Reference,Mental Models and Teaching Technology

Summary

It would be easy to say that technology is complicating things for reference, but things are more complicated than that. Technology should be a system for solving problems, but for many people, both librarians and users, it is the problem. But in some ways it hides an even older problem-understanding things from the user's point-of-view. Contemporary cognitive and educational theories note that we are not paying enough attention to the user/learner, that we do not understand the mental models of those who use libraries, library systems and reference. As more technology is used and complicates systems for users, we should focus more on what users bring to the reference/learning interaction.     

The Role of an Indigenous Nations Library Program and the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge

ABSTRACT

The Indigenous Nations Library Program (INLP) at the University of New Mexico is entering its twelfth year of program history and developing a unique venture into Indigenous librarianship. Rather than taking a passive role of information literacy and content support, INLP is participating as an active cognitive participant in Indigenous knowledge contextualization. INLP has done this in various ways including designating culturally sensitive learning spaces, collection development, and Indigenous knowledge promotion.     

Providing Library Instruction to Distance Learning Students in the 21st Century

ABSTRACT

This study examines the variety of instructional practices employed in distance learning librarianship from the end of the 20th Century through the early beginnings of the 21st Century. The authors provide a thorough review of the literature on distance learning library instruction, and the study highlights the instructional services provided at two academic institutions with distinctly different clienteles and missions-one a large American university and the other a large Caribbean university.     

Chinese academic librarianship in transition

Abstract

This study examines reasons for the shortage of qualified academic librarians in China and recommends ways to position Chinese academic libraries to move into the modern era.

Interviews were conducted with 20 academic librarians in China and 20 in the United States, in one library in each country, to collect data for a comparative study. This paper compares Chinese and US academic librarianship in terms of reasons for entering this profession, academic education in library and information science, and requirements for knowledge and information skills.

Chinese librarianship faces great challenges in the recruitment and education of librarians and with the library system itself. It is time for the government, university officials, libraries and society as a whole to learn to promote librarianship and build a powerful librarian workforce, to meet the needs of China's social and economic development.     

LIS Training for Support Staff: An Initial Review of Associate's and Certificate Programs In The U.S.

ABSTRACT

The author presents the results of a review and analysis of thirty-five colleges and universities in the United States that currently offer an Associate's degree and/or vocational certificate(s) in Library and Information Science. These programs, which are geared primarily to existing library support staff who seek additional training, have been created independently of each other and without a national standard to guide the curriculum. Although the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association's Library Support Staff Certification offers guidelines for the educational content of Associate's level LIS programs, a comparison reveals significant gaps. Furthermore, the ALA-APA program currently approves courses at only three institutions in the nation, and certifies graduates from only fourteen. The author identifies areas of misalignment between the Library Support Staff Certification and existing LIS programs and suggests directions for future improvement.

Column Editor’s Note Community college libraries are deeply underrepresented in the professional literature and organizations of academic librarianship. As a result, the challenges and successes that take place in the community college world are largely invisible to others. This JLA column lifts the curtain to reveal the uniqueness of community college libraries as described by their most passionate advocates: the librarians who work there. Articles in this column pay tribute to the commitment and creativity of community college librarians by providing a platform where they can share their professional perspectives and stories. Want to write for this column? Interested authors are invited to submit articles to the editor at kimreed@cwidaho.cc.     

Interlibrary Loan: Its Role in Enhancing Education and Training for Library School Students

ABSTRACT

This article proposes that an all-round practical training and educational enhancement is possible for library school students working in the ILL department. ILL and document delivery as described puts student trainees in contact with all the facets of librarianship by exposing them to the practical operations of the different departments as well as by exposure to the practical details of interlibrary lending. Therefore ILL serves its primary function in resource sharing, but can double as a training ground for future librarians.     

Reflections and distortions: Canadian folklore as portrayed in children’s literature

Abstract

In Great Britain and the United States common developmental issues have resulted in the evolution of two very different models of school library provision. In the United States, school libraries are integrated media centers, separate from public library influence, staffed by specialists with dual training in teaching and librarianship, and dedicated to an educational mission. British school libraries are contested terrain with two patterns of staffing, support by Public Library Services, and incomplete formulation of mission and rationale. This article discusses five factors which have facilitated or retarded school library development in the two countries (standards, staffing and certification, government support, rationale, professionalization) and generalizes about development factors and the successful promotion of school libraries.     

Teaching PubMed in Cyberspace: The Development of a Self-Learning Package

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the development of a series of online modules for learning the PubMed version of MEDLINE. Funded by a National Library of Medicine grant and targeted initially to physician assistants practicing in New Hampshire, the project is approved for CE credit nationally by the American Association of Physician Assistants. The development of the project is described, the tutorial modules are reviewed, and issues encountered with technology and human factors are discussed and evaluated.     

Technological Tools for Library User Education

Abstract

In today's world, library users are confronted with almost too many options for using information because of the ubiquitousness of technology. Yet, libraries can harness the power of the same technologies to help users find the information they need at the time it is needed. The tools described in this article represent a starting point for librarians looking for technologies that are easy to use, inexpensive, and have a reasonable learning curve. Technologies addressed include classroom technologies such as audience response systems and Web-based technologies, including Web tutorials and screencasting. These technologies enhance and offer flexibility and variety in many educational settings.     

Multimedia Bootcamp

Abstract

As students entering college, graduate, and professional schools have increased needs and preferences for multimedia in instruction, faculty need to learn appropriate techniques for integrating technology into their educational duties. Instructional designers at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia developed and implemented aMultimedia Bootcamp to help faculty and their support staff develop the skills necessary to integrate technology into teaching.     

National Information and Communication Technology Policy and Digital Era School Librarianship in Botswana

School librarianship has advanced in the digital era to encompass interactivity, connectivity, and access to a wide variety of information in different formats, through the capabilities of information and communication technologies. School libraries exist to support learning in schools and the importance of the digital age in student's learning cannot be overstated. Today's students are born in the age of technology; therefore a school library that does not encompass the use of electronic media will not meet the needs of the digital generation. The purpose of this article is to find out the status of technology diffusion and use in Botswana school libraries and to advance reasons for the lack of information and communication technology uptake in school libraries. A document analysis of literature was done to determine the factors that hinder the growth of school librarianship in Botswana during the digital era, using the stakeholder theory as a lens for the investigation. Findings reveal a weakness in the social, political, and economic areas of leadership in national information policies which seem to be a remnant from the beginning of the digital age in Botswana and indeed in most African countries. Some of the recommendations point to using the stakeholder theory to tackle the hurdles in school librarianship leadership and policy in the information age.     

You can't Get There from Here,or How Do I Become a Slavic Studies Librarian?

ABSTRACT

New librarians looking to enter the field of Slavic librarianship soon discover there is no clear template for how to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in this field. This article attempts first to define those skills and knowledge, and then to map out the opportunities for acquiring them in North American institutions. Toward this goal, it summarizes and analyzes the results from a survey of the educational and experiential background and current responsibilities of 128 working Slavic librarians. It then details the North American academic institutions offering specialized training or degree programs for Slavic librarians and those institutions where the component parts are all available to be assembled by the proactive student.     

循证图书馆事业初探

循证图书馆事业是一个全新的理念,直接影响图书馆学的研究与图书馆事业的决策。本文探讨分析了循证图书馆事业的定义及对图书馆学研究和图书馆事业发展的现实意义和未来影响,并概述了循证图书馆事业证据级别。     

Keeping Your Eye on the Prize

ABSTRACT

Digital library services have become integral components of 21st century educational institutions. Librarians have been quick to adopt new technologies to serve their new remotely located patrons. This eagerness to adopt new technology, along with a willingness to adapt to new working environments and a continuing emphasis on the end users of our services have enabled success with regards to serving the distance education patron. This paper will review and discuss the evolution of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) Extended Campus Library Services (ECLS), and how a conscious effort to focus on the end users of Embry-Riddle's ECLS has helped Embry-Rid-dle manage and respond to the explosive growth of its distance learning population over the last 30 years.     

The Long,Strange Trip of Barbara Gordon

Summary

Historically, the medium of comic books and the profession of librarianship have both suffered image problems. The former is deemed unrespectable; the latter lacks the same level of prestige afforded many other professions. Does having this in common result in comic books offering images of librarians and librarianship more informed (and, therefore, more positive) than are generally to be found in other media? Or do they employ the same cliches about librarians that are the bane of so many in the profession? To examine these questions, some of the more prominent depictions of librarians in mainstream American comic books and graphic novels were reviewed. with mixed results. Recent depictions of librarians do seem to be more informed and more sympathetic than in the past, but even today, comic book writers still employ some of the more negative stereotypes about librarians as a way to provide their relationship with some quick and easy laughs.     

Librarians and OER: Cultivating a Community of Practice To Be More Effective Advocates

ABSTRACT

As the costs of scholarly and educational publications skyrocket, open educational resources (OER) are becoming an important way to provide content and enhance the teaching and learning experience. Librarians have a key role to play in developing, advocating, and managing OER. For many librarians, however, championing OERs means adding an additional responsibility to their already heavy workloads, which may be overwhelming. This article describes how a grassroots group of academic librarians in British Columbia, Canada joined together as a community of practice to learn and to share ideas, strategies, and tools to support the use of OER. The BCOER Librarians focus on the education and professional development of librarians to help facilitate the use and development of OERs and to create authoritative and sustainable resources to support librarians in OER-related interactions with faculty.     

Expanding the Learning Community

Summary

While educational partnerships between academic libraries and public schools have taken many forms throughout the later half of the century, a less common approach to building learning communities is coordinated outreach visits by academic librarians to secondary schools to provide active-learning, hands-on workshops that include remote access to the wide range of information technologies and electronic resources available in academic libraries today. This article reviews the concept and practice of learning communities, establishes a connection between learning communities and information literacy, and offers an outreach model that promotes information literacy and expands the academic learning community to college-bound high school students.     

Print Disabilities: Devices and Services Available in Two-Year University System of Georgia Libraries

ABSTRACT

Many patrons of libraries have one or more print disabilities that partially or totally impair their ability to use standard print. However, many devices and services are available to aid patrons who can not use print in the conventional manner. This paper provides an overview of typical assistive technology devices and services available to students with print disabilities. Barriers to access and solutions to these barriers are also discussed. In addition, original research results are presented from a survey of two-year college libraries of the University System of Georgia.     

Teaching Information Literacy Courses in The Context of Library and Information Science Education in Bulgaria: Challenges and Innovative Approaches

ABSTRACT

The article examines the application of innovative approaches in the information literacy training of library and information science students in Bulgaria. The change of the educational paradigm in the field is presented based on recent developments in one of the oldest Bulgarian institutions that prepares librarians and information specialists—the State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies. The active learning strategies suitable for information literacy skills development courses are studied by the use of three methods: “learning by doing,” “interaction in the learning group,” “learning by trial and error” within the practical training of students. The prospects for transforming information literacy instruction through the elaboration of digital educational games and a game-based learning model in the frame of the international project tiLIT are also outlined.