It's Academic

C&C Presents: “Promoting Inclusion in the Academic Library with a CILLS Program Internship” on 4/20/2022 at 11:30am

April 6, 2022

Allyson Wind, Electronic Resources Librarian at East Stroudsburg University, will discuss how Kemp Library is promoting inclusion by having a CILLS student participate in a library internship. The Career and Independent Living and Learning Studies (CILLS) program helps young adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities prepare to lead productive lives in their communities. In 2019 and again in 2021, the library has accepted a CILLS student to intern at the library in order to learn soft skills like communication and problem solving that can be transferred to any job placement in the future. In addition to learning soft skills, the CILLS intern learns valuable library related skills like alphabetizing and shelving books according to the Dewey Decimal System.

Allyson Wind is the Electronic Resources Librarian at Kemp Library, East Stroudsburg University.

As a reminder, the Zoom link will be sent approximately 48 hours before the session. We will mute participants on entry into the Zoom room. Session will be recorded and available on YouTube after the session. We will enable Zoom’s Live Transcription feature during the session.

If you would like to present with C&CS, 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, Tom Wolf, Governor.

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

Virtual Event Features Award-Winning Author

April 4, 2022

tags: events

by Kelly Safin

Author Sharon G. Flake will be the featured speaker at the Pitt-Greensburg Children’s Literature Conference free virtual event at 6 PM on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Following the author’s talk, there will be a question-and-answer session.

Flake’s latest novel, The Life I’m In, is a 2021 Kirkus Prize finalist. It has also been named a top ten book of the year by ALA and Kirkus, and is considered one of the most anticipated sequels of the decade.

The Life I’m In is the sister novel to Flake’s groundbreaking book, The Skin I’m In. Now considered a modern classic, The Skin I’m In has sold almost two million copies worldwide and has been translated into numerous languages. The novel is required reading in classrooms and communities around the globe.

Since its publication, Flake has authored over a dozen books, winning multiple Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, ALA Notable and Top Ten Recommended Books citations, and an NAACP Image Award Nomination, among many accolades. For more information on Sharon G. Flake, please visit her website.

For more information and Zoom registration for this event, visit the conference website. This is a great (free!) opportunity for educators, parents, librarians, and readers in general to hear insights from an award-winning author.

Digital Inequity Still Dividing

April 1, 2022

tags: professional development

by clblibrarian

When I was in library school (so begins most stories of a librarian)…. when I was in library school one of the big topics we discussed in most every class was the digital divide. Those who had access to technology and those who did not. Back then, it was computers and dial up or maybe DSL. A lot has changed since then: smartphones and broadband arrived on the scene, and access to online resources has become even more essential for daily tasks. But, even with all the advances, the digital divide still a major issue that libraries are fighting in their communities. Like Cassandra we had been warning our local, state, and federal leaders that digital inequity is a serious problem, but it took a pandemic for many to sit up and take notice. It remains to be seen whether this awareness will lead to any lasting changes.

You might think that digital inequity is an issue more for public libraries than academic ones, but we still see the consequences of the digital divide with each group of incoming students. Especially schools who serve more rural or urban communities, or those who have a large commuter population. Libraries are often at the front lines trying to triage students’ struggles with technology: students may not be able to afford a computer so they still need our labs or to borrow one of our laptops. We may need to be open in the evenings/weekends just to provide a space for students to complete an assignment with a reliable internet connection. Beyond the divide in access to technology equipment, often we serve as “gurus” who unlock the secrets of the academic software students must use to complete their coursework. Students may not have used a learning management system before (Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, etc) and don’t know how to submit an assignment. Or, they don’t know how to access their school email account to send their essay as an attachment to their professor. Unfortunately, these technology basics are rarely included in student orientations or first-year coursework. (The fallacy of a digital native is another topic for another blog post).

The latest issue of American Libraries is devoted to “Digital Equity” and highlights the work libraries did during the pandemic to support our communities and how libraries are leveraging this new attention to the digital divide to make lasting changes in their communities. With a nice bit of unplanned synergy, the Teaching and Learning Roundtable of the Pennsylvania Library Association has planned a Spring Workshop with the theme of “Equity and Technology.” Librarians and library staff from all types of libraries are invited to attend, and there will be spaces for them to listen and share and learn from each other. The workshop will be on May 23rd and will be in-person at the Pattee/Paterno Library at Penn State, University Park. It will be my first in-person workshop in a long time (2019?) so I am excited to engage face to face with my colleagues from throughout the state. Zoom and other video conferencing tech was a lifeline during the pandemic, but it brought with it its own “digital divide” and cannot replace the serendipity of in-person interactions. Hope to see you there!

Taking a moment for reflection as a librarian

March 30, 2022

by mabogino1

My journey to librarianship has been indirect and not been very atypical of many other pathways to librarianship that I have encountered. Libraries were not my first stop in my journey of professional work. I have worked in banking, insurance, healthcare and of course education. I have worked with all age groups from interacting with toddlers and their families during story times in a preschool setting and I have worked with the elderly populations within a nursing home setting as a respiratory therapist. Within each of these workplace environments that lead to my role as a librarian, I have learned that people and my interactions with each of them have been the most important part of each my workspaces. It is this lesson that I have brought with me to the role of librarian . The people that I have met, interacted with and learned from in each of these workspaces, have in fact, helped me to develop into the librarian I am today. I have learned from my interactions with each of them that communication coupled with avid listening and clear language is helpful in any situation from answering questions at the reference desk to working with outside vendors and community partners . I have also learned that a little flexibility can go a long way. These learned lessons have proven themselves to be the most fruitful during these past few years of COVID . Most notably , I have seen the staff members of my library grow exponentially ( myself included ) as each of us learned that sometimes exceptions become the normal . Especially for our team in the case of quickly pivoting to learning how to create and conduct virtual instruction library sessions, digital tutorials and how to host weekly Zoom staff meetings to try and recreate the sense of togetherness we all missed from our forced distance. Over my time as a librarian , I have also learned that empathy reminds us all of our humanity and how important and mutually beneficial it is to stop , breath and lend a listening ear to learn about what might be happening in the moment with ourselves and with our fellow coworkers.

Thanks for reading and for taking this pause for reflection…

Marlowe B.

Call for Proposals: Pennsylvania Library Association College and Research Division Spring Workshop

March 16, 2022

by Alex K.

Workshop Theme: Adapt and Evolve: What’s New in Your Library?

Description: Academic libraries are constantly adapting and evolving to meet the changing needs of our diverse patrons and communities. The pandemic continues to expose fissures in higher education and library employees have been working diligently to address issues as they arise. Perhaps your library has needed to create new policies or implement new services; maybe your library is designing new physical spaces to accommodate patron needs. As the course curriculum evolves, so do library instruction practices. On Thursday, June 2, 2022 at the Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg, the College and Research Division (CRD) of the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) will explore how academic libraries have adapted and evolved in new ways to meet the needs of our campus and community.
To facilitate this exploration, we are seeking proposals in a variety of formats that showcase your scholarship and/or your academic library efforts to engage your local campus community in new or reimagined ways. We encourage members to think creatively and share your experience with our academic library colleagues! Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Collaborations with non-library partners
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility outreach programs
• Evolving pedagogical practices in the library classroom
• New library collections, physical or electronic
• Supporting library employees and patrons with disabilities in new ways
• Universal Design in academic libraries

Proposals should broadly fit the theme of adapting and evolving and may relate to instruction, programming, collection development, library processes, or any other area your library supports.
Proposal Requirements: Proposals 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, April 15, 2022. Presenters of selected proposals will be expected to pay conference registration rates.

Submit your proposal here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8oaOTTeTB20mWuG

Workshop registration and additional conference information will be coming soon!

Questions? Contact Andrea Pritt at alp5088@psu.edu