IST 511 - Day 5

The final day of class was a filled with a buzz of excitement as we all prepared to present the posters we had been working on all week. I can't think of a better exercise to prepare us for the future than researching, creating and presenting a poster. Because I plan to be an academic librarian, I know I will be doing this for conferences and the practice was invaluable. I have often seen poster presentations from the researchers and fellows where I work in Yale Med School, and to do one of my own really solidified the feeling that I was entering a profession.

The experience of presenting and reviewing other posters was phenomenal. I didn't know what to expect when the process started, and was a bit nervous when the first question that was asked of me. As I began talking, I gained more facility and realized that this was plain old FUN!! I gained some great feed back and insightful observations (from students, faculty, and big-wig secret judges!) which I could see myself incorporating in a revised poster or presentation. I also learned a lot from other posters and was very impressed by the students knowledge of their subject and ability to field questions.

I was really sad to leave for home on Saturday, and look forward to working with everyone in my future online classes...and maybe even in person next summer!

IST 511 - Day 4

What grabbed me about Thursday's class was space. Three dynamic speakers shared their experiences about what can be done in a library's building to promote learning and facilitate user needs. The first speaker's work in an elementary school may not be quite the same as what I can implement in an academic library, but it was helpful to learn how to look at space, utilize existing resources in different ways, and push for what renovations are needed.

In my interview with a librarian administrator (Anne Panagrossi) before this class began we discussed space throughout our conversation. Anne is responsible for directing a library that exists in an 18th century mansion. The infrastructure concerns and limitations were tremendous. She pointed me to the website of the University of Brigedgport (CT) library which had just undergone renovation. Looking at how Bridgeport used their space was very gave me some great ideas, and the speakers on Thursday gave me even more. I liked Bird Library's creation of a learning commons and quiet study areas. As a library user, I have many different needs at different times, and like to know that I can have quiet space, group space, and recreational space when I need them. As a future librarian, I'm happy to know there are models and contacts available to help me create these spaces for my users.

IST 511 - Day 3

Wednesday's class was particularly informative for me because it dealt with systems, a topic that I am not very familiar with. It was very helpful to see how each system breaks down into separate parts, that work together to form a working function. As an Administrative assistant, I was interested to learn how the order can be informed by he approval plan or patrons depending on the library. Additionally understanding how these flowed into acquisitions, process catalog, circulation and OPAC gave me a good understanding of how the library actually works.

Day 3 of class was also very hands on because the afternoon consisted of a field trip to Bird Library where we got to learn about preservation and special collections. As I am interested in digital humanities today was particularly relevant. I would like to be able to work with digitally preserving special collections like the one Syracuse has as I mentioned in my earlier post. Dr. Lavender shared with us many amazing books, including brilliant illuminated manuscripts from 1375, science texts from 1529, a third folio Shakespeare, an 1588 Roman Imperialism book once belonging to Queen Elizabeth, a 1859 first edition of Origin of the Species and an 1872 Lady's book including beautiful fashion plates. It was stunning to be in the presence of such special and influential works, and I hope one day to be able to ensure that future generations will be able to access their content and witness their beauty.

IST 511 - Day 2

Today's 511 class was of particular interest to me because the guest speakers were academic librarians and I am interested in academic librarianship. I found John Schuster's path to be quite interesting, particularly because he was able to travel frequently, defy the librarian stereotype, and engage in public outreach. I loved his ability to get in touch with the students and faculty on his campus, effect positive change, and teach. Jan's path was more along the lines of what I envision for myself, however, and I was encouraged to hear her idea to combat marginalization in academic libraries was to "burst out of the box" and reach out to students, faculty and staff by using the schools mission. While their paths may have been different, they both felt that networking, relationships and outreach created opportunities in their careers that otherwise wouldn't have been possible.

I was also pleased to have gained insight on copyright. Creative commons is a great resource that I plan to use for materials and images in the future. I was also interested to see that flikr has an option to search images within creative commons. While I had a basic understanding of the nature of copyright, it was helpful to understand specifically which actions were covered under the copyright umbrella (reproduction, creation of derivative materials, sale, public performance and display) as well as what items determined fair use (character of use, nature of material, quantity and importance and effect on market).

IST 511 - Day 1

Day 1 of IST 511 was an intensive overview of the library profession. It gave me a broader understanding of the many facets of librarianship and how they all fit together. It was also interesting to consider how information technology supports libraries and how that has altered their traditional hierarchy / management structure. As more and more public services become interwoven with technology, the need for bridging becomes greater.

One highlight of the day were the guest speakers. It was fascenating to see public librarianship from the perspective of seasoned public librarians. The fact that both Bev Cholcto-Devlin and Kate McCaffrey spoke of the realities and challenges with candor was refreshing. I was amazed that the opportunities available to public librarians range from servicing the informational needs of prisoners to petitioning congress to make equal access to information a law.

Another key point of the day was learning about searching basics. Understanding the fundamentals of how databases work help me approach searching in a much different way. It was also tremendously benneficial to undersand how to best manipulate terms as well as how different databases filter searches from a different perspective.

IST 601

Now that I've banked my first credit in grad school, and have had some time to reflect on the whirlwind that was the past two days, I can honestly say the experience exceeded all of the expectations I had.  From the students to the professors to the course work, IST 601 set the stage for what graduate work at the iSchool would be like.

Although I knew the week had to be called "boot camp" for a reason, the yummy breakfast spread that was waiting when we arrived mislead me for a while.  Once we started, however, there was no playing around...well, except for the time when we did play around with cards.  But that really was an object lesson about organizational culture and communication. I loved learning about innovation, because it is a concept that can be applied in any situation, in any field, almost at any time.  Understanding that innovation is not invention was liberating and motivating because it meant that I could effect change without having to develop something new, and if that was the case, then I had no excuse not to be innovative. I was particularly taken with he idea that routines are necessary, but they need to have a valid, functional  purpose, or else they are counterproductive.  This is why asking for the "why" behind the process becomes so important.  Finally, I was amazed at how easy it is to become outdated if you don't constantly scan your environment for new and future trends so as not to misjudge the needs of your market and the developments of your competitors.

During this course I was struck by the quality and depth of the faculty and students in this program.  The class discussions were constantly at a high level and many of the observations were notably novel. Faculty held us to a high standard, and forced us to critique our own work as well as others'. Working in a group was particularly rewarding because it was foundation and challenging; we not only learned to collaborate on a project in a short amount of time, but we learned from watching other student's presentations. In talking with students one on one or in a group environment I immediately felt their professionalism, commitment to the information/library field, and desire to learn.  This created a very stimulating environment where the exchange of information and ideas was constantly flowing, as well as cell numbers, email addresses, and facebook accounts .

Libraries and Social Networking - Response

In her article “The value of social software in school library instruction, communication and collaboration,” Laura L. Summers, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, explains how social networking tools in libraries not only enhance educational experiences for students and professional development for librarians, but they do so affordably. This is particularly good news given that school library programs are expected to generate consistent quantifiable evidence of their effectiveness despite the recent countrywide spending cuts (Summers, 2009, p. 49). Summers discusses various innovative ways librarians have put Wikis, Twitter, and Nings to work both instructionally and professionally.

Summers describes second grade teacher-librarian Tanya Jensen’s decision to use a wiki to create a collaborative research environment where students are able to edit each other’s work. Other than the obvious educational benefit of performing group research, students learn to find their “public voice” (Summers, 2009, p. 49) in a safe sandbox environment. Summers notes that the wiki was an ideal choice because it was free and allowed Ms. Jensen to easily manage and edit the website, ensuring the information posted was accurate. Ultimately, Summers believes this experiment was important because it demonstrate that “second-graders are capable of social scholarship” (2009, p. 49)

Library professionals benefit from wikis as well. To demonstrate this, Summers refers to the wiki that contains each school library conference or workshop sponsored by the Colorado Association of School Libraries. Event materials and related resources are archived and shared with librarians who could not attend the conference. This ensures that valuable information reaches as many of the intended audience as possible.

According to Summers, Twitter’s quick and succinct tweets allow Phil Goerner, a high school librarian to suggest material to the students. By tweeting new magazine headlines and book cover images, the student body is encouraged to visit the library and check out reading material. On a professional level, Summers notes that Goerner also benefits from twitter on a professional level. The network he developed puts him in contact with links, advice, and information about everything from resources and web 2.0, to books and events.

Finally, Summers explains the advantage of Nings in her rendering of Ning network the UC Denver’s online School Library & Instructional Leadership program created to bring online students together. This forum provides close mentoring to students at all times regardless of the time or their location. It also creates an arena where students can ask questions and have discussions related to the library profession. Instructors spark, participate in, and offer feed back on discussions and also use Ning as a way to disseminate information about library events, conferences, and resources.

Summers, L. L. (2009). The Value of Social Software in School Library Instruction, Communication, & Collaboration. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 48-50. Retrieved July 1 from Library Literature and Information Science.