Presentation Notes: Teleconference on "Confronting the Crisis in LIS Education"

It is a slow Friday at work today, so I am watching the teleconference sponsored by ALA and provided via the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and College of DuPage (Find the program factsheet here). The topic is on "Confronting the Crisis in LIS Education." It seemed somewhat interesting, until at the top of the hour, they launched into what pretty much boils down a commercial. It is pretty much the tone of one of those public television moments where they pat their backs and ask for support. However, there are some good thoughts in this, even though, overall, the teleconference was not exactly something I have not heard before in other venues. So, some ideas from the presentation then:

• LIS programs do not provide specialization. This is usually acquired informally via workshops, lectures, etc, or via on-the-job training.
  
• In terms of the job market, employers often place obstacles in their requirements for experience. When possible, the workplaces need to make entry-level positions more available and embrace the energy of recent graduates.
  
• On the other side, LIS faculty need more awareness of what is currently happening in the field.
  
• A professional should have professional attributes and a theoretical knowledge. The staff the library hires will set the tone for the library and its environment. The organization hires for the vision of the future.
  
• Essentials of development include the organization's core philosophy. The organization must be committed; it must plan, and it must assess the progress.
  
• Reasons for training and development. One, to fill in gaps. Another to define the values and philosophy of the organization. Training and development can also provide for morale and for intellectual stimulation of the staff.
• Some training and development does not require money. Something as simple as having group discussions of provocative articles for instance. However, whatever the training and development form, there will always be a time commitment.
  
• The observation that journals mostly represented by practitioners. (Actually, the representation is from practitioners on the tenure track who have to publish. What we need it seems is to be able to write and publish in other fields, and it should actually count as part of what is accounted for at tenure time. This did not seem really addressed by the panelists).
  

On the issue of teachers in LIS programs, I can't help but wonder why is a PhD is required to teach. I personally think librarians should be taught by practitioners. Maybe for theoretical research, sure, go for your doctorate, but to train new librarians, I don't really see the necessity. I think some of the best courses I had were provided by practitioners. Maybe it should be more of a teacher-researcher model. Something to think about. Overall, I don't think anything new or ground breaking was said. If nothing else, not a bad way to spend a slow Friday morning.

Article Note: On Instructional Improvement for Librarians

Citation for the article:

Walter, Scott. "Instructional Improvement: Building Capacity for the Professional Development of Librarians as Teachers." Reference and User Services Quarterly 45.3 (Spring 2006): 213-218.

Read in print, via workplace routing.

Walters's column provides a discussion of instructional improvement programs in libraries. This is basically looking at how to help librarians become better teachers. The article opens with the observation that "instructional improvement" usually refers to development activities for faculty. Librarians are rarely included in these types of activities, which are often centered at campus teaching centers. Walters also writes,

"Although many academic librarians collaborate formally and informally with campus teaching centers to provide information literacy instruction, there is no evidence to suggest that any major studies of instructional improvement practice have included librarians in their role as college teachers. In short, many teaching centers recognize that librarians have something to offer to campuswide instructional improvement programs, but fewer appear to recognize how much librarians might benefit from participation, as teachers, in such programs" (214, emphasis in original).

He looks at the topic of instructional improvement as it relates to higher education. The article reveals that there is some support for librarians, but there could be more. What has happened for librarians, and I think this is out of necessity, is that they have gone to create their own networks and programs from things like ALA to in-house activities.

Some other things I noticed from the article:

• "On-the-job teacher training is common among instruction librarians, as it is among members of the classroom faculty" (215).
  
• "Another important feature of any instructional improvement program is the provision of regular opportunities for teachers to actually talk about their teaching with colleagues. Brookfield wrote that '[silence] surrounds us as teachers,' and providing a forum in which teachers can discuss their work is one of the best ways to foster a culture of teaching within an organization" (215).

Maybe the silence is part of the reason why I blog. Teaching at times can be a very lonely activity, at least the preparation and planning stages. Of course in the case of this blog, I think some of it is more like sending a message out in a bottle, one never knows who will read it, if anyone. Then again, if the blogging facilitates my learning about my teaching, it has done its job.

Finally, Walters points out why we should worry about instructional improvement,

"Why worry about instructional improvement? Quite simply because, even after thirty years of discussion and debate, teacher training is still a relatively minor part of the professional education for librarians even as it becomes an increasingly important part of their daily work. Making a commitment to instructional improvement is ultimately the responsibility of every teaching librarian, but helping to foster an environment conducive to making that commitment is one of the responsibilities of an instructional leader" (216).

Article Note: On Interactive Readers' Advisory

Citation for the article:

Hollands, Neil. "Improving the Model for Interactive Readers' Advisory Service." Reference and User Services Quarterly 45.3 (Spring 2006): 205-212.

Read in print, via workplace routing.

In essence, this article proposes an alternative to face to face readers' advisory. It does not advocate eliminating the traditional model, but it suggests the proposed method, using forms, can be superior in many ways. For librarians who are RA practitioners, this is an article worth reading.

The author highlights the Looking for a Good Book program at the Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library, which provides the model for the author's discussion. The author does a good job or reviewing the common assumptions of traditional RA, and he then discusses how to implement the form-based RA.

The first assumption is that "readers will approach librarians with RA questions" (206). Personally, I don't think I would approach librarians at my local branch for RA. For one, I am pretty confident that I can find something good to read. However, I think the bigger issue is approachability. The librarians at the small reference desk don't seem very approachable for this purpose. Sure, any reference question, and I would be there. For RA, I am not so sure. It may be a "vibe" thing, or it may be I have never seen anyone approach that reference desk with RA assistance in mind.

The second assumption is that "the person approached with an RA question will be the right person for the job" (206). I think this is a good a good question to ask. I consider myself fairly well-read and informed about reading trends, but there are still genres that I am nowhere near an expert. This is just basic nature. I am like most librarians according to Hollands, that is, "talented generalists with areas of strength to which their attention gravitates" (206). I do know how to use the tools if need be, but a reader would want someone knowledgeable on the spot. I can see the author's point on this. We do need to keep the illusion. This comes from the fifth assumption: "resources needed by readers' advisors are easy to use in face-to-face discussion" (207). The illusion idea goes to credibility as readers have the impression we have read anything and everything.

The author also discusses briefly the traits a successful RA practitioner should have. I like the list, so I would like to note it here:

• "Willingness to put aside personal bias and suggest books that fit readers."
• "Knowledge of the style of many authors and interest in acquainting oneself with more."
  
• "Understanding of the differences between genres."
  
• "Familiarity with the print and digital tools available for researching books and authors."
  
• "Skill in writing annotations that reflect the appeal factors of a book."
  
• "Good communication skills and a desire to talk about books" (208).
  

I will admit that putting aside the personal biases may not be easy. It is very tempting to use our position to steer patrons into "better" reading. However, we are there to provide books that fit their reader needs and desires. Yet, I don't think we can be totally devoid of bias, or at least beliefs. Biases and beliefs are a part of who we are. I don't think we should totally forsake them, but we should not let them interfere with the work at hand.

The amount of RA that I do at work is minimal, but I strive to know about various authors and genres either by reading the works or using the tools to read about them. Online resources make this easier. You can learn about any genere via various well-made websites. Add to this resources like Genreflecting, and I can't see a reason for a librarian not to have at least a passing acquaintance with genres outside of their interest range. As for writing annotations, I think that is why I make notes on books I read in my blogs, a way to remind myself what I have read as well as get a sense of what the book was about in case someone asks. It is a skill that should improve with practice. In my case, I don't aim for a full review, just enough to have that sense of the book.

On sharing personal reading preferences, which the author also discusses, I cannot emphasize this enough. It is also something I wish my colleagues would do more. I happen to know one of my colleagues reads a good amount of YA literature as well as graphic novels, a genre I love as well. Otherwise, I am fairly clueless about the rest of my coworkers, and not necessarily for lack of prodding.

Here is another piece of advice I thought to be important:

• "For each reader [referring to the responses from the advisor], try to mix well-known, well-publicized authors and books with some that are less familiar. Provide some responses that are right down the middle of the reader's interests, and some that encourage small stretches into new territory. This range of books should try to satisfy most of the readers likely tendencies and moods as shown by the form. Make sure all of the books you list are in your library's holdings" (211).
  

Moving to a different idea, I had an interesting thought when I read the author on archiving previous RA forms for documentation. My question was "what about privacy?" Do we really want a repository of what people are reading available in such a ready way? This was not addressed in the article, and yet, given the current climate, I have to wonder.

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For another discussion of this article, see Rick Roche's post in his blog ricklibrarian. He raises additional questions about the service and possible implementation in a small setting.

On a serendipity note, our Web Librarian walks in as I am typing this note asking if we have a good answer to the question of "I need a history book [American] to read and review for my class." We get this every so often, and it is a variant of doing RA since you have to suggest something they may be remotely interested in reading and fits the scope of the class. There is no silver bullet to this one; it boils down to trying to find them something even when they answer your questions with "I am not interested in anything," which was the reply he got at the time. If nothing else, this assignment, and others like it, keep us on our toes.

Presentation Notes: On Subject Librarians and Their Blogs

I am trying out the "Presentation Notes" label for the title to see if I can better organize these types of posts, ones based on a specific presentation, as opposed to a conference, book, or article. It's mostly for me to be able to find things later if I search them.

The nice thing about presentations that are preserved on the Web is that you can go and watch them later at your leisure. The HigherEdBlogCon took place back in April 2006, but it was a somewhat busy time for me, so I was not able to attend virtually at the moment. However, the site has the presentations available, and I have a little bit of time to look at some things right before the first summer session starts. I had the site's feed on my Bloglines, so when they announced something of interest to me, I clipped it as a reminder for later. I am now going through some of those clips. If you already attended the Con, you may want to skip the post then. Now, there is some debate about the value of conferences going on and about the importance of socializing at such events. The social part I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I believe in the value of meeting like-minded colleagues to discuss issues of common interest over an adult beverage On the other hand, I really don't give a **** about drunken debaucheries in a professional setting. I will leave it to the pundits and A-listers of the biblioblogosphere to hash it out. Find some examples of that discussion here and here. Just take this as the notes of one of the folks who cannot afford to do the jet set and barely has the time to do something synchronously. Asynchronous works for me, but it may not work for other readers, so I leave it to them to decide.

Anyways, back to this. Last week, I had a chance to watch Ms. Kristin Johnson's presentation on "Subject Librarian 2.0." I learned a few things, and I found myself thinking about my own library and some possibilities. I also forwarded the link to one of my colleagues. Maybe something will come out of that as well. So, here go some notes and thoughts:

• Things a subject librarian can do with a blog: describe new resources, announce upcoming events, explain trends, and detail services, and some other things.
  
• The prompt for the presenter was to find a good method of communicating with her faculty. It needed to be a method that caught their eye enough to get their attention, but it could not be too annoying, or they would stop paying attention. Blogs could meet this need.
• A blog can help reach more faculty, especially the adjuncts. She was also prompted by the fact that she only did one newsletter in six years or so. The newsletter was well received, but it was time consuming, and it was "paper intensive."
  

We put out a library newsletter every semester. It does take some time to produce, so we aim for useful information and some pleasure items. Obviously nothing too time sensitive goes in it. My library recently embraced blogs. I don't think we'll give up the newsletter just yet, but we probably won't increase its frequency since we can use the blogs, or we should be using the blogs. Our current problem is that posting to the library blogs is erratic. On a bright note, our Engineering Tech Librarian seems to be doing well with her subject blog. However, overall, our blogs need more promotion. More importantly, they need content, and they need for that content to be provided by more than "the usual suspects." In my ideal world, all my colleagues would be posting to the blogs we have now, maybe some of them would create one for their subject areas. In the real world, if they are not posting themselves, be it for lack of time, motivation, comfort with the technology, blogs just don't work for their objectives, etc., they could be pointing out ideas now and then for those that do post.

• The presenter posts to her blogs once a week.
  

I think this could work for us, if the library as a whole could muster some commitment (I am so going to get into hot water for saying this).

• The presenter posts on things such as: new books, highlights of reference books, updates on Wikipedia and Google, pleasure reading posts, and what she calls "semi-rambling posts that I try to fit into information literacy. . . ."

I think part of why the library's blogs seem to languish here is their formal tone. I just don't see anyone post a "semi-rambling post" anytime soon. I don't think I could do it, on the library's blogs that is. My few readers likely know I can ramble fully now and then in my own blogs. I have certain parameters I set for myself when it comes to blogging (part of those parameters are here). I also have a sense of what topics to address on my blogs. In terms of the big picture, I am pretty informal and relaxed. I just don't get that vibe on the official library blogs. I am not saying the lack of vibe is intentional. In fact, my boss would likely disagree or wonder if I am pulling this out of left field, to use a polite term. Let's just say the not-so-polite term rhymes with "grass" and leave it at that. Nevertheless, the formality made it in there somehow. What I know is that I could take some of Ms. Johnson's ideas and use them for outreach in my subject areas. A question for me is: do I use what my library offers, or do I go the maverick route? Each option has advantages or disadvantages. For now, I just want to think it over a bit.

Some preliminary thoughts include the need to have a consistent template. In this sense, activating a blog(s) on the service our library uses would address this nicely. On the other hand, if I create something, I can likely make it something nice and not be tied by having to conform to "the campus look." The "campus look" actually is one of the things that hinder our website, but as it is something we have no control over, no sense in talking about it. Another thought is that our blogs (the subject ones) lack links to useful subject-related links. By this, I mean websites related to the disciplines or to library-specific resources. Now, this can be easily corrected. I don't maintain any of our subject blogs, but I can certainly find ideas and forward them. As for my areas, making the blogs myself would allow me to select links.

On a side note, I don't have many links on my personal blogs. For one, I have avoided having a blogroll to avoid giving a sense of favorites. As for LIS links, it may be something to think about. I think part of it for me also is my guess that a lot of people (ok, the few people) who read my blogs may be doing so in an aggregator anyhow, which means they don't actually visit the blogs' sites, so there's less of a motivation. I just have a couple of things that are personal, such as my L-School and MPOW, and some buttons. As I said, maybe it is time to rethink that.

• The presenter announced her blogs via e-mail after the summer at the beginning of a fall term.
  

I am thinking that here's a possible idea for my setting if I move swiftly. An announcement on e-mail would feature how to access the blog, the purpose of the blog, and asking readers for input via comments and suggestions. This comes from her suggestions.

• Later, the presenter surveyed her faculty using a survey tool created on SurveyMonkey. She asked about use of the blog, effectiveness of the blog, and reader preferences. The questions were brief.
  

I would definitely want to do this after I created any new subject blogs. In fact, I am thinking we should probably do something like this for the blogs we have now. We've had them for close to eight months. It may be time to see what we can learn.

• From the presentation, I gathered that Ms. Johnson e-mails an announcement to her faculty when there is a new post to her blogs.
  

I wonder if this would work for us. On my end, I just would like to know if any of our faculty is reading our blogs, and if they do, do they go to the site or use an aggregator.

• Subject blogs should be practical and focused. They need good marketing. One may need to allay some faculty fears or resistance if they see blogs as "diaries." I found it interesting that she entitled her blogs "news pages."
  

This presentation certainly gave me some ideas to work on. I think I have more questions now, and it looks like I have some planning and exploration to do.

Last couple of things out of Revolting Librarians Redux

This is just to note a couple more things that I was pondering as I read the book. Just think of it as some extra notes.

From Piers Denton's essay "I Was A Teenage Anarcho-Terrorist."

• "Whilst libraries remain free at the point of access, they will be part of the arsenal of liberation, and it remains my pleasure to be at my reference desk handing out books" (71).
  

This sounds to me a bit like this:

Reading that reminded me of that old propaganda poster. It does seem appropriate. Anyhow, Denton also wrote:

• "From urban guerrilla [referring to his experience] to public librarian may seem a large leap, but if knowledge is power and access to that power brings freedom, then libraries too are revolutionary, and librarians can be counted amongst the workers political vanguard" (71).
  

That reminded me of Paulo Freire's work. And for the record, I have read Mao's Little Red Book, which Denton refers to. Now that I said that, I wonder how long before the NSA pays my blog a visit. If you need to know what I read, a Google search with the blog name and the term "booknote" will likely give you my posts on books read. Also, my blogs have a running list of items I am currently reading on the side columns. Not that it's any of the government's business, but I am willing to let them see some of my ammunition.

Chris Dodge's essay on alternative publications, "Libraries to the People, Redux," is worth reading too, especially for people "not in the know." How can you not be "in the know" if you are a librarian is beyond me, but I will let that slide. Dodge refers to Sandy Berman, the legendary cataloguer, and to Berman's famous line, "I can't have information I know would be of interest to someone and not share it" (qtd. in 130). The part defining revolting librarians and the one responding to "what makes librarianship exciting to you?" are also worth a look. In fact, I photocopied the essay, and I may someday reply to the question myself, so stay tuned.