Hey faculty, how about showing us librarians some love?

I am sure by now that Todd Gilman's column about librarians and academic faculty in The Chronicle of Higher Education (October 3rd, 2006) has made most of the rounds. Gilman's article makes for a good item to send to every faculty member on campus. He does make a bit of an understatement when he writes that librarians "sense they are viewed as second-class cititzens by members of the teaching faculty." Change "sense" to "know," and you will get a more accurate picture. If you don't believe me, I actually have written proof of this from faculty members who view their librarians as nothing more than "those lame ass" people (actual words used by the faculty member. I will be happy to send anyone a copy of the e-mail in question). However, as Gilman points out, this is not news to academic librarians. We pretty much take it as a given and just deal in the best way possible. Gilman's strength in the article is that he manages to maintain a very constructive and positive tone, offering suggestions for ways in which academic librarians and faculty can better collaborate to help their students succeed. A lot of what he says is not new. I have seen it in one form or another in a few articles (here and here for example), but he says it in a way that is accessible and easy to read.

Gilman makes four points about faculty in relation to librarians:

• Some faculty (I would say a lot of faculty) have no idea of the expertise librarians have. At the academic level, we often have one other masters' degree, some even a PhD as well as the MLS. In addition, some of us actually have teaching background, something that many faculty members may or not have depending on the field of study and whether anyone provided at least a teaching methods class at some point.
• Professors are territorial. The idea of sharing control of the class is not always welcome.
• Professors often assume students know the stuff about research already. Again, this is not news. The problem is getting the faculty to admit this. That some faculty may lack some knowledge in regards to research, since things change over time, adds to the problem.
• Professors don't want to give up "precious" class time to teach research. However, they end up giving i it up anyways when they have to teach basics of research after seeing less than stellar results on student work.
  

The article is definitely worth a look for both librarians and academic faculty. So, what are some of the suggestions? Gilman writes,

"So, if you are a teaching faculty member, why not respond to that librarian who e-mails you every fall with an offer to meet you and your students for research-education (or 'information literacy') sessions at the library and take him or her up on it?

Better yet, why not work with that librarian to develop one or more assignments for a grade that will enable your students to apply what they have learned while the library is still fresh in their minds? "

And as Gilman concludes, if you are a faculty member, you may learn a thing or two in the process as well. So go ahead, fill out that request for library instruction form, give your subject librarian a call, visit with your instruction librarian. Don't wait. We really can help your students succeed in your class and give them skills they can take with them to other classes as well.

Online Webcast Notes: Best New Technologies

Webcast: Best New Technologies: Keeping Up With the Storm.
Speakers: Stephen Bell and Aaron Schmidt
Part of the College of DuPage's Library Excellence Series. I was able to view free it via the Texas State Library programs.

This was possibly one of the most painful webcasts I have had to watch. Not in the sense that the content was bad. On the contrary, the speakers were interesting overall, but the transmission was terrible in quality. Extremely choppy, jarring, stopping at times, or the visual frozen while the speakers kept speaking. Out of the various webcasts I do throughout the year, this has to qualify as one of the worst. I will certainly be leery next time I do one of these from College of DuPage. My rant on the technology aside, it was pretty useful overall, albeit it a bit basic for me. My only other complaint: the "vignettes." I am sorry, but real people don't speak like they are doing an infomercial for their colleagues. It comes across as condescending, even if it is a program designed for library professionals who may be just starting to learn about the topic.

My notes then:

• Mr. Bell began with a brief historical overview. Going back to Web 2.0 and even 1.0.
  
• Participation on social software services will be on the rise. Schmidt cited the recent article about there being more older people on MySpace. (This story was discussed by Fred Stutzman here, mostly showing the numbers are not as simple as they seem).
  
• The value of librarians and libraries creating profiles on MySpace and Facebook. Schmidt sees value in this. (See recent post by Brian Matthews on Facebook here.)
• Brian Matthews, author of The Ubiquitous Librarian, joined via phone. He mentions that creating profiles on those services serves as a virtual storefront, a good publicity opportunity. Bell questions, wondering if use of CMS for academic libraries would be better. Matthews replies that there is opportunity in social networks, to show personality, to participate in dialogues with students.
  
• Bell wonders if things like MySpace are getting too big. Are they a fad? Matthews sees that services like these will continue. The technology and the websites may change, but the user behavior will still be there. For a profile example, he recommends the University of Texas's Libraries MySpace. Do educate yourself first before you jump in.
  
• Tips for approaching technology then:
  
1. These are free services, but there are other costs such as time. Is the time spent learning and working with these tools give a return on the investment?
   
2. Balance experimentation with time investment.
   
3. Pick your edge: lead or trail.
   
4. Identify the compassionate pioneers. Let someone figure it out, then come back and teach others.
   
5. Make a plan for the library when it comes to use and implementation of these tools, but be flexible with the plan.
   
• Discussion on the use of blogs. There are different types of blogs, and they have different uses and purposes. Library blogging does differ from personal blogging. Time can be an issue: how often to post, preparing posts, etc. Starting the blog is easy. Keeping it up is where the work is at. Look at other libraries for examples. Can see the Blogging Libraries Wiki.
  
• On tagging, social bookmarkers. There is an advantage in their social aspect where you can see what others mark.
  
• Laurie Allen, University of Pennsylvania, joined in to further talk about tagging. Much of the idea is to make resources findable for other people. Her library's catalog allows for U of Penn users to tag records and make notes.
  
• On Wikis: Tool for peer production. Wikis can be public or private. Very accessible in terms of adding and creating content.
  
• Discussion of IM: Highlight the element of real-time interaction. For many people, IM is as crucial as a phone. Consider using a tool like Meebo. Overall, use of IM is cheap and easy.
  
• On monitoring tags, speakers agree it should not be so. It should be an open process.
  
• On ownership of content, do the creators simply give away their creations to companies like Yahoo! and Google. Keep in mind the companies often reserve the right to reuse what a creator makes.
  
• Don't feel pressure to use it all. Pick and focus on one or two things and give it your all there. For directors, be more open and give time to your more dynamic and young librarians to experiment and learn so they can teach others. In the end, the technology is just a tool.
  

JCLC Wrap up post

I did attend the evening closing reception and gala. This proved to be another fun event. There was entertainment provided by a troupe of Chinese dragons as well as some harem dancers who performed various dances with grace and elegance. After that, it was dancing the night away, and I will simply leave it to say that I had a very good time dancing for a while.

The next day was the closing plenary, which I chose to skip in favor of taking some time to visit my parents, who live "next door" in Fort Worth. My brother came over with his wife and their new baby. My mother made a delicious pastelon for lunch, a Puerto Rican dish made with beef and ripe plantains, think of it as a sort of very tasty "lasagna" or pie, except replace the noodles or dough with the plantains, add a few other tasty things, and yum. Sorry, I tried to find a link to a recipe, and I could not find one that does justice to my mother's recipe. Maybe I can talk her into writing it down for me, or I can make a note sometime, since I know how to make it. It's just, well, a mother puts a certain love into her cooking, what can I say?

I did not feel that I missed the closing speaker, Tim Tingle, since I was fortunate enough to see him perform the day before during a visit to the exhibits. I am told he mostly gave a speech rather than a performance, so I think I got the best of it the day before. As for the exhibits, I still need to teach myself not to grab every single free book/galley they offer, though I did do better in that regard when compared to TLA earlier this year. That time I got more schwag and less books; this time it was less schwag and more books. Maybe I will eventually get the hang of it. I did get a couple of interesting books I will make notes about as I read them. Overall, this conference gave me a lot to think about, and a thing or two to bring back to my work and library. It also gave me some time to meet with colleagues as well as some time to work some ideas on my Assistant Director. She did take some notes of our conversations, so there goes any notion of deniability on my part (haha). Maybe she'll lose the napkin she wrote it on. Actually, she had a small notepad. While I did make some notes on our conversations as well, those I am keeping on my journal. In the meantime, I will look forward to the next gathering, and I will continue,

En la lucha, (in the struggle),

Best, and keep on blogging.

JCLC Conference Notes, Day Three: Session on the Urban Academic Library

Title of the session: "A Welcoming Space? The Urban Academic Library and Diverse Students."

Adriene Lim, of Portland State University, was the presenter. (This was the last presentation I attended in terms of concurrent sessions).

• The presentation discussed results of a survey asking research questions to determine how welcoming the library was.
  
• Context: Library as place.
  
1. Libraries adding value to educational experiences and to academic institution, but how are libraries affecting students' success rates, retention, etc.? (actually, this is a question I would like to ask and explore for my library as well).
   
2. Libraries serve significant social roles--perhaps affecting students of color more so than their White counterparts.
   
• Urban academic libraries in general:
  
1. Situated in large urban centers.
2. Culturally, socially and academically diverse.
   
3. Committed to promoting diversity among student body, faculty and staff.
   
4. Expanding access and affordability of postsecondary education.
   
• The survey itself was self-selected. The instrument contained 24 questions. It focused on the campus, so it was localized and specific. It supplemented LibQUAL. However, since it was self-selected, it was not randomized, so the results are descriptive and qualitative to the respondents. It got a total of 140 responses with 123 completed surveys.
  
• From the discussion, the concept of library as place matters, e.g., the overall physical building characteristics and amenities were important to all respondents regardless of race/ethnicity. When improvements were desired, people of color wanted more access to technological assistance and writing help than their White counterparts. When compared to White counterparts, people of color use the library at disproportionate numbers. In addition, they use the library more than their White counterparts, yet still felt the library was slightly less welcoming to them.
  
• The presenter also included a list of references. (Again, nice Powerpoint, but no way to link to it as of this writing).
  

JCLC Conference Notes, Day Three: Session on Latino InfoLit

Title of session: "Latino Information Literacy: Models for Success."

(While I got a lot out of the sessions I attended, I think for me this was the best session in terms of content and food for thought. The presenters had good PowerPoints, but unfortunately, none of them provided a way to access them online as of this writing).

Isabel Espinal discussed "From InfoLit to LatCrit: Latino Studies/Students & Information Literacy."

• Librarians need to attain information literacy about Latinos. Do librarians know the sources for finding information for research on Latinos? (or other minority and underrepresented groups for that matter). This includes knowledge of effective search techniques. (See also the presentation on deconstructing information literacy for similar questions).
  
• A keyword spelling example: Puerto Rico versus Great Britain. In a reference situation, a librarian did not know how to spell Puerto Rico. Now, if that same librarian did not know how to spell Great Britain, she would be seen as incompetent.
  
• How can librarians build their competencies in this area? They can take classes in Latino Studies, read articles and books, attend Latino Studies lectures, and they can join REFORMA (which reminds me, I need to renew my membership soon).
  
• Key to understanding this approach to Latino Information Literacy is the theoretical work in critical race theory (CRT) as well as Latino critical theory (LatCrit). The speaker provided citations for further reading (as I read some of them, I will make notes on the blog).
  
• Defining elements of CRT and LatCrit:
  
1. CRT and LatCrit focus on race and racism.
2. CRT and LatCrit contest dominant ideology.
3. CRT and LatCrit focus on social justice and social justice practice.
   
4. CRT and LatCrit recognize experiential knowledge.
5. CRT and LatCrit focus on historical context.
   
• The presenter then went on to describe some of her experiences at University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
  

Valeria E. Molteni presented on "Latino Information Literacy: Models for Success." Her presentation focused on Argentinian students and their information literacy needs at CSUDH (California State University-Dominguez Hills), where BI classes are provided in Spanish for students in Spanish courses and other areas. She gave an overview of information literacy in Latin America for purposes of context.

• The Universidad de Buenos Aires is the largest university. Keep in mind that public education in Argentina is free. Research libraries are only for graduate students and researchers. At the undergraduate level then, there is a lack of information literacy. The level of information literacy varies for those in the graduate level. This is the context they bring when they come to the United States.
  
• At CSUHD then, the reference desk will provide Spanish language responses and BI classes in Spanish.
  

Laura Maldonado Hastert is Reference and Instruction Librarian at George Washington University. She presented on "Getting them in the door: Gelman library reaches out to minority students." She looked at her student population and discussed her library's instructional and outreach efforts.

• One of the forms of outreach: the library has a student liaison that works with other campus leaders. This student represents the library for other student groups on campus.
  
• There is a writing requirement for all students. Librarians have contact with students in this writing program. However, some transfer students are an exception to the requirement, which raises questions about how the library is to reach them. (It is interesting to note that their classes are all hands-on. There are no simple demos or lectures. They have two electronic classrooms with a third one on the way. For me, that is just wishful thinking as I wait for the one that has been promised to be equipped).
  
• Assessment is crucial in order to continually prove the usefulness of the instruction programs. This goes along with a university-wide assessment element.
  
• In terms of outreach, the library has done diversity displays, staff training on library tours for non-native English speakers, and collaborations with their International Services Office. And there are still things to do.
  

Susan Luevano, Librarian for Anthropology, Ethnic and Women Studies at CSULB (California State University, Long Beach) provided an overview of the Semillas de Cambio/Seeds of Change project on Information Competence in Chicano and Latino Studies. Through a grant, they were able to create a class component as well as web tutorials on information literacy. Information can be found here.