Class Reflections 03/28/2011 - DPLA and Embedded Librarians

Tonight's class focused primarily around two discussions - one with Paul Courant regarding a Digital Public Library of America, and one with our cohort (and class-at-large) about embedded librarianship.

Paul Courant and DPLA

After tonight, I finally feel like I understand issues surrounding "orphan" works.  I had heard previously that these items, which are still protected under copyright but whose copyright holders are unknown, are one of the big hurdles digitization projects must overcome but I never really understood why.  Now, it makes much more sense to me - if the copyright holder cannot be identified, then there is no way to get consent for digitization, period.  I am not sure why I did not understand this previously but tonight it was an "aha" moment for sure.

Also, the quote "public library collections exist to be read; academic library collections are to be known," was particularly interesting to me.  If we conceptualize library collections in these ways, I think it implies not only that different libraries have different priorities in discussions about digitization projects, but also that we might not necessarily be able to speak as one "librarian voice."  What does this mean for "big L" Librarianship and our power as a profession?

Embedded Librarianship

"What does embedded librarianship look like in 'my specialization?'"  
This is something I have been struggling with a bit when considering the traditional model of an "embedded" academic librarian as being physically located within the department they serve.  Looking into my career crystal ball,I see myself more likely at a small college library, which I am guessing will have neither the demand for nor the resources for such a model.  I think, however, there is some value in expanding the definition to include other ways in which a librarian "leaves" the library (either physically or virtually) and "embedds" themselves in their community.  For instance, I could see holding office hours or research consultations outside of the library, being involved on the course management sites, monitoring class discussions (e.g., via Skype or Twitter), etc. in my future career.


Looking forward to seeing what everyone cooks up for webinars!

Week 10 - Embedded Librarians and Webinars

With just a few weeks left in the semester we are entering the homestretch!

How People Learn Ch7 -
The chapter begins by reminding us that effective teachers tend to have both subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.  The chapter then goes on to give examples of teachers in math, history, and science who demonstrate these qualities in their classroom.  I have heard before (both from some here at SI, as well as other educators in my life) that good teachers can teach anything.  Since HPL argues otherwise, I would be interested to hear from those who disagree and have a bit of experience in the classroom. 

My main takeaway point is the importance of not just understanding what students need to learn and how they can best learn it, but also the importance of identifying the types of barriers they are most likely to face. What struck me about the examples provided in HPL is the importance of knowing your learners.  This is something that I think takes time to develop, requires a few iterations of teaching the same topic to similar learners, and emphasizes the need to assess what works well and what does not. 

Embedded Librarianship -

• "The Embedded Librarian Online or Fact-to-Face: American University's Experience" - Matos, Matsuoka-Motley, & Mayer (2010)
• "Online Webinars! Interactive Learning Where Our Users Are: The Future of Embedded Librarianship" - Montgomery (2010)

These articles both discuss models of embedded librarianship, as well as the value of webinars as a tool of the embedded librarian in an academic library.  Last semester I also did research on the importance of embedded librarians in serving distance education students, and during my reading I found webinars were mentioned quite frequently.  It seems one of the major benefits to embedded librarianship, in any form, is the opportunity for the librarian to become a member of the community which they serve.  In connection with ideas in HPL, from an instructional stand point this is very beneficial because the librarian would become more aware of who their learning population is and what students need to learn.

One of the major barriers I see to implementing an embedded librarian programs is whether or not a library has the necessary resources.  If an institution is sending librarians to "live" in the departments they serve (either physically or virtually), this means they must have the resources to staff both the "embedded" posts as well as positions in the main library.  When considering institutions that do not have this capability, I wonder if webinars can be particularly helpful for them.  For instance, this summer I will be interning part-time at a community college which has only two full-time professional library staff members to serve nearly 8,000 students.  They clearly cannot have "embedded librarians" in the traditional sense and have mentioned that they cannot provide instructional sessions to many courses as it is now.  I am not sure of the scale on which webinars can be given, but perhaps if many classes can attend at once or if a session can be taped and replayed for other classes, they could be a valuable alternative to institutions low on resources (time, money, staff, etc).


Preparing for Webinars - 
In preparation for our own webinars, I viewed an archived session from "Education Week" titled "Using New Media to Enhance Student Learning."  The webinar featured two speakers - an education researcher and a high school teacher - who presented ideas for using "new media" mediums (videos, websites, blogs, etc) in primarily K-12 language arts and English classrooms.  The topic was particularly interesting considering our previous discussions about information literacy and "transliteracy."  I also thought the format of the webinar itself was well done - a host introduced the webinar and gave participants "housekeeping information," then each speaker presented for about 15-20 minutes with slides shown in the webinar window, and the remaining few minutes were used to answer questions.  

The webinar also did not use a "chat" feature, per se, but did have a feature where participants could submit their questions privately and these questions were then shown in the main webinar window as they were answered.  I think I'm going to be in the minority on this, but I really preferred this model to a more traditional "free-for-all" chat.  I think it is important for participants to have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the presenters (through polling, etc.), but during our in-class webinar I was really distracted by the participant chat and as a presenter I would be even more distracted.  This is one of the biggest decisions to make when planning our upcoming webinars - how do we best use the available tools to best our audience? 


[Edit -I subscribe to the ACRL ili-listserv (the Information Literacy Instruction discussion list) and in the last three days there have been two conversations which have specifically mentioned uses of Elluminate in libraries.  Looks like we're on the right track!]

Class Reflection 03/21/2011 - "Mea culpa" moment from workshops

Tonight was workshop night, and I have to admit I'm a little worn out from a two-and-a-half hour block of thought-provoking presentations and discussions.  In addition to presenting about potential uses of QR codes in libraries, I also learned about:
- Thoughtful consideration of library space design
- How to download eBooks
- How libraries can use Facebook pages
- Identifying collection biases in libraries
- Understanding ethical issues of Kindles and Netflix in libraries

Aside from these topics, I also learned something about myself as a newbie instructor - I sometimes forget the difference between making a presentation and providing instruction, and how this difference effects the way I can interact with participants.  More specifically, I need to learn how to better address opposing points of view.  For instance, during our presentation we did specifically ask for "cons" to using QR codes in libraries, yet when someone actually brought one up I found myself defending our presentation rather than responding thoughtfully and fairly to the idea.  Just a few seconds later, when I realized that I had unintentionally switched into "presentation-defense mode" instead of facilitating discussion, I felt really terrible.  I think teachers and instructors need to be open-minded and welcome thoughtful debate, rather than silencing differing opinions - yet here I was doing the exact opposite!  

Unfortunately, this exchange was also reflected in our feedback - it made us (or at least me) appear unapproachable and probably shut down discussion prematurely.  And I totally agree with the feedback.  A better way to handle this would have been to open it up to the group - simply asking if anyone else had a response or thoughts on the issue would have been a much better option than defensively telling them what I thought.  As awful as I feel about this exchange, I am also so glad that it happened in the relatively "safe" classroom environment instead of in an actual professional workshop.  While I still feel pretty terrible, I'm trying to see it just one of the many things I'm learning in this class.

Sorry everybody!  Lesson learned!

[Edit - if anyone is interested, here is a list I found of current uses of QR codes in libraries, "Library Success: A Best Practice Wiki - QR Codes"]

Week 9 - Workshops and "Information Hippies"

Workshop Planning

Since there are no readings this week, my energy has been focused on preparing for Monday's workshop.  My workshop partner and I will be presenting on QR codes and their uses in academic libraries.  I was a little apprehensive about planning and implementing a workshop in just one week, but so far I think everything is going well.  The biggest obstacle was simply choosing a topic that could be effectively covered given limited time for research and the short, 20-minute presentation requirement.  This was solved within about five minute of brainstorming, and it has been pretty smooth since then!  My only remaining concern has been balancing our instructional methods.  That is, I am very comfortable giving basic, "I talk and you listen" presentations, but that is not necessarily the best method of delivery for the entirety of a workshop.  We've been working hard to strike a balance between this type of lecture and more "participant involvement" opportunities, so I am interested to see how our workshop turns out.  

Although reactions and levels of interest have been mixed when I discuss our workshop topic with other people, I have really enjoyed learning about a different example of using technology to provide point-of-need service to library patrons.

"Forward-Thinking Librarian"

In addition to planning the workshop for class, I also attended the "A Day in the Life of a Forward-Thinking Librarian" event, hosted by ALA@SI.  An amazing panel of library professionals presented ideas about what it means to be a "forward-thinking" librarian, the future of libraries, and how they think graduate students should be preparing for challenges the profession is facing.  I wish I had been taking notes because there were some great ideas presented by each of the four panelists.  One idea that stuck with me the most was that of maintaining a sense of possibility.  That is, yes, library budgets are dwindling and it is easy to mourn what has been lost; however, the new challenge is to consider the possibilities of what libraries can do and what libraries can become given current realities.  I think this makes it a scary but exciting time to enter the field - recent changes in the professional landscape mean that no one has the right answer, leaving us (as students and new professionals) with a great chance to make an impact and explore whatever new possibilities we can conceive.  Once again, it is hearing these kinds of words from current professionals that reminds me I have chosen an exciting and challenging career path!  

[As an added bonus, my favorite quote from the panel - "... we're all information hippies - we went to library school!"]

Class Reflection 03/14/2011 - Workshops and HCOD

Class tonight seemed more jam-packed with activity than usual, and I think my brain is still catching up a bit.  As always, lots of interesting discussion happening, which naturally leads to plenty of material on which to reflect.

• It was helpful to talk a little bit in class about the different parts of a workshop.  In my mind, the word "workshop" has the connotation of learning a tangible skill or making a product, and the class discussion helped show how it can be more like an idea-based seminar.  I guess maybe using the word "class" is too general, but that is how I am conceptualizing it now.  Hopefully that is not an incorrect understanding.
• Considering how well people did with the book clubs last week, I am interested to see what everyone comes up with for workshops and I look forward to learning about some new, hot topics in the library world!
• I wish we had more time for small group discussions about the HCOD issue.  But I know we wanted to leave ample time for our guest speaker, and there is only so much we can pack into one, three-hour class.
• I really appreciated Bobbi Newman taking the time to speak with us via the webinar!  So far I have not been disappointed with the in-class librarian presentations at SI, and it was great to get a non-UM or non-Ann Arbor perspective, too.
• The legal aspects of an HCOD boycott is not something I had considered before tonight, and I am glad that someone mentioned it in class.  I think one of the issues mentioned was that ALA could not itself legally promote a boycott, and I would be interested in learning more about why that is and how that could related to upholding the code of ethics - how does the governing body live up to its own ethics if it is legally limited?  Does it do this through the individual actions of its members, without official coordination?  How do we speak collectively as a profession if not through this type of governing body?

Happy Pi Day everyone!

Week 8 - Workshops and HarperCollins/Overdrive

This week we begin preparations for our one-shot workshops on ethical issues in libraries.  I will be interested to see how we tie all of this together in class, and what types of ethical issues we will be presenting during Week 9.

"Creating a Library Assignment Workshop for University Faculty" - Pixey Anne Mosely, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, vol 24, no 1, pp. 33-41

This article gives details of planning and implementing a workshop at Texas A & M University specifically aimed at faculty who include library assignments in their courses.  I appreciated the article because it gives a relatively complete picture of "behind-the-scenes"  implementation of a one-shot workshop - from assessing the University's needs and designing the workshop to meet those needs, to implementing the workshop and incorporating participant feedback into future iterations.  

I particularly appreciated the thought process involved behind the different types of activities they included in the workshop.  The role-playing exercises seemed particularly effective - it is a great way to show faculty how librarians interact with students and addresses the faculty's lack of prior knowledge about library services.  It would be interesting to include some type of role-playing activity in an ethical issue-based workshop as a more powerful demonstration of how the issue would occur in a real-life situation, and to set the stage for more meaningful, practical discussion. 

Code of Ethics of the American Library Association

Although this was not the first time I have read the ALA Code of Ethics, it was the first time I read it with a particular ethical issue in mind (ie. the HCOD issue).  In general, I particularly appreciate the ALA's statement that the profession is "explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information," and that the ethical guidelines are intended to "provide a framework... they cannot and do not dictate conduct to cover particular situations."  Librarians need to understand core professional and ethical responsibilities, but also need the freedom to act within their own best judgment with regards to specific situations.

HarperCollins/Overdrive ("HCOD")
Oh, boy.  Where to begin?  We were asked to read at least three articles or blog posts about the HarperCollins/Overdrive issue which has taken over the library world the last few weeks.  Wanting to get a range of views on the subject, I read:

• HC's official statement on Library Love Fest blog 3/1/2011 "Open Letter to Librarians"
• Jason Griffey - "HarperCollins and some numbers"
• Steve Potash (OverDrive CEO) - "A message from OverDrive on HarperCollins new eBook licensing terms"
• Marilyn Johnson - "The 27th Patron"
• USA Today, 3/8/2011 - "Librarians launch boycott in battle over e-books"
• Free Range Librarian - "HarperCollins's Memento Plan: Short-term Greed versus Long-term Culture"
• Information Wants to be Free - "My thoughts on the Harper Collins/Overdrive controversy" (Not listed for class reading, but I highly recommend for an additional view of the situation)
• (I've also been following the coverage from Andy Woodworth at Agnostic, Maybe as part of my regular blog reading.)

Rather than summarizing or enumerating what each source said (if you're really interested, I recommend reading the material at the provided links, as well as the letter from Overdrive that started the whole thing), I want to focus on my general thoughts and concerns about the situation.

It seems like a lot of people are focusing on the "twenty-six circulations" policy.  While I think this brings up interesting questions about ownership versus licensing of digital information, the fundamental differences between print and digital materials, and the transparency of electronic resource policies, it is honestly not the aspect of the debate that is most concerning to me. 

The other two big parts of the issue - those of restricting the "geographic and territorial rights for digital book lending" and "the size and makeup of large consortia and shared collections" - are much more interesting and alarming to me.  Basically, I do not feel comfortable with a publisher or distributor having power to determine 1) to whom libraries issue borrowing privileges or 2) how libraries organize themselves to make the most out of their rapidly shrinking resources.  I am much more concerned with publishers attempting to tell libraries to whom they can lend and how, than whether or not twenty-six circulations is analogous to the life of a print book.

Another part of the issue that concerns me is how this debate is being viewed by the "non-library" world.  While I was reading news coverage from USA Today, I was struck by the number of negative, anti-library comments from the public.  A lot of them see this as just another example of "whiny librarians" who are not in touch with the modern world.  Others also "discuss" (more like, declare) that public libraries are unnecessary and the government's money would be better spent elsewhere.  So, while internally we are quibbling about the fair number of circulations for an ebook, for a large part of the country this issue is generating more questions about the need for libraries at all.  Is anyone else concerned about this, or even noticing it?

In addition to the important professional problems the HCOD debate raises, librarians really need to be careful about how our reactions are viewed by the general public and how we are representing ourselves as a profession.  Because really, without public support, the issue of ebooks in libraries will be moot - public libraries have to exist in order for ebook lending to be an issue, and continuing middle-class, public support to essential for public libraries to survive.  Therefore, while we are debating the issue within the profession, we also need to find a way to make the public understand and care about us, too.

Class Reflections 03/07/2011 - Hosting Book Club

Today was book club day!  Honestly, I was apprehensive about having this particular assignment right after "spring" break, but overall I think it went really well.  Everyone in my book club group did a great job, both in preparing the story for which they were "hosts," as well as in participating in all of the book club discussions.  There did not seem to be anyone who was "checked out" or not engaging in the conversation.  The one thing I felt did not go so well were some of the questions that required deep understanding of the text or the background of the text, without any sort of "warm up" questions or factual grounding.  Since we split our discussion amongst five different pieces, it was difficult for me to remember each story at the level of detail necessary to fully answer some of the hosts' questions.  Perhaps anchoring people in the text first (with factual questions, or even just reminding them "this is what the author says") could help move the conversation along.

From a host's perspective, I was really surprised at how quickly 30 minutes can elapse.  We ended up speeding through the second half of our article because there was so much discussion happening.  Although I really wanted to give equal weight to all parts of the article, I also did not want to interrupt the conversation.  It was satisfying to know that an article we chose or a question we asked generated genuine discussion - it was not at all like "pulling teeth" to get people to talk, as I was more prepared to do.  All in all, I think allowing the conversation to develop naturally was more important than pushing our hosting agenda, so I was more than happy to allow people to chat away.  It is like a delicate balance between allowing the conversation to develop organically and helping participants stay "on task" to accomplish the goals of the book club.  At least for our article discussion's focus on "professional development," I think it's better to err on the side of allowing "too much" discussion and letting people have a chance to talk about their concerns or experiences, rather than interrupting the flow of conversation.

It was a little strange not being together as a class - I hope everyone had equally enjoyable discussions!

Some Library of Congress Love

As mentioned in my last post, I have just finished up an Alternative Spring Break internship at the Library of Congress.  Today, I spent a portion of my last day wandering around the Great Hall in the Jefferson Building.  There are some great quotes all long the upper part of the hall, and this one in particular struck my in the spirit of SI 643 (and education in general).

(Personal photo)

Hope everyone has had a wonderful "spring" break!

Week 7 - Preparing for Book Club

Greetings from sunny Washington, DC!  I'm just finishing up my ASB project at the Library of Congress and attempting to recover from a cold (sick on spring break, of course!).  Overall it has been a great week, but has gone by way too fast.

It appears that my partner and I are the only students to have chosen a non-fiction piece for the book club/seminar week, which was surprising to me.  I guess maybe everyone is tired of academic articles?  Our article is "Four Habits of Highly Effective Librarians," by Todd Gilman, from The Chronicle for Higher Education. We were interested in keeping with the theme of the the course - professional practices in libraries and information centers - and will be aiming our seminar towards both graduate students and professional librarians.  The article caught my eye because it encourages "interdependence" in the library profession, particularly in academic libraries.  While I do not necessarily agree with all of the author's opinions and examples, I found it interesting to consider how the profession needs to rely on help from others more and more.  The article was written in 2007, and I think its message is even more important in the tough times we face in 2011.
In addition to preparing our reading for the week, it was interesting to switch into dense-fiction reading mode - I honestly felt a little like I was back in high school English class!

Other readings for the week:
"The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
"Hansel and Gretel" by Brothers Grimm
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl

Of the four, the only one I had not read previously was the Oscar Wilde piece.  They each were delightfully dark and entertaining, however I found myself having a hard time reading for the "deeper meaning" in each piece.  Some were more obvious because I know the historical background to the piece, like for Swift's baby eating satire, or the author is pretty good at actively giving the reader hints, like Dahl who is also one of my all time favorite authors.  Hansel and Gretel was interesting because I had never made the association with the witch and the step mother dying... but it should be obvious, right?  I am not sure how I missed that in the past, but i guess that is why we need to read stories many times to fully grasp their true meanings.  "The Nightingale and the Rose" was more difficult for me, probably because I had not read it previously and I have never been a huge fan of Wilde's writing.  I did find the ending to be particularly amusing - the rebuffed student declares "What a silly thing Love is" and decides "... in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics."  I am not familiar with the context in which Wilde is writing, but to a 21st century reader this has a touch of irony - I would not consider philosophy or metaphysics to be particularly practical!  I am looking forward to lively discussions this week, and I will hopefully gain an even greater appreciation for the nuances of each selection.

 As an added entertaining bonus for book club preparation, while visiting family before spring break I attempted to explain to my 4- and 7-year old cousins what I was reading for "homework" (ironically, they were sitting next to me while I was reading "A Modest Proposal" in particular).  Later, we read "Goldisocks and the Three Libearians," which I think would make an equally interesting book club!