Gearing up for Fall

At least the Library Facebook page is ready for students to return! I, on the other hand, have a ton of work to do to be prepared, but I'm soooo ready to have the students and their energy back every day!

Here's the new cover photo:

Now, to finish writing that syllabus and Blackboard page... :)

ILA Leadership Institute 2016

I am thankful to have been provided the opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow with a wonderful cohort of librarians at the 2016 Iowa Library Association Leadership Institute facilitated by Maureen Sullivan (of Maureen Sullivan Associates, past president of the American Library Association, past president of the Association of College & Research Libraries, and more)! Many thanks go out to the planning committee, the Iowa Library Association, the Iowa Library Association Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the staff at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center for making this experience possible!

Fast-Forward Library Tour

It can be scary going into a new place. We're able to research hotels, vacation spots, local parks, and so many other places online to see photos or tours to help us decide whether it's somewhere we want to go. Why not a quick tour of the library, too?! I put this together to help new students, faculty, and anyone who bumps into our YouTube or Facebook page feel a little more comfortable coming through our doors. Enjoy!

Employment opportunity -- Come work with me in Des Moines!

There's a great opportunity for those interested in outreach and instruction right here at Grand View University! Information is below:

Campus Engagement and Instruction Librarian, Des Moines, IA

The Grand View University Library is seeking an energetic, creative, user-focused, and highly collaborative person with a strong interest in outreach and instruction, to fill the position of Campus Engagement and Instruction Librarian.

The primary focus of this position is to plan, implement, and assesses programs and services designed to meet changing student needs, with an emphasis on a holistic approach to learning in both formal and informal settings. The individual in this position will initiate efforts to increase use of library services by collaborating with academic support services, student groups, and other campus partners. They will also participate in the embedded librarian and faculty development programs and serve as liaison to the science departments. Their schedule includes one night per week and occasional weekends.

A MLS from an ALA accredited institution is required for the position. The successful candidate will have a strong service orientation, be highly creative, show an ability to build collaborative relationships, thrive in a team-oriented environment, have exceptional communication skills, and a demonstrable knowledge of current information technologies. Experience teaching information literacy in an academic setting is preferred.

Grand View is a Lutheran liberal arts university with a diverse population of approximately 1800 students, located in Des Moines, IA.

Duties include:

·         Developing special programs, engagement activities, and instructional workshops that support library and/or university objectives in a holistic approach.

·         Monitoring and regularly assessing the library outreach programs.

·         Designing and implementing effective library instruction for embedded librarian projects, on site classrooms and remote access users.

·         Providing leadership in outreach to the community via social media.

·         Serving as a member of and liaison to one of the colleges of the university; attending college and faculty meetings, providing specialized instruction, and collection development.

Qualifications and Requirements:

·         ALA accredited MLS is required.

·         Demonstrated effectiveness as an engaging instructor in a classroom setting or online environment.

·         Familiar with commonly used academic computing, cloud based, and digital multi-media technologies.

·         Demonstrated exceptional creative, oral and written communication skills

·         Five years of academic library experience preferred.

Required:

·         Resume

·         Cover Letter

·         Contact Information for 3 References

For further details and to apply, visit the job listing here: http://grandview.hrmdirect.com/employment/job-opening.php?req=396704&&&nohd#job

Questions may be directed to:

Pam Rees, Director of the Library and Information Resources

prees@grandview.edu

Grand View University

1350 Morton Ave

Des Moines, IA 50316

(515)263-6098

Whirlwind Spring 2016!

It has been a bit of a whirlwind of a past month! Here's just a little highlight of the fun things I've been up to:

• I began doing some advising for incoming first-year registration days in preparation for my role as a Core Seminar I LOGOS (Honors) instructor for the fall. 
• In collaboration with Grand View University Vocation Week, GV AAUW, GV Career Center, and the Office on the Status of Women, I presented a short workshop on Creating an Online Professional Presence. (April 13, 2016)

Thank you to Amy Getty for snapping this photo! 

• I attended the AAUW Smart Start Salary Negotiation Workshop on April 14th in preparation for becoming a backup workshop facilitator.
• I put together the Staff & Faculty Celebration of Vocation, the first time an event of this kind has been held on campus. 

• My favorite programming event for students was a hit again this semester. You guessed it! Pet a Pup was held April 19th and 20th. Students were smiling and tails were wagging! 

• We celebrated faculty and staff milestones on April 29th, including 5 years at GV for me. I received this photo frame to commemorate my work-a-versary! 

My question to the manufacturer is: why, instead of using a smiling family or a generic beach or landscape photo, would you use a placeholder photo of a half-naked woman reclining in bed? Now this is on my desk and is not creepy or inappropriate at all... Happy 5 years! 

• We hosted a workshop sponsored by ILA on Internet Privacy for librarians on May 2. I serve on the ILA Intellectual Freedom Committee and helped plan the event. 

• I kicked off the Summer Reading Program on May 4th with a record 19 participants in attendance (and 34 35 signed up for the program, overall; updated 5/26/16).

• I learned more about the LOGOS program and my role as an instructor in the first-year student seminar section of the program on May 9th. 
• We began foundational work for GV program evaluation.
• We hosted the first Lemonade Lunch for SRP, and folks were flipping over winning prizes!

• IPAL is being held at GV this year on May 19th. I am helping coordinate the Information Literacy Interest Group morning session again this year, and I'm also going to be doing a lightning round presentation -- Here's a sneak peek at the presentation: 

• ILA/ACRL is coming up on Friday, May 20 in Ankeny. I'm excited to attend and am especially looking forward to hearing the keynote speaker, Megan Oakleaf! This is also my first spring conference as ILA/ACRL Executive Board Member-at-Large, and I'm looking forward to all that brings! 
• More to come on the upcoming conferences and other spring and summer happenings, I'm sure! 

CIC Workshop in Information Fluency: English and American Language and Literature

My colleague and I were invited to speak at this year's Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Workshop in Information Fluency, held in Louisville, KY, on our experiences collaborating on upper-level courses in the English major.  We spoke on our embedded librarian partnership, planning, and collaborating in American Literature I & II, Diverse Voices (previously known as Women's Literature), and Literature for Children and Adolescents, and also helped facilitate workshop conversations for participating institutions. ACRL helped co-sponsor this event, and recently shared some information here: http://www.acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/archives/11520#.VucOSVXM5og.facebook Also, CIC will be sharing resources and campus plans here: http://www.cic.edu/meetings-and-events/Other-Events/Pages/Infofluency-Workshops.aspx

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Welcoming remarks at the Brown Hotel.

The view from our panel presentation space.

Just before our presentation - My colleague Dr. Amy Getty of the Grand View English Department.

J. Graham Brown and his pup, Woozem, in front of the Brown Hotel.

Downtown Louisville, KY.

We had the afternoon following the completion of the workshops to sightsee in downtown Lousiville, KY.

One of the sights we saw was a glassblowing demonstration. 

Well, of course we went to the library...

Librarian at a library. Not surprising. 

We had the afternoon following the completion of the workshops to sightsee in downtown Lousiville, KY.

Can't go to Louisville without visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory!

Can't go to Louisville without visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory!

The Babe himself.

They also had a slightly baseball themed Ripley's Believe it or Not exhibit at the museum/factory.

Louisville Slugger Museum/Factory.

Match the Selfie to the Shelfie

I'm putting up the physical display for this today, and am pushing out the email and Facebook posts the day after classes begin for spring semester. I've been collecting selfies/shelfies from faculty and staff since this summer (and was finally able to get my last one in just after Christmas, after having asked a few folks from a few different areas on campus). I pulled one or two books from each "shelfie" to display along with the photos, in case anyone is interested in checking out a favorite book from one of the staff member's or faculty member's shelves. Here's hoping it's a hit! 

Match the Selfie to the Shelfie

GV faculty & staff are sharing their shelfies!
Which shelf belongs to which person? 
Give it a try and submit your guesses here: 
http://bit.ly/selfie2016 
View larger images (so you can better read the titles and guess) and share your own shelfie (your selfie with your bookshelf in the background) to our Facebook page using ‪#‎GVLibShelfie‬!https://www.facebook.com/GVLibrary

And here's the display in action: