I should tell everyone that this was my first semester in the MLIS. I really enjoyed most of the course work and much of what I have learned. However, I am beginning to see much overlap in my studies between the types of assignments and the content that I will be studying.
What has suddenly gotten to me is that I feel like I need the actual experience for these exercises. I need MORE exercise, and it needs to be of value to some entity (a school or library). The tools I have learned about in this course are very powerful, but often used for entertainment. Because they can be used to deliver academic content it is easy to design relevant material. Unfortunately, I have a little trouble with the idea that learning MUST be equivalent to entertainment to get the attention of the students/patrons of today (CNN Effect, Neil Postman both come to mind).
Now, I feel like the horse on the racetrack starting line and I want to jump the gun. On that note, I am wanting to run with what I have gotten from my four classes this term, because I feel that left to my own devices in a professional settings I could further develop these skills AND do something useful with the tools I have learned about and the research/resource practices I have experienced. Realistically, I know four classes make not a librarian/information specialist. I know there is more to learn.
I hope to put these things to good use in a part-time position I have accepted for this summer. Many thanks to my professors this semester.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
No use for FB in the academic environment
As it stands and how users currently occupy the SOCIAL spaces (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) I concur with other researchers and reading completed for my LIS 6303 course that there is not a good means for it to be used academically.
I watched this video, with a researcher from UC Berkley (available at ). I found her research to be, and sorry for the Facebook-speak, 'meh'. Ok, I use Facebook. Mostly I use it to chat with distant family members, show my mom their children's photos, occasionally send a private message (in a way that has replaced email), and more frequently than not to make a snarky remark to a "friend". Yes, it is a way of PUBLICLY SHOWING YOUR STATUS in relationships, showing who your friends are and the way you interact with them, and this researcher very eloquently put it as a way to stand in the same circles as their "cool" friends. Another article also mentioned it as a dissemination tool for the newest, coolest links to sites, pictures, music etc. So if you know about something cutting edge then you HAVE STATUS on Facebook. Facebook is a different way of communicating that is a single platform for what those of us who can REMEMBER the 1990's used to use email, messenger, and now with Skype replacing a VOIP which the name of escapes me (I used it to call from China for free, as my sister did from Russia, but at the expense of fidelity).
In the classroom then, especially for higher ed, Facebook, Twitter, etc. may be an ok means to get in touch with your peers suffering an assignment and needing to make a formal study date, or to Tweet a reminder for due dates or such nonsense that does not require actual thought. Otherwise, what's the point of Blackboard then if we just use FACEBOOK? I would be hard-pressed to use the Blackboard platform for a class AND Facebook. As a student I already have a hard enough time monitoring my classes and required assignments, discussion boards, and materials. I would hate to have to monitor or respond to a class Facebook profile as well. So, for me FACEBOOK in academic settings would be a FAILBOOK.
OK. Now that I said that, time to check BOTH Blackboard AND Facebook. God forbid I miss SOMETHING. Meh.
I watched this video, with a researcher from UC Berkley (available at ). I found her research to be, and sorry for the Facebook-speak, 'meh'. Ok, I use Facebook. Mostly I use it to chat with distant family members, show my mom their children's photos, occasionally send a private message (in a way that has replaced email), and more frequently than not to make a snarky remark to a "friend". Yes, it is a way of PUBLICLY SHOWING YOUR STATUS in relationships, showing who your friends are and the way you interact with them, and this researcher very eloquently put it as a way to stand in the same circles as their "cool" friends. Another article also mentioned it as a dissemination tool for the newest, coolest links to sites, pictures, music etc. So if you know about something cutting edge then you HAVE STATUS on Facebook. Facebook is a different way of communicating that is a single platform for what those of us who can REMEMBER the 1990's used to use email, messenger, and now with Skype replacing a VOIP which the name of escapes me (I used it to call from China for free, as my sister did from Russia, but at the expense of fidelity).
In the classroom then, especially for higher ed, Facebook, Twitter, etc. may be an ok means to get in touch with your peers suffering an assignment and needing to make a formal study date, or to Tweet a reminder for due dates or such nonsense that does not require actual thought. Otherwise, what's the point of Blackboard then if we just use FACEBOOK? I would be hard-pressed to use the Blackboard platform for a class AND Facebook. As a student I already have a hard enough time monitoring my classes and required assignments, discussion boards, and materials. I would hate to have to monitor or respond to a class Facebook profile as well. So, for me FACEBOOK in academic settings would be a FAILBOOK.
OK. Now that I said that, time to check BOTH Blackboard AND Facebook. God forbid I miss SOMETHING. Meh.
Friday, May 6, 2011
WEBSITE LINK
DEAR READERS:
This is the link to the URL for my portfolio for my LIS 6303 Course Work: http://afitos1.myweb.usf.edu/.
All documents included there-in are the work of the author and are not to be replicated for any use without permission.
Until we meet again-
Athy
This is the link to the URL for my portfolio for my LIS 6303 Course Work: http://afitos1.myweb.usf.edu/.
All documents included there-in are the work of the author and are not to be replicated for any use without permission.
Until we meet again-
Athy
More for the 23 Things!
For this semester, two courses (LIS 5020 and LIS 6303) required a 23 Things-type of activity. I took it literally and explored a great number of these activities on two different websites with two different sets of activities, even though many overlapped.
The two websites were: http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/ and the IPL version called 15 Things(see previous posts on my blog with IPL as the label and the requirements at: ).
3 Learning 2.0 Things*
(Note: Details about each task will be activated every week with posts related to each item)
I can see how professors would think this type of module, especially ones created by working professionals would be of value because it offers enough flexibility by still has structure.
My main complaint about this though is that it was created FIVE years ago! Most of us use the majority of the items in the 23 Things, please see my notes below about each task. Technology use has come a LONG way since this project was dreamed up and many of the items are really old hat. Sure, there are a few that I could learn to use better, but again, like this blog (see my post about being a bad blogger: ), it takes time to learn to incorporate the activities into your daily life and be accustomed to using them for creative purposes as academics and professionals. I am no Luddite, having been using computer technologies since the 1992 when I was still writing code in Pascal, but all the Things described in the 23 Things could have been better assigned to us as to how we see ourselves using the technology in a professional setting, as we already probably use a good number of these Web 2.0 technologies on a regular basis, and if not we at least have an awareness of them.
Blogging: Set up your own blog & add your first post. Done, obviously. This is my first blog experience becuase I find the activity to be a a little pretentious and self-inclusive.
Photos & Images: Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites. Getting other people's pictures seems like an activity for a generic work, like using clip art. In progression to Flickr, a new type of website/tool should be listed such as memes. We have all seen LOLcats (usually created using memes) that can make a quotation on a photo. CAUTION: there are some unsavory pictures out there so if you go looking be ready to see things you may not have expected.
RSS & Newsreaders: I already used this through my Google account. What I am more interested in is the coding for making a website/blog accessible to an RSS feed.
Play around with an online image generator. I played with the gimmick that was used to create the logo for the 23 Things. It was ok.
Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books. Maybe this is useful to discuss books? I am not sure. With Facebook, this blog, and myUSF/BlackBoard discussions, it seems redundant.
Roll your own search tool with Rollyo. I like this idea, to search for academic information and do a "reference" source check would be useful because it can be set up to search specific sites like dictionaries, encyclopedias, manuals, handbooks, etc. in a single search. I did not have enough time to ascertain whether it is a strong enough tool to be worth it for academic purposes.
Learn about tagging and discover a Del.icio.us (a social bookmaking site): Please see IPL 15 Things. I do not think this is exceptionally useful.
Wikis
Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
These Wikis can be a great asset if there is a group working cooperatively. Otherwise, these are just another device of eliciting a forced response from students. (Sorry, that is how I feel about discussion boards posts. There is not a good way to "discuss" without live, SYNCHRONOUS communication. Most of the topics for the discussion boards are trite or trivial.)
Online Applications & Tools
Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.
Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.
Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio
Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos. I downloaded the video to youtube for the first time for my other activity. Useful, but people have to know to look for it, you have to tag it accordingly, and people should orient themselves to looking for academic/informational (and not just entertainment) videos. I address this in the other posts.
Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts. iTunes is old hat, most everyone is aware of it as it is big bucks!
Take a look at the titles available on NetLibrary and learn how to download audiobooks. USF uses NetLibrary as the vendor for their e-books. We have been using this for years within the university. Again, I question the currency of this project.
What I found the most frustrating was that many of the activities have a redundancy. Google accounts, Facebook, and BlackBoard all have similar functionality/serve similar purposes. Many of us use all three services to a certain level. We are over-inundated by options of platforms to perform these tasks.
For me, a sample of best practices for academic and school librarians using these tools would have been better. Most folks these days are past needing to be made aware of these tools. Another useful set of tools for communications like video and podcasts are Jing and Camtasia, and I did not find them mentioned. Cell phones these days have made us all reporter and journalists. We mediate our experiences though camera lenses and behind computer screens. Accessibility does not mean that the practice is the best for the purpose- which is what I feel needs to be better addressed.
Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.
The two websites were: http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/ and the IPL version called 15 Things(see previous posts on my blog with IPL as the label and the requirements at: ).
3 Learning 2.0 Things*
(Note: Details about each task will be activated every week with posts related to each item)
I can see how professors would think this type of module, especially ones created by working professionals would be of value because it offers enough flexibility by still has structure.
My main complaint about this though is that it was created FIVE years ago! Most of us use the majority of the items in the 23 Things, please see my notes below about each task. Technology use has come a LONG way since this project was dreamed up and many of the items are really old hat. Sure, there are a few that I could learn to use better, but again, like this blog (see my post about being a bad blogger: ), it takes time to learn to incorporate the activities into your daily life and be accustomed to using them for creative purposes as academics and professionals. I am no Luddite, having been using computer technologies since the 1992 when I was still writing code in Pascal, but all the Things described in the 23 Things could have been better assigned to us as to how we see ourselves using the technology in a professional setting, as we already probably use a good number of these Web 2.0 technologies on a regular basis, and if not we at least have an awareness of them.
Blogging: Set up your own blog & add your first post. Done, obviously. This is my first blog experience becuase I find the activity to be a a little pretentious and self-inclusive.
Photos & Images: Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites. Getting other people's pictures seems like an activity for a generic work, like using clip art. In progression to Flickr, a new type of website/tool should be listed such as memes. We have all seen LOLcats (usually created using memes) that can make a quotation on a photo. CAUTION: there are some unsavory pictures out there so if you go looking be ready to see things you may not have expected.
RSS & Newsreaders: I already used this through my Google account. What I am more interested in is the coding for making a website/blog accessible to an RSS feed.
Play around with an online image generator. I played with the gimmick that was used to create the logo for the 23 Things. It was ok.
Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books. Maybe this is useful to discuss books? I am not sure. With Facebook, this blog, and myUSF/BlackBoard discussions, it seems redundant.
Roll your own search tool with Rollyo. I like this idea, to search for academic information and do a "reference" source check would be useful because it can be set up to search specific sites like dictionaries, encyclopedias, manuals, handbooks, etc. in a single search. I did not have enough time to ascertain whether it is a strong enough tool to be worth it for academic purposes.
Learn about tagging and discover a Del.icio.us (a social bookmaking site): Please see IPL 15 Things. I do not think this is exceptionally useful.
Wikis
Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
These Wikis can be a great asset if there is a group working cooperatively. Otherwise, these are just another device of eliciting a forced response from students. (Sorry, that is how I feel about discussion boards posts. There is not a good way to "discuss" without live, SYNCHRONOUS communication. Most of the topics for the discussion boards are trite or trivial.)
Online Applications & Tools
Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.
Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.
Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio
Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos. I downloaded the video to youtube for the first time for my other activity. Useful, but people have to know to look for it, you have to tag it accordingly, and people should orient themselves to looking for academic/informational (and not just entertainment) videos. I address this in the other posts.
Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts. iTunes is old hat, most everyone is aware of it as it is big bucks!
Take a look at the titles available on NetLibrary and learn how to download audiobooks. USF uses NetLibrary as the vendor for their e-books. We have been using this for years within the university. Again, I question the currency of this project.
What I found the most frustrating was that many of the activities have a redundancy. Google accounts, Facebook, and BlackBoard all have similar functionality/serve similar purposes. Many of us use all three services to a certain level. We are over-inundated by options of platforms to perform these tasks.
For me, a sample of best practices for academic and school librarians using these tools would have been better. Most folks these days are past needing to be made aware of these tools. Another useful set of tools for communications like video and podcasts are Jing and Camtasia, and I did not find them mentioned. Cell phones these days have made us all reporter and journalists. We mediate our experiences though camera lenses and behind computer screens. Accessibility does not mean that the practice is the best for the purpose- which is what I feel needs to be better addressed.
Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Problems logging in
Dear readers,
I have discovered a glitch in the system. For the four months that I have been using this, then suddenly, I could not. For some reason this blog disappeared from the account I used with USF. I had to create an entirely new GMAIL account just to be able to access it.
If you encounter similar problems with your Blogger blog, USF supports Wordpress but this is a GOOGLE product.
I had to click on this link to find which account was used for creating this blog link and it gave the TEMPORARY account created by USF mail WHICH did not look like the email account (additional temporary information in the username portion for mine).
Follow instructions to create a new GMAIL if you have this same issue!
Tata for now!!!
I have discovered a glitch in the system. For the four months that I have been using this, then suddenly, I could not. For some reason this blog disappeared from the account I used with USF. I had to create an entirely new GMAIL account just to be able to access it.
If you encounter similar problems with your Blogger blog, USF supports Wordpress but this is a GOOGLE product.
I had to click on this link to find which account was used for creating this blog link and it gave the TEMPORARY account created by USF mail WHICH did not look like the email account (additional temporary information in the username portion for mine).
Follow instructions to create a new GMAIL if you have this same issue!
Tata for now!!!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Library Adventures: Academic Library (UF)
The first interview I completed was at the UF Smather Library in Gainesville. I was visiting and took the opportunity to make a visit. Why it is the last of the blogs being written, I do not know. The format and questions changed and evolved along the way and this posting will be slightly different than the others in this series.
I spoke with Mrs. Janice Kahler, an acquisitions specialist with an MLIS from FSU. She also had experience with the IPL (Internet Public Library) project housed there.
The Universsity of Florida Smathers Library is the main campus library serving the general needs of the studnets, faculty,and staff of the University, and patrons from the general community. IT is a large, modern facility recently renovated. I would say the collection is comparable to that of the USF main library collections. However, the Smathers Library does have the addition technology for space saving in its reference section. In the reference section, the book cases are on tracks and controlled electronically. These tracks make it so that a limited number of aisles are available, and only for those sections in use. I was so impressed by this simple space saving endeavor, but it is expensive looking.
UF Smathers Library is unique in its research culture/motivation for everything that they do. Tenured professionals are expected to act as faculty. Research is so high/and the faculty are expected to perform as such. A lot of work is done on grant, and there are mini-grants for practice of staff/librarians. A single staff member is delegated to grant management/awareness. Research is the key.
There is a lot of participation by the community and alumni. Community service, especially where the greater community is brought it or gator nation can help is central to the functioning of the libraries on campus. Scholarly departments took cuts recently just so the library would not be affected and understaffed. The faculty of the academic fields support the library because of the work done by librarians with the students. The culture at UF holds the library as an invaluable resource for the performance of the academic center.
UF is similar to UCF in that they will not promote someone from within if they are already in the library system as a paraprofessional and then are credentialed. A number of people here have graduated from USF/FSU MLIS programs but they keep hiring from outside. Current staff are not encouraged and should go to a different library for experience. UF librarians are considered faculty and are tenured. Must keep up with educational endeavors and publishing.
One challenging situation recently was when she answered a phone at reference desk and the individual started asking questions of the structure of the library, very specific questions. Turned out he was a donor to the library and wanted to find out some info. As this was after hours, and she was not qualified to reveal the answers, she had no one to refer him to. At UF this shows difference in the level library professionals with donors.
Mrs. Kahler's satisfaction is derived from her motivation to assist patrons and provide the best customer service possible. For instance I interviewed her in two parts in early February and early March, and she has since kept in touch and sent me more ALA related information, internship and scholarship opportunities, and general correspondence relevant to the field.
I spoke with Mrs. Janice Kahler, an acquisitions specialist with an MLIS from FSU. She also had experience with the IPL (Internet Public Library) project housed there.
The Universsity of Florida Smathers Library is the main campus library serving the general needs of the studnets, faculty,and staff of the University, and patrons from the general community. IT is a large, modern facility recently renovated. I would say the collection is comparable to that of the USF main library collections. However, the Smathers Library does have the addition technology for space saving in its reference section. In the reference section, the book cases are on tracks and controlled electronically. These tracks make it so that a limited number of aisles are available, and only for those sections in use. I was so impressed by this simple space saving endeavor, but it is expensive looking.
UF Smathers Library is unique in its research culture/motivation for everything that they do. Tenured professionals are expected to act as faculty. Research is so high/and the faculty are expected to perform as such. A lot of work is done on grant, and there are mini-grants for practice of staff/librarians. A single staff member is delegated to grant management/awareness. Research is the key.
There is a lot of participation by the community and alumni. Community service, especially where the greater community is brought it or gator nation can help is central to the functioning of the libraries on campus. Scholarly departments took cuts recently just so the library would not be affected and understaffed. The faculty of the academic fields support the library because of the work done by librarians with the students. The culture at UF holds the library as an invaluable resource for the performance of the academic center.
UF is similar to UCF in that they will not promote someone from within if they are already in the library system as a paraprofessional and then are credentialed. A number of people here have graduated from USF/FSU MLIS programs but they keep hiring from outside. Current staff are not encouraged and should go to a different library for experience. UF librarians are considered faculty and are tenured. Must keep up with educational endeavors and publishing.
One challenging situation recently was when she answered a phone at reference desk and the individual started asking questions of the structure of the library, very specific questions. Turned out he was a donor to the library and wanted to find out some info. As this was after hours, and she was not qualified to reveal the answers, she had no one to refer him to. At UF this shows difference in the level library professionals with donors.
Mrs. Kahler's satisfaction is derived from her motivation to assist patrons and provide the best customer service possible. For instance I interviewed her in two parts in early February and early March, and she has since kept in touch and sent me more ALA related information, internship and scholarship opportunities, and general correspondence relevant to the field.
The Post that never posted part 2: IPL 15 Things (a version of 23 things activity)
I found post hanging out in my drafts.... like its little sibling the previous post.
I found the 23 things project both incredibly informative AN FRUSTRATING! I want to put the horse before the cart and do these things FOR REAL! I WANT MY OWN LIBRARY! I WANT TO USE THESE TECHNOLOGIES!
The project I chose was from IPL: http://ipl2.cci.fsu.edu/community/wiki/index.php/IPL_15_Things
These items were the following 15 activities. my impressions follow.
IPL Thing #1: Blogs
Blogging is a habit, and if you are not a natural journaler or even slightly self-conscious this can be a daunting task. In my case, if I knew I had an audience then I might have been better at using the blog for the purposes that these are designed. Also, if I had a topic/purpose beyond my school work it may have been more interesting to me.
IPL Thing #2: Microblogging
I have tried micro-blogging in the past and it was a disaster. My tweets were mundane and I only had spammers as followers. Like regular blogging, if there was grander purpose to my activity I think I could incorporate the idea into MY LIBRARY. I NEED A LIBRARY.
IPL Thing #3: Social_Networking
Facebook has only been a part of my life for 3 years and I have mostly used it for keeping up with family. Now I have added professional organizations and businesses, as well as academic purposes to my profile.
IPL Thing #4: Wikis
The wiki exercise was broken when I went to complete this activity. I only wished I had a good topic for Wikipedia so that I could edit it. I was tempted to make one as a biographical reference for my significant other (he is a budding scientist, published, with a Ph.D., and researching relevant topics). I thought that was “abuse” of the reasons for Wiki’s because it would have only been for this practice. I did look a lot at format and structure for these, and the way information is organized within an article.
IPL Thing #5: Virtual Worlds
Second Life is cumbersome and timeconsuming, but the idea of libraries online in a virtual world is AMAZING! I would love to incorporate a virtual world CREATED for my audience (I wan media center/School librarianship.) Children would probably enjoy this more than I did. I always heard Science Friday (NPR program) advertising their Second Life, but again, never tried nor had the right timing because it was during my work hours.
IPL Thing #6: Podcasting
I am doing a podcast for other classes this semester so I did not create anything for this class but did read all about it and have used them in the past.
IPL Thing #7: Videos
. I like the tools that Youtube offers for creating your own videos. I took the opportunity to upload the video of a rescued puppy I had a few years ago and my then kitten, Pinky Amazing what we have come to. This is the link for 18 seconds of some fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImxkrSLCQyY .
IPL Thing #8: SMS Text Messaging
I have used the SMS text services that USF Libraries have for questions and used SMS for a few other means of checking bill balances and ,making donations to charity for earthquakes. This is not new or strange to most of this generation and the google SMS might be the way yo go for saving if plans are limited.
IPL Thing #9: Social bookmarking/tagging
Again, having and audience that would care about these bookmarks would help me maintain such a thing in Delicious. I have not been using the internet in a way that would require the use of tagging like this YET. But I can see how I would like/need to if I was using it for professional reasons.
IPL Thing #10: RSS
RSS is the nice and lazy way to get news. I have been using it with my gmail account for some time before this activity. This might be useful as a professional to guarantee I would not miss pertinent information for things I am following.
IPL Thing #11: Information/Document Sharing
IPL Thing #12: Forums and Web boards
IPL Thing #13: Reading
The Library Thing is something that could be useful in a setting where patron are known to constantly be looking for a new reading list. This would be a fun training to conduct in a school or public library where individuals are looking for entertainment reading. I am not sure how useful it would be in an purely academic setting or in non-desk areas of LIS.
IPL Thing #14: Awareness tools
Awareness tools are useful in following and finding similar stories and tracking, and much like the RSS will deliver a service to the user so that monitoring is less intensive by the user. This could have academic implications as well, not just entertainment and recreation.
IPL Thing #15: Images/Photos
I will still try to finish the remained of the activities because they are fascinating. It is a great way to start a portfolio of professional work and to learn how to do some very up to date Web 2.0 activities.
I found the 23 things project both incredibly informative AN FRUSTRATING! I want to put the horse before the cart and do these things FOR REAL! I WANT MY OWN LIBRARY! I WANT TO USE THESE TECHNOLOGIES!
The project I chose was from IPL: http://ipl2.cci.fsu.edu/community/wiki/index.php/IPL_15_Things
These items were the following 15 activities. my impressions follow.
IPL Thing #1: Blogs
Blogging is a habit, and if you are not a natural journaler or even slightly self-conscious this can be a daunting task. In my case, if I knew I had an audience then I might have been better at using the blog for the purposes that these are designed. Also, if I had a topic/purpose beyond my school work it may have been more interesting to me.
IPL Thing #2: Microblogging
I have tried micro-blogging in the past and it was a disaster. My tweets were mundane and I only had spammers as followers. Like regular blogging, if there was grander purpose to my activity I think I could incorporate the idea into MY LIBRARY. I NEED A LIBRARY.
IPL Thing #3: Social_Networking
Facebook has only been a part of my life for 3 years and I have mostly used it for keeping up with family. Now I have added professional organizations and businesses, as well as academic purposes to my profile.
IPL Thing #4: Wikis
The wiki exercise was broken when I went to complete this activity. I only wished I had a good topic for Wikipedia so that I could edit it. I was tempted to make one as a biographical reference for my significant other (he is a budding scientist, published, with a Ph.D., and researching relevant topics). I thought that was “abuse” of the reasons for Wiki’s because it would have only been for this practice. I did look a lot at format and structure for these, and the way information is organized within an article.
IPL Thing #5: Virtual Worlds
Second Life is cumbersome and timeconsuming, but the idea of libraries online in a virtual world is AMAZING! I would love to incorporate a virtual world CREATED for my audience (I wan media center/School librarianship.) Children would probably enjoy this more than I did. I always heard Science Friday (NPR program) advertising their Second Life, but again, never tried nor had the right timing because it was during my work hours.
IPL Thing #6: Podcasting
I am doing a podcast for other classes this semester so I did not create anything for this class but did read all about it and have used them in the past.
IPL Thing #7: Videos
. I like the tools that Youtube offers for creating your own videos. I took the opportunity to upload the video of a rescued puppy I had a few years ago and my then kitten, Pinky Amazing what we have come to. This is the link for 18 seconds of some fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImxkrSLCQyY .
IPL Thing #8: SMS Text Messaging
I have used the SMS text services that USF Libraries have for questions and used SMS for a few other means of checking bill balances and ,making donations to charity for earthquakes. This is not new or strange to most of this generation and the google SMS might be the way yo go for saving if plans are limited.
IPL Thing #9: Social bookmarking/tagging
Again, having and audience that would care about these bookmarks would help me maintain such a thing in Delicious. I have not been using the internet in a way that would require the use of tagging like this YET. But I can see how I would like/need to if I was using it for professional reasons.
IPL Thing #10: RSS
RSS is the nice and lazy way to get news. I have been using it with my gmail account for some time before this activity. This might be useful as a professional to guarantee I would not miss pertinent information for things I am following.
IPL Thing #11: Information/Document Sharing
IPL Thing #12: Forums and Web boards
IPL Thing #13: Reading
The Library Thing is something that could be useful in a setting where patron are known to constantly be looking for a new reading list. This would be a fun training to conduct in a school or public library where individuals are looking for entertainment reading. I am not sure how useful it would be in an purely academic setting or in non-desk areas of LIS.
IPL Thing #14: Awareness tools
Awareness tools are useful in following and finding similar stories and tracking, and much like the RSS will deliver a service to the user so that monitoring is less intensive by the user. This could have academic implications as well, not just entertainment and recreation.
IPL Thing #15: Images/Photos
I will still try to finish the remained of the activities because they are fascinating. It is a great way to start a portfolio of professional work and to learn how to do some very up to date Web 2.0 activities.
Library Adventures: Small Academic Library (St. Leo University)
I have been in communication with Ms. Carol Ann Moon, the Reference and instructional outreach librarian at St. Leo University (SLU) in St. Leo (Pasco County), FL. She has masters' degrees in German from UF and LIS from USF. St. Leo University is a small, private, Catholic university. The mission of the library mimics that of the University maintaining all academic support of the students. Th SLU mission reads "To accomplish its mission, the university community creates a student-centered environment in which love of learning is of prime importance. Members of the community are expected to examine and express their own values, listen respectfully to and respond to the opinions of others, serve the community in which they live, welcome others into their lives and care for all of God's creations."
The main clientele of the small academic library are SLU students and the local community. An open wireless network is available, as are about 20 open-use computers for research, web access, and other computer applications.
Some of the most common requests are directional as the patrons do not know where to find the catalog and many are timid about its locations online. The catalog is available from main SLU page and from their academic portal. The main question is usually "how do I search?" This reveals to Ms. Moon that the students are not spending time reviewing the university resources online because they are not familiar with school or library websites. The library is conducting a survey of information about library usage now for the first time in a decade. The library orientation currently is given to students on a CD during their orientation in their packets. This means there is no way to track the usage of training materials by the library.
As far as preservation goes, student newspapers were digitized by contractor recently and are available on library website archives.
Librarians are considered faculty at SLU and, hence, are required to do instructional work for their portfolio and for tenure. She has been teaching German, faculty development, and some one-on-one library instruction. She finds the faculty development program amazingly rewarding. This program is offered to faculty and adjuncts. It encourages them to add electronic resources to course curriculum and assignments, to teach students how to use the online resources, and serve to impart on students the importance of the electronic and academic resources. The faculty development modules are especially valuable for teaching adjuncts about what resources are actually available through SLU and giving instructors and professors opportunity to communicate across disciplines and campuses.
Ms. Moon finds the special events and library event planning the most satisfying thing about her work as it brings in poets, authors, etc. and creates an entertainment where the library is a LIVING space- opening library to not just multifaceted uses by the SLU community.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Ms. Moon finds inconsistency to be the most challenging aspect of librarianship. Days are different and totally vary because every patron comes in with a different question. The most challenging aspect is guaranteeing and providing service at the same level to patron by all library professionals and paraprofessionals. Service ethic can vary between each individual. The reputation of good service can be undone by just a few negative interactions because it is such a fragile intangible asset. Ms. Moon believes a way to improve these aspects is for staff leadership to create some tools for introspection on weekly performance and self-assessment of performance, and to help librarians ensure dynamics remain strong to guarantee service quality.
St. Leo has a high level of public access electronic resources. Two reference librarians are available away from campus, all the catalog resources, and almost half of the library's collection are available online. There are two librarians on Facebook as individuals combining their personal pages with those announcements for the Library. They incorporate posting SLU on-goings because when they started, non-individuals could not be a FB entity. None are on Twitter, but one librarian has a library blog.
The SLU Cannon Memorial Library has a number public service staff: there are 3 in circulation who are support personnel, one ILL support person, the library director, support personnel and two librarians in technical services, 8 on-campus 2 off-campus reference librarians, plus one volunteer professional librarian. Ms. Moon sees a trend where more MLIS students are applying for non-professional jobs because there is a shortage in the field.
According to Ms. Moon, SLU is following the trend when it comes to acquisitions: the collection now contains almost 100K e-books, making the electronic book collection even with print resources. One of the activities the library will be engaging in shortly will be a weeding of collections including e-books. The library will evaluate them according to currency. Titles that imply currency/status of reference that are not recently dated will probably be eliminated.
One of the main requests is by faculty who are still really interested in DVD’s for inclusion in their curriculum. They are moving towards YouTube and other free live-stream but not all academic quality materials are available in that format. To complicate matters, sometimes the faculty are aware of a video resource and may have entered it into the curriculum before it has been acquired. Resources for College Libraries was consulted recently, and the SLU library bought everything that the faculty wanted from print collection. Print is one budget category, e-books are in separate account.
Ms. Moon did express a concern for the fate of collections as times are uncertain. There have been implications of university administration perspective that physical brick-and-mortar libraries are on the way out. Librarians at SLU have been asked to provide information showing that collections and the physical structure of the library are being used. It is easier to track the e-book usage, but the print collection and journals which are also mostly print, are not as easily tracked. The ebook collections usage data is stronger than that of the library and print collection- the proverbial stamps (still using the stamps in due dates) are the only way to see if and how a print source is being checked out. When she was employed by UCF Library, they used to use a stroke count for journals being used/needing to be re-shelved. The main question is: HOW DO YOU DEMONSTRATE THAT PRINT IS CRUCIAL IF NUMBERS ARE NOT ATTAINABLE? How do you get to the heart of how collections are being used?
Biology is one of strongest majors, but journal collections/databases is not as strong as it could be. SLU is trying to get JSTOR/SCIENCE DIRECT. The school is in consortium with ICOF (Independent Colleges of Florida- 29 not for profit educational institutions accredited by SACS). Through this consortium SLU can get some databases. They are also a part of LYRASIS another regional consortium, their source for Net Library/EBSCO Host.
Ms. Moon and I spoke a bit about professionalism. When she was at UCF, as paraprofessional, the policy was that if you were a paraprofessional who received a MLIS you had to leave to get a professional job (faculty line) elsewhere. UCF would not hire a paraprofessional who already worked there by transferring them from a paraprofessional line into a professional faculty line. Here at SLU it is not the policy. She would advocate a policy similar to UCF's if she could. Having been at SLU for ten years she has grown to a level that she would not have had she not moved on from UCF. At SLU she is one of the more senior faculty at the library, and has developed confidence and competency through trial by fire. Because of the environment at SLU, Ms. Moon feels she has grown and taken leadership/ownership of more than she expected and more than what would have been available to her at other istitutions.
The main clientele of the small academic library are SLU students and the local community. An open wireless network is available, as are about 20 open-use computers for research, web access, and other computer applications.
Some of the most common requests are directional as the patrons do not know where to find the catalog and many are timid about its locations online. The catalog is available from main SLU page and from their academic portal. The main question is usually "how do I search?" This reveals to Ms. Moon that the students are not spending time reviewing the university resources online because they are not familiar with school or library websites. The library is conducting a survey of information about library usage now for the first time in a decade. The library orientation currently is given to students on a CD during their orientation in their packets. This means there is no way to track the usage of training materials by the library.
As far as preservation goes, student newspapers were digitized by contractor recently and are available on library website archives.
Librarians are considered faculty at SLU and, hence, are required to do instructional work for their portfolio and for tenure. She has been teaching German, faculty development, and some one-on-one library instruction. She finds the faculty development program amazingly rewarding. This program is offered to faculty and adjuncts. It encourages them to add electronic resources to course curriculum and assignments, to teach students how to use the online resources, and serve to impart on students the importance of the electronic and academic resources. The faculty development modules are especially valuable for teaching adjuncts about what resources are actually available through SLU and giving instructors and professors opportunity to communicate across disciplines and campuses.
Ms. Moon finds the special events and library event planning the most satisfying thing about her work as it brings in poets, authors, etc. and creates an entertainment where the library is a LIVING space- opening library to not just multifaceted uses by the SLU community.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Ms. Moon finds inconsistency to be the most challenging aspect of librarianship. Days are different and totally vary because every patron comes in with a different question. The most challenging aspect is guaranteeing and providing service at the same level to patron by all library professionals and paraprofessionals. Service ethic can vary between each individual. The reputation of good service can be undone by just a few negative interactions because it is such a fragile intangible asset. Ms. Moon believes a way to improve these aspects is for staff leadership to create some tools for introspection on weekly performance and self-assessment of performance, and to help librarians ensure dynamics remain strong to guarantee service quality.
St. Leo has a high level of public access electronic resources. Two reference librarians are available away from campus, all the catalog resources, and almost half of the library's collection are available online. There are two librarians on Facebook as individuals combining their personal pages with those announcements for the Library. They incorporate posting SLU on-goings because when they started, non-individuals could not be a FB entity. None are on Twitter, but one librarian has a library blog.
The SLU Cannon Memorial Library has a number public service staff: there are 3 in circulation who are support personnel, one ILL support person, the library director, support personnel and two librarians in technical services, 8 on-campus 2 off-campus reference librarians, plus one volunteer professional librarian. Ms. Moon sees a trend where more MLIS students are applying for non-professional jobs because there is a shortage in the field.
According to Ms. Moon, SLU is following the trend when it comes to acquisitions: the collection now contains almost 100K e-books, making the electronic book collection even with print resources. One of the activities the library will be engaging in shortly will be a weeding of collections including e-books. The library will evaluate them according to currency. Titles that imply currency/status of reference that are not recently dated will probably be eliminated.
One of the main requests is by faculty who are still really interested in DVD’s for inclusion in their curriculum. They are moving towards YouTube and other free live-stream but not all academic quality materials are available in that format. To complicate matters, sometimes the faculty are aware of a video resource and may have entered it into the curriculum before it has been acquired. Resources for College Libraries was consulted recently, and the SLU library bought everything that the faculty wanted from print collection. Print is one budget category, e-books are in separate account.
Ms. Moon did express a concern for the fate of collections as times are uncertain. There have been implications of university administration perspective that physical brick-and-mortar libraries are on the way out. Librarians at SLU have been asked to provide information showing that collections and the physical structure of the library are being used. It is easier to track the e-book usage, but the print collection and journals which are also mostly print, are not as easily tracked. The ebook collections usage data is stronger than that of the library and print collection- the proverbial stamps (still using the stamps in due dates) are the only way to see if and how a print source is being checked out. When she was employed by UCF Library, they used to use a stroke count for journals being used/needing to be re-shelved. The main question is: HOW DO YOU DEMONSTRATE THAT PRINT IS CRUCIAL IF NUMBERS ARE NOT ATTAINABLE? How do you get to the heart of how collections are being used?
Biology is one of strongest majors, but journal collections/databases is not as strong as it could be. SLU is trying to get JSTOR/SCIENCE DIRECT. The school is in consortium with ICOF (Independent Colleges of Florida- 29 not for profit educational institutions accredited by SACS). Through this consortium SLU can get some databases. They are also a part of LYRASIS another regional consortium, their source for Net Library/EBSCO Host.
Ms. Moon and I spoke a bit about professionalism. When she was at UCF, as paraprofessional, the policy was that if you were a paraprofessional who received a MLIS you had to leave to get a professional job (faculty line) elsewhere. UCF would not hire a paraprofessional who already worked there by transferring them from a paraprofessional line into a professional faculty line. Here at SLU it is not the policy. She would advocate a policy similar to UCF's if she could. Having been at SLU for ten years she has grown to a level that she would not have had she not moved on from UCF. At SLU she is one of the more senior faculty at the library, and has developed confidence and competency through trial by fire. Because of the environment at SLU, Ms. Moon feels she has grown and taken leadership/ownership of more than she expected and more than what would have been available to her at other istitutions.
The Post that never posted part 1: IPL 15 Things (a version of 23 things activity)
I found post hanging out in my drafts.... like its little sibling that posted this evening.
I like the Internet Public Library. It is a great idea for some resources that could not be available in a format that resembles a library otherwise.
This is the website and the assignment link for the version of the 23 Things project for LIS 5020. These are the activities that I have been working on throughout the semester. My analysis will follow shortly in a separate journal entry.
http://ipl2.cci.fsu.edu/community/wiki/index.php/IPL_15_Things
In honor of the IPL’s birthday at March 17, 2010, the IPL launched the IPL 15 Things – introducing 15 of our favorite online technologies, with background information, best practices, related readings, examples of how the IPL is using the technology, and hands-on exercises. Check out the links below and take the 15 Things Challenge!
IPL Thing #1: Blogs
IPL Thing #2: Microblogging
IPL Thing #3: Social_Networking
IPL Thing #4: Wikis
IPL Thing #5: Virtual Worlds
IPL Thing #6: Podcasting
IPL Thing #7: Videos
IPL Thing #8: SMS Text Messaging
IPL Thing #9: Social bookmarking/tagging
IPL Thing #10: RSS
IPL Thing #11: Information/Document Sharing
IPL Thing #12: Forums and Web boards
IPL Thing #13: Reading
IPL Thing #14: Awareness tools
IPL Thing #15: Images/Photos
I like the Internet Public Library. It is a great idea for some resources that could not be available in a format that resembles a library otherwise.
This is the website and the assignment link for the version of the 23 Things project for LIS 5020. These are the activities that I have been working on throughout the semester. My analysis will follow shortly in a separate journal entry.
http://ipl2.cci.fsu.edu/community/wiki/index.php/IPL_15_Things
In honor of the IPL’s birthday at March 17, 2010, the IPL launched the IPL 15 Things – introducing 15 of our favorite online technologies, with background information, best practices, related readings, examples of how the IPL is using the technology, and hands-on exercises. Check out the links below and take the 15 Things Challenge!
IPL Thing #1: Blogs
IPL Thing #2: Microblogging
IPL Thing #3: Social_Networking
IPL Thing #4: Wikis
IPL Thing #5: Virtual Worlds
IPL Thing #6: Podcasting
IPL Thing #7: Videos
IPL Thing #8: SMS Text Messaging
IPL Thing #9: Social bookmarking/tagging
IPL Thing #10: RSS
IPL Thing #11: Information/Document Sharing
IPL Thing #12: Forums and Web boards
IPL Thing #13: Reading
IPL Thing #14: Awareness tools
IPL Thing #15: Images/Photos
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Library Adventures: Public Library (MOSI)
I went to a library that I encountered once last year when I had to design a field trip for an education class. It was the Science Library at the Museum of Science and Industry, a Public Library in the Hillsborough County Public Library System. (THIS BRANCH IS CLOSING AS OF THE END OF THIS WEEK, SEE MY PREVIOUS POST: http://thelibrary-whereitsat.blogspot.com/2011/04/science-library-at-mosi-closing.html ) The rationale for the library closing was a mutual decision by both museum and county. The Museum will be using the space as laboratories. The library staff members are being moved elsewhere in the county system, and the majority of the collection of realia will be housed at J.F. German library downtown.
The mission and history follow:
"The Science Library @ MOSI located in the main exhibition hall of the Museum of Science and Industry is a unique partnership between the Museum and the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. The branch works collaboratively with MOSI to provide library resources, bibliographies and pathfinders for their exhibits, events and other partnerships. The branch is free and open to the public. The Science Library currently functions as a Media Center for the MOSI Partnership School, a School District of Hillsborough County Public School, housed at MOSI.
Realia is a unique collection only available at The Science Library @ MOSI. In addition to books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs, library patrons can checkout realia items such as microscopes, telescopes, slides, skeletons, globes, dissected animals, and a number of other Science and math related objects. The realia is an invaluable resource for teachers, students, homeschoolers, hobbyists and science enthusiasts of all ages." (http://www.hcplc.org/hcplc/locations/msi/)
" History: The Science Library @ MOSI was originally built to primarily meet the needs of the Hillsborough County's Citizens to have a core sciences collection. In the fall of 2007 with the addition of the MOSI Partnership School the library now has a larger juvenile collection. These materials include science and other subject matter that enhances the school's curriculum." (taken directly from the website before the end... http://www.hcplc.org/hcplc/locations/msi/)
The main clientele of the library or information center were lots of homeschooling families, and other patrons were mostly locals who bus/walk in from surrounding areas people. These local patrons were mostly looking for jobs; the few open access computers were full most of the days with people working on job searches. MOSI partnership school used the library as a media center twice a week, which explained hours on the two days. The partnership school will have books at a new space on site. Sulphur Springs & Egypt Lake are still partnership libraries.
A recent challenging situation encountered was how she had to trespass a patron – he was a regular, demanding of time, but became increasingly belligerent and aggressive (accused staff of taking rights away). It was difficult to walk fine line so as not to exacerbate situation even more.
The most satisfying thing about Mrs. Quinn's work at the Science Library was the interactions with one homeschooling family that checked out materials, takes homeschooling classes w MOSI, and mom does classes at library. Mrs. Quinn was able to watch family and kids grow, get to know patrons really well, and know that they know the library/librarian as community. Mrs. Quinn was drawn to the Public library; she was a children’s librarian and really enjoyed outreach to Headstarts/local schools, reading story time. She liked to watch children’s reactions to dissections/then amazed at the beauty of the butterfly. She found the interaction with people is best part. Because the center was so small she still did all manner of things including circulation.
Most of the questions at this location came from mostly parents looking for books for their kids projects, to foster something the child is interested in or something the schoolwork required. One recent caller called about intersecting galaxies and information on these, sent to planetarium to get info. Reserve books, internet information- ebook access. Teachers were not the standard patron, but home school parents were. The USF medical students would make a run on the skeletons during osteology exams.
There were 4 public service staff that included librarian, senior library assistant, library technical assistant, and part timer. All interacted with the public on some level.
The level of public access electronic resources are limited to certain databases purchased by the county. Library cards can be bought for $100 if one does not live in the county. Some electronic resources are only available at downtown, such as geneology, databases that may be very expensive.
The Science Library did not have a social media presence because such contact is restricted in part by the county; in order to have social media needs commissioners' approval. However, email and texting are done.
The most used resources and assets of this library were its largest collection: children’s materials, the science fiction DVD’s for adults, documentaries, and the Bill Nye series. The realia was frequently checked out, but not out as much as previous list of things.
The Science Library included children’s collection, easy non-fiction, k-young adult; and a small fiction section. It was geared towards being science library and also served as the school's library as well because of the school’s presence, including special collections of items like “Battle of the Books”.
Interlibrary is (was) very prevalent from other branches and since most patrons are local and had limited means of going to library away from the area. Some local residents and other patrons like USF students/staff used the science library as a drop off/pick up (about 10%). There was a slow shift over time and it was most recently less science specific. The downsized adult collection made room for kid’s collection, and the adult collection was shipped elsewhere in county.
Mrs. Quinn also told me a about the new system being tested. The County library system is experimenting with a floating system so that items are balanced. In other words if a patron returns a book to one library from another it will remain at the return library until it is checked out again or requested elsewhere. It means an item is home where ever it is returned, to save on shipping costs and reshelving time.
Electronic monitoring of internet is unnecessary as most inappropriate content blocked by the main server and filtered. It is not monitored because of privacy issues with the library codes of ethics.
I spoke with Mrs. Rebecca Quinn who received her MLIS in the east coast public library track from USF in 2007 .
The mission and history follow:
"The Science Library @ MOSI located in the main exhibition hall of the Museum of Science and Industry is a unique partnership between the Museum and the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. The branch works collaboratively with MOSI to provide library resources, bibliographies and pathfinders for their exhibits, events and other partnerships. The branch is free and open to the public. The Science Library currently functions as a Media Center for the MOSI Partnership School, a School District of Hillsborough County Public School, housed at MOSI.
Realia is a unique collection only available at The Science Library @ MOSI. In addition to books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs, library patrons can checkout realia items such as microscopes, telescopes, slides, skeletons, globes, dissected animals, and a number of other Science and math related objects. The realia is an invaluable resource for teachers, students, homeschoolers, hobbyists and science enthusiasts of all ages." (http://www.hcplc.org/hcplc/locations/msi/)
" History: The Science Library @ MOSI was originally built to primarily meet the needs of the Hillsborough County's Citizens to have a core sciences collection. In the fall of 2007 with the addition of the MOSI Partnership School the library now has a larger juvenile collection. These materials include science and other subject matter that enhances the school's curriculum." (taken directly from the website before the end... http://www.hcplc.org/hcplc/locations/msi/)
The main clientele of the library or information center were lots of homeschooling families, and other patrons were mostly locals who bus/walk in from surrounding areas people. These local patrons were mostly looking for jobs; the few open access computers were full most of the days with people working on job searches. MOSI partnership school used the library as a media center twice a week, which explained hours on the two days. The partnership school will have books at a new space on site. Sulphur Springs & Egypt Lake are still partnership libraries.
A recent challenging situation encountered was how she had to trespass a patron – he was a regular, demanding of time, but became increasingly belligerent and aggressive (accused staff of taking rights away). It was difficult to walk fine line so as not to exacerbate situation even more.
The most satisfying thing about Mrs. Quinn's work at the Science Library was the interactions with one homeschooling family that checked out materials, takes homeschooling classes w MOSI, and mom does classes at library. Mrs. Quinn was able to watch family and kids grow, get to know patrons really well, and know that they know the library/librarian as community. Mrs. Quinn was drawn to the Public library; she was a children’s librarian and really enjoyed outreach to Headstarts/local schools, reading story time. She liked to watch children’s reactions to dissections/then amazed at the beauty of the butterfly. She found the interaction with people is best part. Because the center was so small she still did all manner of things including circulation.
Most of the questions at this location came from mostly parents looking for books for their kids projects, to foster something the child is interested in or something the schoolwork required. One recent caller called about intersecting galaxies and information on these, sent to planetarium to get info. Reserve books, internet information- ebook access. Teachers were not the standard patron, but home school parents were. The USF medical students would make a run on the skeletons during osteology exams.
There were 4 public service staff that included librarian, senior library assistant, library technical assistant, and part timer. All interacted with the public on some level.
The level of public access electronic resources are limited to certain databases purchased by the county. Library cards can be bought for $100 if one does not live in the county. Some electronic resources are only available at downtown, such as geneology, databases that may be very expensive.
The Science Library did not have a social media presence because such contact is restricted in part by the county; in order to have social media needs commissioners' approval. However, email and texting are done.
The most used resources and assets of this library were its largest collection: children’s materials, the science fiction DVD’s for adults, documentaries, and the Bill Nye series. The realia was frequently checked out, but not out as much as previous list of things.
The Science Library included children’s collection, easy non-fiction, k-young adult; and a small fiction section. It was geared towards being science library and also served as the school's library as well because of the school’s presence, including special collections of items like “Battle of the Books”.
Interlibrary is (was) very prevalent from other branches and since most patrons are local and had limited means of going to library away from the area. Some local residents and other patrons like USF students/staff used the science library as a drop off/pick up (about 10%). There was a slow shift over time and it was most recently less science specific. The downsized adult collection made room for kid’s collection, and the adult collection was shipped elsewhere in county.
Mrs. Quinn also told me a about the new system being tested. The County library system is experimenting with a floating system so that items are balanced. In other words if a patron returns a book to one library from another it will remain at the return library until it is checked out again or requested elsewhere. It means an item is home where ever it is returned, to save on shipping costs and reshelving time.
Electronic monitoring of internet is unnecessary as most inappropriate content blocked by the main server and filtered. It is not monitored because of privacy issues with the library codes of ethics.
I spoke with Mrs. Rebecca Quinn who received her MLIS in the east coast public library track from USF in 2007 .
Library Adventures: Special Library (James J. Lunsford Hillsborough County Law)
For today I visited something that I never really thought of before taking this class. I think I knew Law Libraries existed because my parents have had to advocate for the their business in the past. But because I was not directly involved with the processes my parents needed for their business, I never thought more about it.
I spoke with Mrs. Donna Barnes of the Law Library who graduated USF in 1982 with specialization in Special Libraries. She had experience in medical libraries at USF. Then she was offered job and has been working at the Law Library for 30 yrs. She worked in libraries as clerical typist prior to the degree and liked the library setting. The one major change she pointed out over thirty years in the field as a law librarian is that a lot more is available online and not published anymore, ex. attorney general opinions.
The Mission of "the James J. Lunsford Hillsborough County Law Library provides legal research materials for use by the public, attorneys, judges, and students. Research materials include Florida and Federal Statutes, corporate and medical law, family law, bankruptcy, and other legal matters. Books do not circulate, but copy machines are available to library patrons. The librarians on staff are not attorneys and cannot answer legal questions, but can direct visitors to appropriate books and resources."
The law library not part of public libraries system of Hillsborough county but is a separate department and the funding comes from fees collected from criminal court system's filings and traffic case filings of the state court system. The existence of this library is by State mandate under article 5, however, in these uncertain times there is concern for the future under this current state leadership.
The public is the most common patron, specifically those who can’t afford lawyers. Lawyers and attorneys used to be more prevalent but most law offices now have subscriptions to the main databases of Westlaw or Lexis-Nexis in their offices as research tools.
As far as acquisitions, the legal database publishers are Thompson-West (Westlaw) and Lexis/Nexis, and books in hard copy are ordered from online and directly from publishers. The need of materials is determined by the types of questions asked by patrons (log of patron inquiries by type of question). There is not much preservation of documents occurring, few are being scanned at the law library. Generally, though, it does try to keep items that are no longer being printed.
Some of the most common requests are mostly for case law and documents. The Westlaw database is one of the most accessed through the computer, more people use the books (Florida legal encyclopedias and practice books). A lot of requests are on information for foreclosures, probates, and traffic ticket defense, as well as land-lord/tenant and family law such as divorce and custody.
One of the challenging components of this job is that the reference desk must deal with people who come in frustrated because they are told one thing in court and they are agitated because they have been bounced around the system. Mrs. Barnes tries to deal with agitated patrons by making it a calming situation. Legal system is already upsetting and frustrating. She tries to empathize and make it a pleasant atmosphere.
What type of instructional work do you do here? There are no instructional classes offered at the Law Library due to time constraints.
Mrs. Barnes said the most satisfying thing about her work is knowing that she is helping those doing their own research and have access to the courts. Without the service they would fall by wayside because many cannot afford to have legal representation.
Some markers of most of your patrons are that they have changed demographic over the years as now there are less legal professionals more layman. (Law firms have their own libraries that may include Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.) Most patrons have some computer literacy and can use the Westlaw database fairly effectively and with some proficiency. The reference desk staff make some suggestions to narrow searches, might suggest general search help, and natural search language. There is only one computer terminal for Westlaw because of licensing. There is a second computer for document preparation and the library is a wireless hotspot.
The reference desk gets mostly ready reference, research and directional: where and how to find certain information because the library uses its OWN FORM OF CATALOGING THAT ONLY CAN BE ACCESSED FROM BEHIND THE REFERENCE DESK. The cataloging is mostly by items in the indices of the reference sources and are cataloged by the staff according to what each document contains. The reference staff will conduct a Westlaw search which are available at a cost ($8 per query)and can be delivered via email or fax, only the librarian can do this otherwise the patron can only print, and the staff also can send specific cases for $2. Lawyers and patrons need to develop queries though. The reference staff do not have the capacity to train the public because of time constraints. Thompson-West does come in and do occasionally and do trainings on demand.
What is the number and type of public service staff? There are 4 full time public service staff, and one part-time (works for Everlove and Associates- works Wednesday evening). Mrs. Barnes is the only ALA certified position. The director has an administrative role, and two other staff are responsible for the reference desk updating of books and night desk. For the convenience of working patrons and those with concerns over parking, the Law Library is open until eight most of the week.
This is a reference only library; patrons must come in and cannot check out materials. There is a low level of public access electronic resources because the resources available are Westlaw database. Vendors are selected because they offer bigger discounts on books by the vendor's bid. There are also access to government sponsored websites for legal info, but limited because of copyright so most reference are print resources. Printing is charged at 20 cents/page. There is no social media presence. Only informal communication between legal libraries- not much consortium except when collection is lacking or missing something do the local libraries.
I spoke with Mrs. Donna Barnes of the Law Library who graduated USF in 1982 with specialization in Special Libraries. She had experience in medical libraries at USF. Then she was offered job and has been working at the Law Library for 30 yrs. She worked in libraries as clerical typist prior to the degree and liked the library setting. The one major change she pointed out over thirty years in the field as a law librarian is that a lot more is available online and not published anymore, ex. attorney general opinions.
The Mission of "the James J. Lunsford Hillsborough County Law Library provides legal research materials for use by the public, attorneys, judges, and students. Research materials include Florida and Federal Statutes, corporate and medical law, family law, bankruptcy, and other legal matters. Books do not circulate, but copy machines are available to library patrons. The librarians on staff are not attorneys and cannot answer legal questions, but can direct visitors to appropriate books and resources."
The law library not part of public libraries system of Hillsborough county but is a separate department and the funding comes from fees collected from criminal court system's filings and traffic case filings of the state court system. The existence of this library is by State mandate under article 5, however, in these uncertain times there is concern for the future under this current state leadership.
The public is the most common patron, specifically those who can’t afford lawyers. Lawyers and attorneys used to be more prevalent but most law offices now have subscriptions to the main databases of Westlaw or Lexis-Nexis in their offices as research tools.
As far as acquisitions, the legal database publishers are Thompson-West (Westlaw) and Lexis/Nexis, and books in hard copy are ordered from online and directly from publishers. The need of materials is determined by the types of questions asked by patrons (log of patron inquiries by type of question). There is not much preservation of documents occurring, few are being scanned at the law library. Generally, though, it does try to keep items that are no longer being printed.
Some of the most common requests are mostly for case law and documents. The Westlaw database is one of the most accessed through the computer, more people use the books (Florida legal encyclopedias and practice books). A lot of requests are on information for foreclosures, probates, and traffic ticket defense, as well as land-lord/tenant and family law such as divorce and custody.
One of the challenging components of this job is that the reference desk must deal with people who come in frustrated because they are told one thing in court and they are agitated because they have been bounced around the system. Mrs. Barnes tries to deal with agitated patrons by making it a calming situation. Legal system is already upsetting and frustrating. She tries to empathize and make it a pleasant atmosphere.
What type of instructional work do you do here? There are no instructional classes offered at the Law Library due to time constraints.
Mrs. Barnes said the most satisfying thing about her work is knowing that she is helping those doing their own research and have access to the courts. Without the service they would fall by wayside because many cannot afford to have legal representation.
Some markers of most of your patrons are that they have changed demographic over the years as now there are less legal professionals more layman. (Law firms have their own libraries that may include Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.) Most patrons have some computer literacy and can use the Westlaw database fairly effectively and with some proficiency. The reference desk staff make some suggestions to narrow searches, might suggest general search help, and natural search language. There is only one computer terminal for Westlaw because of licensing. There is a second computer for document preparation and the library is a wireless hotspot.
The reference desk gets mostly ready reference, research and directional: where and how to find certain information because the library uses its OWN FORM OF CATALOGING THAT ONLY CAN BE ACCESSED FROM BEHIND THE REFERENCE DESK. The cataloging is mostly by items in the indices of the reference sources and are cataloged by the staff according to what each document contains. The reference staff will conduct a Westlaw search which are available at a cost ($8 per query)and can be delivered via email or fax, only the librarian can do this otherwise the patron can only print, and the staff also can send specific cases for $2. Lawyers and patrons need to develop queries though. The reference staff do not have the capacity to train the public because of time constraints. Thompson-West does come in and do occasionally and do trainings on demand.
What is the number and type of public service staff? There are 4 full time public service staff, and one part-time (works for Everlove and Associates- works Wednesday evening). Mrs. Barnes is the only ALA certified position. The director has an administrative role, and two other staff are responsible for the reference desk updating of books and night desk. For the convenience of working patrons and those with concerns over parking, the Law Library is open until eight most of the week.
This is a reference only library; patrons must come in and cannot check out materials. There is a low level of public access electronic resources because the resources available are Westlaw database. Vendors are selected because they offer bigger discounts on books by the vendor's bid. There are also access to government sponsored websites for legal info, but limited because of copyright so most reference are print resources. Printing is charged at 20 cents/page. There is no social media presence. Only informal communication between legal libraries- not much consortium except when collection is lacking or missing something do the local libraries.
Library Adventures: School Library
4/26/11
On Thursday (4/20/11)of last week I managed two interviews/visits. I made it to Greco Middle School Library and to the Science Library at MOSI. This post addresses the Middle School Library visit.
I spoke with the congenial librarian, Mrs. Griner. Mrs. Griner received her MLIS from FSU and has been a school librarian for 4 years. She had to do two years o formal classroom teaching as well as a requirement by the district before she was allowed to take the school librarianship position becuase the FSU program has no practicum meaning she had no school experience.
Greco Middle School uses the Springboard curriculum for language arts and math mandated by the county school district. Mrs. Griner tracks checkouts of each title and class visits. This is one of the means to proof what they do under the new evaluation systems and the Gates grant.
Mrs. Griner has been trying to keep the school library strictly academic; it used to be like a playground because teachers sent them when they were tired of certain student's in class behaviors. Now if a student comes in they must have a pass and cannot be wandering around aimlessly. Once they are done with their "purpose" at the library, then she sends them back to class. The school library and Mrs. Griner have been active in the Battle of the Books. The mission of the library has been to keep an academic focus. She provides about two weeks of orientation at the beginning of the school year especially to the sixth grader and how to use online catalog (Cybercat. She will not do their homework for them. Another library activity that she is very active in is a reader program for middle/high school “Reading Counts”, in which she gives trophies to top readers. This year's theme for this year: read like a rock star (pictures on website/posters).The goal is to keep the kids interested and bring them in Poetry contest, Did march madness with classes competed (had 26 teams)- reading counts quizzes (different than AR because it is pass fail) got five rounds from Language arts/reading classes
and clientele of the library or information center? 6th grade checks out more than both 7th and 8th, more internet use and monitors use; Not only STEM academy or more advanced readers are using but more Lower SES Title I. Not advanced only, but some of the advanced kids do not
The collections at the middle school was comprised of books that Lexile did not match what was needed for advanced reader such as those in the magnet program for STEM. She had to applied for and received three grants to get books at 900 lexile counts to accommodate the higher level readers. I asked why the shelves had so mcuh room on them and she told me that she the books are weeded constantly; she checks how often checked out, and copyright for currency. The most recent ones weeded medical and other reference from 1980-90s that were out of date, and the next focus is on non-fiction weeding. Fiction is most checked out type of materials and the director for school libraries at the count county district has gotten many full-text online versions of ebooks. Science needs up to date books becuase of the STEM program at the school and they hope to have more expansion of ebooks collections. Budget of state and county money, internal fund from book fair, started about 5k now about 4k. newsletter faculty , workshops like on plagiarism.
Scheduled circulation for 15 minutes at a time for a whole class every two weeks, get to take reading counts (6th grade are religious, 7th grade awful, 8th is hit and miss) some buy-in, guarantees books get back and get to take tests for reading counts Kids demand library day, other teachers can schedule time and leave a few days to make accommodations.
The most common of your questions as a librarian at this location are directional according to the dewey decimal system and most common fiction. In this community the kids are really into the Blueford series. She has had kids return books they found offensive becuase of language or plot. The other is how to find the book (by author’s last name) and whether they can I print. Printing is allowed for academic purposes.
Unfortunately, she does have to monitor the computer use of the students with a software that allows her to watch screen views of their activity (Italc.com). She is also able to view the research process that the students use, which is scary becuase it revealed that the students were "googling" the question and coming up with non-reputable sources, things like answers.com. Her reaction to this was she sent message to faculty about the way these students are researching. She has been offering advice and guidance about what is good source, how to do citations, and the differences between paraphrasing and plagiarism.
There is a public service staff of fourteen for the school library. Mrs. Griner considers her students as staff, calling them media assistants. This is the hardest on campus assistantship. The media assistant are really running the show: it allows her time to continue planning and programming. Recently there was a cut to the secretary position. Really there was not a problem in this because there was not enough work for her and the students. Mrs. Griner some parental involvement but only found it to be very useful at book fairs.
For a public school library in SDHC the level of public access electronic resources is fair: Worldbook, Britannica, and a virtual library at: http://lms.mysdhc.org/6-12media/virlib. This is also accessible from Mrs. Griner’s webpage. The Cybercat catalog is similar to public library catalog and available online; a new catalog coming in the fall.
The Greco Middle School Library has no social media presence on facebook/twitter because of district mandates and because of the levels of approval it would take to even be allowed to communicate that way. However, Mrs. Griner does upkeep a wonderful website laid out with information and links relevant to the Greco Middle School community.
I visited the school library on the day prior to spring break, which meant the were few students coming in, especially since the STEM program students were also on a field trip away from the school that day. I saw the assistant check out two or three kids, and direct them to the right section of the shelves for their request. The interaction was not overly intensive. It seems more energy of the librarian is put into the programming and collection than anything else.
On Thursday (4/20/11)of last week I managed two interviews/visits. I made it to Greco Middle School Library and to the Science Library at MOSI. This post addresses the Middle School Library visit.
I spoke with the congenial librarian, Mrs. Griner. Mrs. Griner received her MLIS from FSU and has been a school librarian for 4 years. She had to do two years o formal classroom teaching as well as a requirement by the district before she was allowed to take the school librarianship position becuase the FSU program has no practicum meaning she had no school experience.
Greco Middle School uses the Springboard curriculum for language arts and math mandated by the county school district. Mrs. Griner tracks checkouts of each title and class visits. This is one of the means to proof what they do under the new evaluation systems and the Gates grant.
Mrs. Griner has been trying to keep the school library strictly academic; it used to be like a playground because teachers sent them when they were tired of certain student's in class behaviors. Now if a student comes in they must have a pass and cannot be wandering around aimlessly. Once they are done with their "purpose" at the library, then she sends them back to class. The school library and Mrs. Griner have been active in the Battle of the Books. The mission of the library has been to keep an academic focus. She provides about two weeks of orientation at the beginning of the school year especially to the sixth grader and how to use online catalog (Cybercat. She will not do their homework for them. Another library activity that she is very active in is a reader program for middle/high school “Reading Counts”, in which she gives trophies to top readers. This year's theme for this year: read like a rock star (pictures on website/posters).The goal is to keep the kids interested and bring them in Poetry contest, Did march madness with classes competed (had 26 teams)- reading counts quizzes (different than AR because it is pass fail) got five rounds from Language arts/reading classes
and clientele of the library or information center? 6th grade checks out more than both 7th and 8th, more internet use and monitors use; Not only STEM academy or more advanced readers are using but more Lower SES Title I. Not advanced only, but some of the advanced kids do not
The collections at the middle school was comprised of books that Lexile did not match what was needed for advanced reader such as those in the magnet program for STEM. She had to applied for and received three grants to get books at 900 lexile counts to accommodate the higher level readers. I asked why the shelves had so mcuh room on them and she told me that she the books are weeded constantly; she checks how often checked out, and copyright for currency. The most recent ones weeded medical and other reference from 1980-90s that were out of date, and the next focus is on non-fiction weeding. Fiction is most checked out type of materials and the director for school libraries at the count county district has gotten many full-text online versions of ebooks. Science needs up to date books becuase of the STEM program at the school and they hope to have more expansion of ebooks collections. Budget of state and county money, internal fund from book fair, started about 5k now about 4k. newsletter faculty , workshops like on plagiarism.
Scheduled circulation for 15 minutes at a time for a whole class every two weeks, get to take reading counts (6th grade are religious, 7th grade awful, 8th is hit and miss) some buy-in, guarantees books get back and get to take tests for reading counts Kids demand library day, other teachers can schedule time and leave a few days to make accommodations.
The most common of your questions as a librarian at this location are directional according to the dewey decimal system and most common fiction. In this community the kids are really into the Blueford series. She has had kids return books they found offensive becuase of language or plot. The other is how to find the book (by author’s last name) and whether they can I print. Printing is allowed for academic purposes.
Unfortunately, she does have to monitor the computer use of the students with a software that allows her to watch screen views of their activity (Italc.com). She is also able to view the research process that the students use, which is scary becuase it revealed that the students were "googling" the question and coming up with non-reputable sources, things like answers.com. Her reaction to this was she sent message to faculty about the way these students are researching. She has been offering advice and guidance about what is good source, how to do citations, and the differences between paraphrasing and plagiarism.
There is a public service staff of fourteen for the school library. Mrs. Griner considers her students as staff, calling them media assistants. This is the hardest on campus assistantship. The media assistant are really running the show: it allows her time to continue planning and programming. Recently there was a cut to the secretary position. Really there was not a problem in this because there was not enough work for her and the students. Mrs. Griner some parental involvement but only found it to be very useful at book fairs.
For a public school library in SDHC the level of public access electronic resources is fair: Worldbook, Britannica, and a virtual library at: http://lms.mysdhc.org/6-12media/virlib. This is also accessible from Mrs. Griner’s webpage. The Cybercat catalog is similar to public library catalog and available online; a new catalog coming in the fall.
The Greco Middle School Library has no social media presence on facebook/twitter because of district mandates and because of the levels of approval it would take to even be allowed to communicate that way. However, Mrs. Griner does upkeep a wonderful website laid out with information and links relevant to the Greco Middle School community.
I visited the school library on the day prior to spring break, which meant the were few students coming in, especially since the STEM program students were also on a field trip away from the school that day. I saw the assistant check out two or three kids, and direct them to the right section of the shelves for their request. The interaction was not overly intensive. It seems more energy of the librarian is put into the programming and collection than anything else.
Library Adventures: Government Documents
4/25/2011
USF is a government documents depository, one of three in the 11th Congressional District that in the public Library downtown (John G. German)and the University of Tampa. Gainesville is the regional depository according to the land grant system and, hence, is obligated to maintain the complete historical collection for the state. The other depositories are allowed to discard anything that they have held over five years, but must offer to other locations especially if it is of significant historical importance or value and ensure that the regional depository has the item as well. USF has been a depository since 1962. The government documents depository is designed to hold publications of the Government Printing Office (http://www.gpo.gov). The works housed therein include but are not limited to maps, census records, Congressional hearings and other records, and foreign relations documents. These include publications by different departments and are not organized by the card catalog system but by the superintendent of documents classification system (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html).
The mission of the government documents depository is different than the purely academic libraries which seek to serve the clientele of students and professors (and their local community as a secondary). The law library (forthcoming post) may include laws and regulations, but the differs in that it does not include the same publications by non-legal related agencies of the government or other historically significant documentation.
I spoke to Mrs. McCoy, who gave me a lot of insight in the history and idea of the government documents depository at USF. According to her estimate most depositories (about two-thirds) are academic libraries. The about one-quarter are large public libraries.
Unfortunately, witnessing how the depository serves its patrons is very limited. I would assume someone not familiar with the collection would approach reference and then be directed to Mrs. McCoy for her expertise. She was the one listed on the USF library website (and the reason why she was bombarded by my classmates and myself). USF no longer has a government documents reference desk; it was eliminated about 5 years ago. Mrs. McCoy had revealed that not having the reference desk anymore is something that she misses as previously she had the opportunity to develop relationships with her patrons. Previously, because the majority of patrons who used to come in for research assistance were coming for academic research, such as graduate students and professors working on extended projects. One of her most interesting patrons was a local writer who looked for very specific information to include in his writings for historical accuracy.
Government Documents at USF has about four public service staff including two student assistants for acquisitions and one other full-time employee who acts as a troubleshooter. Occassionally some catalogers step in as necessary. The troubleshooting is a shipping lists comparison and confirmations labels/barcodes, and temporary records (synopsis type of thing). The cataloging done through contractor.
There is a high level of public access to electronic resources because these are available digitally. The public is aware of many of the publications through e-government. In the case of USF, public libraries are where public goes for the egovernment stuff because of limits imposed by USF library policy on access to public computers and the costs associated with daily parking on campus. Government documents are available online through GPO but the general public may not be aware of what is available. Older documents are being digitized, but this in itself is proving too expensive and hard to maintain). Depository libraries are trying to start process with most important documents such as with legacy collections like laws, historical and scientific value, and universities are working together. GPO is beginning to as well, but not overly endowed with funding either and trying to maintain current publication collection, and veracity of authenticity of documents by using digital signatures/watermark.
The USF Tampa Campus Library has a Facebook page and Twitters, but there is nothing just for not government docs.
Mrs. McCoy received her library science master's at USF in 1989 and has worked here since in some capacity or another.
A sincerest thank you Mrs. McCoy and Kenny.
For more info on government document depositories: http://www.fdlp.gov/
USF is a government documents depository, one of three in the 11th Congressional District that in the public Library downtown (John G. German)and the University of Tampa. Gainesville is the regional depository according to the land grant system and, hence, is obligated to maintain the complete historical collection for the state. The other depositories are allowed to discard anything that they have held over five years, but must offer to other locations especially if it is of significant historical importance or value and ensure that the regional depository has the item as well. USF has been a depository since 1962. The government documents depository is designed to hold publications of the Government Printing Office (http://www.gpo.gov). The works housed therein include but are not limited to maps, census records, Congressional hearings and other records, and foreign relations documents. These include publications by different departments and are not organized by the card catalog system but by the superintendent of documents classification system (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html).
The mission of the government documents depository is different than the purely academic libraries which seek to serve the clientele of students and professors (and their local community as a secondary). The law library (forthcoming post) may include laws and regulations, but the differs in that it does not include the same publications by non-legal related agencies of the government or other historically significant documentation.
I spoke to Mrs. McCoy, who gave me a lot of insight in the history and idea of the government documents depository at USF. According to her estimate most depositories (about two-thirds) are academic libraries. The about one-quarter are large public libraries.
Unfortunately, witnessing how the depository serves its patrons is very limited. I would assume someone not familiar with the collection would approach reference and then be directed to Mrs. McCoy for her expertise. She was the one listed on the USF library website (and the reason why she was bombarded by my classmates and myself). USF no longer has a government documents reference desk; it was eliminated about 5 years ago. Mrs. McCoy had revealed that not having the reference desk anymore is something that she misses as previously she had the opportunity to develop relationships with her patrons. Previously, because the majority of patrons who used to come in for research assistance were coming for academic research, such as graduate students and professors working on extended projects. One of her most interesting patrons was a local writer who looked for very specific information to include in his writings for historical accuracy.
Government Documents at USF has about four public service staff including two student assistants for acquisitions and one other full-time employee who acts as a troubleshooter. Occassionally some catalogers step in as necessary. The troubleshooting is a shipping lists comparison and confirmations labels/barcodes, and temporary records (synopsis type of thing). The cataloging done through contractor.
There is a high level of public access to electronic resources because these are available digitally. The public is aware of many of the publications through e-government. In the case of USF, public libraries are where public goes for the egovernment stuff because of limits imposed by USF library policy on access to public computers and the costs associated with daily parking on campus. Government documents are available online through GPO but the general public may not be aware of what is available. Older documents are being digitized, but this in itself is proving too expensive and hard to maintain). Depository libraries are trying to start process with most important documents such as with legacy collections like laws, historical and scientific value, and universities are working together. GPO is beginning to as well, but not overly endowed with funding either and trying to maintain current publication collection, and veracity of authenticity of documents by using digital signatures/watermark.
The USF Tampa Campus Library has a Facebook page and Twitters, but there is nothing just for not government docs.
Mrs. McCoy received her library science master's at USF in 1989 and has worked here since in some capacity or another.
A sincerest thank you Mrs. McCoy and Kenny.
For more info on government document depositories: http://www.fdlp.gov/
Monday, April 25, 2011
Science Library at MOSI closing
As of 4/29/11, the Science Library at MOSI will b closed. MOSI and the County have decided that the site could be used for different purposes. The Museum will have a new lab space, and the materials of the science library will be moving to various other county libraries. Realia will be housed downtown and the special collections on loan will be returned to the sponsors.
North Tampa and the University Area are losing a unique resource, especially as MOSI will begin charging for parking soon.
Good-bye to a great concept. I could think of no better place for such a library, and it disheartens me to think that a different solution could not be arrived at. This library served the community well. (Look for next post regarding Interview for project).
:(
North Tampa and the University Area are losing a unique resource, especially as MOSI will begin charging for parking soon.
Good-bye to a great concept. I could think of no better place for such a library, and it disheartens me to think that a different solution could not be arrived at. This library served the community well. (Look for next post regarding Interview for project).
:(
Library Adventures: Library Centers Analysis
Hello!
As you follow the threads for the Library Adventures series of Posts, please note these are some of the questions that I have used to begin conversation with the library/information specialists that I spoke with.
Please introduce yourself, what degrees have you pursued/where is MLIS from?
Can you tell me something about the mission of the center?
How are documents preserved?
Can you tell me a little bit about a challenging situation or component of this job?
Can you tell me about the most satisfying thing about your work? What do you find the most appealing?
If I asked what are some markers of most of your patrons what would they be? Can you list some things that mark the profile of the average library user at this location?
What type are most of your questions as a librarian at this location? (instructional, ready-reference, research or directional.)
What is the number and type of public service staff?
What is the level of public access electronic resources?
Do you have a social media presence?
What are your most used/requested resources?
Ok. These are just the warm up as other questions arise as we speak.
To Be Continued...
As you follow the threads for the Library Adventures series of Posts, please note these are some of the questions that I have used to begin conversation with the library/information specialists that I spoke with.
Please introduce yourself, what degrees have you pursued/where is MLIS from?
Can you tell me something about the mission of the center?
How are documents preserved?
Can you tell me a little bit about a challenging situation or component of this job?
Can you tell me about the most satisfying thing about your work? What do you find the most appealing?
If I asked what are some markers of most of your patrons what would they be? Can you list some things that mark the profile of the average library user at this location?
What type are most of your questions as a librarian at this location? (instructional, ready-reference, research or directional.)
What is the number and type of public service staff?
What is the level of public access electronic resources?
Do you have a social media presence?
What are your most used/requested resources?
Ok. These are just the warm up as other questions arise as we speak.
To Be Continued...
Friday, April 22, 2011
Blogs Analysis
The track that I am following is one that was previously known as the "media center specialist" but is now the school librarian track. Hence, the blogs I chose to follow are those by other school librarians. I chose them because they were two very different types of blogs by librarians directed to two different audiences. .
The first blog I followed was http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/ by a school librarian in Baldwin, NY. I found the one to be very informational and addressing of technology issues for teachers and others in the school setting- No Shhing in the Library shows examples of how the Teaching Librarian is using the technology available to her for her work. The second blog comes from the Clear Brook High School in Texas and is available at: http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/. The audience is different for this blog, but what it also shows is there is a big digital divide between the ways these libraries and schools are integrating technology for their students. I found the rewards system and the programming for this library to be quite engaging, as the teaching librarian and her staff have come up with creative displays and reward systems.
ABOUT NO SHHHING HERE
No SHHing Here was a written in a natural voice, as the librarian was revealing the programming of her library and the successes she was having with integrating technology activities. The audience for her blog appears to be others in the library field and constituents interested in the on-goings of her work. The successes she is having seem to be the use of iTouches, which were incorporated about earlier this year with examples of how the classes in her middle school are using the technology (http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/2011/01/itouch-mania.html). For the school to have over 20 iTouch instruments and an iPad reveals that it is very well connected technologically, that here is wireless available to the students using these devices, and that the teachers/librarians are aware of applications to use that are pertinent to their work. It is amazing that she and the instructors are able to take the time to research and manage these devices. She has posted a number of displays that were creative and lively. She questions the creation of temporary painted images from Dr. Suess books in celebration of the author's birthday as fair use. In my opinion, it is decorative and made to get any revenues, so it is fair use it is temporary. Because of privacy and other concerns most of these libraries/librarians do not have Facebook accounts associated with them. However, she posted an interesting project one of the classes did by creating faux Facebook informational pages using a Powerpoint template. This is interesting because it shows how the students are being exposed to using web 2.0 technologies for academic endeavors and not just social media (http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/2011/03/students-on-facebookkinda-sorta.html). I found the rewards system and the programming for this library to be quite engaging, as the teaching librarian and her staff have come up with creative displays and reward systems (one award was centered around the Dr. Suess One Fish, Two Fish theme and another involved funky sock day for Fox in Socks).
ABOUT THE CLEAR BROOK HIGH SCHOOL
The Clear Brook blog as a slightly different audience but its posts reveal the concerns of the bloggers as part of the LIS field. The audience would be more the constituents of the school and their parents/community. This school is in Texas, and one post is an invitation to help save Texas school libraries. The Constant Contact announcement that corresponded with this post is no longer active, but the main idea is that the libraries are being cut to only being available part-time with a librarian or even being eliminated.(http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/texas-libraries-need-your-help.html).
In stark contrast to the previous entry the only mention of a technology based advancement in the library is the integration of a large screen television playing a loop of trailers for books that students had written, there is not a mention of how these students who wrote the trailers are given the access to devices to create them. (http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/search/label/television). The other improvements of the library are minimal with the inclusion of a SECOND chess board for students to play (the librarian write that now there will be no more fighting over the first.) It shows how the students use the library as a congregating center as well, because there was a previous post from 2010 alluding to the implementation the game Yu-Gi-Oh as a social activity. Another technology-based post the librarian posted was for a free app available to students for them to access academic databases on their SmartPhone. This implies that there is a large number of students who may have the technology available to them, but it doesn't mean that the library has the means to make the devices available for student use. http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/2010/10/clear-brook-library-theres-app.html is from before the semester started but it shows the scope of the way this librarian is announcing the technological applications that students can use.
The Clear Brook HS blog also mentions censorship: http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/search/label/censorship which is a big deal in library collections. The reward system at this library involves trying to get the students in to do something like a "Justin Beiber" pose and the reward is candy. I don't agree with this as a current good practice. From what I can tell, this school has less digital devices available for their students to use.
Overall, I am disappointed to see the minimal responses to these librarian's posts and that there is little following on these pages (Shhing has 5 followers- I was the first) and Clear Brook only shows the number of views (there is a mark for central FL on this map which I think is me- I am going to post the picture and probably incorporate this in my own blog). What I would hope is that I would have a means of reaching my target audience, and encouraging the dialogue in comments. I also see that the first blog is more useful as a newsletter, and I would hope that parents and teachers would begin to use it as follower, through an RSS feed or email. Finding ways to entice the PTA and teachers to be aware of the ongoings at the library would also stimulate more interest in the work going on there.
The first blog I followed was http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/ by a school librarian in Baldwin, NY. I found the one to be very informational and addressing of technology issues for teachers and others in the school setting- No Shhing in the Library shows examples of how the Teaching Librarian is using the technology available to her for her work. The second blog comes from the Clear Brook High School in Texas and is available at: http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/. The audience is different for this blog, but what it also shows is there is a big digital divide between the ways these libraries and schools are integrating technology for their students. I found the rewards system and the programming for this library to be quite engaging, as the teaching librarian and her staff have come up with creative displays and reward systems.
ABOUT NO SHHHING HERE
No SHHing Here was a written in a natural voice, as the librarian was revealing the programming of her library and the successes she was having with integrating technology activities. The audience for her blog appears to be others in the library field and constituents interested in the on-goings of her work. The successes she is having seem to be the use of iTouches, which were incorporated about earlier this year with examples of how the classes in her middle school are using the technology (http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/2011/01/itouch-mania.html). For the school to have over 20 iTouch instruments and an iPad reveals that it is very well connected technologically, that here is wireless available to the students using these devices, and that the teachers/librarians are aware of applications to use that are pertinent to their work. It is amazing that she and the instructors are able to take the time to research and manage these devices. She has posted a number of displays that were creative and lively. She questions the creation of temporary painted images from Dr. Suess books in celebration of the author's birthday as fair use. In my opinion, it is decorative and made to get any revenues, so it is fair use it is temporary. Because of privacy and other concerns most of these libraries/librarians do not have Facebook accounts associated with them. However, she posted an interesting project one of the classes did by creating faux Facebook informational pages using a Powerpoint template. This is interesting because it shows how the students are being exposed to using web 2.0 technologies for academic endeavors and not just social media (http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/2011/03/students-on-facebookkinda-sorta.html). I found the rewards system and the programming for this library to be quite engaging, as the teaching librarian and her staff have come up with creative displays and reward systems (one award was centered around the Dr. Suess One Fish, Two Fish theme and another involved funky sock day for Fox in Socks).
ABOUT THE CLEAR BROOK HIGH SCHOOL
The Clear Brook blog as a slightly different audience but its posts reveal the concerns of the bloggers as part of the LIS field. The audience would be more the constituents of the school and their parents/community. This school is in Texas, and one post is an invitation to help save Texas school libraries. The Constant Contact announcement that corresponded with this post is no longer active, but the main idea is that the libraries are being cut to only being available part-time with a librarian or even being eliminated.(http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/texas-libraries-need-your-help.html).
In stark contrast to the previous entry the only mention of a technology based advancement in the library is the integration of a large screen television playing a loop of trailers for books that students had written, there is not a mention of how these students who wrote the trailers are given the access to devices to create them. (http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/search/label/television). The other improvements of the library are minimal with the inclusion of a SECOND chess board for students to play (the librarian write that now there will be no more fighting over the first.) It shows how the students use the library as a congregating center as well, because there was a previous post from 2010 alluding to the implementation the game Yu-Gi-Oh as a social activity. Another technology-based post the librarian posted was for a free app available to students for them to access academic databases on their SmartPhone. This implies that there is a large number of students who may have the technology available to them, but it doesn't mean that the library has the means to make the devices available for student use. http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/2010/10/clear-brook-library-theres-app.html is from before the semester started but it shows the scope of the way this librarian is announcing the technological applications that students can use.
The Clear Brook HS blog also mentions censorship: http://clearbrooklibrary.blogspot.com/search/label/censorship which is a big deal in library collections. The reward system at this library involves trying to get the students in to do something like a "Justin Beiber" pose and the reward is candy. I don't agree with this as a current good practice. From what I can tell, this school has less digital devices available for their students to use.
Overall, I am disappointed to see the minimal responses to these librarian's posts and that there is little following on these pages (Shhing has 5 followers- I was the first) and Clear Brook only shows the number of views (there is a mark for central FL on this map which I think is me- I am going to post the picture and probably incorporate this in my own blog). What I would hope is that I would have a means of reaching my target audience, and encouraging the dialogue in comments. I also see that the first blog is more useful as a newsletter, and I would hope that parents and teachers would begin to use it as follower, through an RSS feed or email. Finding ways to entice the PTA and teachers to be aware of the ongoings at the library would also stimulate more interest in the work going on there.
Bad Journaling
I am remiss in this blog. I am not by nature a journaler, and it is very hard for me to keep up. I had vowed at the beginning of 2011 to start a personal blog, and a personal journal. I even bought a small paper journal with a Safayyid rug design hoping that a beautiful little book would help me to start writing something. I have written ONE entry a month, and never posted anything to the PERSONAL blog I was to do. That is awful. And then, I also intended to be more active and PROACTIVE with this blog for my classes, making it a good tracking of my tasks. Again, I failed. They tend to be longer than a paragraph and unlike my other attempts at journaling are not a boring little list of the mundane non-events of daily living. So, I think I have figured out a way to make my journal mean something (even though it is sporadic journaling).
So, while I could create this blog, maintaining it proved different. New habits are hard to make.
So, while I could create this blog, maintaining it proved different. New habits are hard to make.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Becoming a Follower to become a Leader
Today I reviewed some Blogs in the Wiki, http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links/index.php?title=Welcome_to_the_Blogging_Libraries_Wiki. I chose to follow one that is written by a media specialist in NY, which had a cute title that implied her outlook to librarianship and being a media specialist. The title caught my eye because it was says No Shhing Here (http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com). I was attracted by the onomatopoeia (Shh) and that maybe she is viewing the library as a social space that need not be the stodgy place where books are read "quietly" and the stereotype libraries of yore.
She seems to be an active blogger and the pictures and activities she writes about also imply that she is enthusiastic about her work, serving all sectors of her population in a middle school, and active in creating visually interesting exhibits to entice students.
I signed up as a follower and will probably attempt to make contact and comments at the blog with her. A correspondence would be great with someone already in the field who seems excited about their work.
By the way I am composing this blog while sitting in the Smathers Library West at the University of Florida. (I live in Tampa, so this was my adventure for the week.)So there will be another post about harassing the reference librarians shortly...
Stay tuned, same bat place, same bat time (ok, maybe not time).
She seems to be an active blogger and the pictures and activities she writes about also imply that she is enthusiastic about her work, serving all sectors of her population in a middle school, and active in creating visually interesting exhibits to entice students.
I signed up as a follower and will probably attempt to make contact and comments at the blog with her. A correspondence would be great with someone already in the field who seems excited about their work.
By the way I am composing this blog while sitting in the Smathers Library West at the University of Florida. (I live in Tampa, so this was my adventure for the week.)So there will be another post about harassing the reference librarians shortly...
Stay tuned, same bat place, same bat time (ok, maybe not time).
My choice for the 23 Things Project
Hello! I will be completing my 23 Things activity using the Internet Public Library, http://ipl2.cci.fsu.edu/community/wiki/index.php/IPL_15_Things as an option provided to us from the Professor Maata-Smith in BlackBoard. I look forward to the next post which will be an update of the first activity I complete for this project.
Until we read again!
A
Until we read again!
A
Saturday, January 29, 2011
This is my new blog
Dear Readers,
This blog is dedicated to the work I will be doing as a Library and Information Sciences student. I will post to journal my activities and to complete a "23 Things" task assigned.
Come with me as I start my adventure in the HAPPIEST places on earth- Libraries! (Sorry no Mickey here).
The library- Where it's at!
This blog is dedicated to the work I will be doing as a Library and Information Sciences student. I will post to journal my activities and to complete a "23 Things" task assigned.
Come with me as I start my adventure in the HAPPIEST places on earth- Libraries! (Sorry no Mickey here).
The library- Where it's at!
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