Topics and Features of Academic Medical Library Tutorials

ABSTRACT

In a 2007 study, librarians at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Library examined freely available online tutorials on academic medical library Web sites. The team identified tutorial topics, determined common design features, and assessed elements of active learning in library-created tutorials; the team also generated a list of third-party tutorials to which medical libraries link. This article updates the earlier study, describing changes and trends in tutorial content and design on medical libraries' Web sites; the project team plans to continue to track trends in tutorial development by repeating this study annually.     

Library Research Project for First-Year Engineering Students: Results from Collaboration by Teaching and Library Faculty

SUMMARY

This article will discuss three years of collaboration between the Freshman Engineering Program and the Engineering Library of the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh. This collaboration has resulted in a library research project that is integrated into the freshman curriculum. The project ultimately provides the students with a research structure for presentations in an annual mock professional conference. The mission of the Freshman Engineering Program's academic and advising components is to create a first-year experience that promotes the student's continued pursuit of an engineering degree through commitment to clearly understood and self-declared goals. The goal for the Engineering Library is to introduce library research as a necessary skill-set for successful engineers. The successful outcome of all of these goals requires the collaboration between “teaching” faculty and “library” faculty and results in better prepared, more focused students. Developing and integrating a library research project into the freshman engineering academic curriculum is a significant opportunity for library instruction, and the approach demonstrated here may be transferable to other disciplines.     

Information Commons: Meeting Millennials’ Needs

ABSTRACT

Information Commons are popular with millennial (also called net generation) students, who often work in groups, use technology avidly, and combine their academic and social lives. Enhancing the configuration of services for the Information Commons can assist in leveraging the value of the available content, hardware, software, and physical setting to support learning and academic programs. Understanding millennial students’ lifestyle is key to developing a robust service program to engage and support them.

This article originally published in Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 50, Issue 1, pages 27–37, 2010. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01930820903422156.     

Pop-Up Library at the University of Birmingham: Extending the Reach of an Academic Library by Taking “The Library” to the Students

ABSTRACT

Aligning with student engagement and promotional strategies, a Pop-Up Library project was initiated at the University of Birmingham. This involved setting up temporary, staffed stalls in different locations across campus in order to informally communicate with students and effectively take “the Library” to them. This article discusses the planning and implementation of the Pop-Up Library, including the rationale for the initiative. Details are given of the stalls themselves, the wide range of staff involved, the many locations trialed, the promotional materials used, and the ways in which the venture was advertised and subsequently evaluated. Results of a questionnaire used on the stalls are presented. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of the Pop-Up Library as a communication tool, with particular emphasis on breaking down barriers between students and library staff, and proactively raising students' awareness of the many ways Library Services can enhance their learning.     

Retooling Library Services for Online Students in Tough Economic Times

ABSTRACT

At a time in our economy when library budgets are strained and staffing is under the microscope, librarians need to reassess and retool their library services for online students to provide quality, depth, and community without causing meltdown. The authors analyze some of the retooling undergone at their library to meet the shifting demographics of students who in 10 years have grown from 1,000 online students to 14,500 and increased to 65% of the students now taking online classes. To meet this challenge, the library centralized library services by closing the regional Library Information Centers and established a Multimedia Department focused on developing tutorials and online training materials, established an outreach librarian position, and worked with reference and instruction librarians to expand their roles as liaisons to the various academic programs. The library is learning to work smarter, not necessarily harder, and much leaner.     

Reference Services to Police Officer Students at the School of Police Staff and Command,Traffic Institute,Northwestern University

Summary

This paper focuses on the reference services provided by librarians at the Transportation Library for the police officer students enrolled in the School of Police Staff and Command, Traffic Institute, Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois). Although this program is unique, the wealth of experience gained over several years can be useful for others who are planning and implementing services for adult learners within an academic environment. The Transportation Library's unusual organizational culture—a corporate library within an academic setting- and a variety of clients necessitates “changing gears” and services to meet the needs of each group.     

The Problem Patron

Summary

Library staff and other patrons encounter patrons who are one or a combination of the following: mentally ill/disturbed, homeless, street persons, angry, aggressive, unreasonable, rude. Commonly referred to as “problem patrons,” they appear in any type of library: public, academic, institutional, corporate and special. Most of them behave poorly because of their own troubles. The history of “problem patrons,” various types of problem patrons and their identifying behaviors are discussed in this paper. In attempting to define “problem patrons” the information provides a framework for understanding the problems of challenging patrons and for learning to discriminate between problem patrons and patrons who have problems.     

Bringing a Small Academic Library Back from the Brink

Abstract

When Villa Madonna College moved from Covington to Crestview Hills, Kentucky in 1968 to become Thomas More College, the designers of the new campus knew that the library would be a vital component of academic success for future students. As Thomas More transitioned from “College” to “University” in 2018, the library had unfortunately endured a long slow decline. With a recent renaming to the “Benedictine Library” in 2017, administration knew that more substantial changes were needed. In April 2018, the library started a new course with the 16^th Library Director in institutional history. This column illustrates the ambitious first two years of the new library administration, and details the work completed in the library’s “digital modernization plan”.     

Common Practices for Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery at a Small Private University

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to outline the “best common practices” at Regent University Library, and share survey data illustrating their effectiveness. Also discussed is how transitioning from an entirely graduate university to a university serving both graduates and undergraduates has influenced library services. The new constituency will increase interlibrary loan transactions and test the library's practices. Providing quality interlibrary loan service to a growing academic population requires innovative ideas and practices while keeping the workflow streamlined. New programs implemented over the past several years include books on demand and providing more electronic books and journals. A growing distance education student population has led to paying for library cards for academic libraries located near students' homes and permitting them to return materials to satellite campuses.     

We Better Get This Party Started!

Abstract

Each fall, the Tunxis Library hosts a party. Usually thematic, sometimes didactic, and always cerebral, the library uses the party to communicate our “party line” to the entire campus community: we are here to make your life easier. It's particularly effective when delivered at the start of the semester, before the unrelenting rhythm of classes, committee work, and meetings has begun.

Showing the campus community that the library is here to support them is our core theme, wrapped in a party context. Our goal is to create a party that jump-starts the fall semester for everyone. In this article, we describe our most recent parties, focusing how we develop, plan, and execute these promotional initiatives, with little money, but plenty of creativity and teamwork.     

Technology Criticism for Technophiles

The Future Voices in Public Services column is a forum for students in graduate library and information science programs to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to tell us of their visions for the profession, and to tell us of research that is going on in library schools. We hope to provide fresh perspectives from those entering our field, in both the United States and other countries. Interested faculty of graduate library and information science programs who would like their students’ ideas represented in these pages are invited to contact Nancy H. Dewald at nxd7@psu.edu.

Matthew Baker is a recent graduate of the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS). Here he makes the case for librarians to recognize both the strengths and limitations of technology, and to guide students toward that recognition as well.

Founded in 1902, Simmons GSLIS (http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/) is one of the country's oldest library and information science programs. With campuses in Boston and South Hadley, Mass., the school is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the Top 10 in the nation. GSLIS offers master's and doctoral programs, along with postmaster's licensure and certificate opportunities and continuing education workshops. Master's degree students can choose concentrations in Archives Management, School Library Teacher, or Library and Information Science; doctoral students focus either on Library and Information Science or Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions.

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Complex Questions,Evolving Answers

SUMMARY

Since 2001, librarians at Oregon State University's Valley Library have been working to build a “teaching library” supported by a clearly articulated instruction program. From the start, we believed that we needed to assess the teaching library's impact, not only to determine the success or failure of our efforts but also to demonstrate the need for intentional, proactive information literacy instruction on our campus. No single assessment tool or method proved adequate to effectively measure student learning happening both inside and outside the library. We describe our evolving, multi-pronged approach to measuring the impact of the library on student learning in the context of current assessment practices in academic libraries and higher education.     

Instruction in a Virtual Environment

Abstract

In 2002, librarians at the Utah State University (USU) Libraries were awarded a grant to develop online tutorials. The major design challenge was to create tutorials specific to USU resources and students, including distance learners, while also making them flexible so that other Utah colleges and universities can adapt them for their own needs. The tutorials also needed to address the information behavior of a new generation of students accustomed to using computers and the Internet. While recent studies have begun to address some gaps in our knowledge of the information behavior of the Web Generation, we conducted a needs assessment to help us create a tutorial that more accurately addresses the existing knowledge and behavior of undergraduates at USU. We used multiple methods to determine the learning needs of our audience and to provide guidance for the design process.     

Crossing Three Bridges: Linking Librarianship and Teaching Across the P-16 Educational Continuum

SUMMARY

Georgia State University Library's Education and Communication liaisons teamed up to teach a graduate course on the selection and use of reference resources for the College of Education's Library Media Technology Program. The collaboration between these two librarians can serve as a model for collaboration on three levels: collaboration between two librarians as co-teachers; collaboration between university librarians and academic department faculty; and, finally, “collaboration across work places” between academic librarians and school media specialists in P-12 settings. Unique challenges, benefits, and possibilities for this type of collaborative effort are examined.     

One Work in Two Places

Abstract

Over the years, the publishing industry has packaged single works of printed resources with accompanying media such as 3.5″ disks, CD-ROMs, videocassettes, audiocassettes, or web sites. Recognizing the importance of the information provided in the accompanying media and the library clients' access to them, the Library of Rush University (LRU) at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center developed and implemented “mixed media” policies and procedures. This paper discusses issues and Rush Library responses to the issues surrounding the management of “mixed media” titles in selection, cataloging, labeling, housing, circulation, loading data files, and the publicity that puts them in the client's hands.     

Outreach to Distance Learners

Summary

It is the responsibility of any institution offering distance education programs to provide library resources and services for its students. In contrast to traditional students who can find the library on a campus map and go there, distance learners need orientation in order to “find their way” to their library. Librarians must be proactive in their efforts to make the library visible and accessible to these students. Library resources and services must be made available in ways compatible with the needs of students in these programs. The processes of designing, marketing, providing and evaluating appropriate library services demand continuous outreach to the distance education community.     

Combining History of Medicine and Library Instruction: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Database Searching to Medical Students

Library faculty members at the Health Sciences Library at the LSU Health Shreveport campus offer a database searching class for third-year medical students during their surgery rotation. For a number of years, students completed “ten-minute clinical challenges,” but the instructors decided to replace the clinical challenges with innovative exercises using The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus to emphasize concepts learned. The Surgical Papyrus is an online resource that is part of the National Library of Medicine's “Turning the Pages” digital initiative. In addition, vintage surgical instruments and historic books are displayed in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.     

On the Road,Playing with Legos®, and Learning about the Library: The Rutgers University Art Library Lego Playing Station,Part Two

ABSTRACT

In Playing with LEGO®, Learning about the Library, and “Making” Campus Connections: The Rutgers University Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part One, the author discusses the importance of outreach, creativity, and innovation to the future of academic libraries. Low-cost making activities, can encourage creative problem-solving skills and be an innovative way to teach students, faculty, and staff more about academic libraries. In this article, the author will look more closely at the hands-on learning experiences that resulted when academic library faculty and staff were introduced to the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology by means of a mobile makerspace.     

Technology Help 2.0: Solutions for the Information Commons

ABSTRACT

Access services librarians at Southeastern Louisiana University's Sims Memorial Library observed patrons' technology help needs and created an interactive training manual that empowers library faculty and staff to provide public service technology help in the Information Commons. The new training manual takes technology help in the academic library to the next level, “Technology Help 2.0,” because it allows librarians to learn about technology by directly observing the needs of patrons, develop new skills at their own pace, and adapt to the constantly evolving technology demands of the Information Commons.     

Redefining Diversity: Creating an Inclusive Academic Library through Diversity Initiatives

ABSTRACT

This article contends that it is essential for academic librarians to identify and remain mindful of the unique needs of an increasingly diverse student demographic to ensure that academic libraries are a welcoming place for all students. It is through diversity initiatives that we can expect to improve the educational outcome for students by presenting the library as a vital part of their college experience. The article defines diversity in the most “elastic” sense of the word—including minority racial groups, but expanding the term to include international students, graduate students, returning students, distance learners, transfer students, “at-risk” students, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender students.