Leisure Reading Displays: At the Movies!

I decided to change up the reading displays to get them ready for the fall. While I don't yet have in our possession many other books I'd like to feature along with the others for this theme (ordering delays), we do have several books already processed and in our collection that are being released as movies this fall. Why not showcase them?!

ILA ACRL 2012 - Session 1 - Honoring the Leisure Nook

Saving Space: Honoring the Leisure Nook was presented by Kathryn J. Morgan, Julia Dickinson, Stella Herzig, & Joyce Haack, all from St. Ambrose University.

 

This session discussed both the research and practical pieces supporting having a leisure collection within an academic library.  Here is just a little bit of the research they mentioned (I'm more of a practical bits of wisdom & ideas for implementation kind of a person, but still value the literature review they shared). This is something we've assumed for some time: recreational reading promotes better reading comprehension of academic texts, higher order reasoning skills, and civic participation, all of which are desirable attributes from college educated adults (Rathe, 2006, p. 82).  In addition, students gain access to the library in a non-intimidating way, transferring their familiarity of their school or public library's leisure collection and attaching that (in a small way) to the college/university collection.  

The nature of spaces within the library was also an important part of the presentation.  One must consider access, visibility, and, just like in business, how using high-traffic spaces & strategies that capitalize on the "impulse buy," or in this case the impulse check-out, can really serve your population well. In addition to the placement of the collection, the librarians also had to consider the other spaces in the library.  Many students may seek a space that is safe from everyday distraction, one that is disconnected from technology, but still promotes a sense of community.  At one point I tweeted "social vs communal space--students like to see others as they study alone (misery loves company?)." And that's right.  It's nice to know where you can go to find a brief distraction from your studies, but at the same time having that study place you can call your own is where the real work happens for students.  By adding the leisure reading nook, the library helps to nurture the whole student, not just the academic side, making the library the student's Third Place (or at least moving it up in the rankings).  St. Ambrose marketed the leisure collection using a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and by using traditional email alerts to those who are subscribed.  

As for the logistics of the program, the library began by leasing books from a vendor, but switched to purchasing materials after realizing their popularity.  They are able to purchase between 40-50 new materials per year, and get donations through their partnership with the public library.  The public library participates in a "rapid read" program wherein they purchase many copies of newly released popular materials.  Once the demand begins to drop, they weed the duplicates from the collection and send them to St. Ambrose to be used in their leisure collection.  The collection is weeded yearly and they generally try to keep only new and fresh materials (under 5 years old).  They sell their discards at the campus book sale.  What especially caught my interest was the Summer Reading Program they developed for all interested staff, faculty, and summer student workers.  They had a kick-off party with root beer floats, and one end-of-the-program prize winner received a Kindle.  

I was curious as to how this program had impacted developments with academic departments, increased instruction, or improved foot traffic in the library.  While they had anecdotal evidence, they had a technical malfunction and lost many of the statistics that would help them assess that impact.  Another interesting topic that arose in the time for questions was the idea of a bridge collection, that features popular reading as a bridge to lead students to academic reading.  There is also the Alex Awards list that features titles written for adults, but would have appeal to young adults, which may help with title selection and help with that transition from high school to college.  

I particularly enjoyed this session and am looking forward to beginning a leisure collection here at Grand View! I've been wanting to do some programming around YA books, and perhaps beginning this collection will build further interest in a shared group reading experience with our students.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention earlier, but saw that I tweeted about, is that the library & college/university as a whole can present the library resources, leisure nook, and summer reading program as an employee benefit at new employee orientation, which may help attract and retain invested faculty/staff. 

Article Discussion: Searching Where for What: A Comparison of use of the Library Catalogue, Google and Wikipedia

Waller, V. (2011). Searching where for what: A comparison of use of the library catalogue, Google and Wikipedia. Library and Information Research 35(110). Retrieved November 28, 2011 from Freely Accessible Science Journals.

I’m pretty sure every instruction librarian has struggled with students who simply want to Google or search Wikipedia to find “research” for their course assignments. This is nothing new. Students tend to gravitate toward the familiar, and toward what they think is the easiest route. In fact, I received an email from a student that said “I just ended up looking it up on Google. Google knows all.” (Granted it was very early in the semester, before I had gotten into their class to do any IL instruction, but still). So when I saw “Searching where for what: A comparison of use of the library catalogue, Google and Wikipedia” I was intrigued. We all turn to different resources for different research needs. Let’s be honest, I won’t turn to the library’s catalog or databases to figure out when Beyonce announced her pregnancy (2011 VMAs, Aug. 28th) or whether Jason Segel is married (Single! But I knew that from a Letterman interview...I digress); Wikipedia is just fine for that. But, if I’m looking to write a paper for a grade (hint hint, students), I should use something more credible. So as part of my instruction, we discuss web quality. I share fun examples of less-than-stellar websites, and then have the “Come to Jesus” moment when it comes to using Wikipedia. (See slide four below.)

Searching and Evaluating the Web (General)

View more presentations from stonca01

I don’t know if you can see it, but the Wikipedia entry for Newton, IA shows the nickname to be “The Armpit of America,” the motto as “Too lazy to commute. Let’s go on title 19,” and the population is made up of “15,579 Smiling toothless methheads” (keepin’ it classy, Wikipedia). That usually gets a chuckle out of the students, and opens their eyes to just how easily this information can be manipulated. I tell them that I went back just one hour after I took the screenshot, and the information had been changed back to something less controversial—so not only can Wikipedia be ridiculously incorrect, it’s also not a stable, constant resource.

While reading the article “Searching where for what: A comparison of use of the library catalogue, Google and Wikipedia” I was interested in seeing what might be implied about user behaviors and the reasoning behind it. Waller examines the catalogue (yes, spelled the British way) searches in the State Library of Victoria (Australia) as compared to the searches done in Google and Wikipedia. The researcher looked at the following categories: popular culture, ecommerce, business-related, cultural practice, computing/web, health, history, science (including math), place/building, contemporary issues (news, government information), books/authors, high culture, adult (XXX or dating sites), genealogy, unknown, and other. Waller used transaction logs to gather data from the library/internet users without impacting their behavior. The findings showed that 20% of catalogue users were researching contemporary issues, wherein only 5% of Google searches were seeking information on contemporary issues. Quite the opposite was the case when researchers examined the results for pop culture; 29% of Google queries and 40% of searches that took users to Wikipedia. The article contains more information about the nitty-gritty results, but in the end, I wasn’t surprised by the user behaviors.

While not Earth-shattering, it was eye-opening to hear concrete numbers regarding Google use versus library catalog use. According to Waller, “Google is used approximately one hundred times more often than the State Library catalogue to look up information on contemporary issues. Similarly for every five library catalogue searches, there are in the order of 500 searches conducted in Victoria using Wikipedia…Wikipedia is used approximately twenty five times more often than the State Library catalogue to look up information on contemporary issues.”

I encourage my students who are working on research papers to ask “So what?” or “What’s the big deal; why should I care?” Waller’s “so what?” suggests that libraries should monitor the catalogue query subjects to better understand how their collections are being used (or where there are gaps in the collection that should be filled with new purchases). This approach would still leave gaps in the data, not allowing researchers to understand users’ reasoning behind their searching habits. Perhaps patrons are simply unaware of the depth of the library’s collection regarding their topic so, instead of searching the library catalog, they search online elsewhere. The issue then becomes educating library users about the collection, as opposed to modifying holdings. I like that Waller points out the advantages of using library resources over (possibly sketchy) web resources: difficult to find “authentic meaning when using a search engine,” most users don’t dig deeply enough into the search results (past the first page of results), you get all of the bibliographic information you need to properly cite your sources when using library resources, and information on like topics is grouped together (making students’ research easier). Waller failed to mention that when you use library resources, you’re likely to have at least one librarian you can contact when you have questions, need help sifting through and interpreting information, or need help remembering to breathe because your paper is due tomorrow and you know you should have started it sooner but you didn’t and you realize now that you kind of screwed yourself over but really you just need to get it done and just survive until the end of the semester (where’s the closest cup of coffee?). (Not that I’ve seen students do this or anything…)

In the end, the article didn’t necessarily address user motivations, but it did reinforce that, as an instruction librarian, I need to continue to educate my students about the need to dig deeper—especially when they think they already know how to search and find quality information.

Week Five: Archives & Special Collections, Technical Services, and Snow (Also known as the longest blog post for the shortest week)

Week five began with a wonderful orientation to the library's Archives & Special Collections given by Joel Samuels, University Archivist. After introducing ourselves (UD is working with another intern, Jenny Parker, doing her coursework online through University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), and participating in a little bit of "library school talk," we moved from Joel's office to the room housing the Archives & Special Collections. Essentially the structure is a large concrete box with an independent heating, cooling, and humidity system, and is surrounded by a layer of dead air and another layer of concrete. It is secure and fire resistant, with fire sensors throughout the space. Fire must be detected in two zones before triggering the system to release chemicals (preventing extra damage in the event of sensor malfunction).

Throughout our time in the Archives & Special Collections, University history was woven within the tour (as one might expect). I won't give a lengthy account, particularly because I am no UD history expert, but I will include a bit, to give some perspective on the types of items collected. The foundation for the University began in 1846 when the Rev. and Mrs. Peter Flury came to Dubuque to minister to German-speaking immigrants. In 1847, Flury organized the charter congregation of the German Evangelical Church. In 1849 he returned to Switzerland and the church continued under the leadership of a handful of pastors over the years, continuing Flury's mission. A highly influential church member, and eventual pastor, Adrian Van Vliet came to Dubuque and began a German school for ministers. In 1854 the German Evangelical Church of Dubuque became the First German Presbyterian Church. Van Vliet's school continued to grow, and was continued by Rev. Jacob Conzett, one of his students, after Van Vliet's death. The seminary expanded under Conzett's leadership, and reorganized a few times over the next 25 years, bringing in new leadership and refocusing the curriculum--eventually realizing the need for the use of English as opposed to the earlier German emphasis. This eventually became the Synod of the West and what we know today as University of Dubuque. More information can be found here (http://www.dbq.edu/childofthechurch/) and here (http://www.dbq.edu/library/collectionspdf/summaryhistoryofthesynodofthewest.pdf).

The archives/special collections core collection consists of items Joseph L. Mihelic, former University Archivist, compiled and organized. The collection covers a wide variety of topics/artifacts including various leaders' time at UD, papers from various offices around campus, faculty papers, related church artifacts Mihelic's files and papers from his estate, seminary documents and publications, German Presbyterian materials, Iowa history collections, various artifacts and artwork, and published works of influential UD graduates (including Tony Danza's cookbook, true story). It was fascinating to hear about the individuals whose names I recognized from various buildings around campus (though, from what I can tell, there's no Tony Danza Memorial Hall at this time). The oldest item in the collection is their copy of Martin Luther's German Bible written within 20 years of Martin Luther's death (1546). Crazy to think I was able to handle that object! They also have Luther's commentary on Galatians.

In the middle of the week we received a little bit of snow (as in thirteen inches) which caused the University to cancel classes, and also made it a two-day week for me (as I had been planning on going in on Friday anyway).

Friday was filled with shadowing in Tech. Services. The day began with shadowing in Acquisitions with Meris Muminovic. We talked about the basics of ordering and accounting and he showed us JTacq, which is basically magic. JTacq is an open source, customizable collection development purchasing agent that works by importing purchase request lists (from Books in Print or you may enter each individually), or patron requests (collected via a form on the library's website or through written slips/emails). The student requests are forwarded on for approval from library management or collection managers. The program goes through Amazon to purchase the least expensive, but new, copies of the requested materials--but Meris also checks to see if the title is duplicated in the library's YBP standing orders (which can't be returned) and the catalog's holdings. Presently, if the library has the book in e-book form or if Wartburg has a copy the UD library still purchases the print copy for the UD library (even though sharing does occur between Wartburg and UD). If a student has requested the item, the provisional record is flagged so that student/faculty member will be notified once the item is received and fully processed.

JTacq allows for budget reports to be run by importing information from SirsiDinix-Horizon. E-book purchasing is done on as needed, when requested or required for a class. If the library knows about the need for the e-book, they will purchase it right away to eliminate the added expense (each e-book gets three views, with a reduced cost for each view, before the item is fully purchased by the library). E-books are purchased through EBL, not JTacq.

The next job shadow session was in Cataloging and Interlibrary Loans with Susan Reiter. She emphasized the importance of student workers. For the Interlibrary portion of the position, Susan uses OCLC ILLiad 8.0 for handling the borrowing, lending, and document delivery needs of UD. ILLiad allows for customization. In this case, UD was able to customize the lending periods for their materials, setting the period at four weeks. As is the case with many libraries, UD prefers to work with free lending libraries and the customization allows for lists to be made in ILLiad to utilize these libraries first.

The UD "Buy, not Borrow" program purchases student requests that are: books, fairly recent publications (from the year of 2000 or newer), $50 or less. This was new to me, but makes sense if the items will be heavily used.

We briefly talked about OCLC and cataloging. UD modifies some LC call numbers for specific collections (those used for certain classes that are shelved in special areas of the library, those that are in the Curriculum Library, and those that are gifts all have modified bibliographic records, subject headings, and/or call numbers in the local catalog).

In the afternoon, we visited Meghann Toohey in serials. Part of Meghann's job is to coordinate the online Rosetta Stone language classes/use. Because of limited numbers of users (30 users), Meghann coordinates registration and enrollment in sessions. She also keeps statistics on the languages used, the number of people per session, and the types of users (faculty, students). The online version of Rosetta Stone is new to UD (just began within the last tear of two) so they are hoping to compile data to guide future use.

UD uses Ebsco for the majority of the periodical purchases (and a handful of local publishers for smaller publications) which makes accounting and requesting claims much simpler (all claims requests are done online through Ebsco and further correspondence is done through email with an Ebsco representative). We discussed Gold Rush (view UD's version here under "Find Articles"-->"Journal List": http://goldrush.coalliance.org/index.cfm?inst_code=123_UDL; learn more here: http://grweb.coalliance.org/). Gold Rush allows for searching for articles and journals, keeps online holdings and coverage dates up to date, provides a staff toolbox, allows for spreadsheets to be uploaded, and keeps subscription information and statistics all in one place (including contact information for subscription providers).

Something else new to me was the Back Serve program, which allows libraries to request print copies of journals missing from their holdings. These requests are filled by other libraries with duplicate copies of the requested materials.

Of course, throughout my time here I will continue to do some collection development work, placing titles in the preliminary ordering carts to be evaluated by Anne Marie and ordered by acquisitions.

Week Four: Four Weeks Already?! Haikus, Collection Development, Research, and Web Content

It's hard for me to believe it has already been four weeks since I began my internship here at UD!

Last week was the kickoff week for RES 104. Becky Canovan, Reference and Instruction Librarian, has been working tirelessly to prepare the first set in a series of instruction sessions for this course. The librarians join each section of RES 104 (13 on campus sections, and one online section) six times throughout the semester to assist them with the research and writing process. The first round of sessions introduces the research process as it relates to the students' first paper covering social science topics.

The librarians here give each other the opportunity to observe (for the benefit of both the person rehearsing the instruction, and for those observing to be more comfortable with the content and approach before jumping into teaching). Becky ran through the Res104 Day 1 lesson (she is teaching all of the Day 1s and the Days 2 and 3 are divided between all of the librarians). She put together a creative first day incorporating various technologies as well as a haiku matching game where the students matched example topics to the prepared haikus (you can learn more about them in her blog post, click here). I was able to observe the first two (of three) of the social science sessions for one of the sections (with the third observation taking place later this week), taught by Becky. It was interesting to see (even between just the first two sessions) the difference in the ways the students responded to the instruction. I could see them connecting the ideas presented in the first session to the initial/exploratory research in the second section, as they looked to see if their proposed research questions were viable. I loved going around, helping students refine their searches and topics, asking questions and offering suggestions to help them be more successful.

This past week, Anne Marie and I also had the opportunity to discuss the collection development practices in a bit more in depth. Each librarian is responsible for approximately four different liaison areas. As is the case in many libraries, when purchasing for their liaison areas, the librarians welcome suggestions from faculty and students. The faculty suggestions are particularly key when purchasing in subject areas that are not the librarian's subject of specialty. In addition to faculty suggestions, librarians consider how the curriculum is changing, and whether the selections may serve multiple areas. Anne Marie gave examples of her selection and deselection processes, though weeding tends to fall to the bottom of the list behind instruction, public services, and selecting new items. Weeding happens, typically in the summers when the library is less busy, when space becomes an issue; deselection policies vary with department standards.

I was able to complete the WV2 prep (though some professors have yet to submit their partnering organizations to us so we can prepare the slides), update discussion threads on Moodle for the instruction sessions, and observe at the reference desk. As it was still early in the semester (only three days into the term), there were only a handful of reference questions, allowing Anne Marie and I the opportunity to discuss another one of the core classes, English 101 (ENG 101).

The design of ENG 101 is different than that of any other course I've seen, in that students are developing critical thinking, evaluation, and thesis developing skills through the writing of essentially the same research paper for the entire class. The students are learning about the research writing process and, rather than complicate or distract the students from the elements of this process, the students are presented with the same resources; as a class they evaluate the resources, formulate a class thesis, and compile the same bibliography. The students then write their own research paper using the resources from the class. The pedagogical idea is that the students are there to learn the process, not get bogged down in the resources or the last minute habits that seem to plague younger college students. By emphasizing the process and grading along the way, the students are able to better understand the building blocks of writing and connect that process to future classes (RES 104) where they complete the research, evaluation, thesis writing, and paper writing process independently. The librarians participate in a two-week unit (4-5 class days) in which the students examine the same articles (popular, scholarly), discuss, develop research questions as a class, break into smaller groups and complete a similar process for other articles, discuss answers as a class, develop a thesis/argument, and discuss how to read a scholarly article.

This week was another week where I came in on Friday to participate in meetings and instruction session observations. We had a meeting to discuss one area of the UD library's web page, the "How Do I?" page. What began as a quick reference has gotten bogged down with text, and is not necessarily presenting the information in a concise or organized fashion. We discussed:

What are the goals of the page? Is it a teaching tool? Should it not duplicate what we do in the classroom? Or should it present the same information, but in a "Reader's Digest" form? Do we want to include podcasts/screencasts? Who is our target audience (on campus students, distance students, those needing help with the research process, faculty, all)?

The plan is to look at other library web pages (including public libraries) to see how they present their FAQ or "How do I?" pages, whether it is presented in database form or browsable form or both, examine mobile interfaces, and look at best practices for libraries.

This week I'll be shadowing in several areas of the library and continuing to observe classroom instruction sessions.

Week Two: Let the Projects Begin!

This past week I was able to participate in a few meetings and complete some projects (while starting a few others).

Monday was mostly a day for project work. The librarians here have begun preparing for spring instruction sessions, particularly Introduction to Research Writing 104 (Res104) and World View II: Self and Society (WV2). The description for WV2 is:
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In this interdisciplinary experiential learning format, students and faculty address significant issues that challenge contemporary American culture. We analyze these issues and discuss how our values and faith shape our responses to them. This course focuses on the themes of citizenship, social values and vocation (University of Dubuque, 2009, p. 14).
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This course is required for graduation, and has traditionally been done during the second semester of the students’ sophomore year. It will be interesting for me to see the difference between the J-term sections of this course and the spring semester sections. As I may have mentioned earlier, this January is the first time UD has tried J-term. UD has introduced new courses and adapted others to fit the time-frame. WV2 was one of the classes for which the target student audience has changed. Instead of sophomores completing the class (as is traditionally done in their sophomore year’s spring semester), freshmen were required to take WV2 during J-term. Each class will present on their associated charity/non-profit to all other sections of WV2. I am curious what the librarians think of the final outcome as compared to the product put out by the sophomore classes.

As part of my project work I did some pre-searching, finding articles on the course topic (primarily local charities or non-profits). Because of the local, service-oriented nature of this course, many of the articles were found in the Telegraph Herald, the local newspaper. In order to do our best to present a balanced view of the charities, we present positive and negative press (in the form of quotes on our presentation slides). The students are learning to consider the authority and bias of authors.

Another course I began helping with was Res104. In this course,
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Students will conduct introductory research and write papers in three areas: the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Students will work closely with their professor and a reference librarian as they frame research questions, differentiate among various disciplines’ research techniques, explore and analyze scholarly and professional resources, and write clear, effective papers on topics in the three disciplines (University of Dubuque, 2009, p. 13).
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One of the librarians has been preparing for the class by pulling relevant books, preparing Prezi and PowerPoint presentations, and brainstorming relevant topic examples. This spring, Res104 is covering the Mississippi River Watershed (containing areas ranging from Montana to Ohio, North Dakota to Oklahoma and, of course, Louisiana). In past years they have rotated between other areas of the world. My work was to go through the brainstormed list of relevant topics to see if there were enough resources for students to make it a viable topic for their research. While fascinating, this is does also tend to be a time-consuming process. The time it takes to do the research is well worth it if it helps a student be successful in their research. We don’t present the student with the research we’ve done, by any means, but what we do helps us know whether a topic will work for students or if it might be best to steer the student in another direction.

On Tuesday, I participated in a few meetings. The first was an Info Lit meeting, discussing the WV2 J-term sessions presented the week before. Overall the feedback has been positive, both from the librarians/faculty perspective and from the student perspective (which was something we were all holding our breath about, as it’s the first time for J-term and the first time it has been a requirement for freshmen. There were a few miscommunications with professors (some not staying for their classes instruction session or some misreading the instruction schedule) but, for the most part, things went well and when the library instructors encountered the unexpected, they were flexible and adjusted their instruction strategies as necessary. Some things to keep in mind for future J-term classes is that (because the students are meeting in multiple places for the same class, changing locations throughout the day) there were some lost students, so perhaps making sure their Moodle page reflects their locations and times would be helpful.

Another thing we discussed during the meeting was the staffing of the reference desk. Unsure as to when the busiest times would be, Anne Marie examined both the seminary schedule and the J-term schedule to see when class breaks were. By manning it during the 11-1 and 3-5 timeslots, we have found the majority of the reference work happens (particularly from 11-1). The librarians decided to leave the reference schedule the same for the rest of J-term and do a more formal assessment of the reference interactions upon the completion of J-term.

I also met with a Career Services Center representative, Trina. The library has proposed adding a career development component to their current student employment practices wherein students are given the opportunity to consult with Trina as part of their paid employment (allowing for one hour of paid time for this). Though it’s still in the works, this opportunity would allow students to receive services such as career assessment and counseling, resume/cover letter assistance, consultations for awards/scholarships, assistance with graduate school preparations, and interview preparation assistance. During our meeting we discussed some of the work I did, as one of the employees staring up the SLIS Career Center, and hammered out some of the logistics (i.e. a spreadsheet with student names, contact information, etc.) and also talked about the upcoming Career Week (Feb. 21-25) display/programming.

Another fun project I worked on was the Education Blog, covering the recently announced winners of various children’s book/author awards. You can read it here: http://www.dbq.edu/library/education/?p=70). That was particularly interesting to me, as it tied in my coursework from a course I took last semester, “Materials for Youth.”

I almost forgot to mention that I've been doing some collection development work, recommending titles for purchase. Anne Marie purchases for several different liaison departments and wanted me to look through some lists (i.e. Choice Reviews, etc.) to find "the best titles of 2010" to be added to the UD collection (as long as they fall within the scope of the collection). I've begun looking at Natural & Applied Sciences materials, adding them to the pre-purchase cart (to be reviewed more closely) in Books in Print. It's always fascinating to see the new information being presented (or old information being presented in a new way). I even found a few titles to add to my (ever-growing) Goodreads list!

As I’m sure is the case in many places, a lot of informal training and professional learning happens in those interactions that aren’t planned or specific to one area of librarianship. Some of the most valuable learning happens when you’re chatting with a colleague in the hallway, or you just happen to pop into their office to see what’s new in their area, or you pass someone going to lunch as you’re just coming from lunch. It’s nice to be in an environment where this happens on a regular basis.


University of Dubuque. (2009). Undergraduate Catalog. Dubuque, Iowa.