This is, in part, a response to the Library in the Lead Pipe post entitled, "A View From the Neutral Zone," and partially a discussion of my own goals as a librarian and educator. I have to say that I strongly agree with Markus Wust's assertions that the library can serve as a space where professors and experts can come together and collaborate. And I love the idea of Librarians working to foster collaboration by recognizing shared interests among different disciplines.
In my mind I see the library as a place of intersection, where students, faculty and staff all come to find information. It is physical and virtual. And I see it as the center of a University, where the idea exchange begins. So I think that librarians and library services need to be pushed up and out in the Academic community. To move up, we librarians need to be serving on administrative boards and committees, helping to redefine the library's place within the University structure. And to move out we need to go out and "hit them where they live." We need to be in close contact with students in their class rooms, on the quad and in their organizations. We need to communicate and work with professors by assisting in and perhaps even contributing to their research. I have seen some librarians credited for contributions to research in other disciplines, and I would love to see more of that. And we need to be reaching out to staff and finding out what kinds of services would help them perform their jobs better.
Ultimately, I would like to be one of those upward and outward reaching librarians. When I, eventually (someday soon, I hope) become an instruction librarian, I want to work closely with professors and students to design IL classes that really hit home with students and cover exactly what professors need them to know. And I want to work on university-wide committees where I can push the library agenda and help others to understand the importance of the library within the University structure. I guess when I really think about it, I suppose I would like to be involved in administration one of these days, which is a bit of a revelation to me, as I never thought beyond mid-management a few years ago. But now I want to learn the ropes and get my experience in so that I can move into a position where I can do the most good by promoting the library to a larger community. I'm excited and engaged, now I just need that first position to get me on my way.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
An idea to try
So I've been thinking about how I can apply active and critical teaching techniques to a one shot IL session. One idea that I have is sort of a free form exploration of the library website. Most library websites are designed to be a one stop shop for your information needs, but I find that many student do not know how to use it right off the bat. However, I suspect that many of them, if left to their own devices, could figure out how it works through exploration. So, I want to take this natural ability to learn through exploration and put it in the more structured setting of a classroom. Perhaps I could start with a few open ended questions like, What do you notice first about the page? Then, based on their response, I could cover the Catalog or the Databases or whatever struck them first, incorporating other research skills such as search strategy as we discuss features of the website. Thus covering the research tools and concepts at the same time, so that students can see how they work together. hmm....
Friday, June 18, 2010
Vocabulary Lessons
I've been doing some reading on pedagogy, due in large part to a discussion I had with a new administrator at Texas State, where I worked as a temp librarian for about 5 months. She suggested that I read some work by Paulo Freire because of my interest in teaching and active learning techniques. Which lead me to my current reading material A Pedagogy of Liberation with Paulo Freire and Ira Schor.
The book is structured as a discussion between Freire and Schor. A structure which I find engaging and representative of the authors' styles of teaching. So far, I've only read 25 pages, but the text is rich with insight and the history of education. One of the major themes I've picked up on is that we need to communicate with students in a language that they understand. At first this may seem like an obvious and easy thing to accomplish, however, I find that the library is awash in terms that students unfamiliar with libraries are not likely to know: Database, Catalog, E-Journal, E-Book, Record, Call Number, etc. Therefore, to effectively communicate with students, librarians may need to completely rethink our vocabulary during reference transactions, information literacy sessions and on our library websites.
In restructuring library terminology, at least on the public side, Target #1 for me is the term catalog. A little personal background, I am 28 years old, and I do remember card catalogs. There was one in my local public library until I was around 10 years old, 1991. Now, stop a minute and think about that. People born in and after 1991 probably have little or no concept of what a physical card catalog was. They have no frame of reference for that term. Students born in 1991 are now college freshmen or sophomores. At the reference desk, I often have students come in and ask how they can 'find books'. Many of them seem to know that there is a way to find out what books a library has, online, but they don't know where to go.
Many library websites that I've worked with make a stab at user friendly vocabulary, often having catalog search boxes on their homepages labeled with terms like 'Start your Research', 'Books & More' or 'Find Books & Videos'. However, many of these quick search boxes are keyword only, which offers users little control, and links to the full catalog are labeled with terms like 'More Library Catalog Options', 'Advanced Catalog Search', or simply, 'Catalog'. I think that libraries could make the purpose of their catalogs clearer by linking user vocabulary with library vocabulary on the homepage. So, if a user is thinking 'I need to find a book', the library web page should label the catalog search box with something like 'Find a Book - Library Catalog'. This would help the terms 'book' and 'catalog' to become linked in the user's mind.
This could work for other library jargon as well, 'Find Articles' connected with Journals or Databases, or 'Research Strategy or Skills' with Library Instruction or Information Literacy. Schor mentions that this alteration of vocabulary is perceived as a lowering of standards by some. However, he argues that some level of student understanding is necessary for knowledge to be attained. Once that basic level of knowledge is achieved, more specific or technical vocabulary can be added. In other words, once a student learns the function of the catalog, they can apply the official label, much like an infant who can signal the function of an object before they learn the word symbolizing that object.
I hope to do more research on these ideas in the future. I would love to measure how changing terminology affects learning during IL sessions. I also think that user friendly vocabulary will be very useful for library outreach. I believe that if more students understand the services the library offers, more students will feel comfortable using the library and its resources.
The book is structured as a discussion between Freire and Schor. A structure which I find engaging and representative of the authors' styles of teaching. So far, I've only read 25 pages, but the text is rich with insight and the history of education. One of the major themes I've picked up on is that we need to communicate with students in a language that they understand. At first this may seem like an obvious and easy thing to accomplish, however, I find that the library is awash in terms that students unfamiliar with libraries are not likely to know: Database, Catalog, E-Journal, E-Book, Record, Call Number, etc. Therefore, to effectively communicate with students, librarians may need to completely rethink our vocabulary during reference transactions, information literacy sessions and on our library websites.
In restructuring library terminology, at least on the public side, Target #1 for me is the term catalog. A little personal background, I am 28 years old, and I do remember card catalogs. There was one in my local public library until I was around 10 years old, 1991. Now, stop a minute and think about that. People born in and after 1991 probably have little or no concept of what a physical card catalog was. They have no frame of reference for that term. Students born in 1991 are now college freshmen or sophomores. At the reference desk, I often have students come in and ask how they can 'find books'. Many of them seem to know that there is a way to find out what books a library has, online, but they don't know where to go.
Many library websites that I've worked with make a stab at user friendly vocabulary, often having catalog search boxes on their homepages labeled with terms like 'Start your Research', 'Books & More' or 'Find Books & Videos'. However, many of these quick search boxes are keyword only, which offers users little control, and links to the full catalog are labeled with terms like 'More Library Catalog Options', 'Advanced Catalog Search', or simply, 'Catalog'. I think that libraries could make the purpose of their catalogs clearer by linking user vocabulary with library vocabulary on the homepage. So, if a user is thinking 'I need to find a book', the library web page should label the catalog search box with something like 'Find a Book - Library Catalog'. This would help the terms 'book' and 'catalog' to become linked in the user's mind.
This could work for other library jargon as well, 'Find Articles' connected with Journals or Databases, or 'Research Strategy or Skills' with Library Instruction or Information Literacy. Schor mentions that this alteration of vocabulary is perceived as a lowering of standards by some. However, he argues that some level of student understanding is necessary for knowledge to be attained. Once that basic level of knowledge is achieved, more specific or technical vocabulary can be added. In other words, once a student learns the function of the catalog, they can apply the official label, much like an infant who can signal the function of an object before they learn the word symbolizing that object.
I hope to do more research on these ideas in the future. I would love to measure how changing terminology affects learning during IL sessions. I also think that user friendly vocabulary will be very useful for library outreach. I believe that if more students understand the services the library offers, more students will feel comfortable using the library and its resources.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Is there an Information Literacy Gap to Be Bridged?
One word: Yes.
Today I am reading:
DaCosta, J.W. (2010) Is there an information literacy skills gap to be bridged? An examination of faculty perceptions and activities relating to information literacy in the United States and England. College and research libraries, 71(3), 203-222.
"English faculty....placed a greater emphasis on student's ability to access and retrieve information and less on the ability to recognize the information need." (204)
This is odd to me, it seems that at the college level we ought to be teaching students to analyze and recognize the types of information they need. College is all about higher order thinking. We would be doing a disservice to students if we only provided them with the basic skills for finding information without also informing them how to evaluate the information that they find.
"The research confirmed that faculty expected information literacy skills to be largely acquired through what Clair McGuinness describes as "osmosis.""
This is surprising to me. I suspect that most professors probably had at least some research training from a librarian. Did they forget? I suspect that for faculty, as for librarians, research skills and habits become so ingrained that we forget that they are learned skills.
"Students demonstrate the use of a coping mechanism rather than an information strategy"
Interesting. I have seen this in action, students will go to Google and find anything that remotely relates to their topics, sometimes stretching a source to make it relate. This, instead of planning out which information sources and keywords will locate resources that are directly relevant to their topics. This type of information panic could be alleviated with instruction about subject specific resources and constructing a Boolean search strategy.
The conclusion? Yes, there is a gap between how important faculty thinks information literacy is (very) and what they are actively doing to promote literacy (not so much). Dacosta suggests, and I concur, that in order to close this gap, librarians need to promote information literacy services to faculty and administrators, and to give them examples of how embedded or collaborative information literacy can be successful.
Today I am reading:
DaCosta, J.W. (2010) Is there an information literacy skills gap to be bridged? An examination of faculty perceptions and activities relating to information literacy in the United States and England. College and research libraries, 71(3), 203-222.
"English faculty....placed a greater emphasis on student's ability to access and retrieve information and less on the ability to recognize the information need." (204)
This is odd to me, it seems that at the college level we ought to be teaching students to analyze and recognize the types of information they need. College is all about higher order thinking. We would be doing a disservice to students if we only provided them with the basic skills for finding information without also informing them how to evaluate the information that they find.
"The research confirmed that faculty expected information literacy skills to be largely acquired through what Clair McGuinness describes as "osmosis.""
This is surprising to me. I suspect that most professors probably had at least some research training from a librarian. Did they forget? I suspect that for faculty, as for librarians, research skills and habits become so ingrained that we forget that they are learned skills.
"Students demonstrate the use of a coping mechanism rather than an information strategy"
Interesting. I have seen this in action, students will go to Google and find anything that remotely relates to their topics, sometimes stretching a source to make it relate. This, instead of planning out which information sources and keywords will locate resources that are directly relevant to their topics. This type of information panic could be alleviated with instruction about subject specific resources and constructing a Boolean search strategy.
The conclusion? Yes, there is a gap between how important faculty thinks information literacy is (very) and what they are actively doing to promote literacy (not so much). Dacosta suggests, and I concur, that in order to close this gap, librarians need to promote information literacy services to faculty and administrators, and to give them examples of how embedded or collaborative information literacy can be successful.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Library: A Day in the Life, days 3 and 4
So....Yesterday was day 3. It was also the 3rd day in a row that I had to be up at or before 6am and I had to work until 9. I will admit that most of Wednesday was a blur. All I remember is that the flurry of textbook questions was replaced by a flurry of E-ID/Word 2007/Computer access related questions. Many of the E-ID issues are frustrating and they take a long time to resolve. Most frustrating is the fact that, I AM NOT A TRAINED IT PERSON! I have enough knowledge to solve most access problems, but if the problem is beyond my ability, I need to call IT. But, unfortunately, the IT help desk only opperates from 8am-5pm and many of my reference shifts run from 5pm-9pm. So, occasionally, there is a student that needs access to blackboard or their school e-mail and I just can't do anything for them. And I feel just awful about that, especially when they have homework that they need to do. So day 3 was long and mildly stressful.
Day 4: I got to sleep in until 9am! So, naturally I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. I worked at Texas State today, so I took the shuttle bus down the hill to campus, with my boyfriend Collin, who was teaching his Comp II classes today. I spent the first hour or so reading over the operator's manuals for RefTracker and RefChatter, and then I met with the head Instruction Librarian, Lorin. She gave me a little overview of what they cover in instruction and then we picked out some times that I could come observe her and other Librarians during their sessions. I am VERY excited to start instruction, I have a lot of ideas about it, but I feel like I really need some experience to see if my ideas can be put into practice.
The rest of the afternoon was spent going over the reference training sheet with the Head Reference Librarian, Lisa. Although I worked as an LA for Texas State before, some of the policies are a little different for librarians than they were for LAs. At 2 we went to a reception for the University Archives which just opened a new space up on the 5th floor. The space is really nice, but like most archives, even with a new space, they still need more room. We also visited another librarian on the 5th floor; she had just moved into her new office because her old office has been transformed into an suite for the new Director of Research and Learning, who will be hired shortly. Then, from 4 to 5 we had a meeting with the Information Literacy team where we discussed assessment. The University is being evaluated this year to renew their accreditation through SACS (Southern Association of Colleges......something). Anyway, there is an Information Literacy component, so the library is being pushed to evaluate their classes, as well as to find a way to assess the student body as a whole, perhaps by using standardized testing for in-coming Freshmen and out-going seniors. It was all very interesting. We also talked about having some sort of document that laid out specific outcomes and expectations for classes in different disciplines, with the goal of being able to assess all classes in a meaningful way.
Now I'm at the Reference Desk until 10. Things are really slow, mostly because, here in San Marcos the weekend starts on Thursday night. Many bars around here have specials and they call it college night. Actually, 2 years ago, the last time I worked here, Texas State did not have classes on Fridays at all. But they reinstated Friday classes because many students were going home on the weekends and attendance at games had gone down significantly. So that wast the last couple of days in the life. Its been an exciting week for me, but I'll be glad when the weekend comes so I can rest up.
Day 4: I got to sleep in until 9am! So, naturally I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. I worked at Texas State today, so I took the shuttle bus down the hill to campus, with my boyfriend Collin, who was teaching his Comp II classes today. I spent the first hour or so reading over the operator's manuals for RefTracker and RefChatter, and then I met with the head Instruction Librarian, Lorin. She gave me a little overview of what they cover in instruction and then we picked out some times that I could come observe her and other Librarians during their sessions. I am VERY excited to start instruction, I have a lot of ideas about it, but I feel like I really need some experience to see if my ideas can be put into practice.
The rest of the afternoon was spent going over the reference training sheet with the Head Reference Librarian, Lisa. Although I worked as an LA for Texas State before, some of the policies are a little different for librarians than they were for LAs. At 2 we went to a reception for the University Archives which just opened a new space up on the 5th floor. The space is really nice, but like most archives, even with a new space, they still need more room. We also visited another librarian on the 5th floor; she had just moved into her new office because her old office has been transformed into an suite for the new Director of Research and Learning, who will be hired shortly. Then, from 4 to 5 we had a meeting with the Information Literacy team where we discussed assessment. The University is being evaluated this year to renew their accreditation through SACS (Southern Association of Colleges......something). Anyway, there is an Information Literacy component, so the library is being pushed to evaluate their classes, as well as to find a way to assess the student body as a whole, perhaps by using standardized testing for in-coming Freshmen and out-going seniors. It was all very interesting. We also talked about having some sort of document that laid out specific outcomes and expectations for classes in different disciplines, with the goal of being able to assess all classes in a meaningful way.
Now I'm at the Reference Desk until 10. Things are really slow, mostly because, here in San Marcos the weekend starts on Thursday night. Many bars around here have specials and they call it college night. Actually, 2 years ago, the last time I worked here, Texas State did not have classes on Fridays at all. But they reinstated Friday classes because many students were going home on the weekends and attendance at games had gone down significantly. So that wast the last couple of days in the life. Its been an exciting week for me, but I'll be glad when the weekend comes so I can rest up.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Librarian: A Day in the Life, Day 2
Today was not as hectic as yesterday. I started my new part-time job as a Temporary Reference Librarian at Texas State University. Most of the day was spent doing orientation type things, like learning about the electronic ref stats keeper, RefTracker and the new chat service, RefChatter. My orientation wasn't as extensive as it might have been, because I used to work for Texas State as a library assistant about 2 years ago. I still know the majority of the people who work there, and I remember many of the procedures, so it was a bit like slipping on an old glove. But also surreal.
So the morning started out with me trying to get my parking pass, which were $138 a semester or $5 a week. Ultimately, I decided not to buy one, as I live about half a mile from campus, I'm on a shuttle route, and my boyfriend can pick me up in the evenings. Then I spent about 2 hours on the Reference Desk, where the Reference librarians (Jerry and Jan) showed me how to use RefTracker, which is kind of cool, but I know I'm going to forget to use it until I get used to it because I'm so used to the paper stat sheets. RefTracker allows you to track more specific types of questions than you could on a paper stats sheet, and it also allows you to track the resources you used and any comments you might have about a particular transaction. I also caught up with a lot of my co-workers, which was fun.
The afternoon was spent learning about the various reference chats that we use. RefChatter, Meebo, and Docutek. They are in a transition time, so Meebo and Docutek will likely be phased out by the end of the semester. Ref chatter seems like a good progam, and seems a little more user friendly than the Live Person program that we use at ACC. I look forward to playing with it. The last hour was spent out at the Ref Desk where I got to answer a few non-textbook related questions and I got to hang out with two of my favorite Librarians, Hithia and Selene. I'd missed them during my misadventures in California and I'm extremely glad to be back at Alkek Library.
This evening I'm working my regular evening shift at the Riverside Campus of Austin Community College. It is much quieter tonight than it was yesterday, but still, most of the questions are about textbooks. I suppose, in 2 weeks, I'll be whining about all the APA and MLA questions I'll be getting when the students' first papers come due. I have to say that I love Reference work more everyday, I like the students, I like the staff, I like making people's information finding lives easier.
I really enjoy all the variety that my part-time jobs provide me with. My mind is always active, I'm never bored, and each campus I work at has a different personality. I think I'm going to enjoy working these 2 jobs, but I'm keeping my eye open for a full-time Ref position. I want to teach and contribute in a real way. As an adjunct or a temp, you don't really have the opportunity to work on projects or participate in planning, all things that I would really like to be able to do. Also, I would really like some health insurance. I'll get there, I have my foot in many doors and I'm building my resume as we speak!
So the morning started out with me trying to get my parking pass, which were $138 a semester or $5 a week. Ultimately, I decided not to buy one, as I live about half a mile from campus, I'm on a shuttle route, and my boyfriend can pick me up in the evenings. Then I spent about 2 hours on the Reference Desk, where the Reference librarians (Jerry and Jan) showed me how to use RefTracker, which is kind of cool, but I know I'm going to forget to use it until I get used to it because I'm so used to the paper stat sheets. RefTracker allows you to track more specific types of questions than you could on a paper stats sheet, and it also allows you to track the resources you used and any comments you might have about a particular transaction. I also caught up with a lot of my co-workers, which was fun.
The afternoon was spent learning about the various reference chats that we use. RefChatter, Meebo, and Docutek. They are in a transition time, so Meebo and Docutek will likely be phased out by the end of the semester. Ref chatter seems like a good progam, and seems a little more user friendly than the Live Person program that we use at ACC. I look forward to playing with it. The last hour was spent out at the Ref Desk where I got to answer a few non-textbook related questions and I got to hang out with two of my favorite Librarians, Hithia and Selene. I'd missed them during my misadventures in California and I'm extremely glad to be back at Alkek Library.
This evening I'm working my regular evening shift at the Riverside Campus of Austin Community College. It is much quieter tonight than it was yesterday, but still, most of the questions are about textbooks. I suppose, in 2 weeks, I'll be whining about all the APA and MLA questions I'll be getting when the students' first papers come due. I have to say that I love Reference work more everyday, I like the students, I like the staff, I like making people's information finding lives easier.
I really enjoy all the variety that my part-time jobs provide me with. My mind is always active, I'm never bored, and each campus I work at has a different personality. I think I'm going to enjoy working these 2 jobs, but I'm keeping my eye open for a full-time Ref position. I want to teach and contribute in a real way. As an adjunct or a temp, you don't really have the opportunity to work on projects or participate in planning, all things that I would really like to be able to do. Also, I would really like some health insurance. I'll get there, I have my foot in many doors and I'm building my resume as we speak!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Librarian: A Day in the Life, day 1
Today started early. I got up at 4:30, not because I needed to (I could have slept until 5:30), just because I couldn't sleep anymore. But as a result, I had time to make some oatmeal before heading out for the day.
Today is/was the first day of open textbook checkout. At Austin Community College, Student Services has a grant to buy textbooks for students. The library maintains the collection and checks the books out to the students for the entire semester. Which is awesome, it really helps out our cash strapped students! Textbooks are reserved for students with extreme financial need and those that are part of workforce programs, like nursing, for the first two weeks of check out.
But.....On the first day of the second week of classes, the collection is opened up to the entire student population. Which means, there is a major rush to get the remaining textbooks.
So that is why I had to be at work early(7:00 as opposed to 8:00). Students have to come into a campus library to get books, so there is always a line at Riverside, and from what I've heard, there were lines at other campuses, where the Reference librarian must call Riverside and request the books. We try to make a student's chances the same whether he or she comes to Riverside or has a librarian from another campus call. But the truth is, its probably faster to go to another campus than to wait in line at Riverside, because each campus has a designated line to call and a designated runner to pull the books.
My first duty of the day was to be a "sort-of" bouncer ("sort-of" because I'm 5'4" in heels) -- letting 5 people in at a time. Which was challenging due to my non-confrontational nature. But after an initial incident involving hearing impaired line jumpers, things went pretty smoothly, and the line was shorter than last semester. The shorter line was likely the result of a campaign by the Riverside staff to inform students that they could go to other campuses to check out textbooks.
When we got through the line, I returned to the reference desk, where I spent most of the morning and early afternoon checking for textbook copies, suggesting alternative editions, offering advice on where to get cheap textbooks and explaining the check out process. With a few printer problems, earphone issues and a few plain old book requests mixed in. In all, I probably answered 100 Reference and Directional questions this morning.
Then we had some pizza, I finished up my shift, and I headed out to the gym. Today I work 2 shifts, the morning shift at one campus and the evening shift at another. Evening shifts are slower which is great, I need a rest after this morning.
Tomorrow: I start my new part time job at Texas State, and I have an evening shift at ACC, so another busy day. Luckily, I don't have to be up as early. The Texas State job starts at 9 and its just down the street from my apt, so no long commute.
Today is/was the first day of open textbook checkout. At Austin Community College, Student Services has a grant to buy textbooks for students. The library maintains the collection and checks the books out to the students for the entire semester. Which is awesome, it really helps out our cash strapped students! Textbooks are reserved for students with extreme financial need and those that are part of workforce programs, like nursing, for the first two weeks of check out.
But.....On the first day of the second week of classes, the collection is opened up to the entire student population. Which means, there is a major rush to get the remaining textbooks.
So that is why I had to be at work early(7:00 as opposed to 8:00). Students have to come into a campus library to get books, so there is always a line at Riverside, and from what I've heard, there were lines at other campuses, where the Reference librarian must call Riverside and request the books. We try to make a student's chances the same whether he or she comes to Riverside or has a librarian from another campus call. But the truth is, its probably faster to go to another campus than to wait in line at Riverside, because each campus has a designated line to call and a designated runner to pull the books.
My first duty of the day was to be a "sort-of" bouncer ("sort-of" because I'm 5'4" in heels) -- letting 5 people in at a time. Which was challenging due to my non-confrontational nature. But after an initial incident involving hearing impaired line jumpers, things went pretty smoothly, and the line was shorter than last semester. The shorter line was likely the result of a campaign by the Riverside staff to inform students that they could go to other campuses to check out textbooks.
When we got through the line, I returned to the reference desk, where I spent most of the morning and early afternoon checking for textbook copies, suggesting alternative editions, offering advice on where to get cheap textbooks and explaining the check out process. With a few printer problems, earphone issues and a few plain old book requests mixed in. In all, I probably answered 100 Reference and Directional questions this morning.
Then we had some pizza, I finished up my shift, and I headed out to the gym. Today I work 2 shifts, the morning shift at one campus and the evening shift at another. Evening shifts are slower which is great, I need a rest after this morning.
Tomorrow: I start my new part time job at Texas State, and I have an evening shift at ACC, so another busy day. Luckily, I don't have to be up as early. The Texas State job starts at 9 and its just down the street from my apt, so no long commute.
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