Are You Ready for Your Close-Up? Creating a Library Promotional Video

Learn how to create a promotional library video for your library using the multimedia software Camtasia. Challenges and lessons learned are explored by detailing one reference librarian’s efforts at creating a Ask A Librarian video.     

Who Am I and Where Do I “Stand?”

Objective: Students can reflect upon and articulate how they have been shaped by their “standpoints” in life. This assignment allows students to truly see themselves reaching out (understanding others) and reaching in (examining selves) to reflect upon their standpoint in society. Secondary goals are to dispel stereotypes of various standpoints and create more openness in class discussions.

Potential courses: Gender Communication, Communication Theory, Cultural Communication, and Introduction to Public Speaking     

“I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players

Stereotypes in game culture are still inhibiting the freedom of female players. This survey study aims to gain insight into these practices by looking at gaming stereotypes on two different, yet interrelated, levels. First, we inquire into perceptions of gamers regarding gender-related and general gamer stereotypes and how these relate to playing frequency. Second, genre choice is investigated in light of player’s gender and how this is associated with play motivations. Results suggest that high frequency female players disagree the most with gender-related stereotypical beliefs and that these women are more strongly drawn towards specific gaming genres than men.     

The Future of the Library: What Is a Public Library For?

The author suggests that libraries have been transformed a third time. Originally, libraries were the only place that valuable, handwritten, rare books could be found. As mass production kicked in post-Gutenberg, the library became an efficient way for the community to access knowledge. Today, though, in a post-paper world, the library must adopt a new role, a place where the community finds ideas, inspiration and others on a similar journey. The librarian is no longer a guardian of valuable books, but a curator of curiosity, passion and interest.     

For a few dollars more: a future for scholarly books in Australia?

Australia's universities have seen significant growth in government research funding, with more to come, but this is not reflected in the output of research monograph publications; structural barriers stand between creation and dissemination of research. This is especially a problem for those working on Australian topics. The author has proposed a new model for funding scholarly publishing in Australia, which may well be applicable to other countries: just a small proportion of the funds committed by the Australian government to research inputs could ensure the publication of research outputs. This would deliver major gains in impact and productivity for government, universities, and individual academics alike.     

“I Am Who I Am”: Black Masculinity and the Interpretation of Individualism in the Film Barbershop

This essay will provide further insight into how Black audiences interpret a popular culture text by focusing upon how a group of young black men construct Black masculinity as depicted in the film Barbershop. Interestingly, a rhetorical community of young Black men discussed the representations of the characters in the film from a perspective of Black individualism rather than reaffirming identity through a collective orientation toward the culture. This reading contrasts with much of the “ghettocentric” film literature by highlighting how a Black audience's interpretation of a text can focus on individualism rather than on cultural representations and stereotypes.     

“I Got the Job! Now What Do I Do?”

Abstract

New reference librarians should not expect to be passive participants in their orientations. As evidenced in current literature, few libraries are able to provide the time and resources needed to fully orient and train their staff. Therefore, librarians should take an active role in planning and implementing their own training. This article provides tips for developing a self-training plan for new reference librarians.     

What is a “MIVER” and How Does the Library Prepare for It?

ABSTRACT

The Military Installation Voluntary Education Review (MIVER) assesses the quality of selected on-base higher education programs and assists in the improvement of such programs through recommendations to the institutions and the military services. This poster relates the experience of one librarian's participation in such a review of the master's degree program in adult education offered by Kansas State University at Ft. Leavenworth. Topics covered include: the librarian's role in preparing the self-study document; steps taken to gather information; collaboration with responsible administrators/faculty members; pre-visit telephone interview with a site inspector; attending the actual site visit; and recommendations from the site team. Shared highlights and benefits specific to this librarian's experience include: developing a better working relationship with the teaching faculty; implementing a new method of reaching the students; gaining new knowledge of library services needed by this particular group of distance students; exploring opportunities for further activities; and reviewing outcomes and commendations received from the MIVER team.     

The “Wicked Problem” of Neutral Description: Toward a Documentation Approach to Metadata Standards

Increasingly, metadata standards have been recognized as constructed rather than neutral. In this article, we argue for the importance of a documentation approach to metadata standards creation as a codification of this growing recognition. By making design decisions explicit, the documentation approach dispels presumptions of neutrality and, drawing on the “wicked problems” theoretical framework, acknowledges the constructed nature of standards as “clumsy solutions.”     

“Am I a good [white] mother?” Mad men,bad mothers,and post(racial)feminism

In this article we locate, interpret, and critique the figure of the “bad” white mother, focusing on the critically acclaimed AMC drama, Mad Men. Advancing feminist and postcolonial approaches to myth, we uncover a prevailing “white consciousness” that relies on racializing logics in, first of all, Mad Men’s representations of (white) motherhood through the character of Betty Draper, and second, public discussions of the show in academic and media outlets. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we propose that these discourses rely on and feed underlying assumptions that support post(racial)feminism—an ideological location that allows for the explicit embracement of “bad” mothering as a progressive, even transgressive act that, at the same time, implicitly relies on expectations for (good) mothering shaped by white privilege. This cross-pollination between postfeminism and whiteness, we argue, is especially important to engage, since it carries potentially limiting implications for our collective imagination about what anti-racist and feminist struggles should entail.     

What type of leader am I?: a training needs analysis of health library and information managers

Background: Leadership is a necessary facet of professional practice for health library and information managers (HLIMs). Several training needs analyses (TNA) in the health library and information services field have been conducted in recent years, all identifying a need for professional development in leadership skills. However, these previous TNAs have not focused on specific elements of leadership skills required by health library and information managers. Objectives: The National Library for Health (NLH) commissioned the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield to conduct a TNA where HLIMs assess their current leadership skills and identify any future development needs in this area. The results would inform a programme of influencing skills workshops. Methods: HLIMs in the UK were invited to complete a self‐assessment online questionnaire. The questionnaire utilised items from Manning and Robertson’s Influencing Skills Style Profile (ISSP). This allowed the results to be characterised by influencing ‘style’. Results: HLIMs considered themselves to have strengths in the leadership areas of influencing, negotiating, managing change and delivering presentations to decision‐makers. They identified significant development needs in communicating with stakeholders, conflict resolution, using body language and being assertive. Most HLIMs demonstrated two collaborative styles identified by the ISSP, namely strategic collaborator and opportunistic collaborator. Conclusions: In difficult times, HLIMs may need to adapt to more of an ‘opportunistic‐battler’ influencing style. It is important that HLIMs not only assess their own leadership skills but also that they take opportunities to employ 360^° feedback, comprising assessment from subordinates, peers and supervisors.     

The “Internet of Things”: What It Is and What It Means for Libraries

The “Internet of Things” is a popular buzzword but a poorly understood concept. In short, it refers to everyday objects that can sense the environment around them and communicate that data to other objects and services via the Internet. This column will briefly explain what the Internet of Things is and how it might be useful for libraries. It will also discuss some of the problems with and objections to this technology. A list of currently available Internet of Things examples is also included.     

“Request for proposal” or “run for protection?” some thoughts on RFPS from a librarian and a bookseller

Increasingly, academic librarians are using the RFP (Request for Proposal) to assist them in selecting materials vendors. While this has been a common practice for integrated library system selection for some time, it is still a relatively new phenomenon in the acquisitions field. The authors, one a library administrator and the other a bookseller, review the pros and cons, pitfalls and benefits of using the RFP method for purchasing library materials.     

What makes a “happy” workplace for librarians? Exploring the organizational functions of academic libraries in South Korea

Academic libraries are facing the need to closely examine the effectiveness of current organizational functions in response to rapid changes in technology and the information environment. The purpose of this study is to explore the functions and issues of the academic library organization in South Korea based on the librarians' perceptions. We conducted a literature review about the changes in the role of academic libraries and organizational functions. In-depth interviews with 19 librarians and a content analysis of those interviews were conducted. As a result, we identified organizational characteristics pertaining to 1) internal functions of the library, such as communication, leadership, motivation, and team system, and 2) external functions, such as collaboration with external administrative departments, and utilization of personal networks. We also discovered mutual relationships among the functions. In particular, leader's support is important to continuously motivate librarians and increase the effectiveness of the team system, resulting in a positive effect on the reputation of the academic library. This study contributes to the academic library literature by comprehensively and empirically exploring functions affecting the services of academic libraries.     

Creating a pocket universe: “Shippers,” fan fiction,and the X‐Files online

Ethnographic investigation of the online community of X‐Files fans known as “Shippers”; reveals a resistive posture manifested in their websites, discussions, and fan fiction. The mostly female Shippers hypothesize an unfolding romantic relationship between the series’ protagonists and thereby oppose male‐oriented conventions and commercial imperatives. In touting the equal partnership of Agents Mulder and Scully, and in wanting to see that equality as the basis for a romance, Shippers conflate the public and private and challenge artificial gender dichotomies. However, the study finds that their activities do not fully compensate for marginalization of their sensibilities in the given text.     

“I Feel Present. Therefore,I Experience Flow:” A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Flow and Presence in Video Games

Driven by theories of flow and presence, three studies examined the antecedents and consequences of flow across three different video game genres. Structural equation modeling analyses reveal the roles of (1) physical presence in medical simulation games; (2) spatial presence in driving games; and (3) self-presence in avatar-based narrative-driven games. A 3 (skill: low, medium, high) × 3 (challenge: low, medium, high) between-subjects ANOVA indicates that a balance between skill and challenge induces greater flow. Theoretical contributions regarding the relevance of flow to electronic games and practical implications for the design of diverse game genres are discussed.     

“Is this for real?”: Web literacy for the web-savvy

Objective: Students will enhance their information literacy skills (ability to determine the validity, currency, and appropriateness) relative to web resources.

Courses: Professional Writing, Academic Writing, Introduction to Communication