Discussion Sessions

 

Community Informatics Corps: LIS as Community Engagement
Ann Peterson Bishop, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Taylor Willingham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Libraries across the country are engaging in innovative civic endeavors. They are convening people to envision their ideal community, and mobilizing resources to help communities achieve their vision

The Community Informatics Corps (CIC), a new masters degree specialty, was created in 2006 as a partnership between the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago. The Corps is helping to educate the next generation of information professionals in the tradition of civic innovation that we see in our most successful libraries and their community partners.

The aim of the Community Informatics Corps is to enrich LIS through the development of a cohort of Latina/o, African-American, and other students who have valuable funds of knowledge related to the how information is shaped and shared in marginalized communities.  Students in the Corps focus their coursework on social entrepreneurship and community library and information services.

The proposed discussion session will begin with a brief overview of the Community Informatics Corps before inviting attendees to share their own experiences and discuss issues related to community-based curriculum, community-based action research on literacy, and service-learning in LIS.  Discussion session notes will be summarized and provided, along with slides, for posting on the conference website.

 back to top

The Dynamic Duo: Collaboration between Writing Centers and Academic Libraries
Wendell Barbour, Longwood University
Lisa Burns, Longwood University
Mark Lenker, Longwood University
Debra Hoffmann, California State University, Channel Islands
Kathleen Klompien, California State University, Channel Islands

As academic libraries move toward the model of the information commons – a place where users can expect support in finding, interpreting, creating, and communicating information – it increasingly makes sense for university writing centers to have a more prominent presence within the library.  But collaboration between libraries and writing centers promises more than just “one-stop shopping” for students as they write their papers.  Working together can also provide both libraries and writing centers new opportunities to promote their services to students and faculty. 

In order for such collaborations to move forward, libraries and writing centers need to acknowledge the similarities and differences in the work they do with students, specifically in such areas of concern as: student research, plagiarism and citation issues especially with regard to international students or English Language Learners.

During our session, participants will have the opportunity to hear about the panel’s experiences, learn about the many connections between writing centers and libraries, discover ways that libraries can collaborate with writing centers and address the pitfalls and considerations associated with these partnerships.

 back to top

Instruction 2.0: Teaching and/or Incorporating Web 2.0 Technologies in Your Classroom
Susan Shepherd, University of California, San Diego
Teri M. Vogel, University of California, San Diego

Blogs, wikis, RSS, Second Life, Facebook and more……The tools of web 2.0 are what Millenials use in their daily lives, from collaborating to socializing.  Integrated into classroom instruction, they can support and reinforce learning objectives.  In addition, the Library is uniquely positioned to offer general workshops on use of Web 2.0 tools for faculty, university staff, library colleagues, and students.

In this discussion session, we will cover two separate aspects of Instruction 2.0:

  1. Tips and techniques for teaching students, faculty and staff how to use these new tools, and
  2. How the tools themselves can be utilized to enhance student learning in library/information resource instruction.
Note: This session is not intended to be a primer on Web 2.0 technologies.  Familiarity with Web 2.0 concepts and resources is assumed.

 back to top

Inter- Institutional Information Literacy Instruction & Assessment
Marcus E. Kieltyka, Central Washington University

This Breakout Session discussion will examine the current status of Information Literacy (IL) as currently evolving between Washington State Community Colleges and Baccalaureate Institutions.

The impetus for this discussion arose through a joint American College & Research Library (ACRL) Information Literacy Workshop between Washington State Community and Baccalaureate Institutions.  This effort has recently been updated from allowing students to carry across the traditional 90 credits up to a maximum of 105 credits to the new institution.

Some questions that arise include: to what level are community college students being introduced to varying levels of IL over or to the exclusion of students anticipating to exit the educational system with an AA.

At the baccalaureate level some questions, which arise, including: how these institutions have accommodated to the new level of credits being transferred at the upper division levels; how programs have dealt with students arriving with varying levels of IL skills; and finally what methods exist to track student achievement throughout their remaining academic careers.

Both institutions are also confronted with the need to assess the levels of IL that are being presented to students. These programs and departments are confronted with the need to gather pertinent data on student achievement in these assessments.

From an institutional standpoint that includes either freestanding IL programs originating from Libraries or writing/research intensive courses that include the tools of measuring IL. Lastly, how and to what level are these expanding educational environments and experiences being captured and described for national/program specific assessment agencies.

 back to top

Let’s Throw a Party: Information Literacy Instruction as an Empowerment Strategy
Angela Boyd, University of California, Santa Barbara
Sophie Lesinska, University of Southern California Libraries
Valeria Molteni, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Shahla Bahavar, University of Southern California Libraries

Is it a crazy idea or an innovative pedagogical strategy to turn an information literacy instruction (ILI) session into a party? Joy Kim, Curator of the Korean Heritage Library at the University of Southern California, implements this approach every semester to welcome Korean students to USC campus. Considering the success of her program, perhaps more instruction librarians should take time to organize information literacy welcome parties.

International and minority students experience more alienation on campus than average students. Effective ILI often minimizes this sense of alienation felt by these two groups. International students find services available in American libraries are different from what libraries offer in most foreign countries. Minority students are often the first in their family to attend college, and therefore unfamiliar with the university environment and academic libraries. ILI delivered to international and minority students prepares them to claim the academic library as their own territory.

While these two groups of users share commonalities, they also differ in considerable ways. It is important for instruction libraries to understand these commonalities and differences, so as to provide most effective service to each group.

Let's get together to enable an intellectual exchange between instruction librarians who serve primarily minority populations and/or international students. We hope that by sharing our experiences, participants will identify best strategies for information literacy instruction for international and minority students on their own campuses.

 back to top

The Role of the Library in Achieving Co-Curricular Activities in Civic Engagement on College Campuses
Mary Reddick, California State University, Sacramento
Susan Metcalf, University of Southern Indiana

Recent trends in higher education highlight the value of intentionality in pedagogical approaches to civic learning.  Student success and retention in the first year of college is particularly important in setting the foundation for the rest of the college experience, and evidence is mounting that First Year Learning Communities that are involved in civic and service learning projects tend to produce higher rates of retention and graduation.  The Library can play a vital role in achieving co-curricular activities.   This role may include creating, sponsoring and promoting intellectual, cultural, and social activities that emphasize library, classroom, campus, community, and civic connectivity, as well as developing, implementing, and channeling technologies that can showcase relevant resources and innovations.  This requires, however, that librarians establish collaborations with key groups and actors involved in civic learning, and that libraries be willing to experiment with new ideas and technologies. 

Discussion points will explore potential barriers and bridges for librarians to engage campus learning communities in developing co-curriculum activities and civic engagement projects.  Examples might be strategies for working with Learning Community faculty and with Residential Life to reach students where they live; residential life programs may be involved in providing housing for Freshman Interest Groups by floor, for instance; libraries may be involved in grant-related activities such as NEA’s Big Read initiative to promote campus reading celebrations among student groups.  This presentation and discussion will address the fundamental question of what libraries can do to define themselves as places for civic learning on college and university campuses.

 back to top

Stepping Outside the Faculty-Mediated Outreach Model
Annette Marines, UC Santa Cruz
Kerry Scott, UC Santa Cruz

The discussion will focus on collaborations with campus student academic support services (SASS) -- programs that are funded and staffed to provide academic support to students -- to enable librarians to reach diverse student audiences. As campus resources diminish and workloads increase, collaborative partnerships are essential to continue to reach diverse student constituencies. Such collaborations add value to librarians' work by reading audiences that would otherwise be difficult to attract through traditional library programming channels or venues. In turn, SASS programs are enhanced with the participation of a librarian who can provide expertise in library research skills. These kinds of collaborative efforts may result in long-standing partnerships offering librarians the opportunity to move beyond the general library tours and orientations currently offered to provide more effective, engaging, and relevant library classes. The results not only serve to benefit the intended audiences, but help in the overall evolution of library instruction programs. Through problem solving activities and examples from the University of California, Santa Cruz, participants will learn about a variety of outreach services to offer.

 back to top

A Sexier Literacy: Information Literacy through Media Literacy
Sara Prahl, Colby
Shana Higgins, University of Redlands

The similarities in scope and objectives between information literacy and media literacy education are remarkable.  On the surface, each is concerned with issues of access, analysis, evaluation, and use or production.  But even beyond these basic tenets, guiding learners toward critical thought, creative agency, ethical use and production of information, and civic empowerment are shared concerns.  In fact, as we begin to work with the generation of students dubbed "Generation M" by the Kaiser Family Foundation, we will increasingly find the distinctions between information and media literacies breaking down.  Generation M, or the media generation, has grown up steeped in media exposure and with unprecedented access to technologies enabling information consumption and production. Recognizing and addressing the unique relationship this generation feels to media and information offers us an exciting opportunity to re-imagine information literacy instruction at the college level.  Additionally, media literacy instruction invites librarians to forge dynamic working partnerships with professors, information technologists, and local media activists.  While the term "information literacy" might alienate some potential allies, media studies scholarship is a familiar discipline for faculty and media-makers already working with film, television, journalism cyber-journalism, and digital media

 back to top