It's Academic

What worked? What Didn’t?

December 15, 2020

As we find ourselves at the end of a whirlwind semester filled with changes to how we offer library services, I find myself reflecting on what worked well for me and what did not. I’m really thinking about my instruction sessions this fall because I felt like some of them when really well but then others were not great, from my point of view. Our library decided that we would only offer online information literacy instruction this year and we had not delivered content online prior to this fall. I decided that for me that would mean my default was synchronous Zoom sessions in the hopes that they would closely resemble an in-person instruction session.

This approach worked well for upper-level students and students with very clear research assignments. They knew I had information that would make their lives easier and they were very willing to unmute their mic and have a virtual conversation with me.

This approach did not work as well for my “do your normal library thing”, first-year student, sessions. These students don’t always have a true research assignment and so what I end up doing is focusing more on source identification and evaluation. The activities I did in the classroom didn’t translate that well to the breakout room format and I think students had less tolerance for something they couldn’t immediately connect to what they needed to do to be successful in their class.

After a few session that were just OK, I talked with one of the English professors and we decided that in addition to the synchronous Zoom session that I should also meet with each of her students one-on-one to discuss an assignment later in the semester. I found this interaction to be so much more rewarding than the class session. I realized that meeting with these students to talk directly with them about their approach to an assignment was replicating the part of the in-person first-year sessions that I like best, which is walking around the room and talking with each student individually as they explored their topic.

I think in the spring as I get instruction requests, I will be less likely to suggest a synchronous Zoom with each class and explore more of the asynchronous interactions. I want to create a tutorial that is focused on general tips for using EDS, our discovery tool. I think it will be good to have that to share out via our LMS and then perhaps meet with me one-on-one for more focused guidance on their topic.

It seems like we’re still going to be dealing with hybrid learning at best through the Spring semester so I would love to hear from others about what worked for them and what didn’t.

CRD Virtual Journal Club Meet & Connect

December 9, 2020

by crdvirtualjournalclub

While we did not hold our typical series of meetings during the fall semester this year, the Virtual Journal Club will host a meeting on Thursday, December 17th, from 11:00 am to noon.

This meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the challenges and successes of this extraordinary semester, as well as a forum to share ideas for the Journal Club moving forward. We hope to host a series of meetings in the spring 2021 semester to return to discussing journal articles once again.

Please join us if you can! Sign up to receive an email including the Zoom link. We look forward to connecting with you.

Affordable Materials Project Was Fortuitous During Pandemic

December 2, 2020

by Darren G. Poley

In a year when libraries were scrambling to provide greater remote access to essential resources, Villanova’s Affordable Materials Project (AMP) was beneficial. A few years ago, Falvey Memorial Library began collaborating on AMP with Villanova’s Center for Access, Success and Achievement (CASA), the Office of the Provost, and the Villanova University Bookstore.

In simple terms, the AMP committee works on identifying faculty adopted course materials that the library can acquire as an eBook which then is linked to the course in the course/content management system. The greatest advantage of AMP has been to reduce the burden on students when it comes to acquiring texts required for courses.

Evidence of the value of AMP had been mounting:

A Closer Look at How AMP Initiatives Impact the Cost of College Textbooks

Students Save Money with AMP eBooks

This past fall Villanova library staff members gave virtual presentations about AMP to enthusiastic audiences; such as “Getting Better All the Time: Villanova University’s Affordable Materials Project” ACRL Delaware Valley Chapter Fall 2020 Program, and “The Time Has Come: For More Affordable Course Materials” at The Charleston Conference.

Falvey Library’s, John Banionis, Metrics and Assessment Librarian, and Marianne Watson, Director of Resource Management and Description, also participated in a panel discussion “So Many Ways to Save: Library Access to Course Materials” at the second annual Affordable Learning PA Summit, held virtually from Sept. 9-25, 2020.

Linda Hauck from Villanova’s library and Bernadette Mania from Villanova’s bookstore presented “OER Strange Bedfellows: Panel Discussion on Bookstore & Library Collaborations” at the Affordable Learning PA, Education & Training, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.

To find out more about Villanova’s Affordable Materials Project, email the committee at amp@villanova.edu.

Register now for “Words are Also Actions”: Change the Subject panel discussion & Q+A on 12/11

December 1, 2020

by Alex K.

Join the ACRL Delaware Valley Chapter in discussing impressions, takeaways, and insights from Change the Subject, a documentary chronicling how a group of Dartmouth Latinx students were spurred to political advocacy through their experiences with Library of Congress subject headings about people who are undocumented.

Change the Subject is available freely until December 19th, 2020 from PBS here: https://www.pbs.org/video/change-the-subject-23nbpj/

Please note, this is not a screening of the documentary and attendees are encouraged to watch it beforehand.

The free event — held virtually via Zoom — will include a panel discussion with three of the documentary’s creators: activist and former Dartmouth student Melissa Pedilla, librarian Jill Baron, and scholar and mentor Dr. Lourdes Gutíerrez Nájera, followed by a Q+A and discussion.

Please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdE2KgvtIIncD1yDMNQYrtIO4xNcRT9_SPSmLM1rhAIanjDSA/viewform?usp=sf_link

This event 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. https://crdpala.org/

Technical Services Experts Directory is Up and Running!

November 23, 2020

by Michele G. Anfuso

I have previously reported back in August that the Technical Services Round Table (TSRT) was in the process of creating an experts directory where individuals could contribute their contact information should they have knowledge of particular aspects of technical services. This would allow for members of the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) to reach out to fellow librarians and library paraprofessionals should there be a question, concern, stumbling block, or an idea to bounce off of someone with more expertise. While we were unable to debut our project last month virtually at the PaLA annual conference, I am pleased to announce that the experts directory is now up and running! The form is now available!

At the moment, we are asking that only PaLA members contribute to the experts directory. This is a perk which we would like exclusively to be offered with your membership. If you know of someone, or of an institute, who is not a member of the PaLA but who would like to contribute, or if you have any questions about the directory, please contact us at expertsdirectory.tsrt@gmail.com.