Working Under New Leadership

I can't remember what I have written about my school in regards to leadership, but this school has a new principal this year.  He is a very nice man, however, he is not as dynamic or as engaged in creating a collaborative community (yet) as the previous administrator.

My supervisor is struggling with change in leadership as she had built an eight year relationship with the previous administrator.  I can see where this change can be difficult for everyone - including the new principal.  However, I'm trying to remind myself that if I'm faced with this situation (as I will be) that it's important to mourn the loss but move on and embrace the change.  I think I'll try and build myself a little "welcome to the school" kit so that with each new principal, I'll have a way of not only welcoming them but allowing them to get to know me and what I can do (my vision, goals, etc.) for the media center.  I haven't ask my supervisor what she has done to invite the new principal into the media center, although I'm sure she has done something as she's that sort of person - very inclusive, welcoming, etc.

Wednesday was my first opportunity to see how classroom management is done with a class that is completely unruly.  We spent a great time corralling, separating, stopping, etc. for poor behavior in the 4th grade class.  It was so frustrating!  My supervisor and I talked about this and how she picks her battles.  I'm going to have to remember not to gripe over every little interruption, etc.  I think some of my strategies will be to separate kids into small groups and have hands activities, too.  I've noticed that they do not do well in the afternoon.  The 3-5th grades are just not motivated to 'sit' and a hands-on activity or something where they can work together on a project might go over better.  Anyway, that's what I'm going to try when I have them so I can see if a collaborative model will work better for them to learn.

A day in the life of a volunteer school librarian....

I've been such an awful blogger this semester, partly because I'm bloggin' on Blackboard (or "The Costco of Online Learning") and partly because I'm friggin' overwhelmed in my new career path. I'm loving it, but I'm just a fish out of water right now...So I'm taking some of my "Costco" posts and putting them online to share...enjoy! It's been eye-opening ; )

9/12

This week we are on the "A" schedule and have K-2 during the mornings. The school librarian is working with the K's and 1st graders on the parts of the book and how to protect the books when they are checked out. This was a really cute lesson with "Mr. Wiggles" the worm and the book was all drawn on and pages were torn/ripped. Another example that she showed was a book with a spine damaged so that the pages all fell out. The school librarian combined her lesson with hands-on examples, as well as, using the E-beam technology to reinforce the 'do's' and 'don't's' of taking care of library books. She introduced the children to the 'not' symbol and but them on things like a glass of water or a car. She emphasized that places the books are safe are in their book bags. 

To get the kids to remember the parts of the book, she used a rapping technique. Today, she wanted them to remember the parts on the front cover so she would say, 'T' is for Title' in a chant or rap. Then she would just say "T is for"...and they would say back "Title". It was cute and fun and they got it quick! She read a cute book that had a hand puppet (it was a book) associated with it. The book puppet has words such as 'title', 'author', 'spine' and the children need to put the words on him in the right spots. The book covers where all the info goes, too. 

The K's had a difficult time sitting still for the book. The school librarian not only read the book to them, but has it placed on a stand with a document camera in place. The document camera projects the book onto the white board so all the kids who are upfront can see the book pages better.

With the 2nd graders, she focused on them learning how to check-in their books. She had a nice powerpoint and also incorporated the rapping technique to help them understand where the books go on the shelving cart: E's (top), F's (middle) and #'s (bottom). She has her library organized by streets, so E's are 'everybody street' and are primarily picture books, easy readers; F's are for Fiction and #'s are Non-fiction. 

Today was a great experience for me as I was able to see some instruction, but probably just as important was the classroom management. Some techniques I thought were very effective such as calling on people by name to get their attention or reminding them that their reward - a tiger paw - was going to be taken away. (I have to ask what they get for the tiger paw!) However, the 2nd graders didn't get one today. One little boy in the K's tore his name badge with barcode in half. When the teacher came back to get the class, she told him she was "sending him home to his Mama hungry". The little boy had told me earlier that he wouldn't be able to get lunch because he tore it. I felt badly. I understood that he was being a discipline problem (lots of acting out during the school librarian's session), but not having lunch wasn't going to help his behavior improve for the remainder of the day. (I found out later he did get lunch and was very much relieved!)

One particular thing that really floored me was how inattentive the K's were during the book reading. Not one of them could sit still. It was so obvious to me that their parents don't read to them, probably never took them to a story time and most likely, prop them up in front of TV or a video game. I have a child this age and she would have had no problems sitting through story time. I could understand it if was the last thing that they did in the classroom time, but this was one of the first things the school librarian did! It just makes me more thankful that I have given my children the gift of reading and story hour. It does make a difference.

On a happy note, I received hugs from all the students I met today! I loved that part the best. Wednesday, I get to observe one of the classroom teachers, although I'm not sure which one. I get in early on Wed. mornings so we will have time to decide who I can observe before the pace of the morning sets us in motion. On the "A" weeks, I will be hitting the ground running!

School is in Session...well, almost...

The summer went so fast and I had all these great plans to post and read about LIS stuff.  So what did I do instead you may ask??  I took my kids to the pool, read great books and stayed away from my computer for as much as possible! LOL...it was a good summer but as August is here, so is the time to start thinking about what to write about for this upcoming semester.


Some things I find interesting...

1. LIS students!  I will be an officer for our student association and I'm eager to find out what students want from their selected officials.
2. School media - of which I know very little but will be doing some field experience this fall.
3. Social media  + Technology Tools...now that I've switched from an academic lib focus to school media, I'm more interested in finding ways K-12 can use these tools
4. AASL + Those in the "know" - I have a lot to learn...so getting plugged in w/ groups and people who have been in the field will be key
5. Volunteerism - I'd like to do some more of this in various libraries but probably not until next semester...volunteering = learning a TON about not only an organization, but the profession overall

Of course, there's other stuff, like becoming a better runner, biker, swimmer (oh, yeah - the "tri" is on the mind!), however, I think that's a good glimpse into the professional arena for now.

Cheers,

A

A Change in the Calling

My year spent at UNCG's Jackson library was truly a great experience.  Mostly, it was because of one very dynamic, positively-charged ion - Beth Filar Williams, the distance education services librarian.  We had a great time working together and accomplished so much!  I feel every minute of my internship was used to the fullest and that's more than I can say for some of the full-time jobs I've had!!

But...and there is always one of those lurking somewhere...I realized that I would probably not find the hours or schedule I would need to be home w/ my kids when they got home from school.  The thought of putting them in camps all summer was not an appealing idea, either.  So, I went back to the drawing board...Would it be so bad to rethink the thoughts about becoming a school media specialist?  I had started on that track when I first began taking classes.

After a week of thought (and looking at what I would need to do to make it happen!), I decided to jump back into it and this time, no turning back!

I start my field experience in the fall at a school in High Point.  They have a fab.u.lous media center and the woman who runs it is just so high energy - pretty incredible!  I'm excited to work w/ her...a little nervous about working w/ the elementary school kids, though.  It will be a learning curve but a good experience.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  Hope this goes well and there are jobs out there when I'm ready! ; )

Cheers -

A

Done and gone..sort of...

It's been a week (almost) since I handed in my final and finished classes this spring.  I'm officially 1/2 of the way through my MLS program.  Hard to believe, but I am.

I've watched friends graduate this semester and as they walk out into an uncertain job market, I wonder what I will be facing in another year.  How much better will things get?  Or worse?  Although I've never felt that being a librarian was a career that would bring me wealth or status, I have always thought I would be able to find a job in this field rather easily.  Now, I'm not so sure....

A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview and amazing woman, Mary Ellen Bates.  I was interviewing her for an upcoming book on entrepreneurial librarians.  My piece on Ms. Bates is a supplementary article and will either conclude or introduce the chapter on business owners who are librarians.  Talking with Mary Ellen reminded me, once again, that the job market doesn't have to start and stop with who is or more likely, who isn't hiring.  I can create my own work, my own job description and my only limitations are...well...quite frankly, myself.

I don't want to give the whole interview away, but there is a very good part where she talks about what skills you need to have to be successful as, not only an entrepreneur, but also as an employee.  While I can't publish it here...I will post the link to the book once it is in print.  I think it is one of the most important things I have learned about seeking my own place in the job market.

Looking for opportunities and making connections in everything I do that has to do w/ this career field is very important. I hope my friends and colleagues who have recently graduated have great luck in finding their career place in the world, but most of all, I hope they remember the value of learning and growing continues with or without that immediate paycheck from a library.  They can continue to hone and refine their skills as information professionals no matter where they are and they will continue to be successful if they work towards being business-minded, creative, entrepreneurial and professional.  We are never really "done" with the business of learning...

Good luck to all of you recent grads!

Cheers,

A

On w/ the body count...

or at least the credit count!  (I'm on an 'old school' lyric kick...I promise it will soon pass...please be patient!)

I had to scramble a bit to put the pieces in place for next semester (Fall 2011).  The course listings just went live today and I knew if I didn't act fast, I'd be sucking wind in classes that I had either (a) no interested in or (b) no attentions span for (or (c) both which would be the kiss of death!).

I got lucky, however, and my plan to skip a core course worked out well.  So next semester I'll be taking Digital Libraries (a welcome precursor to Metadata in the spring of '12) and Social Marketing for Info Institutions.  By lucky coincidence, both classes are online so no driving to Greensboro next semester - a first in the 1 1/2 years I've been enrolled.  I'm really excited my gas consumption might be less than $200 a month!!! Whoo hooo!

Overall, I'm happy w/ the way things are going w/ my coursework and the past year.  It was a struggle to get through cataloging, but I'm glad it's behind me and I can focus on taking some courses that I "want" to rather than those that I "have" to take.

Looking forward to the next chapter of library school but for now, I'm going to take a bit of a break and enjoy reading, researching and writing about some other topics.  Stay tuned....

This is the last day of our acquaintance...

Unlike Sinead's song, I had a very good year in ERIT and I'm sad that today is my last day.  However, it doesn't really feel like a last day...somehow, I think Beth and I will manage to collaborate and work together on other projects.  We just had a great working rapport and that's not easy to find.  She's been a great boss, colleague, mentor...

And just so I remind myself of all the awesome projects I was able to do because of her, here is the lineup from start to finish...thanks Beth:

Instructional Technology Toolkit
Current Awareness Libguide
Distance Education Services (web redesign)

and a few tutorials that are not online yet. ; )

Okay...off to cataloging....some lasts are good.

I.Heart.LCSH

After weeks of torture in Cataloging, I think we've finally come to an area that I can (somewhat) embrace - LCSH!! (Library of Congress Subject Headings, y'all!)

I don't know why, but I do love the classification of *things*. I've always loved organizing things and making order out of chaos, so this part deux of the class is something I can relate to more than the description of items. Classification and organization are two of the main reasons why I'm drawn to IA (information architecture) work. Finding similarities in items that appear to have no relationship is tricky, whether it is in a catalog or on a website. The main idea is to get users to find the item and hopefully, matched up categories correctly so that they get from searching to finding rather painlessly.

Pete Morville talks about "findability" in his blogs, books, etc. He is one of the forerunners in the area of IA and, I think, quite brilliant. One thing he comes back to and, really this is oversimplified but true, "You can't use what you can't find." I think if Cutter were alive today he'd be leading the charge with Pete and the rest of them in the "user experience" movement and making things more 'findable' whether it be in a database or on the web.

I'm not going to blather on, but I thought I'd leave some good resources on the topic of user experience, findability and IA in general. I hope you get some time to check these out:

Findability - http://findability.org/

UX Zeitgeist - http://rosenfeldmedia.com/uxzeitgeist/
(great place to link to books, articles, etc. on the "above" mentioned topics)

What is IA? - http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/resources/what_is_ia.php
(probably should have started here first...basic def. of what IA is by the Information Architecture Institute)

Getting over the Hump...A Call to Action

I started off this day in a really brash kinda mood, but a glass a wine and 2 sleeping kids later, I realized I need to soften up a bit.

After reading articles, blogs, discussion boards,...you name it...about how there is no money, lay offs, no jobs, etc....I got really, really ticked off!! For example, here was the start of my orig. post from this morning:

Librarians Should Not Have to Work for FREE!!!

The rant continued but I realized that all I was doing was...well..ranting. And while it feels good in the moment, it doesn't really change the fact that libraries still have no money, lay offs...you get the point.

So here's my "to do" list...I need to add more, but this was my first attempt. My top 5 are:

1. Become a "friend" of the local library
2. Get to know my local librarians better
3. Learn how to advocate for my library
4. Find out what the issues are and FB everybody and their brother about them
5. Attend a city council meeting

If I want libraries to be around for my kids to enjoy, then I'm going to have to start making a statement about why these places are important, and not just to me, but from a community point of view. The "why" is a heck of a lot more important these days than the "what".

So out with the bun and the 'shushing'; no more whining about how we are devalued, underpaid, not appreciated...we aren't having that anymore...it's time for a change in our voices and I want to start ushering in that change in my own way.

Cheers,

Amy

Oscars, here I come!

Okay, well maybe I need to refine my skills a bit, but it was really fun producing this first tutorial on finding a nursing article from a nursing journal in CINAHL.

Check it out...

Evaluating the TLP!

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm in the process of writing my evaluation of the Teach-Library Program from a students perspective. It's challenging to do this...While the program experience for me has been great - valuable, focused, tangible (in terms of project results) - I hope it is the same for the next person who comes along to fill this role.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I think my situation was different when I applied for this position. Coming into the LIS program, I knew that I wanted to combine my skills as an instructional designer with those of a librarian. When this position was posted and I saw that I would be working w/ Beth, receive free tution and a small stipend for only 20 hours a week - wow! - it was a no-brainer!

Even though the project is not over yet and I still have lots of work to do until the end of April, here are some of my thoughts for the next student coming into this internship....

1. Be flexible and keep your eyes open - you never know where a project might take you, how it can impact your portfolio or what networking connections you may make....so be open to new challenges and try everything you can
2. Look for connections - I had to work a little bit harder to align my courses with the practical aspects of my job, but it can be done! I created a distance education collection of resources from my 615 course and am using my 636 course to redo the Distance Education Services home page
3. Don't be afraid to speak up - if the project isn't going as planned or things seem to be moving in a direction that isn't benefiting your learning experience, it's okay to say so
4. Use what you know - everyone comes into a job or school with experience of some kind...so use it!
5. Have fun and get to know others in the library - I have to admit, I have had a ton of fun, but I have not done a very good job of getting to know others in the library - oops! So I'm going to try and work on that this last half of the year

So those are my words of (self-proclaimed) wisdom thus far...I plan on putting them into my formal evaluation but I thought I would put them here more informally. Trying to get my thoughts around what I need to say and how I'm going to say it...as I said above...is going to be challenging!

Cheers,

A

Crafting content....

It seems like we should be much farther along in the semester than week 4!?!? Oh well...I think I'm just anxious for spring to get here!

Thinking of spring and new beginnings...The Instructional Tech Toolkit v.1 was officially completed this past week. Laurie is going to upload it to the live site next week and we'll be able to do a soft roll out to faculty, students and staff. I still want to push it to some students for usuability testing, however, I want the final version link to be sent and not what we currently have up there. I will post it soon!

The toolkit project was great to work on, but I'm very happy I still had some work to do on it coming into this semester. I'm taking a web usability course and reading Jakob Nielsen's book helped me to focus on some areas that needed tightening up - namely, content. Nielsen points out that users don't read - they skim. And what they do read is nebulous until they get to what they really want to read - the information they've been searching for - the article or more indepth stuff that's not right up front on a site...basically, what I would call 'drill down' content. Thinking about this on the toolkit site helped me to hone the landing page text and (hopefully) make it easier for users to navigate to the tools they want to explore.

I'm applying the same principles to the redesign of the distance education services pages this spring. It's one of the projects we agreed to look at and since Camtasia is still being sorted out, it will give me a link between practice and classroom theory. I wish cataloging was more about organizing information as it pertains to the web, as having both of these classes together paired with this internship would have been a grand slam!!! Oh well...can't have it all...

Getting Back into the Groove...

After several weeks of cancellations, delays and other various false starts, I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm back into the mode of school, work and...well...LIFE!

Here's what I've been working on, thinking about or about reading to get going on:

Internship....
Things have been going great in this department! Beth had the toolkit reviewed and we've had some very positive feedback. The team went through with a fine-toothed comb and I just completed the edits this past week (on time, according to my deadline - whoo hoo!) So here's the 'soft rollout' of the site:

Instructional Technology Toolkit - I would love some feedback on it!

The next phase of the internship will be revamping Beth's website pages and revising various 'how to' tutorials. More to come on that...

School...
Fortunately, I am taking an online course this semester dedicated to usability and web design (636 - Web Production and Usability for Librarians) that is going to help me immensely in doing some of the above mentioned work. This class isn't all that taxing as far as the concepts, however, there is going to be a great deal of reading and production work. I'm not that familiar with conducting user testing and I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to do this phase of the project.

Cataloging is my other course, and...well...it's cataloging. However, I am enjoying it a bit more than when I first started it. (Did I just type that!??!) No, I do not want to be a cataloger, but my heart has softened towards those that do this type of work and enjoy it.

Life...
I'm working on a very exciting book project this semester that sort of just fell into my lap! I'm going to be interviewing two women librarians - one works in a public library and one is an entrepreneur - for a book about various types of entrepreneurial librarians. It's a great opportunity to learn more about the topic and hone my writing skills. I wish it was a paying project, but they handed me the job without question, so I'm hoping it leads to other paying opportunities in the future! Keeping my fingers crossed on that one...

And my little tidbit for today is to keep plugging...I read some comment on a blog that said librarians are antiquated and irrelevant...ouch...I had to think on that one for a long time and ask myself, "Does my profession fit this definition?" To this I say, "no" but we are in danger of heading this way if we don't promote, market and engage ourselves in more future-forward thinking. So keep plugging...there are some really great librarians out there doing some tremendous things!

Peace out -

A

Excuse me, are you using that AACR2 at the moment?

I'm learning something I never thought I would ever have to learn in my entire life. When you were a kid and you visited the library, did you ever wonder who typed up the cards that went in the card catalog? If you are asking, 'what's a card catalog'...here's a picture...and yes, I am that old!!!

Well, as a kid, we spent loads of time at the library and I can remember thinking about that very cool card catalog and how fun it would be to put the cards in there...hahahaha...I have no idea why...probably stemmed from my love of typewriters, rubber stamps and stamp pads, and almost any type of office supply.

So guess what I'm learning in my cataloging class...yep! All about how to create all those entries that go on the actual card! Oh joy...and what's even worse is that it's not just a few little rules to learn...there.is.an.entire.binder.of.rules! And not just a 1" binder..oh no...it's like a 3" binder!!

I keep asking myself - 'why do I need to know this?' 'what possible effect could it have on my future career as a librarian?'....you know what? I still don't have any answers for these questions (and a lot more, like 'what the heck is main entry other than my front door?')

So off I go, into the deep dark night, trying to figure out how to label title pages of books. I'll try and find the highlights for us non-catalogers before the semester ends...I promise!

Cheers -

A

Free, free, free (e)books please!

I'm officially an ereader as of December 25th! Thank you, Santa (er, Mark ; ) for my new Kindle! Amazon had a banner Christmas too, I see, with all the new Kindle owners out there. So, of course, like any good consumer, I wanted to start to actually read on my Kindle. Then I found out:

1. Kindle's don't work with EPUB or Adobe Digital Editions formatted books which meant (for me) no free library books

2. I need to shop at Amazon to get my books...boo

I guess I should have been a bit more thorough on selecting my ereader, however, I highly doubt I would have received the Sony eReader for almost $300 that does essentially the same thing as my Kindle for $189!!!! Yikes...

Like any good cheapskate, I started scouring the Internet looking for free ebooks. Here are some things I have learned:

1. Kindle books are in MOBI format which means...even if Kindles are on the list of supported devices, you still might be able to download the book and use Calibre to format it to read on your Kindle.

2. DRM = rotten, stinking bugger that won't allow you to read the newly downloaded books esp. if they are EPUB format! Arghh...so what do you do then?

3. eBook Converter - a little software download that removes the DRM and allows you to format your book so that you can read it on your Kindle. CAVEAT: This is a bit naughty...kind of like using Napster before Napster became regulated. >:( There are lots of debates about DRM (oh - Digital Rights (or Restriction) Management - sorry!) so read up and pick a side. >:)

But lets get back to why we are here...eReading on the cheap! Here is my list of resources of free reading material for your Kindle:

Free ebooks by Project Gutenberg
Feedbooks
Free Kindle Books on Amazon
Amazon - Limited Time offers (some free and some on the cheap!)

Happy Reading!

A

Gone, Daddy, Gone...

I am gone...no more papers, no more books..yada, yada, yada! A few weeks of not having to go to G'boro will be a HUGE treat for me.

Here's a recap of what I learned from both my classes:

Info Users & Uses:

Got to understand the people to understand how to best serve their information needs...that means leaving the library to do research!

Collection Management:

It's imperative that librarians learn to tell the communities story otherwise, no one will bother coming to use our libraries. Sad, but true.

Those are the BIG takeaways..there's lots of little stuff thrown in but I'm tired of writing epistles. ; ) Let's just keep it short and sweet and say, Merry Christmas everyone!

Cheers,

A

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I've held many jobs in my short life span. Some have been pretty unique, like the time I was an office manager for a volunteer fire station in rural northeastern PA. There was a time when I was an art conservator assistant where I cleaned wall and ceiling murals and mixed various soapy concoctions to clean a myriad of who-knows-what off of priceless state owned oil paintings. I've worked administrative assistant jobs (old schoolers know this as 'secretarial' work :) and I've even worked as a field reporter during college covering local news with a lead anchor.

I guess I've seen a lot/done a lot and maybe not everything, but in each job I've gained something to take with me. All lessons learned should not be forgotten because it seems that the world of situational experience is cyclical. To quote the great Yogi Berra, "It's like deja vu all over again." (Wikipedia, 2010)

However, there is something unique about being a 'working student' or GA. For some reason, the moment the student role is assumed, it seems that past experience, knowledge and respect go by the wayside. I have worked as a graduate assistant in my previous graduate degree program and I distinctly remember the hierarchical treatment by some faculty members...not all, but some.

As a member of the teach-library program, I have a certain level of responsibility to perform a job. Not only am I on the payroll of the library, but also, I am a representative of the caliber of student the LIS program is attracting to their program. I have had the pleasure this semester of working with people who respect the experience that I bring and have taken on this project by looking at it as not a GAship with some "extra writing work" tacked on to make it unique.

The reasons I applied for this position were because:

1. I wanted to work with someone who was doing the role I hope to do some day
2. I wanted to collaborate with faculty and practioner to (hopefully) make changes or enhance both the practice and the curriculum
3. I wanted to have a unique experience that might elevate me from the title of "student" to be included in big picture thinking about my profession as an information professional

This is, and should be, more than what a typical graduate assistantship entails. If it is not, than either the practioner or the faculty member are not performing in their role to allow the student to unite them and bring about rich discussion to our field. In my experience, the student in this role has the unique opportunity to perhaps influence the work within a particular specialty area and if, after getting the foundational elements, are not able to experiment or express their desires towards change or be included in a collaborative, than somewhere the model is failing that student.

People will always say 'that's the way it's always been done', however, if this was true, we would still be riding on horseback instead of driving hybrid vehicles. {insert your 'green' argument here} I think you get the point I'm making....

This is an opportunity to respect the ideas and experiences that a person who happens to be a student brings into the workplace. If treatment of the student is regarded by practioners that they should feel blessed to even be entering into such hallowed grounds, I think the praticioner needs to review why they signed up to join in on this program in the first place.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T - learn it, live it - if you want a GA, that's easy to get. If you want a teach-library student, then it's more of a give-and-take relationship and, at some level, those involved need to provide the necessary financial and curricular opportunities to attract the caliber of student with the necessary experiences to make the program successful for all.

Works Cited

Wikipedia. Retrieved from Wikipedia-Yogi Berra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Berra#cite_note-21

More than a GAship: The Teach/Library Project Defined

Here I am w/ my poster....

Abstract

The Teach/Library project is a joint venture between UNCG’s Library and Information Studies department and Jackson Library to foster an innovative exchange of ideas, knowledge sharing and goals among a faculty member, librarian and student. During the course of one academic year, the student works with a librarian in a chosen specialty area. They collaborate to create projects that align with student’s interests and career objectives and practitioner’s needs. The faculty member contributes fundamental understanding, theory and/or learning objectives through either a course or regular meetings. All contribute to the shared knowledge by electronic journal, in this case, a wiki. The DEAL method is used to focus the weekly reflections by asking individuals to describe and examine their own “personal growth” and “academic enhancement”. The final step, “articulate the learning”, is a synthesis of the entire week’s experience; to understand why an experience matters and what changes can be made to improve an experience. (Ash, 2009)

The overall objective is that all three parties are sharing, learning and meeting individual goals. Each is an equal stakeholder in the learning process. Upon project completion, it is desired that a body of work (article, presentation, etc.) will be produced and shared with others outside the institution.

The Difference

The DEAL Method: (Ash, 2009)

• Describe
• Examine
• Articulate Learning

Each member reflects on this process each week and places it in context with experiences learned or observed. The wiki provides a collaborative and engaging space in which to share meaningful dialogue with each other.

The Benefits

• Practical experience while learning “the basics” of library studies
• Networking alliances
• Academic financial support (Student)
• Communicate academic initiatives and needs
• Practitioner viewpoint encouraged
• Collaborative and open – no hierarchy

Works Cited
Ash, Clayton & Moses. (2009). Learning Through Critical Reflection. A Tutorial for Service-Learning Students. Raleigh, NC.

Posters, posters, everywhere posters

I did my first ever poster presentation. I'm sure some of you may think, 'ho-hum', but it was a great first time experience. This is the second year that my LIS department has done a conference. It's a great way to meet people, network and see what other students are working on with faculty. The conference is called iDEALS...please take a look! I think it's a pretty good conference and if you are local, think about attending next year. (or presenting!)

My poster was about the Teach/Library Project that I am working on this year. My poster was a bit different from others as I didn't really do any research. I merely presented on the project, what made it a bit different from other internships or GAships, and how we are using Blackboard's Wiki feature to share our experiences.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing a poster and would do one again in a heartbeat. Here's my reasons why:

• It is more informal and not as intimidating as doing a presentation before a large group of people.
• There was no technology setup or snafu's to deal with
• If you are a social butterfly who likes talking to people, it's very fun!
• It's great to find out what others are doing and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE...

I would have loved to see more librarians from our campus or other campuses attend. It would have been great to see more faculty and students from other library school programs, too. I met two very nice UNC students, one of whom presented today. Aside from the great projects being done at UNCG's LIS department, it would be a great venue for recruiting! Something to think about next time...

Great experience and I highly recommend it!

Cheers,

Amy

Back to Community Mindedness...

In the beginning of the semester, Dr. Bird had us read a few articles by David Carr on the topic of a Community Mind. The premise is that libraries, museums and archives need to work together to tell the collectives story. These are the places where our histories are capture and stored, but they need to work together and present the entire communities stories, while constantly monitoring and adapting to the changing story.

Carr had 6 points in his article which he felt an institution should embody:

• Connecting Through Story
• Experimentations in Inquiry
• Public Spaces
• Foundations of A Community Mind
• Acts of Giving
• Necessity of Story (Carr, 2002)

I struggled with some of these concepts as I felt that libraries, museums and archives all struggle to finance themselves. There is only so much that can be allocated to staff salaries, preservation, collections, and acquisitions, not to mention the new collections/exhibits that need to be developed to present to the public. So my initial reaction was somewhat luke-warm. Our follow-up assignment was to read about digital libraries and then visit a few sites. Again, I wasn't too impressed with what I was seeing and, to be honest, I was having a hard time making 'connections' with some of the online libraries. They seemed totally disconnected and I wasn't sure how they would ever be useful to the public, especially after reading Carr's article.

However, the more I have thought about digital collections and libraries, the more intrigued I have become and am starting to see the value in them. I was on my way to ERIT Wednesday afternoon when a book on the shelves near the circulation desk caught my eye. "Library 2.0 and Beyond" is a compilation of works by various authors on technology use and users in the library, however, there is a great chapter on Digital Storytelling by Karen Diaz and Anne Fields. In this work, they discuss the importance and effect that regular storytelling has on a community and how, with our now digital capabilities, storytelling can open our structures to allowing users to learn more about who we are and what we do. (2007)

Of course, gleaning the stories and making them so that others would want to read them is part of the difficulties that they mention. I think, though, that people would read them if they saw them online. Digital stories can build relationships between the community of users, not only in the academic setting, but also in a public library where incentives can pay off in tax dollar amounts. (Diaz & Fields, 2007)

I know this is a bit much for a reflective post, but I wanted to share this thought and hopefully, generate some discussion about it. What would it mean for Jackson Library to start incorporating this model of digital storytelling on their website? How would it enhance the user experience according to Carr's ideas of community mindedness?

References

Carr, D. (2002). A Community Mind. Public Libraries , 41 (5), 284-288.

Diaz, K. & Fields, A. M. (2007). Digital Storytelling, Libraries, and Community. In N. Courtney (Ed.), Library 2.0 and Beyond: Innovative Technologies and Tomorrow's User (129-139). Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.