Steve's report on ACRL 2015

Available from https://liaisonlife.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/acrl2015/. --sc

ACRL ULS Members - online discussion on student success!

Members-Only Online Discussion: Student Success
brought to you by the ACRL-ULS Committee on the Future of University Libraries

The ULS Membership Committee is pleased to provide a free online discussion for ULS members on Thursday, November 20 from 3-4 pm EST. To register, go to: https://acrl.webex.com/acrl/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=295479088

Assessing How Libraries Contribute to Student Success

Feeling pressed to prove that your library contributes to student success?  Are administrators demanding evidence that funding the library helps retain and graduate students?  While it may seem obvious  to librarians that students would not succeed without the library, demonstrating that can be a challenge.

Read short descriptions of ways three libraries have effectively assessed their contributions to student success, and then join this online discussion, where assessment librarians will encourage discussion of various ways to measure and demonstrate how your library helps students succeed.

Speakers:

Eric Ackermann (Head of Reference Services and Library Assessment, Radford University) will speak on how his library has tracked how the library’s participation in freshman orientation and core courses has affected retention.

Jennifer L. Jones (Assessment & User Experience Librarian, Georgia State University) will explain how her library followed three cohorts of undergraduates to assess the effect of using library workstations, study rooms, and research clinics.

Shane Nackerud (Technology Lead for Libraries Initiatives, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) and Janet Fransen (Engineering Librarian, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) will discuss the big data model the library used in partnership with the university’s Office of Institutional Research to assess the library’s contribution to student outcomes.

The speakers have prepared background stories to help you prepare for this discussion.  Find the descriptions of their successful projects at http://bit.ly/1utyvuS.

ACRL's Stealth Librarianship Webinar summary

UNCG Libraries hosted for NCLA, the ACRL webinar Stealth Librarianship:Creating Meaningful Connections Through User Experience,Outreach & Liaising on April 23, 2013. There were about 20 people in attendance mainly from UNCG libraries. The session was  divided into  three areas.   Part 1: UX for Stealth Librarian Outreach -  Learn to create a practical strategy in order to consciously shape and deliver positive user experience with the library staff in person and online by presenter Bohyun Kim [Digital Access Librarian Florida International University Medical Library   / @bohyunkim]  Bohyun offered a useful UX Environmental Scan worksheet to ponder unsuccessful touchpoints, pain points and how to deal with these problem areas; as well as successful touchpoints including inspirations and how to generate delight.  Part 2: Liaising - Analyze nontraditional opportunities for engagement in order to prioritize and maximize the impact of time allotted to nontraditional engagement by presenter Kiyomi Deards [Liaison Librarian,University of Nebraska-Lincoln / @kiyomiD]  Kiyomi discussed non traditional touchpoints, going where the users are for more informal relationship building such as Attend Guest Lectures,Help Recruit Students, Play a Sport, Participate in Campus Forums, Volunteer. She advised us to “Be genuine! Its all about building relationships, not selling things.” Part 3. Outreach - List specific outreach activities which will engage users in order to build positive relationships between the library and its users by presenter Erin Dorney [Outreach Librarian Millersville University McNairy Library @edorney] Erin probed us on how projects are created in the library - through what we librarians think users will want or user initiated. She covered outreach for Relationship Building and supporting student-initiated projects as well as inreach -  since everyone in your organization represents the library!

• View Tweets here
• View Slides here.
• Presenters encourage you to share ideas here.
• Presenters notes (on page 62)

ACRL 2011 Summary

Finally getting around to posting my notes from the great ACRL 2011 Confernce in Philadelphia in late March/early April. I was excited to present twice at ACRL this year - Fostering Library as Place for Distance Students: Best Practices from Two Universities by Beth Filar Williams & Heidi Steiner. (Presentation ppt | Summary of session) and Going the Distance: A Closer Look at Uniting with Remote Users by Beth Filar Williams, & Lizah Ismail of Marywood University Library & Angela Whitehurst of East Carolina University(Presentationppt). There was a virtual conference track as well where two of our awesome librarians presented On the Front Lines: New Opportunities for Embedded Librarianship by Jenny Dale & Lynda Kellam - but unfortunately going first, ACRL didn't have their act together for the recording and thus you cant hear their session! View other sessions materials. Here are the key sessions I attended worth sharing:

Value of academic libraries session
Presentation on The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report, released in September 2010. By Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, University of Illinois
Mary Ellen Davis, Association of College and Research Libraries
Megan Oakleaf, Syracuse University Meganoakleaf.info

If you cant read it all, just read these sections:

• Checklist in back of report
• Pages 94-10
• Page 20-57

Demo-ing Value:

• Value= use, commodity, competing alternatives, library impact, roi.
• How can we demo our value to others? Key - value of library to overarching institution. With tight budgets everywhere now, need to promote value even more impt otherwise, "why should we give you money?"
• Use is not enough! We need to show outcomes,impacts, benefits, etc.
• Think about the shift from collections to service. Access is important too, but more so how to help the users makes sense of it and use it better. What do libraries do to enable people to do? What do they use the info for?
• Little medical packets at a hotel that say things like: "help, I have a headache" or "help, I have a blister" ...can we apply this to libraries?
• Librarians are very concerned about privacy (which is great but …) and have trouble gathering needed data sometimes. But we have to know who is using our services/resources and for what purpose - if you don’t know what people do or use how can you determine impact? Find ways to gather info.
  

Recommendations-

• Define outcomes. What are your needs of institution and of library and where do they intersect? All librarians feel they contribute to students learning and outcomes but Can you explain why?
• Use existing data. Data audit - what do we have? Gather from campus.
• Develop systems to collect data on behavior but keep privacy.
• Assessment management systems. Do libraries have this in place? Ex: Weave
• Determine how the library contributes to the research agenda on campus.
• Key- share results and needs w/ stakeholders!
• What if you find out it's not valuable? Don’t just dump it... Determine why it's not, tweak it, maybe replace it, rejuvenate it, usability test it, or is it a marketing problem?
  

Also Read this report too “Futures thinking for Academic Librarians: Higher Education in 2025” and check out the Toolkit on using the value of academic libs report

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To the Cloud! Exploring Tools to Enhance Teaching and Learning
Diane Schrecker, Curriculum Librarian, Ashland University Library
Sara Klink, Assistant Director, Stark State College

• Animoto - to create videos, use free video styles, preloaded your pictures, add text, add music.
• QR code generator
  
• Voki.com - Create personalized talking avatars free. Can upload your own backgrounds. Type text and it's generates voice or record your own voice.
• Twitter uses - Use in place of discussion, assess/learn key concepts or questions, use w students to follow current events

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Bibliobouts session
http://bibliobouts.si.umich.edu/ (demo version: demo@bibliobouts.org and password demo)
Karen Markey, Professor, University of Michigan School of Information
Chris Leeder, School of Information University of Michigan

A web-based game that enables game players to gain valuable practice using online library
research tools and library collections while they work on their assignments. Uses zotero. Various rounds by various players. topics chosen by the instructor. First do searches on your own...then see others searches. People donate their searches and players review, rate, tags the given sources.Used in classes or in a class w instructor involved. Librarians can come into the class too.

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Connecting through Course Guides Session
By Jacqui Grallo, Cal State Monterey Bay

• Learner centered teaching
• Teach less, they will learn more
• Instruction vs learning
• Use Course Guides during person sessions.
• Instead of doing it on a whiteboard, use their course guide, and students comment in there, they can see it immediately, and you can review it later.
• Use polls through their course guides too they see immediate feedback and poll results
• Check out: http://todaysmeet.com/ for open source idea instead

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Building Relationships through Embedded Librarianship session
By three librarians from McMaster University

Poll: Which works best for which - Building campus relationships and improving student learning? (conclusion: they all do, various methods combined to reach various students!)

• Embedding into a program- librarian co-creating and co-teaching the curriculum, deeper the embedding the greater the improvement in learning. Participate in organizational actives for both program and library. located in the program facilities, but also they have space in the lib. Discipline specific example: Science literacy - co-teach w science prof 2 hours a week. Students blog formal science writing, others comment. Pros: deep embedding but doesn't have to be full-time. Con: not a large reach.
• Embedding virtually - embed in your LMS using quizzes, discussion forums, pathfinders, learning objects, chat. Course by course level rather than larger community. Pros: reach multiple learning styles, asynchronous reviews, point of need help, anonymity. Cons: not accessible to all (some of their course arent in BB); not as deeply connected w/ students.
• Embedding into Teaching and Learning Support Center - salary paid by the t&l center! Librarian created a digital media literacy course. Outcome based learning. Curricula level mapping of program level learning outcomes. Teaching Metaliteracy - 21st c skills/fluencies. Con: will you T&L pay for a librarian to be w/ them?

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The Unconference (10 min sessions)
Kim Leeder, Boise State U - connecting w teaching faculty

• Be confident. Be bold
• Make the Connection. Get out there. Ask them about themselves
• Reinforce the Connection. Follow up w people. Be multidimensional
• Build the relationship
• Go Collaborate
  
• Be - make - reinforce - build - go

Read more about this session on her recent Blog Post :Collaborating W/ faculty: A 5-Step Program

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Also view the recording or view the slides from the Technology in University Libraries Lightening Round Up session on ACRL conference.

Fall e-learning from ACRL

From online multi week seminars to 1-2 hour webcasts, check out some of these online learning sessions for academic libraries which you can attend without leaving your desk!

Here are the details from the 9/6/10 ALA News release:

Copyright and the Library Part 1: The Basics Including Fair Use (Sept. 13 - Oct. 1, 2010): Build an understanding of current copyright law, creating a “copyright palette” for your library and assessing a library’s legal risk with regard to current U.S. copyright law. Gain an understanding of the Fair Use clause, as well as how to legally apply fair use in the library, classroom and broader campus environments.

Designing Usable and Accessible Web Pages: Needs, Analysis, Design Planning, XHTML and CSS Standards, Accessibility Validation, and Usability Testing (Beginners) (Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2010): This hands-on course focuses on the basics of website planning, design and content development. The course will also examine Web standards, usability and accessibility. XHTML and CSS (external) will be introduced.

Creating Usable and Accessible Web Pages: XHTML and CSS Review, Navigation, Interactivity, CMS and Other Options (Intermediate) (Oct. 4 - Nov. 12, 2010): Participants in this online course will be able to use CSS layout to design highly accessible navigation and menus; create basic forms; use free JavaScripts to add functionality; design with multimedia; and understand strengths and limitations of CMS.

Successful Budgeting in Academic Libraries (Oct. 11-30, 2010): In this course, participants will learn essential budgeting skills, including how to develop and manage a budget and how to write a persuasive budget request.

Learning Objects: Creating Instruction To Go (Nov. 1-21, 2010): Find out more about learning objects and learn how to create a learning object using a Web 2.0 application or other suitable technology in this course.

The Not-So-Distant Librarian: Online Library Instruction to Engage Students and Faculty (Sept. 14, 2010): Learn practical tips and tools for designing, implementing and assessing online library instruction in this ACRL webcast.

From Idea to Publication Series: Understanding the Research Question (Sept. 23, 2010): Learn to formulate and define good research questions, select appropriate research methodologies and design the research study. Specific topics will include the development of useful questionnaires, techniques used in conducting telephone interviews, working with focus groups and constructing surveys to get the information they need.

So You Want to Create an Interactive Information Literacy Tutorial? (Oct. 19, 2010): Learn about the experience creating an interactive information literacy tutorial from beginning to end in collaboration with a multimedia designer in this webcast. Evaluate the potential of tutorial as an assessment tool and an opportunity for self-evaluation.

From Idea to Publication Series: Analysis and Writing (Nov. 4, 2010): Learn to apply the appropriate analysis methods to your project’s data or information, depending on the research methodology you are using. It is essential to have an understanding of the appropriate forms of analyses (along with their possibilities and limitations). Then comes writing. Readers must be able to comprehend your original question or problem, the process of selecting the appropriate methodology, your processes of analysis and the meaning of your findings.

Building a New Librarianship (Nov. 9, 2010): The future for librarians is bright, but not if we continue on our current path. We must bravely envision a new librarianship, one based on knowledge, activism and embedding ourselves deeply into the academy’s daily work. This session seeks to lay out a foundation for this new librarianship, with real world examples.

New Models for Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses (Nov. 16, 2010): Learn about best practices for credit-bearing information literacy courses in this ACRL webcast, based upon a literature review and several years of experimentation with various approaches to teaching a one-credit course.

From Idea to Publication Series: Submitting for Publication (Dec. 1, 2010): Learn how to select an appropriate journal or publisher, learn how to prepare a manuscript for submission and understand what the submission process will encompass. Also learn how to query editors and how to manage your own author rights, including open access licensing.

Online Forms: Interaction and Feedback without the “Paperwork” (Dec. 7, 2010): With courses and departments moving materials onto the Web or cloud computing platforms, review the possibilities available with interactive forms for the classroom and the department.

Complete details and registration information for all fall 2010 e-Learning opportunities are available online at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools/elearning.cfm. Contact Kathryn Deiss at kdeiss@ala.org or (312) 280-2529 for more information.

ACRL Conference in Seattle: programs on assessing usage of Libguides and 2.0

A couple of weeks ago I attended my first ACRL national conference. It was great being in Seattle again -- cool yet sunny the first two days, then rainy, and a little snow!

I took the most notes for a panel discussion about using improv in research instruction (UCLA librarians hired an acting coach). But Libguides and Web 2.0 was all over the program. Two short paper presentations actually got into an assessment of usage. The presentations were back to back, and were the only standing-room only (literally) events I attend.

1. Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz?: An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University

"This study goes beyond the “”2.0″” dogma to empirically determine if LibGuides lives up to its publicity:

• Critically examine LibGuides assessment results in order to comprehend patterns of user engagement with “”Web 2.0″” features for teaching, learning and research
• Discuss Libguides survey data in order to make well informed decisions about the purchase, development, training for, and roll-out of new library systems
• Observe guide creation and use patterns at Princeton and Cornell in order to understand what guide types (Course-Specific vs. Subject-Specific) are in highest demand in “”Library 2.0″”, and how to target publicity and discovery appropriate"

In general, the presenters provided data that web 2.0 tools in Libguides were lightly used except when required by the professor. Libraries at the two schools tended not to use the 2.0 tools in favor of using the Libguides to post links and locations of library resources.

2. If You Build It, Will They Care? Tracking Student Receptivity to Emerging Library Technologies

"The Library 2.0 movement has fostered extensive technological experimentation among academic librarians. Many question a prescriptive approach to such tech-based innovation, arguing that a user-centered focus results in more successful services. This paper presents findings of comprehensive research into student technology adoption and library usage patterns at Ohio University. "

Older patrons tended to prefer wikis, Second Life, blogs, and del.ici.ous.
Younger students tender to prefer Myspace, texting, IM, Youtube, and Facebook.
Twitter use was 0.2-0.3% for students between 18-22 years old. 23-26 years old reported 0.7% usage.