Friday, August 31, 2012

Weekly reader

Welcoming Words to the Latest Class of Library Science Students
"Right now across the country, there are new graduate student arriving in the classroom (both real and virtual) to start their academic journey towards a Master’s degree in Library Science. It’s hard for me to believe that I only graduated six years ago and have only been on the job in a librarian capacity for five years (this September will be my fifth year anniversary). It certainly has been a roller coaster ride for me in those five years and has taken me in directions that I didn’t think I would be ending up. After struggling with a previous career in commercial horticulture and a misfire by way of a year in law school, it is been a relief to finally find my niche in the world." -- Andy W, Agnostic, Maybe, 8/27/12

How Should Academic Libraries Communicate their Own Value?
"A common complaint from my librarian friends: too often users fail to appreciate that the resources they use online are only available to them because the library has purchased them. This is aggravated by confusion about what an academic library is. Researchers actively using library resources online may not think of themselves as using the library because they have not recently visited the building. Libraries need to overcome such confusion to ensure that the contributions they make to the university are fully appreciated. Demonstrating value is key if libraries are to be able to continue to claim their share of institutional funding." -- Stephen Barr, Higher Education Network, 8/20/12

Study Finds PA's School Librarians Spread Thin
"School librarians do more than shush students – they help teachers with reading curricula, encourage kids to read outside of school, and they’re proven to be linked to high student achievement. If they have the time. About 73 percent of the commonwealth’s public schools have taken part in a study that reveals school libraries are hurting for funding and resources." -- Mary Wilson, State House Soundbites, 8/22/12

Students find E-Textbooks "Clumsy" and Don't Use their Interactive Features
"Several universities have recently tried a new model for delivering textbooks in hopes of saving students money: requiring purchase of e-textbooks and charging students a materials fee to cover the costs. A recent report on some of those pilot projects, however, shows that many students find the e-textbooks “clumsy” and prefer print." -- Angela Chen, The Wired Campus, 8/20/12

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Weekly Reader

Five Characteristics of Learner Centered Teaching
"In May I finished a second edition of my Learner-Centered Teaching book. Revising it gave me the chance to revisit my thinking about the topic and look at work done since publication of the first edition ten years ago. It is a subject about which there is still considerable interest. The learner-centered label now gets attached to teaching strategies, teachers, classes, programs, departments and institutions. Like many trendy descriptors in higher education, with widespread use comes a certain definitional looseness. Active learning, student engagement and other strategies that involve students and mention learning are called learner-centered. And although learner-centered teaching and efforts to involve students have a kind of bread and butter relationship, they are not the same thing. In the interest of more definitional precision, I’d like to propose five characteristics of teaching that make it learner-centered." -- , The Teaching Professor Blog, 8/8/12

Story Tutorials for Speakers: 4 Smart Lessons
"Storytelling's a critical skill for today's speaker. A story well-told can do more to put your big idea across than all the slides and handouts in the universe. But it takes practice and planning to tell good stories." -- Denise Graveline, The Eloquent Woman, 8/23/12

Beloit Mindset List
"This year’s entering college class of 2016 was born into cyberspace and they have therefore measured their output in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America’s future, and are entering college bombarded by questions about jobs and the value of a college degree. They have never needed an actual airline “ticket,” a set of bound encyclopedias, or Romper Room. Members of this year’s freshman class, most of them born in 1994, are probably the most tribal generation in history and they despise being separated from contact with friends. They prefer to watch television everywhere except on a television, have seen a woman lead the U.S. State Department for most of their lives, and can carry school books--those that are not on their e-Readers--in backpacks that roll." -- The Mindset List, Beloit College

Participatory Culture, Participatory Libraries
"There’s a choice academic and public libraries face. One  is to focus entirely on providing access to the published information that our community members want. The other is to make libraries a platform for creating and sharing culture." -- Barbara Fister, Library Babel Fish, 8/13/12

Friday, August 24, 2012

Look, it's another QR code post

I often 'forget' that QR codes don't have to lead users to web pages; options exist for text messages, general text, and an assortment of other resources. The IRC has provided QR code signage to users for a few years now (see here and here and here); it's been a generally successful tool to send LibGuide, IRC Blog, and IRC and library web site content to mobile devices and tablets. A new academic year seemed like the perfect time to expand use of QR code signage to a few more floors in the library. Well, that and a request from another librarian regarding development of signage to highlight our recent library catalog interface (web pac pro) update. The result? We now have a series of signs for each library floor featuring QR codes.

The new signage moves beyond directing users to web resources. Each has a set of three QR codes (all traditional black & white) featuring the library catalog, information about collections located on each floor and our new text a librarian service. To help students understand - and use - the signs, accompanying each QR code is an image depicting the type of result to expect after scanning. The top QR code leads to the library catalog and features a mobile device screen shot of the catalog; the second QR code returns brief text detailing the collections located on a particular floor and is accompanied by a cell phone image with instructions; the third QR code supports our new text a library service by automatically opening a text message on the users phone.

Signs were printed in color, laminated (because I can), and posted on the stacks end caps for viewing as users exit the elevator on each floor of the library. I used the QR Code and 2D Code Generator (Kerem Erkan) for this project as the Kaywa QR Code Generator was requiring account creation prior to use.  Overall, I'm pleased with the results (as is the librarian who requested them) and will be curious if they generate any increased usage of our texting service.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

ALAO Conference: Registration Open

Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO)
38th Annual Conference
Friday, October 26, 2012
Roberts Centre ~ Wilmington, Ohio 45177

Registration is now opened for ALAO 2012!
http://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/conf2012 




The 38th Annual ALAO Conference will feature programming spotlighting ACRL's Value of Academic Libraries report. Our keynote, Lisa Hinchliffe, Associate Professor and the Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the current Co-Chair of ACRL's Value of Academic Libraries Committee and a Past-President of ACRL. Following the keynote a panel comprised of university administrators, David R. Hopkins, President, Wright State University, Thomas Skill, Associate Provost & CIO, University of Dayton, and Whitney Womack Smith, Faculty Director, Miami University Hamilton, will offer insight on the greatest challenges and threats to academic libraries and suggest how they think libraries can make the biggest impact.

In addition to concurrent sessions, lightning sessions, posters, round table discussions, vendor exhibits, and plenty of time for networking on the day of the conference, the 2012 Conference Planning Committee is pleased to offer two pre-conferences on October 25.
The Scholarly Communications Preconference, "Researcher Revolt: What Faculty Want from Publishers, Libraries and the Open Access Movement," will feature Kevin Smith, Scholarly Communications Officer at Duke University Libraries, as keynote along with a panel of faculty from a variety of disciplines and schools who will discuss their experiences with open access.

The World Cafe Preconference, "Participatory Librarianship: Shaping Conversations to Advocate the Impact of Our Academic Libraries," features 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, Buffy Hamilton. Hamilton, who authors "The Unquiet Librarian," will lead small groups in interactive conversations about maximizing and communicating value by framing our services and programming through a lens of participatory librarianship.
Detailed program information, venue, and hotel information are available:
It's never to soon to register! Registration information:
Register now to learn about current trends, technologies, services and strategies!

* Announcement information originates from the ALAO conference planning committee.

Monday, August 13, 2012

2012 ALAO Conference

The 2012 ALAO Conference program, Impact Factor: The Value of Academic Libraries, is now available on the conference web site. Scheduled for October 26, 2012, the keynote speaker for this conference is Lisa Hinchliffe.

As noted on the ALAO Blog, you may now view pre-conference information,  a preliminary schedule, presentation & poster abstracts, and vendor information.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Weekly Reader

7 Secret Advantages of the Speaker Who Smiles
"That speaker over there who's smiling...does she know a secret? Yes, seven of them: the secret advantages of the speaker who smiles. Ron Gutman summarized much of the research about the benefits of smiling in a 2011 TED talk, and I've reviewed it to share with you the points most relevant to speakers, along with some smiling tips I share with my trainees." -- Denise Graveline, Eloquent Woman, 8/1/12





Does PowerPoint Help or Hinder Learning?
"I’ve had some nagging concerns about PowerPoint for some time now. I should be upfront and admit to not using it; when I taught or currently in my presentations. Perhaps that clouds my objectivity. But my worries resurfaced after reading an article in the current issue of Teaching Sociology. I’ll use this post to raise some questions and concerns about the role of PowerPoint both in the classroom and in student learning experiences." -- , Teaching Professor Blog, 8/1/12

Confronting the Career-Development Conundrum: 5 Tips for Busy Managers
"Career development appears at the top of many lists. Unfortunately, they tend to be lists focused on what employees desperately want but are not getting from managers.As for managers, most appreciate the value of career development and really wish they could do it more frequently and more effectively. But let’s face it: A manager’s day-to-day reality is a kaleidoscopic blur of meetings, responsibilities and shifting priorities. Helping employees to develop and grow is one of many activities that is continually pushed out in time to that elusive “someday” that too rarely comes." --Julie Winkle Giulioni, SmartBlog on Leadership, 8/8/12