It's Academic

I had the opportunity to attend the recent Connect & Communicate session (recording posted below on March 22) and the topic was quite timely. I’ll be honest – I went through the session with the belief that I certainly wasn’t “wrong about” my expectations of digital literacy among my students. I nodded in agreement during much of the webinar, particularly when Emily shared of witnessing students completing essays on their smartphones and, I too, have bitten my tongue watching computer users googling rather than typing a URL into the address bar. While I did garner useful new information, I still felt that I was already pretty aware of the “incorrect assumptions” shared during the session – we are very much on the same page, library friends!

But then, just a few days later, when providing database instruction for a class, I shared a Padlet that would facilitate discussion to allow me to gauge prior knowledge and provide direct links to some resources I planned to share. I used tinyurl to create a shortened web address and also provided the QR code for display if using a smartphone was preferred. As you may already imagine, I had several students struggle to access the Padlet. One student got lost within the actual tinyurl webpage. I admit – I am wrong!

Going forward, I plan to create a specific page for instruction directly on my library webpages. Most students don’t have difficulty navigating to this area on the website, especially after following an on-screen demonstration.

On a larger scale, I find myself with further concerns. Less than 4% of our total materials budget is allocated for physical books. The vast majority of our go-to course supporting resources are found online. While this makes sense to provide equitable access for the many students attending virtually and not on our physical campus, statistics suggest underutilization.  Access to the databases requires several steps. It’s far from straightforward and many reference assistance requests are only after a student has exhausted google and are already experiencing frustration.

One long-term project I have planned is to evaluate our existing databases. In addition to pricing and curriculum alignment, another focus is now on the overall accessibility and user experience. I’ll explore the mobile displays as I can’t assume users will even have access to a desktop or laptop. I’ll also be looking for best practices for entry points from library websites. Our main goal is to improve the student experience and, especially today, that means the online experience.

Did you know 20-30% of YouTube videos about emerging infectious diseases contain inaccurate or misleading information? Learn how to spot health misinformation & improve media & health literacy! Attend the NNLM Health Misinformation Symposium April 4-6, 2023. #HealthMisinfoNNLM #healthliteracy https://nnlm23.vfairs.com/

Source: Infodemics and misinformation negatively affect people’s health behaviours, new WHO review finds

Join librarians, public health professionals, health professions, and researchers to explore the history, research, and solutions to health misinformation! My presentation “Strategies for dispelling health misinformation: Prebunking and Motivational Interviewing” is Wednesday, April 5th 1:30-2:30 ET.

Here are some other sessions relevant to academic librarians:

Librarians and educators are accustomed to treating information and media literacy as broadly subject agnostic. It is therefore not surprising that we have positioned ourselves on the front lines against the spread of mis/disinformation about COVID-19. As with other kinds of sources, we show students how to identify markers of unreliability and reliability, and how to read laterally in order to fact check. Once students can do this, we hope they will not believe or spread health mis/disinformation about COVID. Research in science and health communication, however, indicates that evaluating health journalism comes with its own particular issues. In this presentation, I will discuss three of these issues: the media framing of how science in general works, how science/health journalists get information about research, and the particular tells of unreliable health journalism. In each case, I will suggest some approaches/tools that will help address these issues in information literacy instruction around COVID.

Building off of a preliminary report presented at the NNLM 2021 Symposium, this presentation will describe the development of a teaching module deployed through the Public Health Science department at a mid-sized midwestern university. Focusing on key considerations in assessing whether information is truthful vs. misleading, this module illustrates such questions as “What is a fact? What is an opinion? What makes them different from each other?” using public health-related examples, ranging from lead in gasoline to COVID-19.

The presenters will discuss the design process that informs each element of the module, the module’s integration into the university’s learning management system to facilitate student access, and what specific learning outcomes each module element is designed to foster. Finally the presenters will discuss how best to assess this module for teaching effectiveness.

Evidence based scrolling: Using experts on the internet to improve scientific literacy skills.

Jocelyn Swick-Jemison

This discussion will explore science and health influencers online and how they can be used in the classroom to improve science literacy skills. Can we apply the principles of evidence based practice to evaluating science in the media? There are media influencers such as John Oliver, Rebecca Watson and Mama Doctor Jones (amongst many others!) using their expertise and platforms to demonstrate science literacy through exploration of reliable (and unreliable) evidence.

Academic Librarians are often tasked with teaching information literacy skills according to the ACRL Framework. While these skills are essential to college level research and writing – they are also required for navigating the every day bombardment of information that we get from the media. How can academic librarians integrate these media influencers into their teaching in order to teach evidence based science literacy skills for use in the “real world”. Science literacy does not require being a science expert – it means being able to rely on those who are experts and discern evidence from reliable sources. Science and health headlines are often over simplified and sensationalized – how can we used evidence-based practice principles to come to our own conclusions?

Among many others! Check out the agenda for the symposium.

Throwing events in an academic library has always been a tricky proposition for librarians.  How can you make a place devoted to (relatively) quiet research and study a welcoming spot for fun and socialization?  Libraries have tried several solutions, such as having escape rooms for students, scavenger hunts, book clubs, and countless others. 

At my library, I’ve recently tried a different approach by working with student clubs to arrange events at the library.  My college requires that official student clubs have a staff person to act as their advisor.  At the start of the year, I decided to fill this role with our Games Club.  The Games Club is made of up students who enjoy video games and board games. By having one foot in the library, and another within this student club, I’ve been able to arrange joint events called Gaming Night in the Library where we hook up a few game consoles and make board games like Dungeons and Dragons available to students.  We provide some pizza and soda for students too. Between members of the Games Club who attend, and other students who drop by, we’ve had steady attendance each time. 

I don’t see why this approach wouldn’t work with other types of student clubs as well.  The partnership provides the club with a space to have meetings and events, while the library gets to engage with students and encourage use of the library.  I also find that once students get in the habit of using the library as a social space, using it as a place for research often follows.

The session recording for the February Connect & Communicate Series presentation on collecting Pennsylvania political Twitter data is now available on the C&CS YouTube channel. Thanks to Carmen Cole, Emily Mross, and Andrea Pritt from Penn State University Libraries for an informative session.

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Theme: Academic Library Collaborations: Working Together for Better

Description: Academic libraries are an integral part of their home institutions, engaging patrons through ever evolving services and resources. By collaborating with people and departments outside of the library, academic libraries can leverage the work done to engage students and have a greater impact within their campus communities. Collaboration can be initiated formally or informally, and partnerships can take a variety of forms between colleagues. Some examples (but not meant to be limiting): collaborating to design a new research project with a faculty member, programming an event for a campus partner, or curating a list of resources to support a student-led cultural event. On May 2, 2023, the College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association will explore how academic libraries partner with others in our home institutions to provide fulfilling experiences for our students and our campus communities.

To facilitate this exploration, we are seeking proposals that showcase your scholarship and/or your academic librarianship to showcase these collaboration efforts at your institution. CRD encourages librarians to think creatively and share their experiences with colleagues!

Proposals should broadly fit the theme of collaboration within higher education and may relate to instruction, programming, collection development, library processes, or any other area your library supports. 

Proposal Requirements: Proposals for 40-minute virtual sessions must include a title, an abstract of no more than 250 words, and 2-3 learning objectives. Please refrain from including identifiable information in your abstract and other materials to help ensure a blind evaluation. PaLA CRD members will be given preference in session evaluation and selection. 

Submissions are due by Friday, March 31, 2023.

Submit your proposal here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1AMw2kXT6WoD5Wu 

Virtual workshop registration and additional conference information will be coming soon!

Questions? Contact Kristin Green at kristin.green@psu.edu