ILA ACRL 2012 - Preconference & Keynote

This spring's ILA/ACRL Conference allowed me to return to my undergraduate institution, so basically it was like going home for a few days and nerding out with fellow librarians (meant in the nicest way, as I embrace my enthusiastic nerdiness).  The events began with a Thursday evening tour of the Seed Savers Exchange library & labs.  I am a hard-core Decorah lover, but there are still many Decorah attractions I've not yet seen and Seed Savers was one of them.  Bill Musser, former Luther librarian & current do-it-all, one-man-show librarian led the library portion of the tour, while another Seed Savers employee shared the lab portion.  I'm not big into gardens or agriculture, but I still had a great time learning about how this one place serves a wide range of purposes, and how the library supports that mission.

  

 

After the tour there was a fun reception, and then the evening dine-arounds.  I lucked out and chose a fantastic bunch of librarians with whom to share the evening (but, since librarians are the nicest people ever, it would have been pretty difficult to not have had a wonderful dinner with any of the groups dining around at various restaurants).  We had a lovely supper filled with the delicious food, fun conversation, and a fair dose of laughter at Rubaiyat Restaurant. I got to better know other librarians from the Des Moines area and beyond and also got a chance to visit with the keynote speaker, Michael Porter, who joined us for the evening.

The next day began early, as I arrived on campus around 7 a.m. to assist with setting up Membership Committee materials and other signs.  The conference began with a general welcome and introductions from the ILA/ACRL Spring Conference Committee Chair, the ILA/ACRL President, and the Vice President/Dean of Luther College.  Then Michael Porter, President of Library Renewal, shared his passion and ideas for the future of libraries with us. He began with a simple, yet important equation: libraries = content + community.  I think this speaks to the heart and mission of libraries: service to patrons is why we exist.  We need to bring them the content they need (and oftentimes the content they don't yet know they need) in order to fully nurture them as an entire person (meeting their educational needs, social needs, and even emotional needs in the case of programming & support meetings held in group spaces).  As Porter noted in his presentation, libraries balance out economic and other disparities and are a place where all can come to access information, be a part of the community, learn, and exchange information and perspectives.  The library serves as an equalizer, providing opportunities for all, no matter the circumstance.

This is something I am very passionate about and found myself agreeing with much of what he had to share.  I find myself drawn serve those in need; in my past life as an orchestra teacher I served children in a community that was struggling (and continues to struggle) economically.  Currently I am in an institution where students have struggled academically or financially but are working hard toward a better future for themselves. I often think of Grand View as a place that embraces all kinds of learners, especially those who may not have been accepted anywhere else, and this is a part of my vocation as a librarian and educator--to meet students where they are and help them reach where they need to be.  We can talk about the principles of librarianship (access, community, preservation, learning, literacy, dissemination of knowledge, etc.), but, in my opinion, when you boil those all down to their simplest form they would all fall under this larger umbrella of service.

Porter also emphasized the importance of adaptation to meet the needs of those we serve (and, for libraries to survive in the future, we must adapt).  So much has changed in the past two decades, but how have libraries embraced this? I think the nature of change in academia has already been a form of hindrance to the type of progress Porter and Library Renewal seek, as it does tend to take a very long time.  Library Renewal looks to forward the switch from the current emphasis on print and what I'm calling "broken e-content" (clunky, inaccessible, overpriced, not managed in a way that best serves users, etc.) toward a more open and transparent information sharing platform, changing the infrastructure so that libraries & patrons have a say in how they receive digital content, as opposed to being at the mercy of the greater publishing industry.  That's not to say all publishers are evil--they are also currently experiencing a huge shift in how they do their business and are learning to adapt, but how is the way they are choosing to adapt hindering big picture progress (and at what cost to the public)?

If nothing, I heard an awesome new phrase I can begin incorporating into my quirky phrase repertoire: completely borked, so that's a pretty sweet deal.  Seriously though, I share much of Porter's enthusiasm and passion for raising awareness of these issues and for bringing about change, but at the same time, I know I'm starting my second career as a new librarian in an institution with 4 librarians to staff all instruction, reference, outreach initiatives, do liaison work, and all of the other things that come along with academic libraries, so the change I can make at this point (especially as a non-bigwig person) involves speaking out to legislators, doing what I can to promote change on a local and individual level--and change takes time...
   

Week Three: Circulation to Orientation and Everything in Between

In addition to projects preparing for spring semester instruction sessions, I get the opportunity to shadow in various departments around the library. Monday’s job shadow was in the Circulation Department with Jaimie Shaffer, Circulation Supervisor. Not only did I get a great behind-the-scenes look at the circulation desk and all of the wonderful things they do there, I also got a behind-the-scenes perspective on things like hiring & supervising student workers, training employees to work with the public, circulation and reserve policies (and how they have changed to accommodate the needs of the patrons and the collection), working with faculty, and working with the local community.

In my library teaching philosophy I write, “I see librarians as educators, organizers, facilitators, collaborators, preservers, outreach experts, and public servants. Above all else, librarians are people who care and who want to help others.” I can see that portrayed through the actions of those at the Circulation Desk, and I was impressed by the emphasis Jaimie put on service as we were conversing about the various duties the Circulation Department performs. Much of what they do is what one might think of as “typical circ desk work:” checking books in and out, fixing the copy machine, answering basic questions about where some things are in the library (i.e. bathroom, newspapers, etc.), pulling materials to be put on reserve, and shelving materials. During times when the reference desk is not manned, the circulation staff will help out with some reference work (where things are located, or basic catalog or database help) and some technology help (printers, copy machines, etc.).

Every two hours one of the circulation student workers enters statistics as they conduct a visual sweep of specific areas in the library. These are compiled periodically and used for reporting to the university as well as ACRL. They also reshelve non-circulating materials and keep track of in-house use (again, for reporting). There are a few special areas behind the desk where certain materials are kept. Though many professors are using electronic reserves, there are still some physical copies of materials kept on the reserves shelf. Students and faculty can also request certain items to be held for them behind the desk until they are able to come in and check them out (similar to my experiences at a public library). A few course reserve items are kept in the supervisor’s office, particularly DVDs needed for class, because of scheduling or other problems in the past. These items are not only put on reserve, but they are also scheduled at certain times for class viewing.

Throughout the week I continued to work on researching/prepping for spring semester courses (specifically World View II and Research 104). I’ve also begun orienting myself with Moodle (here they call it UDOnline), adding discussion forum topics for upcoming WV2 classes. Doing the behind-the-scenes work helps me feel more comfortable with what I will be helping to teach in the coming weeks. Not only am I learning more about the research topics (local charities in WV2 and the Mississippi River basin in Res 104), I am also learning more about the courses and what is expected of the students.

Speaking of getting ready for the spring semester: Hello InfoLit scheduling! Talk about a puzzle! As I may have mentioned before, UD incorporates Information Literacy as a part of their core curriculum. That means they do a lot of library instruction (and by a lot I mean over 500 IL sessions per year spread between five librarians—yep, a lot). I was able to participate in the meeting where the first few weeks of instruction are divided. First, before anything can be done, Anne Marie and Becky (a reference and instruction librarian) worked on entering all of the sessions from all of the classes into a spread sheet, keeping in mind: course times, instruction session needs (i.e. computer equipment, access to library print materials, etc.), room schedules, requested times, and instructors. Once that is taken care of, the librarians are able to sign up for various sessions. They traditionally sign up to work with professors with whom they already have a working relationship (whether through past instruction experience or through liaison work); after that it is first come, first served. I am excited to be putting myself into the instruction rotation! My schedule for the week of February 7 is full of assisting with some lessons and taking charge of others (woo hoo!).

On Wednesday, a few of us met to discuss the Career Services component they are adding for library student workers. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the students are offered one hour of paid time to meet with one of the Career Services representatives. They may meet with her to discuss a wide range of career-related topics: résumés, cover letters , graduate school applications, job applications, and mock interviews. This spring semester will serve as a trial, but they are heavily encouraging all of their undergraduate student workers to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity (getting paid to meet with a career counselor (when others have to pay career counselors for similar services? It’s a win-win situation!). We discussed marketing these services to the student workers and modified a brochure from the career center to fit the needs of this new program.

I deviated from my regular schedule, putting in an extra day on Friday, so I could participate in new student orientation. The library hosted 3 hour-long sessions for incoming students. The time was divided between the technology orientation and the library orientation. In each session the same technology person presented information on the basics of using UD technology (how to set up your laptop, which anti-virus software programs are required, saving files/downloads, and accessing various accounts). It turns out, the tech. person is also a great library supporter and is on the Board of Trustees of the local public library. I plan on contacting him about doing some volunteering there. The library portion was a basic introduction to the library and was delivered by three different librarians, giving me time to observe their different teaching styles. Again, the information presented was pretty basic, but crucial to early success at UD. The biggest emphasis, in all three sessions, was that the librarians are here to help you (whether it be finding an article in a database, finding your way across campus, or finding a nearby convenience store).

My favorite part of the day came at the very end. One student missed the first part of the session (covering technology). We were just at the start of the log-in process, so I made it a point to stick close to her, helping her get on track with what the rest of the class was doing, but also wandering to make sure the others were able to log in. She was doing fine, I just had to help her figure out her password and she was off and rolling. As the session wrapped up, I asked her if she wanted to stay an extra couple of minutes to catch up on what she missed. We joked about the cold weather, and I asked her where she was transferring from (California). After covering the information about laptops, connecting to the UD network, and anti-virus software we went back and looked at Moodle (she was familiar with Blackboard, which I used as an undergrad at Luther). I explained that the folks at the library are always here to help. By the end I think she felt a lot more comfortable with the material, the library, and with her decision to transfer to UD (from sunny southern California...during the coldest time of year! What a shock to the system!). I’m glad I was able to take a little extra time to make a connection with a student. I can’t wait to do even more of this!