Special Collections in View: Marketing and Outreach as Reference Services

Abstract

This article discusses the marketing and promotion of special collections in academic law libraries as complementary to, and a part of, effective reference services based in those collections. The two activities can share similar goals and be mutually reinforcing: good marketing can lead to better reference service and an increase in patrons using special collections; and better, more engaged reference service can lead to long-term interest and support for special collections among a library’s stakeholders.     

The status of health librarianship and libraries in the Republic of Ireland (SHELLI): a mixed methods review to inform future strategy and sustainability

Background

This paper summarises the main points of a review of the Status of Health Librarianship & Libraries in Ireland (SHELLI). The review was commissioned to gain a broad understanding of what was happening in practice in Ireland; acquire knowledge about international best practice, and to inform strategic plans to develop and sustain health libraries and librarianship in Ireland.

Methods

A Mixed Methods approach was used: a literature review; an online survey distributed to health librarians; Semi structured interviews with key stakeholders; a focus group drawing participants from the survey. All evidence was triangulated.

Results

New roles for health librarians needed development and the changing educational needs of health librarians warranted attention. Increased collaboration across institutional boundaries needed more consideration, especially in relation to access to e‐resources. Marketing of library services was crucial. Irish health library standards, needed to be updated and enforced and a proper evidence base established. The literature provided a number of examples of potentially useful initiatives.

Conclusions

A strategic plan of action was drawn up in three areas: (i) to identify champions and promote visibility of health service libraries, (ii) to establish a body of evidence and (iii) to support service development and staff mentoring.     

0–60 MPH: Data-Phobic to Data-Driven

As educators, we need to stop fearing data and embrace its power. This article discusses how classroom teachers can design, implement, and analyze longitudinal assessments to diagnose issues related to student achievement and meet the demands of our evolving data-driven educational culture. Practical advice on exam production and data analysis provide a footprint which allows teachers to begin the process locally and immediately.     

Research into demand for counselling/therapeutic provision in a group of primary schools

A questionnaire survey was conducted among a group of primary schools in south‐east England to try to establish what level of demand there would be for a counselling/educational therapy service, and whether headteachers would be prepared to allocate the required funding. The research shows that there is a significant number of children who could benefit from such a service and that there is some willingness to make funds available for this although, not surprisingly, there was a good deal of reservation about how much money could be allocated.     

The Use of Individual Growth and Developmental Indicators for Progress Monitoring and Intervention Decision Making in Early Education

Progress monitoring tools have been shown to be essential elements in current approaches to intervention problem-solving models. Such tools have been valuable not only in marking individual children's level of performance relative to peers but also in measuring change in skill level in a way that can be attributed to intervention and development. As such, progress monitoring measures have been central to Response to Intervention (RtI) approaches. In early childhood, progress monitoring measures have only recently been applied to the process of intervention decision-making. The purpose of this article is to describe Individual Growth and Developmental Indicators, contrast them with existing approaches to assessment in early childhood, and illustrate how they can be used within a larger problem-solving model to guide intervention decisions for infants and toddlers.     

Education in a culture of violence: a critical pedagogy of place in wartime

What is the role of education in wartime? To what extent should environmental and science educators directly address violent conflict and a culture of prolonged war? This article gestures with empathy toward all educators who are working in wartime. It posits that a critical pedagogy of place provides a theoretical framework that contextualizes all environmental work and all education in the context of cultural politics. I argue that a fundamental component of a critical, place-based inquiry must be acknowledging the contested history of colonization with respect to land (environment) and homeland (culture). I cannot think of a place on the planet where this history is as complex and contested than it is in Israel and Palestine. However, colonization and its legacy is a shared reality around the world, and acknowledging the context of colonization should not be limited to inquiry in places where the bombs are still smoldering and where the rubble has yet to be cleared. Acknowledging colonization may be especially appropriate in the US, where the historical record of militarized colonization remains hidden behind the myths of global “progress” for the world’s remaining “superpower.”     

RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR AS EFFECTIVE TEACHING: A NEW LOOK AT STUDENT RATING OF PROFESSORS

Items in student rating instruments unavoidably contain biases in favour of particular concepts of excellence which make them invalid for measuring the teaching effectiveness of a wide variety of college instructors. The use of scores from such instruments to penalise or reward faculty in salary, tenure and promotion decisions may adversely affect dedicated instruction. Given this problem, an alternative is proposed in which students report whether instructors acted responsibly rather than excellently. Proposed is a two-;part instrument which uses students to monitor acceptable employee behaviours in teaching settings to satisfy management needs, while at the same time providing qualitative feedback to the instructor for the purpose of self‐improvement.