themselves to learn, but perhaps because more and more students are going to college.

Faculty view teaching as a very private act; don’t like “unwelcome intrusions.” Most are at the very least not totally comfortable with classroom teaching.

Higher Ed’s dark secrets:
– Despite our rhetoric about higher order learning, most faculty still focus on knowledge acquisition (Cashin & Downey, 1995).

Why give assignments?
-Students acquire and refine critical skills
–Reinforce lecture and other materials
-Preparation for future learning activities
-Assess what students have learned
-Apply previous learning in new situation
-Acquire the disciplines’ conventions
-Allow students to explore their interests
-Allow them to work at own pace
-Able to use resources not in the classroom
–Encourage independent learning & self-discipline
-Makes the best use of class time

Terry shared his handout, a trait analysis of effective assignments. He emphasized that learning objectives should reflect what you want them to be able to do and to learn. It’s important that faculty understand what assumptions they are making about students’ ability. Tell them what their evaluation criteria; have to know what hoops they are trying to hitting; a rubric is ideal – difficult to write well – however, it makes grading much easier.

Effective assignments break large projects down into smaller tasks; don’t waste students’ time.

VERY IMPORTANT: Many faculty teach the subject, not the student.

Active learning
We comprehend:
10% of what we hear or read, but almost 90% of what we do

Faculty dread
grading/evaluation, disappointment of worse work; nuisances of late/sloppy work; plagiarism

Librarians observe
students are not prepared; students do not understand assignment; students read into assignment or unsure how to proceed

Librarians wonder
what does it take to get a copy of the assignment; how much help do we give students before we send them back to the instructor; why are we hesitant to give instructors feedback on their assignments

Sample assignments, from Lynn Cameron
Worst: Term Paper: Write a 15 page paper due the final day of class
Best: Broken down by week, give instruction where to look for resources; how to cite; not necessarily a paper — could be an pamphlet; define terms (peer-reviewed, substantial); tell students what to consider (issues, for example); begins with the learning objective (Stoloff: ex: in order to write more effective literature reviews, students will read and evaluate reviews written by other students … to determine what makes an effective review.)

Suggestions for librarians
-give faculty feedback on assignments
-work with your teaching center
-focus on faculty who enjoy and talk about teaching
-search out innovative faculty
-remember that real change takes time

Lots of Q & A
Here’s a revolutionary idea: don’t do instruction without an assignment! Can do it nicely,
-do not despair

Innovative fauclty tendencies
-interdisciplinary
-internally focused research (what can I do locally)
-non-traditional background
-identify with the intutitional mission
-are older (more secure)
-enjoy teaching at all levels
-talk about teaching (Holland & Latiolais 2007)

Pop Quiz! Terry went over the T and F answers which examined our assumptions