Teaching and Learning Conference: Empowering Students With Necessary Tools

Today, I was able to attend a teaching and learning conference along with other instructors and librarians across the campuses of the community college where I am employed. Much of what I took away from the conference are concepts that I have already been toying with - the idea that educators need to be empowering students with necessary technology tools that will enhance learning outcomes and instill a sense of pride and success in the classroom and beyond. As a librarian, many of the technology tools discussed are tools that I'm already using daily, but there were definitely ideas that I have taken with me that I can implement very soon.

I must preface the list that I am about to give with the fact that I am not an advocate of using technology just for the sake of using technology. Working in the public library systems of my past, I saw technology adopted often that maybe wasn't the best technology for that particular community of people. In the education sector though, I do feel that students should be exposed to technology (and many different forms of technology), not because it's cool (it is!), but rather because it will enhance the curriculum. The challenge, therefore, is finding the right technology for those participatory classroom sessions.

The session I attended today that was most intriguing was conducted by Corinne Hoisington, a professor at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, VA. Again, many of the technologies I am either currently using as a librarian, or I am teaching to my information literacy students - but you may find a few here that you didn't know about. So read on!

Actually, before I get into the list of technologies, I want to share a video with you. Corinne shared one that was similar, but this will get the point across even still:

She talked about the future of technology that is coming down the pike faster than we think. Much of the mobile technologies we're currently seeing are already headed in this direction - no keyboards, no mouse, finger swipes, etc... This video is indicative yet again of the fact that information is everywhere. How our students are accessing information is changing daily, and now more than ever, we as instructors need to continue finding ways to meet students where they are in the online social realm. But enough about that... on to the list:

Wolfram Alpha
This search engine is unique in the sense that it gives statistical information, as well as mathematical equations that can be beneficial to the research process. This is one search engine that I cover with my students when we look at online resources, but I now have a few more examples that I can use when searching for next quarter. Examples include:

• Algebra equations - Can be used when checking work
  
• Mortgage calculations - Determine monthly payments
  
• Nutrition information - Find restaurant nutrition information

There are so many more uses for this search engine, but these are a few that I may add to my own sch-peel.

Join.Me
If you haven't ever used join.me, it's one technology that you have to see to believe. Students are always amazed when I use this with them, mostly during chat or phone reference conversations when I need to see their computer screen to get a better idea of their problem. It really is the coolest thing since sliced bread!

Xtranormal.com
I was first exposed to this technology when a few librarian videos began circulating the twittersphere. I'm not sure that I will use this one often...but since I am the administrator for our campus Facebook page, I may dapple with a few videos to promote campus events. I can't see me using it much for the classroom setting...but it's still fun.

Docs.com
This is one that I really need to ponder more. Microsoft and Facebook have partnered together to provide word, excel, and powerpoint web capabilities - right in the Facebook platform. I've been thinking for a while now that Facebook could very well be the next LMS. With tools like join.me and docs.com, it's moving even quicker towards that possibility of creating a classroom setting right inside the walls of Facebook. This quarter, I created a class website with Google Sites. It was effective, but I'm going to now be researching docs.com further to decide whether Facebook could be a more useful avenue for sharing class documents, etc...

Qik.com
This is the last tool that I want to touch on, and it's one that I do think is a neat concept, but I'm not sure how I would use it in the classroom either. To me, it seems it's just an alternative to youtube - capture video and upload directly from your portable device to the qik server. There's a location feature that is kinda cool... but I'm just not sure it will work for my classes.

In addition to this session that I've referenced here, I also attended a session on Turnitin, the plagiarism checker widely used in academia. This session was presented by 2 of my librarian colleagues, and they did a fine job! Much of the information I knew and have used, but it is always nice to be able to support your fellow colleagues and friends in their professional development endeavors.

That's it for now. If you have found something here that you haven't used before, please let me know if and how you plan to use it. And if you have any other cool technology tools, pass those along as well!

Library Links 06/02/2011

• 23 Things for Professional Development

  I'm looking forward to this. Even though I already am aware of and use a lot of what will be presented, it is still a cool concept!

  tags: 23things library professional development

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Library Links 05/28/2011

• Paste HTML: free anonymous HTML hosting

  tags: library html hosting code

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Library Links 05/27/2011

• 12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert

  tags: google search howto library

• newspaper map | all online newspapers in the world, translate with one click

  tags: library newspapers map newspapermap

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Golden Nuggets of Information - Finding What Absolutely MUST Be Taught

I've been seeing a lot about participatory learning and librarianship in the mainstream library twitter-sphere recently. Articles have popped up like this one, as well as a project for new media literacies and even transliteracies. All areas discuss ideas that can be used to bring new, yet practical, learning opportunities into the classroom. So, as an instructor of information literacy, I have already been diving deep into the literature for this type of instruction environment. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I entered a faculty in-service (on a Saturday morning mind you) today that spoke to this same idea of participatory learning. I was not looking forward to this at all - having to give up a Saturday is NOT something that makes me happy - but the information was very beneficial and I have walked away with new and refreshed ideas. The talking points will be covered first with my ideas of incorporation as a conclusion.

The in-service today covered a presentation from Magna Publications titled: What Should You Teach When There Isn't Time To Teach Everything? Ruth Rodgers discussed three main steps to making sure that information is being given to students in a manner that embraces lifelong learning.

Ruth began by speaking to the stereotype of new instructor behavior. Oftentimes, new instructors (myself included along with many adjunct faculty) are being placed in the classrooms with very little preparation time, in part because the position needs to be filled quickly. Many of my colleagues where I work experienced this exact scenario the first quarter our information literacy course was introduced. The curriculum team was still revamping lessons even as the course began. Many of the instructors were forced to review the material a day before (and for some, even the day of) the class session. Thankfully, my campus decided to hold off for a quarter in order to let the kinks be completely worked out. I say all of this to reiterate the point that Ruth makes: "most [instructors] concentrate on covering the material and find there isn't enough class time to cover it all." Much of what we new instructors do is brain dump all of our information resources, knowledge, and experiences onto the students. Oftentimes, we don't look beyond the content to create an engaged classroom. Thankfully, the course curriculum that I teach is designed to be engaging, but it's still a work in progress.

Consider the three points below when creating a participatory learning environment:

1. Recognize that information is ubiquitous - What aspects of the curriculum material MUST students learn or practice to be successful?
   Instructors are no longer the #1 source of information. Information is literally everywhere. Our job now is to instill a sense of lifelong learning by providing the skills necessary to be successful in the students' chosen career (skills such as critical thinking which is so very hard to teach). Students need to recognize that continuous learning is a necessity (especially for career colleges like mine) for any career path!
   In recognizing this first point, instructors should find and teach course information that is absolutely necessary for success in the classroom, as well as in a career.
2. Define the processes that are CRITICAL for success - What questions should students be asking themselves?
   For information literacy students, this question is an easy one to instill. Students learn to think very critically about a topic, looking at it from every angle and brainstorming keyword supplements using basic who, what, when, where, and why questions. For medical students, it seems the main question for them is "why" (why is this patient on this particular medication? or why is this patient reacting in this way to a certain drug?). If we are successful in getting the students to ask questions of themselves, of the coursework, and of the information they find, they truly are learning critical thinking skills that will be extremely useful in the workforce.
3. Define continued development that is necessary for students - What lifelong learning habits must students develop?
   Again, this an area that speaks directly to information literacy. I can give my students many of the tools and skills necessary to being successful in information retrieval and evaluation, but if it stops once they exit my classroom, have I really done my job? Somehow a sense of lifelong learning should be taught.

What I plan to incorporate next quarter (which is coming way too soon!):

1. What MUST be taught/learned for students to be successful in my course?
   a) Understanding that information is everywhere and there is no set schema to finding information.
   b) Finding information by using library catalogs, online databases, and the world wide web
   c) Learning to evaluate and think critically about the information found
   d) Learning to properly cite the information to give credit where credit is due
   e) Organizing information using online tools
2. What questions should students be asking themselves that encourage critical thinking processes?
   I've already mentioned the who, what, when, where, and why research questions, but I also want to create participatory learning activities that force students to think critically about how they search for information. I plan to set up learning groups where regular activities are designed for students that are in the same program of study, so the material covered becomes practical - they should not longer think of this class as a class that helps them learn how to research for a paper...rather, a class that teaches them skills in finding credible and reliable information for research and everyday life.
   
3. What lifelong learning habits must students develop?
   If students can grasp the concept that no career is a career that has stagnant information, then my job will be complete. Students will learn tips and tricks to help them embrace change in technology, information, and processes. They also have to understand that they can't learn everything there is to know in a 2 year program! They need to be self motivated to continue learning and growing with changes. In doing so, they will begin to develop a self worth that so many of our students need these days. I will be using a lot of program specific topics that students can research in their learning groups to reiterate the need for finding credible information. (How would you go about researching a new drug? or How would you find information on a new technology?, etc...)
   

Hopefully if you're still reading you have found a helpful nugget of information that will be useful to you and your classroom (if you teach). And for me, just when I thought I had my class material just about set - I'm off to change it up some more...

Google - An Angel or the Devil?

The Devil...
In the information literacy classes that I teach, there is a full week of nothing but Google searching. Students learn how to:

• Narrow to a specific site domain using the advanced search feature
• Use the news, timeline, and realtime tools
• Formulate searches that get away from long sentence searching by utilizing keywords with " ", +, and -

Oftentimes students are amazed that they can locate much more credible information just by taking about 5 minutes (or less) to really think about their search terms, as well using the tools Google has provided.

This is all well and good, but a recent class left me baffled. I was demonstrating several sample searches on the overhead projector. Many students were walking through the steps with me. Right in the middle of explaining the search results, I hear: "But wait... I don't have the same link you have."
I make it a point to stop and go back just a few steps to see if maybe the student missed a step. In doing so, she assured me that the same clicks were made. I then chose to walk over to her computer and see for myself... and low and behold, she was right! She didn't have the same results. "Huh..." I said. "This could just be a fluke. Let's try another search and see what results we get."
So, as a class, we formulate another search. Same thing. By now, I'm getting a bit annoyed. Everyone should be able to have the same search results displayed if the search is done the exact-same-way-every-time. But that just wasn't happening.

We continued to move on during class, but I was still quite bothered by the situation. So, by the time I returned to my desk, I was on a massive information hunt for anything that would explain to me what was happening. Ironically enough, (I really couldn't have planned it any better) I had a link that I saw in a stream of twitter feeds from a friend and colleague of mine titled: "If you haven't seen this Ted talk on internet filtering and personalization, you HAVE to!" I'm not sure how it caught my eye...but it was so timely that I was a bit freaked.
Take a look:

I'm still miffed, and not sure really what to do about it.... but then there are the times that I really really love Google.

An Angel
In the news, There has been limited coverage of the Morganza Spillway catastrophe in the major news stream media. This is a topic that hits home (literally) with me since my home town is the good 'ole Morgan City (yes there really is a town that's west and south of New Orleans!). The news that you are hearing discusses Morgan City (since that's the end of the line for the Mississippi), but it has had limited coverage.

Google to the Rescue!
Using a few of the tricks that I teach my students, I have been able to locate the local news from the Atchafalaya Basin area. These articles have been much more beneficial than the mainstream news stations like Fox and CNN. I was able to find the most recent news articles like this one, this one, and even realtime twitter updates. Thanks to Google, it has truly allowed me to feel as if I am right there watching the impending doom happen. I still have family and friends in the area...so it's been very important for me to be able to keep up with what's happening.

Additionally, Facebook has been a fantastic use of primary source information. Friends that still live in the area have taken pictures, and Morgan City even has a Facebook page. So yet again, I have felt as if I'm right at home.

So with all of this being said, Google can definitely be a great source for information, but I don't like the fact that they are personalizing the information that is being found. Any thoughts?

Copyright & Plagiarism - Big Brother Is Watching

I was recently sent an e-mail with a link to this article, written for The New York Times by Dan Frosch. The article chronicles the law suit that Righthaven (a company who’s sole purpose is to stop online “copyright infringement of news articles originally published in the Las Vegas Review Journal and Denver Post”) pursued against Brian Hill for posting a copyrighted image that belonged to the Denver Post on his blog.

The article explains the shock the Mr. Hill experienced by the suit, and in all honesty, I probably would have been a tad surprised myself had this happened to me. But, the sole difference is… I know better! And this got me thinking: how can I better prepare my students for situations such as this?

I have the privilege of teaching 3 sections of an Information Literacy course for the college where I am employed. In this course, students learn the entire research process from start to finish, including in the middle a section on APA style and plagiarism. We touch very briefly on copyright and how to properly find images online through the creative commons, but I still don’t think it hits home for students. They understand that plagiarism is wrong, but they still don’t fully understand the consequences. To be honest, even though my college has a plagiarism and academic integrity policy, most instructors (and maybe that’s too general to say) aren’t cross-referencing work to fully determine if the work being turned in is original and properly cited. Reasons why include:

* It’s so much easier to just let it be.
* It’s hard work and time consuming to play the copyright police.
* Maybe the instructors don’t know any better…

My role as a librarian is not to be the campus copyright police, but I’m beginning to think that someone’s gotta do it! Plagiarism is still a big issue for any college campus, even with tools like TurnItIn (it takes instructors being proactive and actually using the tools available to them). We’ve seen a doctoral thesis intentionally plagiarized, “artists” such as Lady Gaga potentially being sued for theft, and Apple suing Samsung for design theft. In reality, students just don’t know that in the heat of the moment…copying and pasting is never ok!

This quarter, I am going to make a more concerted effort to get the point across that plagiarism could potentially land you in a heap of trouble, both legally and educationally. In my class…big brother is watching!


**Updated**
There is also a fantastic video on Copyright On Campus. And, a classroom presentation that I've been working on, along with the Assistant Librarian where I work, will be posted soon.

The Beginning of What Could Be the End: Harper Collins & OverDrive - The E-Book Debacle

The end of the beginning...the beginning of the end...that's how the recent e-book debacle surrounding Harper Collins and OverDrive makes me feel. In recent years, libraries have been making the necessary push to remain on the forefront of technology, which includes different media and file types for resources. Now, the outrageous decision made by Harper Collins to mandate bogus e-book terms has the potential to move libraries 5 steps back...wondering how they will be able to afford the convenience of new technology formats for patrons. [more explanation to come]

Enter year 2011, and the overwhelming amount of e-readers that were purchased for Christmas... myself being one of the people entering the digital book age! My husband purchased a Nook for me. I had been toying with the idea for a really long time, but I always thought I would stay true to the print world moreso than with an e-book; but I have come to absolutely love (LOVE) my Nook! I have been reading through the Millenium Series , and have enjoyed checking out e-books through my local library using their OverDrive vendor service.

Imagine my horror when I open my laptop on Friday afternoon to see a stream of twitter posts surrounding an e-book fiasco (hashtag #hcod)! The gist of the hubbub is this:

Harper Collins is wanting to mandate all NEWLY PURCHASED e-books be put on a 26 person/check out/seat limit. TWENTY SIX! This would mean that libraries would be forced to re-purchase that title after 26 uses. With Overdrive being the vendor in this picture, it seems they are being forced to comply and recently sent out an e-mail to all customers of their subscriptions service stating the new change.

So far, the debacle seems to be hitting closer to the public library sector...but I can't help but wonder what other publishers will see this as an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon too...and what other vendors?!

I have a few observations of my own (not anything new really) from reading the twitter stream:

1. What happens if there are technical issues and a Librarian has to download the e-book for troubleshooting purposes. This uses a checkout of the coveted 26 that are allowed.

2. How does this affect my current Library with all of the E-books we are providing? Currently we own 10,000 e-books...and that number continues to increase! The campus library settings remain VERY small (more like a media center), so we have utilized the digital age to be able to provide resources online rather than tangible print items. What does this mean for us??

With the last question hanging heavy on my thoughts all weekend, I decided to send out an e-mail to our team of Librarians to generate some discussion. A few responses so far include:

**This could be compared to a situation where a print copy of a book sees wear and tear and must be replaced after time. --My thoughts

**Reading a bit further into the situation, Harper Collins is also mandating that libraries reveal patron information that surround geographical location in order to make double sure that people outside of the coverage area don't have access to the materials. This could potentially put a damper on our international pursuits where I work --A.C.

**Another main issue surrounding this debate is that "libraries will not "own" the digital materials in the same way they own physical items." Also, "from a collection development and cataloging stand point, how annoying would it be to catalog an ebook, have to monitor its use, and then be sure to either re-purchase or delete the bib record after 26 uses? As though librarians don't have enough to do already.... And what about the student who uses a book once, and then needs to refer to it again later in the quarter? Hopefully that title isn't a popular one, cause if it is, it might have been erased by the publisher!" --E.M.

NEW Responses...
**My e-mail was read during intermission of Faust, "just after Faust had signed his soul away to the devil after seeing the visage of lovely Marguerite!" ..."Right now we pay much more to own a copy in perpetuity, [and in the end,] you [may] pay extra for unlimited seats and unlimited use. Few of our copies will ever hit 26 checkouts and therefore we pay too much just in case a title is popular. I'd rather pay more once a copy does become a hit." ... "Our loaning models differ considerably from the public libraries." --M.S.

I will be adding more to this post as the conversation grows between my colleagues.
Finally, if you would like to read more about this very important issue and make your own conclusions, feel free to peruse the following posts:
Library Journal
Bobbi Newman: Librarian By Day
David Lee King
A Very Interesting Solution That Could Possibly Work

Chicken Tikka Masala - a Staple in Our House

Any time I find the time to plan meals ahead and actually grocery shop for food, I make it a point to include this dish - Chicken Tikka Masala. I don't remember how I came across this recipe, but I've been making it for a few years now, and it never seems to disappoint! Being from Louisiana, both Adam and I really like spices, but you can spice it up or down easily with the amount of red pepper you use. We have eaten at several Indian restaurants, and this dish seems to have an authentic flavor to it as well. And finally, if you make it...I highly recommend making a double batch because you will definitely want leftovers! So without further ado, I leave you with a fantastic recipe! I hope you enjoy.

Chicken Tikka Masala - a food.com recipe
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut in 1 inch cubes
Marinade
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
* 2 teaspoons black pepper
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 piece minced ginger (1-inchinch" long)
Sauce
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 jalapeno, minced
* 2 teaspoons ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon garam masala (buy in Indian market)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
1. Marinade chicken in the marinade mixture for an hour or so.
2. Discard marinade.
3. For sauce, melt butter on medium heat in skillet.
4. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook 1 minute.
5. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala & salt.
6. Stir in tomato sauce.
7. Simmer for 15 min.
8. Stir in cream. Simmer for 5 min. to thicken.
9. Cook chicken separately.
10. Add to sauce and simmer 5 min.
11. Garnish with cilantro and serve with basmati rice and naan.

Bon Appetit!

Library Day in the Life #6 - Thursday

We've made it past hump-day and have moved on into Thursday. I'm working the late shift again, so I've just settled into my day...

12:00pm - 1:30pm
Arrive at work and find that a friend/coworker/colleague librarian of mine at a different campus is having a frustrating morning. I provide some info that doesn't really help much...but I can certainly sympathize! I feel your pain Erin!

Just as I come in at noon, my Assistant is ready for her lunch. We discuss a few projects before she heads out. We've been working on adding QR codes to our library shelves that link to the subject guides. This has been fun! We've also made a screen saver and a flyer that says: "Wanna know what this is?" and gives a brief introduction to the beauty of QR codes. I wrote a post way back when on QR Codes, and when I first hired on, I had many ideas like this, but I didn't really think our students would "get it." But... I'm going to try it and see how it goes. I'll also be mentioning the QR codes in class on Friday.

I've checked in with my online class and have answered e-mails. I've also sent an e-mail to one of our online Librarians to see how to add an online student to the Polaris database.

A student also needed some copying and pasting help. Printing from a website was clipping some of the words, so she wanted to copy the article into Word. Easy enough... but I'm still baffled by how many students still don't have this skill!

In keeping with that theme, an e-mail came through asking for faculty to ask students if there are any interested in doing basic computer tutoring. I got to thinking... I've done computer classes in the past for previous jobs, and I could put together a workshop for basic computer skills. We'll see what the demand is and run with it for next month if need be.

Finally, several students of mine have expressed issues with the Credo Reference Concept Map not populating. Time to investigate this!
.... Looks like it just needs a little bit of a java update. I'll use http://join.me again to walk the student through the update process. Hopefully that will solve the problems!

1:30pm - 3:00pm
Time to start work on classroom presentations. I'm diving into the Criminal Justice statistics sites again to see what can be shown for their class project.

3:00pm - 5:00pm
After posing my question about the computer skills workshop idea, a faculty member came down to see me and we discussed some times that may work. I will keep my calendar open for Mondays from 11:30-12:30 and go from there. I've got the textbook, so I can brush up on some things and be ready to help if needed.

I continue to work on valid statistical websites to send the Criminal Justice students to... not the most fun thing to research, but still valid and quite helpful!

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Dinner! But I have to go in the snow... boo

6:00pm - 7:00pm
Finish work on the Criminal Justice Applied Statistics class presentation. I've got some substantial material here to show the students, so it should cover an entire hour!

I also had a student come by that has an assignment regarding wrongful termination laws in Indiana. I found a few things (Indiana Codes and Civil Laws) from a string of e-mails the Librarians sent around, but nothing real substantial. This isn't the first time this assignment has come up...and we're all at a loss as to how to fully help students with this project. We have one Librarian that has a law background, but that stuff is clear as mud to me! Fun times.

7:00pm - 8:00pm
I need to brush up on my classes for tomorrow. I'm going to make sure that I have all of my documents ready for them, and will also refresh my brain of the powerpoint presentation.

Ended up spending until 7:40 working with a student who had a chat reference question. They were asking about a homework assignment...I interpreted it as best I could.

8:00pm - 9:30pm
Now I can work on my class material!

Ended up showing a student how the QR codes work... he sadly didn't get it, but I still think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread!

9:15pm
I'm heading out a tad early... with the snow, there are no more students left on campus tonight, so I'm packing up and heading out.

I'll be teaching all day tomorrow, so it will be a special Friday #libday6 edition!

Library Day In The Life #6 - Wednesday

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Library Day in the Life #6!

8:00am - 9:00am
Arrive at work by 8 and get started checking e-mail. I also post a quick announcement to our Facebook page about our upcoming Professional Dress Day on campus.

One of my students stops by to ask about the Credo Reference Concept Map / Google Wonder Wheel comparison assignment. I wanted this assignment to be a spring board for searching keywords. We'll definitely be talking more about this in class on Friday.

Finally, I set up e-mail lists for my 3 classes (this should have already been done).

9:00am - 10:00am
Student Satisfaction Survey Committee meeting. We're compiling data from last Quarter's surveys in order to come up with an action plan. I'm in charge of putting the document together, so we're meeting to compile more of the data the other committee members have collected.

10:00am - 12:20am
Return from meeting to find a slew of e-mails. Apparently my e-mail from the e-book adventure yesterday has been moved up the chain of command. I was thanked for sharing my experience...and hopefully we'll be able to get more concrete answers about the purchased bookstore e-books.

Sort through mail and start compiling more in-class presentation material.

Talk with the Nursing Dean who is subbing for a Medical Assisting class. She wants a run-through of the Library website and where students can access the subject guides for a particular disease project they're working on. The catch is... she wants it for 1pm today! I'm fine with it... except that I'm going to be late for an ILS demo. So, now I'm on a quick hunt for what I'm going to show them! Wait... I have no coverage for the presentation. *sigh. (a constant problem due to the accuplacer issue!) I also have to eat... and I told a student that I would meet with them around 11:50 to go over an assignment. Creating a document instead that will list the path to the resources, as well as examples for resources. Hopefully this will suffice for today.

At the same time as the above craziness, I had about 10 different student questions. Scramble time!

12:20pm - 1:00pm
Scarf down lunch

1:00pm - 4:00pm
ILS Demo webinar. My Assistant is covering the front lines while I'm on this call. I'll try to multitask

Student came in looking at our Surg Tech journals. This was a result from the program specific quick guide myself and the assistant created for all programs here on campus. YAY!! That journal has NEVER been checked out to my knowledge since I've been here!

Listened more to the demo and realized as I was picking up a pen that my tea from this morning spilled in my bag and my student's papers that I graded were all ruined by the tea spill. *sigh. I proceed to begin cutting away the wet parts of the papers because I really don't want to have to dry them all...plus it would have had a tea stain. So... I continue to cut as I listen.

4:00pm - 5:30pm
After the demo, I worked on an ILL lending request only to find that the book exceeded our 2 lb weight limit. I did some math and came up with an 11.00 amount that hopefully will work.

We also received a shipment of ILL's from another campus, so that was processed.

Finally, I answered a few more student and faculty questions, and am calling it a day!

5:30pm
HOME! I'll be grading last minute submissions for my online class tonight and contacting students with what I'm missing from them. I've got episodes of Dexter going (I love this show) on Netflix, and in between episodes, I'll be working on laundry and dishes. Never-ending right?!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's edition.

Library Day in the Life #6 - Tuesday

Welcome to Day 2 of the Library Day in the Life #6 project. I'm working the late shift today, so I have eased into my morning by scheduling a doc appointment, and procrastinated folding a huge basket of clothes. Said clothes remain unfolded...

11:00am - 12:00pm
I start getting ready and decide that I want something from Dunkin' Donuts... partly because there's NOTHING in my house to eat... and partly because I saw a commercial for it and it looked oh so yummy. *note to self - salad for dinner*

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Arrive at work and ease into the work day by answering e-mail and speaking with co-workers. My Assistant is currently taking her lunch break, and we'll discuss some projects when she returns.

During this time, I also place an ILL for a staff member. We have new procedures since joining the OCLC bandwagon, so it took me a while to make sure I had dotted all of my "I's" and crossed all of my "T's." I think everything is good to go!

1:00pm - 1:30pm
Worked with the same faculty member from yesterday to properly format the Running Head of an APA paper. Fun times! I love love love when I can really help someone and they go away with more knowledge than when they first came in!

1:30pm - 2:00pm
Worked with a student that is currently in an Excel Spreadsheets class. The homework was very vague (and I am NOT a numbers person)... and she needed some help figuring out how to calculate depreciation. The book never indicated what "kind" of depreciation...and everything I tried for straight-line depreciation did not give the same answers the book gave. Until I'm able to get clarification on what exactly the homework is asking for... I'm at a loss!

Also checked-in a new serial (The Chronicle of Higher Education) and perused it for a minute.

Answered a student e-mail question about one of my class assignments.

Got a prospective student going on the Accuplacer test. I am choosing not to discuss this too much because I might get on my soap box. The rest of this post could very well turn into why the Library/Librarian should NOT be administering Accuplacer tests... so I will refrain.

2:00pm - 3:30pm
I worked out another ILL request (long process since I'm still learning the new procedures).

I also worked on an e-book printing issue with a student. This took several phone calls to the student, as well as back and forth conversing with our Online Librarian. Turns out the student purchased the book through our campus bookstore... so it wasn't an e-book in our library collection. I ended up having to use join.me to see the student's screen. This enabled me to figure out that it was different than our library books...(it didn't open in Adobe Digital Editions, and it was VERY difficult to navigate). So, I figured out that the downloaded version was way too cumbersome to work with, so I suggested the student work directly with the online version of the e-book, and she was happy. She'll be able to print what she needs for the assignments, and can search the page numbers of the book from her online class. *Whew!

After I finished up with the student, I put in a phone call to the person that handles the online bookstore here at my campus, and have asked for more details on this e-book pilot. If we're going to be getting student questions, we need to be aware of what's going on!

3:30pm - 4:30pm
Formulate a to-do list for the evening and start thinking about dinner. I'm needing to get all of our in-class visits/presentation dates together so I know what to research.

4:30pm - 5:00pm
Discuss project plans with my Assistant Librarian. We just put together program specific resources for our students that were e-mailed to them. The response has already been GREAT, so we're putting our heads together for more projects. Our next step will be bookmarks that highlight our library services and a QR code that sends them to the library website.

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Dinner!

6:00pm - 7:00pm
Online Faculty Division Quarterly Conference Call
We discussed the curriculum and basic how-to's of adding/changing grades. It was informative...but a tad overwhelming! I'm glad the online division is very thorough in sending out e-mail messages when things need to be posted!

7:00pm - 8:00pm
-Worked with a student who was having issues with her student gradebook account.
-Worked with a student on the phone who was having an issue pulling up the keyboarding class website... poor thing was typing the url in the search bar instead of the address bar. Join.me to the rescue again!!
-Worked with a student to find a business dictionary. We have an e-book that's pretty cool... so I show her how to access it!

8:00pm - 9:30pm
I was going to catalog 2 books that were donated, but I'm thinking I need to get a move on the class visit presentations that are coming up. So... off I go to research Criminal Justice statistic options!

Answered a chat question from a student asking about a chat realm of some sort that will work for a class project. I introduced the student to meebo.com and the "room" option. The student was floored at how easy and perfect it would be for his class group project! Yay!

Calling it a day! Back to work at 8am tomorrow morning...so time to start winding down for the night. (Always very hard to do when your mind is running so much at 9:30pm)

Library Day in the Life #6 - Monday

I have always wanted to participate in the Library Day in the Life project hosted by Bobbi Newman. In the past, I have been an avid reader of those that have participated in previous editions, but I never really felt that I had much to contribute myself...partly because of the extremely small library systems I have worked for. I am now working as the Campus Librarian and Adjunct Instructor at a small business/career college in the northern part of Indiana, and I feel as if my job duties have much more meaning these days! So without further ado, welcome to my Library Day in the Life for Monday!

Mondays for the most part are spent grading and inputting grades into our online gradebook. That way, the rest of my week can be devoted to more library-related tasks.

6:45am - 7:15am
Nothing but hitting the snooze button! I have my morning routine down to a science...and I know exactly how many times I can hit that snooze button before my feet absolutely have to hit the floor. Once I'm up, I put Ditters out (which he did NOT like this morning due to the extra snow), feed him, and get ready to be out the door by 7:45 (much later than it has been being since the list of building openers has been modified and I no longer have to open at 7:30 - yay!). I notice the snow and realize I will most likely be late today *sigh.

7:45am - 8:05am
I hit the road by 7:45, and on a good day, I can make to work on time...but we had snow on top of snow this morning so it was slow going.

8:05am - 10:00am
I arrive at 8:05 (not too shabby considering the weather). I notice that I'm missing a chair at one of our Library computers...time to hunt down said chair. Mondays are usually pretty busy with student questions, so we need everything in place! The library is a very small room (about the size of what a large living room might be in a home). We have 16 computers available to students with printing capabilities, and 5 bookshelves filled with the necessities for student projects, etc... Most of our ammo is in our online databases and e-book collections.

So, I find the chair and return it safely to its home. I turn on all computers, including mine. I get all my windows up and running on my computer:
*Pidgin - used with libraryh3lp for our online chat reference service.
*IE and Firefox - our campus gradebook portal can only be used with IE...stupid if you ask me! So all my work that I graded over the weekend has to wait to be entered on Monday since I have a Mac at home with no IE. (I'm teaching 3 sections of an Information Literacy class!)
*Outlook
*Polaris - our ILS system...although we are currently in the works of looking into different options.

Once everything is up and running, I get this post started, and get to work answering e-mail and inputting my grades for my Information Literacy classes (I can't enter them at home because our gradebook isn't compatible with Safari or Firefox...boo!). I also eat my breakfast...a low-sugar/low-fat blueberry muffin.

10:00am - 12:00am
Spent some time getting all grades for my online class ready to submit. Also answered 2 student e-mail questions, requested a book for a staff member via ILL, and spent some time doing some converting of file types with zamzar for a colleague who had a student submit with word perfect (REALLY?? Who uses WPerfect these days?!).

Also dealt with an issue we are having with the Google Wonder Wheel on campus. Last week, I sent several e-mails to our IT department to see what could be done...and they fixed it! A Librarian from another campus e-mailed me back to say: "You're a rockstar! I've been trying to get them to turn off strict safe search for months!" ... so yay!

Spent a little bit of time chatting with a Librarian colleague at a different campus and also created a check in/out document for our work-studies to use when myself, or the Assistant Librarian is not available.

Posted to our campus Facebook page with admissions information. The library is truly becoming the information hub of the campus!

12:00pm - 12:30pm
Finalize grades for online class and make an executive decision to stay in and order lunch due to the snow. Wishing I would have brought my nook with me... but I'll get more grading done I guess.

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch consisted of Jimmy John's since it can be delivered!

1:30pm - 3:00pm
Assisted students with projects in the Library, and assisted co-workers with a few questions as well. One of our faculty members is working on a Master's degree and wanted APA clarification. I also finished inputting grades for my ground classes (2 of them).

3:30pm - 5:00pm
Answering e-mail and formulating a to-do list for the rest of the week.


5:15pm - ...
Leave work to head home for the evening. Dinner will consist of soup, and then the rest of the evening will be spent working on a document for searching our PAC, as well as working on my lecture for Friday. With the teaching duties completed for the week, I will now be able to focus on more library-related duties.

More to come tomorrow!

Ditters - What In the Heck Were You Thinking?

There's a story behind Ditters... and one day soon I'll write that up, but today I must tell you what our crazy, spooky-in-his-old-age, "good for nothing" doggie did last night.

But first, some background:

Ditters has become quite skittish around floor vents. You know the kind: they blow hot air at you in the winter as you walk by, or you stand on them to get warm after stepping out of the shower. Yes, those vents have become a source of angst for our nearly 9 year old pup. Since moving to our new home, the problem has increased. There are vents *everywhere.* When Ditters walks by one, he'll stop and stare at it, only to spastically scurry away. It's really quite entertaining!

Now back to last night:

I had just laid down for the night, and was just entering that good sleep that happens right before drifting off to dream land, when all of a sudden I hear whimpering. Not whimpering from being hurt, or whimpering from wanting to go out, but the kind of whimpering that Ditters makes when something isn't right in his little puppy world. I started to turn over to see what in the world was the matter, when all of a sudden, he jumps up on the bed, scurries around my pillow, and promptly jumps down on the other side of the bed to lay down on his makeshift dog bed made of pillows. I thought to myself - what is this dog thinking?... But I didn't even have time to get up before he did it again! He jumps up on my side of the bed, around my pillow again, and then jumps back down onto his real dog bed.

He *knows* he's not supposed to be on the bed... so that was problem #1 in his doggie mind that caused some whimpering.

He also knew that there was an evil vent at the foot of the bed... so that was problem #2 in his doggie mind that caused even *more* whimpering.

So, all he could think to do was to jump onto the off-limits bed in order to get to the other side.

Now what *I* can't figure out is why he wanted to be on the other side in the first place...

So with that, I leave you with a picture of my spooky dog. He's loved, spoiled, and I wouldn't have it any other way!













Ditters lounging on the back of the couch

Online Collaboration: The Next Big Thing Is Not You.

The Next Big Thing Is Not You.

View more presentations from danielgoh.

I frequently read a blog by Buffy Hamilton, a High School Librarian in Canton, GA. She recently posted the presentation above that got me thinking about my own online identity.

Since switching jobs from the public library sector to the academic library, I find myself with less and less time to collaborate/participate online. It's important to note that my academic library is not a traditional library. I work in a very small post-secondary, proprietary institution that is aimed at business, public and medical industries. The library was non-existent 2 years ago, but a heavy push for academic standards was made, and libraries at the different campuses have been created. Most of our resources are online and accessed through library databases, and each location has begun a small "core" collection that is housed in the "library" setting. I use the word library very loosely when talking about the setting, though, since we actually refer to it as the Learning Resource Center (LRC). It's within the size of a regular classroom housing 4 bookshelves and 12 computers that students can use for research and homework project purposes. My desk sits right inside the door and is the first thing anyone sees when they enter.

Now I've set the stage to explain what my duties cover:

• Reference and Instruction -- I enter classrooms at the instructors request to provide research help for certain classroom projects. Students are then encouraged to stop back by the LRC for additional help.
  
• Cataloging -- All new materials are cataloged and added to the collection.
• Inter-Library Loan -- We do quite a bit of this since our physical collection is so small.
  
• Collection Development -- As programs of study evolve, new materials for the core collection must be evaluated, and old materials within the current collection are weeded.
• Subject Specialty Areas -- I am in charge of Project Management, Gaming/Interactive Media, and Computers/Keyboarding. This Quarter, the librarians have been identifying standards for each area of study. This has taken quite a bit of work to dig through relevant information.
  
• Adjunct Instructor -- I will be teaching 3, yes 3, Information Literacy classes during the Winter Quarter. Two will be ground classes, and one online section. YIKES
• Various Committee Involvement:

1. ILS Search Committee
   
2. LibGuides 2.0 Committee
3. Campus Student Satisfaction Committee

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but as you can see, I stay quite busy! Now, let me get back to my reason for writing this whole bit. If you perused the slides above, you see just how far social media and the like has come in recent years. I have a pretty heavy online presence, and most of it has been geared towards library collaboration and gaining ideas from others in the field. I have an online presence on:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Friendfeed (Library Society of the World) -- This place is GREAT for asking questions and getting instant feedback from librarians at the forefront of our industry.
  
• Goodreads
• Flickr
• Blogger
• LinkedIn

You get the idea. With so many online areas, it's been difficult to keep up with everything. It truly is information overload.

So I ask you, how in the heck do you keep up with everything online when other work demands keep you focused? How do you continue to stay abreast of every new trend/technology when you simply don't have the time to stay current throughout the week? And... if you DO find the time (say, when you make it home from work), how do you balance your online presence with your family obligations. A weary mind wants to know!

A New Look

Welcome to the new digs. I figured I would spruce up the blog a bit in hopes that it will help me to begin posting more frequently. I've never been able to keep up with blogging in past years (and you can see that just by scrolling down a bit and looking at the date range), but I have many exciting things (to me) going on, that I really need to start documenting things better.

Since finishing my graduate degree, I really thought I would have more time to do the things that I like to do. Things such as:

• Designing a website for my husband to help market himself in the trombone world - - he's an orchestral trombonist.
• Blogging - - you see how far that went!
• Reading - - I think I've only read a total of 4 books...I repeat...4 books since May. P.I.T.I.F.U.L
• Knitting - - This is the one area where I have been doing more. I've finished several projects since the weather has turned cool.
• Cooking - - I really like to cook, but my crazy schedule makes it difficult.
  
• Losing Weight - - We won't be discussing this one...

You get the idea. Life always seems to always get in the way. Since taking a new job as a campus librarian here in Northern Indiana, I have been so stinkin' busy with everything work related. With a new job comes new things to learn, as well as oober preparation for presentations and teaching opportunities. Eventually it has to settle down right?!? I am thankful to have a husband that helps around the house, cooks, and keeps me sane. The nature of his job is such that he's home during the day, and works a couple of hours at night throughout the week. Sweet gig if you ask me!

So, in the coming days, I plan to post about some knitting projects that I have going, some Christmas cookies that I need to bake, and any crazy library related things that pop up. Pictures of Ditters are always free game too...which means I need to take my new camera back out!

That's it for now.

QR Codes - The Possibilities Are Endless

I've been doing a bit of research recently in regards to QR codes and their uses in libraries. I first heard about QR codes while listening to a new-to-me podcast this past week. You can find the podcast HERE ... and I do hope you'll take the time to listen. So what is a QR code? Here are a few brief points:

• QR stands for Quick Response
• QR codes are linked to information online
• That information is transmitted through a phone's camera, sending you to the linked website that can be saved to your mobile bookmarks
• The QR code phone application that I'm using with my blackberry is from beetagg. You can find a list of supported phones HERE. You will need this in order to scan the image below.
  

What might be some uses for QR codes?
If you were to grab the QR code to the right, you would be taken to my linkedin online resume. This is just one example of how people are using these codes. Businesses are also linking them to their Facebook pages, and I can see where libraries could do the same. Libraries are also placing these codes in their online catalogs. This is especially beneficial for University libraries that are multi-level. Students can search for a particular item, see the QR code on the holdings page, snap a picture of the code which sends them to the mobile version of the holdings page, and they are able to take their phone with them to find the book/material. No more writing down long call numbers or trying to find pen and paper in the first place. The possibilities are ENDLESS and I'm already formulating ideas for utilizing this new media format in my library. For further reading about QR codes, follow the links below for better explanations:

• What Is a QR Code
  
• Embeddable Information: QR Codes and Libraries
• QR Codes and Books
• LibSuccess Wiki: QR Codes Being Used in Libraries (note: tonight, I'm having trouble accessing this site)

What are your thoughts on QR code usage?

Sony DSLR A-230

The following are some of the better pictures that were taken during the first couple of days of owning this new camera. The colors don't pop...not sure how to make them pop...and the focus isn't great either. Also, the pictures aren't 100% clear (probably because I need to invest in a tripod). Each picture was taken on some sort of auto setting, but I'm giving the specs as well in hopes that some of you may have some suggestions on what could have been done to make the picture better. All specs are taken from Flickr after the upload.



Farm Cat
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
400
Focal Length (Lens):
300mm
Flash:
Auto, Fired









Country Lane
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture:
f/6.3
ISO:
100
Focal Length (Lens):
130mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire












Country Lane #2
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture:
f/6.3
ISO:
100
Focal Length (Lens):
90mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire













A Peek Through the Trees
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture:
f/4.5
ISO:
400
Focal Length (Lens):
160mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire












Sunset
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture:
f/4.0
ISO:
125
Focal Length (Lens):
90mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire




Sunset #2
6/19/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture:
f/4.0
ISO:
250
Focal Length (Lens):
85mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire




Macro - Weeds
6/20/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
258
Focal Length (Lens):
50mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire






Macro - Dandelion
6/20/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
258
Focal Length (Lens):
50mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire




Macro - Flower
6/20/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
258
Focal Length (Lens):
50mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire




Deer (what we bought the camera for!)
6/20/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
258
Focal Length (Lens):
300mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire



Deer #2
6/20/2010

Sony DSLR A-230

Exposure:
0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture:
f/5.6
ISO:
258
Focal Length (Lens):
300mm
Flash:
Off, Did not fire





I am up for any and all critiques. I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing...I know how to change settings, but still am not 100% sure I understand what to change, and when. Any photoshop tips would be great too so I can maybe make the colors pop a bit more.

New Library Website & Something To Ponder

Here she is folks. A full year and half worth of work has finally come to fruition. I should also mention that I by no means call myself a web-designer, or even a webmaster. While that is part of my job title, I don't think I'm very good at it, and I'm sure if you looked at my coding, you would find ways to do what I've done differently/better/*insert your own words. However, I did learn a TON during this process...and I feel like I've accomplished something worthwhile that will be beneficial to my library. That makes me giddy!

If you're interested in seeing more, especially my Kids and Teens pages (digital scrapbooking came in handy for those), then head on down to:
http://www.elwood.lib.in.us

Comments and critiques are always welcome...although I'll warn you - if you make a suggestion, I may not know enough to even understand what you're telling me. I'm strictly book and self taught here! I'm still learning as I go :-)

And now for something to ponder:
A new book came in today and one of our catalogers brought it back to my office thinking I would get a kick out of the concept. The title is 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. The idea that we all have the same hours in every day/week/month/year is mind boggling to me, simply because I can never seem to find time for what I want to do! For years I have sacrificed my time/career/life/EVERYTHING to finishing school. Both my husband and I were committed to that challenge of being 100% fully and completely done before starting a family. Just last month, I graduated with my MLS, and this summer, my husband will be finishing up his Doctorate (so our plan has worked!). I give you all of this background to say that I had it in my mind that I would always have more time to really do what I wanted once I finished school. Unfortunately, it seems that my life is even more busy! So this intriguing book crossed my desk and it got me thinking. Where am I putting all of my hours? If you want to do the same, it's pretty interesting to see how much time is being wasted! Here's the breakdown:

168 Hours in a Week

• 40 hrs Work
• 7.5 hrs Commuting back and forth to work
  
• 56 hrs Sleep (8 hrs each night - wishful thinking right?)
• 10.25 hrs Eating (I only take a 15 min. break at work for lunch)
• 4 hrs House Cleaning/Folding Clothes/Dishes/etc...
• 2 hrs Errands (not very accurate, but it will have to do since each week is different)
• 7 hrs Hot Bath every night (SO very relaxing! and too much info I'm sure)
• 3 hrs Church Services

Total: 38.25 hrs left over
Where does this time go? What the heck am I doing to where I feel like I have no time for anything? I will ponder this further...

If you're interested in reading more about the book, the author has a blog located HERE, and there's a challenge beginning Monday, June 14th which can be found on Facebook.

The whole point of this for me is to find out where I am putting my time (and being honest about it) in order to make the necessary changes. I'm willing! Who else wants to join the challenge??

A New Look

I simply don't have the time to design a blog layout for myself, partly because I have devoted so much time for the library website redesign...which hopefully will go live tomorrow. With that being said, I wanted a fresh new look for this blog with the hopes of having it be enticing...therefore making me want to blog more!

Enjoy the design, and check back tomorrow for a link to the library's new website.

What I Learned Today

Today was a Monday, and for me that usually means problems galore will be put on my plate. As I settle in to this job more and more, I am gaining a sense of how to "let things go" if they really aren't top priority. This means fixing the big issues first and moving on to the little things as I can. For anyone who knows me well though, you know how difficult this is for me! I am a person that likes...no, I NEED projects to be completed and checked off of my to-do list. Unfortunately, this job is just one big to-do list that is never ending. I'm dealing with that though...and doing ok.

Now, for what I learned today.

Librarians have a need to keep things in order. We like to have every little piece of paper in its proper spot, usually filed away in a file drawer, or neatly placed in folders on the computer for easy access. Problems occur when those poor files cannot be found! I ended up making a little boo-boo last week that almost cost us our entire long-overdue database. This would have been 5 years of steady, diligent work down the drain. *But*...I learned something!

1. If you are going to copy a file to a different location, make sure you save it as a different file name before altering said file. (I was in such a hurry that I started chopping up the poor database to make a template out of it that I forgot this very important step)
2. If you ever wonder if it's really that important to have a server backup files and e-mails every night...worry or wonder no more. It is DEFINITELY important! (For so long, those poor backup tapes went unnoticed, but today they were very helpful in restoring the data)

Lesson one learned.

Lesson two is that through this process of accidentally deleting data, I learned more about the workings of Backup Exec on our server, and how to recover files if its ever needed. I was oh so nervous to press the restore button in fear that I would wipe the tape somehow, but it loaded, found the file I needed, restored it perfectly, and I feel like the hero at the end of the day.

Lesson three: I think it's about time that we replace our black and white printer. Why this particular model was bought in the first is a mystery, but I'm finding that we can only get through 3 weeks of prints before needing a new printer cartridge. The specks say ink will last for 2,000 prints, or thereabouts, which isn't much for a main branch with heavy printing traffic. So, this lesson will involve learning about different network printers and making sure that I make the right decision when purchasing.

Now, to make another to-do list for the rest of the week that may or may not get done depending on what decides to blow up or break...

A New Beginning

I have recently been thinking more and more about blogging again. While I always seem to have good intentions, for one reason or another I end up letting the writing fall to the back burner. Life and my work takes precedence (as it should) and I just can't seem to find a good balance for the "extra" things I would like to accomplish. Personally and professionally, I have gained so much from reading other library blogs...particularly those by Bobbi Newman, David Lee King, and even The.Effing.Librarian (just to name a slim few). My GoogleReader account is overflowing with blogs from people that I have come to call my colleagues, and I continue to glean information and inspiration from each of them. I don't expect to have any real cutting edge ideas here, but it will at least come to be a chronology of my work, projects, and the like.

So how have I ended up at this point?
When I began this particular blog, I had just moved into a new library system and was working as a clerk/head of youth services for a small branch in central Indiana. While in this position, I had the opportunity to fully plan and implement an entire Summer Reading program for this very small branch. I remained in the position for one year until I had the opportunity to move into management at the main library branch. I became the Adult Services Manager, overseeing a handful of adult services staff, managing the interlibrary loan department, maintaining the fiction/nonfiction collection, as well as non-print materials, implementing adult programming, coordinating staff scheduling ... all while finishing my MLS degree! It was overwhelming, yet exhilarating because I was finally able to put my schooling to practice. The fun doesn't stop there though. Not six months into this position, a fellow coworker had the opportunity to move on to a new work environment, leaving our library system with an empty Information Technology Manager position. In my head, I thought this was right up my alley. Since taking this position, however, I realize I have SO much to learn! Every work-day feels like I'm back in school...but that's party why I love librarianship. The environment breeds continual learning. To just name a few things that I am now doing:

• Computer hardware selection, installation, and troubleshooting (this includes getting knee deep inside computer cases which was brand new to me...and I have become a reformatting hard drive whiz!)
  
• Software selection, installation, and support
• Network administration and security responsibilities (In 2 months time, I have already assisted in the installation of a new server)
  
• Security and stability of public computing environment (For future reference...don't use Centurion Guard security software. This is a headache and a half when trying to push things from the server to the workstations. Instead, work with group policies)
  
• Web page design and maintenance (We go LIVE with my redesign on Tuesday!!)
  
• General help desk functions
• Computer Class Instructor
• Grant writer
  
• Intranet support and design
• Staff and patron technology training
• Integrated Library System (ILS) maintenance, upgrades, and training
• Project management
• Creating technical documentation (Document Document Document...everything!)
• Overseer of E-Rate Funding

Ok...so that totally turned out to be a laundry list of responsibilities (and I'm sure I'm missing something). If you have made it to the end and are still reading, I welcome you to this new beginning. I have no idea what angles I will take with this blog, but I will make it fun and hopefully informative to anyone who ventures my way.

Happy Reading!

ALA 2009 Part II (Gaming)

...Day 1 Continued...

At 10:30, I chose to attend a session on Gaming, with the official title being Gaming: What Does it Have To Do With Books?. This session showcased 4+ speakers that spoke on gaming in each of their libraries. Their stories are as follows:

• Sarah Corey (sp) New York Public Library | Her take on Gaming..."games make learning fun!" She also gave many positive outlooks for gaming in the library: "games offer a range of solutions just like in Real Life," "games include and encourage experimentation and risk-taking," "games break down language barriers." Sarah also focused on the fact that teens are the gaming experts which creates community involvement, along with a teen-run programming atmosphere. This teen-run programming has positive peer influence! Gaming also generates alternative literacy where teens/gamers are expressing themselves in new ways. All of us need to realize that k-12 children of today are growing up with this "new" technology, therefore these children think in a totally different way than we do. This "new" technology is forcing libraries to adapt to the culture. A programming idea would be to bring in gaming techs to teach teens about careers in gaming.
• Florence, CO | Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of this speaker, but the library is in Florence, Colorado. This public library has tried to set up a "community center" with the idea that if you don't OFFER, they WON'T come! Sometimes libraries have the opposite thinking by saying they WON'T come, so why bother OFFERING? This is most definitely wrong thinking! This Colorado library held its first gaming tournament with borrowed game systems and its gaming motto has been that games offer a different kind of world, just as books offer a magical world.
• Western NY School Library System | Again, another no name for this presentation, but lots of great information on gaming in the classroom. This school system is trying to bridge the gap between games and libraries and is realizing the fact that the foundation has been present all along! Their take is as follows: games connect learning and play increases learning, perseverance and multiple view points are new education standards that can be taught through games (ex: 1960 President Election Game = authentic learning through authentic gaming).
  
• Academic Library Setting | Book: What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee = games are changing the way patrons want service. Book: Gaming in Academic Libraries by Amy Harris and Scott Rice. Gaming Events in a college setting provide what students actually want to be doing! Gaming events show how coursework and curriculum can be fun with an end result being a gaming career.

Key points to starting a gaming program at your library:

• Have a GOAL! Start with your library mission and consider why you want to start gaming (to draw people in that normally wouldn't enter, extend existing services, become a community hub, supporting curriculum, marketing, etc...)
• Choose games that will meet your goals and then remember to do a thorough assessment.

ALA provides a toolkit for gaming in libraries found HERE.

What about the violence?
It's important to remember that libraries already have materials that would/could be considered violent (books, movies, etc...). The library should already have a collection development policy in place which covers this issue. Games aren't ALL about violence (violence vs. action).

More gaming information can be found HERE
Gaming podcast can be found HERE

ALA 2009 Part I

I have been debating on whether or not to blog my first ALA conference or not...partly because I feel I'm not a great writer and partly because I felt I probably couldn't do the conference justice. Then, I started thinking that I wanted to remember the sessions that I attended, and I wanted to always have documentation of my first ALA experience. I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this, but the following is part one of a series of blog entries detailing events from July 11-14 of 2009.

I attended the ALA conference with two other graduate student classmates of mine: Malissa and Patricia...both fabulous people. Our itinerary (complements of moi) put us in Chicago on the evening of July 10th. Once checking into our hotel (the Hyatt of Lombard, IL and a story in and of itself), we ventured to the Museum of Science and Industry to check out the Harry Potter exhibition. While I was excited about this exhibit, I was a tad disappointed with the overall concept. In my mind I was thinking more set props and the like, but it turned out to be more clothing and wardrobe. The signs seen at each "station" were a little redundant as well if you are one that has read the books and seen the movies. It was still neat, just not what I was expecting.

Day two had us up at 5am in order to beat traffic (even though it was a Saturday) and make it to our 8am sessions on time. We were geared up and ready to learn (although later in the week, the exhibits took a strong hold of us and we just couldn't stop!) with 3 sessions on the books. We each split up to venture to our respective rooms (they being more YA oriented and me being more technology driven).

Enter...8am Digital Libraries Showcase
Emily Gore of Clemson University: Clemson, SC spoke about what her university has done to create a digital library work-space. The following was part of her presentation:

• Scanning Center | One must keep in mind the budget of the department, as well as the staffing and expertise of those that will be working with the equipment. Consider what items the department will be scanning in order to purchase the right equipment. Ask the question about outsourcing...how much outsourcing does the department want to be involved with?
• Outsourcing Debate | It's important to only work with reputable vendors. Also, keep in mind that when outsourcing, things such as weather have a say in when and how materials move.
  
• Inhouse Debate | The disadvantage of doing EVERYTHING inhouse is the larger investment of time and money. It is also difficult to set prices per scan for statistical purposes. 
• Clemson University | They had 100K to work with with one full-time librarian and part-time students helping with the digitization process. A full-time scanning technician is also on staff and there has been re purposing of internal staff as well. Clemson also had to rethink the equipment being purchased based on their space (ceiling height, windows, etc...).
• Clemson University Workstations | They are equipped with both Mac and PC platforms with CONTENTdm (OCLC) being their cms. Each workstation is provided with dual side-by-side monitors that enable better comparisons when entering metadata information. Task lighting is also in place to give true coloring to the items.
• Clemson University File Storage | Clemson uses RAID as their storage back-up system, along with LOCKSS (for more digital preservation tools) and MetaArchive for a community-based approach to digital preservation.
• Clemson University's Scanner Equipment | The favorite scanner for Clemson is the Epson Expression 10000XL. This bad boy has all the bells and whistles and batch scanning capabilities that make for a successful scanning center in any University setting. Clemson also uses the Kodak Creo and iQ3 scanners but unfortunately they have experienced software upgrade troubleshooting problems.
  

Overall, I was intrigued by the presentation and wanted to see some scanning in action.

I decided to leave early and head next door to the Technology in the Developing World session. The following are notes from this discussion:

• http://laptop.org/en/ | One Laptop Per Child | Children in remote locations now have the opportunity to have ownership of their laptops. There are currently 1 million laptops aroudn the world, but the future of this program is varying from country to country.
  
• www.inveneo.org | "connecting those who need it most." Partners to bring wireless capabilities to places such as Rowanda, in order to create Refugee Education Centers. 
• www.research4life.org | Another partner in the OLPC project.

The idea of this project is for children to have technology/internet access, both at school and at home in order to spread literacy to family members. Each individual country organizes training and partners with deployment groups. Unfortunately, there are some instances where a top-down approach is had, where total reliance must be on the government of the country. Peru is currently the most government run project.
The flickr group for OLPC is:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/onelaptop/pool/
 
More to come from the rest of Day 1...

Geocaching @ Your Library

WHEN:   July 2009
WHERE: Frankton Community Library