Article Note: On Information Literacy and Career Services

Citation for the article:

Hollister, Christopher. "Bringing Information Literacy to Career Services." Reference Services Review 33.1 (2005): 104-111.

I accessed the article via Emerald.

In the introduction to the article, Hollister points out that "to date, student services divisions are an unexplored area for librarian outreach and information literacy instruction" (105). In academia, we often think of outreach in terms of the academic departments and the faculty. I don't recall as much in the literature or from my experiences about outreach to other university areas. At my library school, we were a bit more fortunate. The Information Commons there had a librarian for multicultural diversity initiatives and outreach. I don't recall the exact title, but that was the gist of it; she worked quite a bit with the ethnic organizations on campus. Yet this role seems like an exception rather than a rule, or it seems like a luxury that only big universities with great funding can afford. In most places, much if not all of the outreach activities fall under instructional services, assuming the academic library in question has such a unit (yes, I have seen a place or two that seem to lack an instructional services component. This can mean that it falls to the larger umbrella of reference). At my current place of work, I do a significant amount of outreach work. Don't get me wrong. I would not have it any other way, and I am willing to bet that a lot of instruction librarians out there feel the same way.

When I was hired, one of my long term goals was, and still is, to work on developing and expanding our outreach efforts. I have done a little, but much more remains. If job security were based not only on accomplishments, but on having a large "to do" list, I would probably have enough on the list to enable me to work until retirement. Momentary humor aside, the article caught my eye because of the connection to career services. For one, I am a believer that we should offer some kind of career reference section. We need to put those resume books, college directories, job guides, etc., in a central place for good access and use. In this instance, I am probably very biased because the Information Commons where I used to work had such a section, and it was widely used. In fact, at times the Career Center there would send us students to use our collection. They also had a recreational reading section, but the fact we lack one where I am at is a separate peeve for some other post. It peeves me because I actually do a share of readers' advisory for students in reading classes. Such a section could make some of that work easier for me. At any rate, for two, I think some kind of outreach to the campus Career Services unit would be a good idea. We get a good amount of students looking for such information here, so making it accessible as well as collaborating with Career Services makes sense. Well, to me at least. At the moment, it is an item on the proverbial (and seemingly ever growing) "to do" list. I am hoping this article will spark some ideas for me as I read on.

The article looks at how the University of Buffalo's Libraries established a liaison to the campus's Career Services Office (CSO). The author points out that prior to 2003, the only library collaboration with the CSO was on some workshops and one-shot instructional sessions for a Career Planning course the CSO offers. Some ideas and observations from the article include:

• One needs to remember that the CSO is not an academic department and that the counselors are not faculty. In addition, the counselors have specific client assignments based on academic departments. This makes counselors similar to subject specialists (105).
  
• This is likely accurate for most campuses. What is necessary to note are the similarities between career counselors and faculty. I would argue that there are some similarities as well between the work of these counselors and to the work of reference librarians.
  
• The first step for the author: "The author initiated contact with the counselors known to be teaching sections of UBE-202 [the Career Planning course], which resulted in library instruction classes for each of them. The author worked with each of the counselors to integrate the library instruction sessions into their courses through relevant class assignments. Additionally, course-related web pages were created, which were much appreciated by counselors and students alike. For each library instruction session, students were asked to complete anonymous end-of-class evaluations" (106).
• What I find significant here is starting by contacting the people you teach for already as a start. Also note the element of assessment, which can be used to help determine how effective the instructional work is.
  
• The author then described the meetings he had with the CSO. On initial contact, he learned that both organizations needed to learn about the other. In addition to meetings, they had exchange tours as a way for both sides to learn about the other. The author managed to become embedded, so to speak as he became a consultant for the CSO.
  
• How information literacy is integrated into the course: "The author works with each counselor individually to incorporate instruction in a relevant and meaningful way. Students learn how to research and explore selected occupations and career paths, how to search through business directories, how to research industries or specific companies, how to conduct effective job searches, and how to evaluate employment resources on the Internet. Students are also reminded that today's college graduates will change careers an average of four to five times during their lifetimes, making a commitment to life-long learning essential" (107).
  
• "Being more familiar with the resources that the UB Libraries have to offer, the author believed he could provide a unique and useful service by having reference hours in the career services library" (107).
  
• This illustrates the need for librarians who do instruction and outreach to be committed to mobility. The author also notes how he reassured the counselors that he was not poaching on their professional territory. Actually, the counselors were more puzzled as to why a librarian would be willing to provide this service. Hollister's explanation is definitely a great answer: "The author explained that outreach and information literacy instruction are the preferred methods for today's academic libraries to integrate themselves further into educational institutions and the educational process" (107).
  
• The author notes that he was provided with a laptop computer, with a wireless card, to access the library resources while working at the CSO, which meant he did not have to take over a computer terminal there. The only thing I can say about this is that it seems nice, and it would seem necessary to any outreach librarian, but could providing such a equipment be supported in other campuses?
  
• Some benefits in terms of collection development: "The experience of assisting in the development [of] the career services library collection has provided many benefits. It helped the author learn the collection and its strengths and weaknesses, which bolstered his career services library reference skills. It helped the author to identify more appropriate withdrawn items from the UB Libraries to be donated to the career services library. Also, it helped the author to select more appropriate materials for the UB Libraries career planning collection" (108).
• On Web development, the author discussed how his library suggested hosting a page for the CSO's library on the library's servers. On this, I can simply say it would not work at my workplace since my library does not have its own servers. However, creating small specific pages dealing with career resources and specific pathfinders placed online might do the job. In addition, lacking a library school, we could not just get a student to do design work on a Web site like the author suggests. Here, it would likely fall to the Web librarian with assistance from me in terms of content and some design.
  
• An important idea from Hollister: ". . .having the right contacts and knowing the right people can often bear fruit for the library liaison" (109).
  
• This cannot be emphasized enough. As the fairly new kid on the block, this is something I am still working on. I have been here for a year, and yet I still have so much to build in this area. I am working on developing and cultivating the contacts. What I am learning is that it takes time.
  
• Hollister summarizes thus: "The literature demonstrates that integration into institutional curricula is the preferred and most effective approach to teaching information literacy skills. As the scope and importance of information literary instruction continues to grow, librarians must strive to improve the methods of integration, and to explore new avenues. This involves proactive librarian outreach" (110).
  
• Hollister then wraps up by telling readers what was accomplished: "By reaching out to the university's student affairs division, the libraries have increased their visibility on campus among professional staff, administrators, and students. They have reached a population of students which might not normally view libraries as relevant to their needs outside of academic coursework. Additionally, the UB Libraries have assumed a greater role of educational leadership by reaching out beyond academic deparments, bolstering their status on campus" (110).
  

What I think I can work on is reaching out to our Career Services people and on developing our collections further. I need to learn more about what they offer, and in the process, show them what we can offer. In terms of collection development, it is a bit trickier. Career-related items are not within a specific subject area. As far as I know, the business librarians pick up some of it, and the education librarian picks up some more. Career resources is not a separate subject area, so it is one of those areas that we are all supposed to keep an eye on, which really usually means "add to it if we remember or see something good." By the way, this is what happens for LIS items, but I am not going there now. As for the career items, I think what happens is since the two mentioned librarians tend to pick up much of it, we just let it be. What I do now and then is pick up books on specific career paths within my subject areas. For instance, I get books on music careers. However, this seems minimal development for me. In the long run, we likely need to address collection development in this area better. In terms of the Web, we have a small but adequate Jobs and Careers page that lists Career Information/Statistics and Job Bank sites. If I recall correctly, the Web librarian maintains it; I say if I recall because on subject specific areas, the name of the subject specialist is on the page as contact. For this page, there is no name, which means it is usually him. It has a good basic selection. What I would consider adding might be some links to some of the electronic books on the topic we have in our collection. Overall, the article did spark some ideas for me. We'll see if I can run with some of those ideas.

Booknote: La Ciudad de las Bestias

Title: La Ciudad de las Bestias
Author: Isabel Allende
Publication Information: New York: Rayo, 2003
ISBN: 0060510323
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Subgenres: Adventure/Fantasy
406 pages

Available in translation as The City of the Beasts.

I am a fan of Allende's work, but this definitely is not her best. After close to 200 hundred pages of reading, I just could not get interested enough to go on. I always read two or three books at the same time because I like reading different things for different moods. So, when I find myself putting off one book again and again while finishing others faster, it's a sign to let it go. This is what happened to Allende's book. I started, and my reaction was "hmm, this ok, but not great, but I will give it a chance." The reading pace is pretty light, so fast readers will likely get through it fast if they find it engaging. And that was the problem for me, the book did not engage me. The first chapter is the usual set-up scene where we meet the hero, and like many other young adult novels, the hero is usually a teen going through some crisis. In this case, his mother is sick, and his father does not pay him that much attention anymore. Add to it the pesky younger sibblings, and you get the idea of been there, done that. Alexander Cold, the protagonist, is shipped off to New York to his crazy grandmother. She is just an eccentric adventurer and writer who has travelled the world. Her character is a blend of practical wisdom and cynicism that at times is endearing and at times infuriating. The adventure is a trip to the Amazon sponsored by the International Geographic to find the mysterious beast (a sort of Yeti of the Amazon). The descriptions of the Amazon and the region are very good, but the pace is only so-so. He meets a young girl, and there is a conspiracy by one of the expedition's supporters. It's just that the book feels lukewarm, and the fact that I have read much better stuff with a similar topic. The premise sounded interesting, but the novel's pacing and characters, which seem pretty much like cut-outs just did not do it for me. The novel is part of a trilogy, and based on this book, I am not likely to pick up the other two. Having said that, Isabel Allende has a pretty good track record, so I am still likely to take a chance on something else.

For young adult readers, this may be a good book if they like adventure and a little magic. There is a shaman involved and the youths find their spiritual guides. The native spirituality may be interesting to some. I found it interesting, but not enough to keep me interested. For adults, I think only Allende hardcore fans may want to read it, but they may risk disappointment. And before anyone says I am against YA books, I have read a fair number of them that I have enjoyed including Bud, Not Buddy and Cuba 15. I mentioned I have read better works on this vein, so here is my recommendation: Greg Bear's Dinosaur Summer. The setting is a world where dinosaurs live and were parts of circuses, but by the time of the novel, these circuses are no longer a novelty and are closing down. The protagonist, a young boy, goes on an expedition to return the dinosaurs of the last dino circus back to the wild. The expedition is being documented by the National Geographic. It is much better writing, good pacing, and a good tale by a solid writer that can be enjoyed by young adults as well as adults.

The 3 Rules of Librarianotics, and other thoughts.

This falls under another of those things librarians should frame and put on their desks, offices, classrooms and other spaces so they can be reminded: Ayre's Three Rules of Librarianotics, which are inspired by Asimov's Rules of Robotics. Ayre's Rules then:

"Rule 1: Librarians must ensure that information continues to be available and readily accessible and usable to all people regardless of their intellect, technical abilities, economic standing, location, race, color, creed, etc.

Rule 2: Librarians must protect the privacy of the people who use their services.

Rule 3: Librarians must explore and take leadership positions in the development of new technologies in order to ensure that they are implemented in ways that do not conflict with the first two rules."

I would think one rule is enough, which is ensure access for all and do so in a way that respects privacy. Everything else should follow, but this a very nice phrasing. Found this through the Librarian in Black, who also points to some recent discussions about MySpace and privacy. While I personally I am not gung-ho about give everybody everything and the consequences be damned, which seems to be a passion for a lot of public librarians, I am also for personal responsibility and education, and I think a lot of this boils down to that. Teach people how to make good use of technology and let them at it, and they will be fine. To put it in context, readers may want to look over a recent post of mine on student bloggers, with some remarks, in this case, about Facebook, another social tool. Don't get me wrong, I think we should be using social tools when possible, but when I hear about how people can misrepresent themselves, and it turns out it was some predator going after a little girl, that is where I draw my line. And when it turns out the pervert did it at a library, it makes me feel worse. I will grant, these instances can be very rare, but one is too many. My bias? I have a child of my own, one that by the way her mother and me do our best to watch out for, supervise when she is on the net, and so on. In other words, we do all the things we should be doing a lot of other people don't do. So, when librarians simply say let them have everything without thinking, they just make my work harder. So I bring very mixed feelings to this. On the one hand, I could care less if people chat, use MySpace or do whatever they want on a public library computer as long as it is not illegal. I don't want librarians to be policing; it's not their job. But in the few instances when it can become a problem, such as a patron looking at porn where others can see it, I do expect the library to do something about it. You want porn? Go read it at home, not in front of children. Or, the library can have some stations to the side for adults. Do I have a solution? Not a perfect one; I don't think any of us do, but to simply wash our hands and say let them have the access without any responsibility seems to be a very easy way out, a very easy way to ease our consciences. On the other hand, to censor on the basis of what someone may do is to yield to fear, ignorance, and pandering to certain groups who would take away our freedoms on the guise of morals, and that is much worse a fate. I think what I would like is a balance, a common sense balance, but it is going to take librarians, teachers, parents and communities to make it work. Sometimes I have to wonder why simple balance has to be so complicated. I don't think it has to be; it's just a matter of some people deciding they want to do something good for a change. Maybe that is why I was able to boil the rules down to one: assure access and respect privacy. Because we often do forget that children have a right to privacy as well. In fact, they may have more of a right than adults do, a right to be children. And no, I am aware we are not in some idyllic setting. That children see more horrible things now than in our time. That is not the point. The point is it should take all of us, the village, to help raise the child, and that includes librarians. It also takes the parents. Parents who simply neglect to do their duty to be parents make it more difficult for the rest of us who actually do our best to raise a child.

Technology can be a wonderful thing, but it can be used for good or ill. The technology should not be condemned when ill happens. The ones who use it for ill purposes are the ones who should be punished, and harshly. In one of those posts at the discussion the Librarian in Black pointed out, someone said we should be infiltrating places like MySpace with our librarian skills. I think it was K. Schneider. A nice idea, imagine if we could use such spaces and the power of the good we can do in order to educate others about good uses of such tools right where they are at. We could even provide safe havens, so to speak.

In the meantime, I will do my best to follow the rules Ayre proposes. I will also try to listen to other conversations on this, see where they lead. I will also ask questions, raise concerns, and wonder. And I will keep learning from my daughter as well as from my students in academia. After all, some day, they will be the ones running things. Would it not be nice if we taught them well, and then we could sit back and enjoy life? Just a thought.

Article Note: On Various Ways to Promote Information Literacy

Citation for the article:

Galvin, Jeanne. "Alternative Strategies for Promoting Information Literacy." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 31.4 (July 2005): 352-357.

I read the article via OmniFile.

This is an article on ways to promote information literacy other than classroom teaching. Since I am always looking for new ideas, I picked up the article to see what it had to offer. The author wishes "to consider the opportunities offered by library pathfinders, individual instruction at the reference desk, instruction in the virtual reference environment, and library Web pages" (352). I have always embraced a philosophy that reference and instruction are closely linked, so what the author suggests helps me to reaffirm that. The author goes on to discuss the opportunities she outlined on her statement above. She provides extensive references to the literature, which at times make this article seem more like a literature review than an actual piece of original writing. That issue aside, the article does have some good ideas I will note and comment on. The strength of the article is that it brings together all of these seemingly disparate elements to promote information literacy.

On guides and pathfinders:

• "Students benefit from course or assignment-specific pathfinders in that they are provided with a model for proper research techniques" (353).
  
• This depends on how well structured the pathfinder is. Does it really qualify as a pahtfinder? In other words, does it clearly outline a research path with options along the way clearly explained that students can use at their own pace? Doing this right takes some work on the part of the librarian. I think it is an interesting exercise to do online searches for pathfinders and guides. How many are mere resource lists? Lists have their uses, but they are not pathfinders. How many actual pathfinders are listed? One can learn a lot from what others do and don't do.
  
• "Although making pathfinders available on the Web has obvious advantages in that distribution and updating are easier, one study by Magi at the University of Vermont revealed that students in a business course found online guides somewhat confusing, but they expressed great satisfaction with using a print pathfinder" (353).
  
• The confusion may be due to the way the guide was made. Again, structure is an issue. I did find this quote reassuring because librarians often worry over making print guides available due to issues of paper costs, space for displaying them, and updating them. I personally believe that print guides have a place in a library. It is a powerful thing to be able to give a student something in a class or when they come to the desk that can help them later in their assignment. I have often observed students come back to the library with their guide in hand. I know, this is strictly anecdotal, but I would like to think we are doing something right in having pathfinders and guide in print available. In the best setting, these resources should be available online as well as in print. With the advent of tools like wikis, updating and maintenance can be a collaborative effort, maybe even collaboration between the librarian and a faculty member for specific classes. For me, this is an area I need to explore, the use of wikis.
  
• "A well-constructed pathfinder includes some information about the type of source (e.g., reference book, government documents, periodical database) that is recommended and why it should be helpful" (353).
  
• Enough said, though it makes me think I can do some further work on some of my pathfinders. I mostly follow what the author suggests, but I tend to emphasize some items more. Maybe I need to work more on balance.
  

On Reference Interviews and the Desk:

• "In an academic library, imparting skills for lifelong learning is part of the librarian's responsibility" (354).
  
• This should be framed over every academic librarian's reference desk, instructional space, and office.
  
• Galvin reminds her readers that it is important for librarians to appear approachable at the desk. This is just basic Reference 101, and it remains true.
  
• "Roving provides valuable point-of-need instruction. Huwe even recommends roving in the stacks and study areas with wireless technology" (354).
  
• The only thing I will say is wonderful idea, but it is wishful thinking for a lot of libraries. In my case at least, I don't see my powers that be giving me a tablet PC or a laptop to go roam the stacks seeking out reference opportunities (not with the funding issues, for one). Would I do it if given the chance and tools? Absolutely; I think we should be doing anything to make librarians visible and approachable to students. I often get up from the desk and roam a little around the computer area, and I often get one or two questions while roaming. It can work, and I am sure being mobile would add to that. At the moment, it seems a nice idea and a wish to hope for.
  
• "It is the librarian's responsibility to be attentive to the reference encounter and the opportunities for teaching presented in it, to guide the student to appropriate and valid online resources, and to teach the student to evaluate information found online" (354).
  
• Again, Reference 101. Yet, how often do we feel it is just so much easier to give them the answer? Believe me, I have fallen for that once or twice, and sometimes, it is the right thing to give them the answer. Having said that, giving them the answer does not mean forsaking our role as educators. Remember, part of your job is imparting skills for lifelong learning (see above).
  

On Virtual Reference:

• From here, the main idea is that librarians involved in this need to be prepared with materials and handouts they can provide the users at the moment of need. The article cites studies showing that instruction does happen during virtual reference sessions.
  

On Library Web Sites:

• This is mostly a section dealing with usability and access. It promotes the idea of a library having its own portal. Galvin cites Michael Adams, who "recommends that academic librarians create and maintain their own portals, using criteria having to do with scholarship, appropriate language, design, and timeliness. A well-constructed and carefully maintained portal would be a good vehicle for breaking down the border between the free Internet resources favored by students and authoritative, scholarly databases not available via Google" (355).
  
• For those librarians like me who are not web design gurus, learning to collaborate with your Web designer or Webmaster is very important. In my case, I can design basic pages, but I am still learning tools. However, I prefer to create the content and let someone with more visual talents do the design with my input. At any rate, the idea that the library Web page should be a portal, and that it should be a guide to students is a significant concept.
  

On a final note, the article includes an excellent set of notes and references at the end that readers may wish to consult for further ideas.

A little more on bridges and 2.0

I thought when I wrote my few musings on bridges and 2.0 thing that it would slip under the radar so to speak. After all, the experts are picking up on it, so it was all well. I had a couple of comments to that post, and I was starting to reply to them when I found myself typing a bit more than usual. As I said once before, that is usually a sign that I need to just make a post and let thing out, so here goes.

Mark Lindner, of . . .the thoughts are broken. . ., wrote from the point of view of a boomer in the middle. On labels, he commented that "when we label large groups of people and then treat them as a set of character traits we have shut down the conversation before it has already started."I try not to let the generational talk get to me, at least not too much. What I also wonder about is how this 2.0 is turning into a generational talk, if you will. While I am sure there are some of my "seniors" (and yes, as a boomer, you would be an example) who are very savvy, knowledgeable, and open to changes, there are some who are not. I am willing to bet in some cases it is not so much that they do not have those traits. It may be more that they need to be convinced or shown the relevance, a point which I thought Mark made very well. It's the why. It goes along with learning about the learning. It has to be more than "let's do it because it's cool, we are hip, and if not, our patrons will leave us for Borders (or Amazon or Google)." In his comment, Mark reminded me of one of the great challenges teachers of all types face: how to make it relevant to those we teach. It is something I work on to this day, and it will likely keep me busy for time to come. The relevance to a lot of the Millenials (if we go with that label, using the definition of them as born after 1982. This definition was used by Holliday and Li in an article for RSR 32.4. I am reading it at the moment, and I will post my notes on it later), is that they are already wired, so to speak. They grew up with the Web and the tech, so this goes along with what they do anyways. Yet, they can be both savvy and naive. Looking at the recent examples of Facebook and how some colleges have used it to spy on student misbehavior, and how some students would say they had no idea anyone other than their friends would see their drunken pictures makes a good illustration of the savvy and naive. This is where education comes in.

Walt Crawford, of Walt at Random, had been hoping he could wait and see for others to post on the issue (too late Walt, you may have to anyways). What concerned me about his comment was this:

"I've already encountered the fuzzy line between noting that a Wonderful New Idea may have drawbacks and being labeled an obstructionist for raising any doubts. (But then, if I read some of the blogging from the Gamer's thingie correctly, at least one of the speakers seems to be saying "People like that will die off anyway," which is certainly one answer, if a slightly mean-spirited one)."

He has a small post on the Gaming Symposium that puts the quote about someone dying in context. The context was about books and some people having a fetish over them. Folks are better off going over there and reading the actual quote and post. It is such remarks which make me wonder if things are getting confrontational, intentionally or otherwise. I happen to like books, a lot. I happen to like a lot of the 2.0 tools as well, some more than others. Does that person mean I am one of those that will eventually die off? I would have loved to be a fly on that wall when that statement was said, just to see how some librarians reacted, if they did. As for being labeled an obstructionist, not that it has happened yet, but I have been called worse. A librarian, an educator, anyone with an interest in information literacy and more broadly in how people learn and find the information they need then make use of it, should be someone who asks questions and raises doubts. I am trying to work on staying in the middle, not because I don't want to take a stand, but because that is my stand. As I wrote in my previous post, I was shaped by those seen as 1.0, and I work with many that would be targeted by the 2.0. It can be an interesting place to be, even if the labels fly, along with other objects. I want to know why. Why do we need such and such now? Why is such and such the best fit for my students, my faculty, my staff, and my colleagues? How do I get there if I lack buy in? Should I wait until they die out? I have questions, and I want more than "we are all doing this, it's cool, follow us." I know, that last one sounded mean, but go on, take a look at Walt's post, that was the apparent gist of that speaker. Walt suggested that it was a challenge to stay in the middle these days in his comment to my post. I think I am going to see if I can live up to that challenge, or at least try.

Some questions I have to discover by myself. Give me the tools, and I will figure them out and get back to you. Other questions I may need help, and I would like to hope that someone out there will be there if I have such a need, and be there because they honestly want me to learn, not because they are dragging me along to get to their level. I learned long ago that a good teacher opens the door, and you have to walk in. I just wonder if some think that others need to be kicked to go through the door. Well, I have probably given this more thought than necessary, so it's time to slip back under the radar. In the meantime, I am sure the conversations will go on. Thanks to Mark and Walt for stopping by, and thanks to the many others out there who give me food for thought.

P.S. I saw this from Michael Stephens's Tame the Web, Principles of Library 2.0. He pulls them together from various places. Some seem good; others need work, but that is just the dynamic nature of the topic. The comments on his post are worth a look as well.

Update note (12/08/2005) 5:30p: I have had this for a while, so I am going to put it here as addition to my notes on the 2.0 topic. This comes from the Resource Shelf. They put a post under their resource of the week with a variety of items on Web 2.0, which sort of brings together a lot of things in one place.

Update note (12/12/05) 9:48a: I just came across T. Scott's very thoughtful post. He uses the term Librarian 5.0, but what caught my attention is how he voiced many of the things I have been thinking about, especially about the library being a tool. He also writes, "By all means, use all of the available tools, just don't get hung up on thinking that the tools provide the magic. Librarians do." This is definitely well worth a read, and a great addition the conversation and the questions we should be asking.