Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Hidden Cost of Sharing

Situ, P., & Voyles, J. F. (2008). Collecting forever or just-in-time: An alternative to enhance customers’ access to Chinese language materials through resource sharing. Resource Sharing & Information Networks, 19, 39-50.


This university has a physical storage issue that impacts its Chinese language collection especially. Off-site storage was not an option, and the types of materials in this collection are less likely to be available in digital format. The library decided to try a just-in-time approach (versus an anticipatory approach, or "just-in-case" as they put it). They decided to use ILL to meet the patrons’ needs instead of buying books.  

The program worked well enough, but what I found potentially perturbing was an idea discussed in the literature review.  The paper's authors cite Ferguson & Kohoe (1993) as showing ILLing articles being cheaper than owning them.  This would be problematic as a widespread policy for multiple reasons: if no one buys the periodicals, no one can borrow them, and the fewer people who invest, especially in academic publications which don’t enjoy wide circulation to begin with, the harder it is for periodicals to survive.  The journals can’t meet their overhead costs, so they are forced to raise their prices, which hurts everyone.  Another cited work (Ameen 2005) said patrons didn’t “care how the library obtained materials for them,” the encouragement of which attitude could lead to unrealistic expectations and a sense of entitlement in the patrons, and which wouldn't take into account the cost or consequence to creators or manufacturers. 

The section is a bit choppy—the authors included the ideas without connecting them critically—so it’s not clear if they agree with these ideas, or whether the original articles offer solutions or no (or in what context the original authors discussed these topics), but to me it demonstrates how important it is to raise awareness among our patrons about what goes into our trying to make as much information available to them as possible despite the limitations of space and budget, and the repercussions--ethical and otherwise--of some of the choices that we make to do it.

References 

Ameen, K. (2005). Developments in the philosophy of collection management: A historical review. Collection Building, 24(4), 112–116.

Ferguson, A. W., & Kehoe, K. (1993). Access vs. ownership: What is most cost effective in the sciences. Journal of Library Administration 19(2), 89–99.

Building a Collection from the Ground Up

Leininger, Isis
INFO 266
4/28/2016

Flater, E. (2016). Building a collection from the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at developing a collection for a new master’s degree. Strategic Library. Retrieved from http://www.libraryspot.net/SL/Collections.pdf

Flater, E. (2015, November). From the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at new collection building [PDF poster]. Retrieved from http://schd.ws/hosted_files/2015charlestonconference/1e/poster2dark.pdf

In the midst of all my subscriptions to listservs and newsletters, I found something that is related to this class and that could actually help us with our projects both in school and in our careers. The article was linked through the newsletter and I was able to find the author's online poster so you can look through both the article and the poster. I highly recommend that you read them if you plan on becoming an academic librarian when you graduate.

The article and poster are accounts of how an academic librarian developed a collection to support a new graduate program. The author talks about the funding she had access to, the deadlines she had to meet, and tools she used for collection development. She also talks about the challenges they met through the process, where they are, and where they want to be in the future.
She talks about how they divided their budget to buy new, older, and eBooks. She discusses that her library had to reevaluate expenditures and invest more money on eBook databases for Architecture. E-book collections subscriptions, as she came to realize, became a great way of improving the collection quickly and effectively.
The author also discusses using LOC classification for finding materials in other disciplines that related to the field. She also followed the guidance of other libraries, professional organizations, bibliographies, book reviews, and other resources. In addition, she points out the importance of improving the communication with campus faculty in order to better meet the needs of the campus.

This article and corresponding poster can certainly serve as good guides for us as we develop collections in academic libraries. It is a good overview of what kind of resources we should look into, and what kinds of challenges we might face in collection development. It also serves as a good example of how academic librarians can do collection development under a limited budget. In fact, I have saved the article and poster so that I can use it as a quick guide if I ever have to do this kind of collection development in my career.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Library Collections and Objecthood

Tiffany Harkleroad
INFO 266
4/27/16

Roll, A. (2016, September 26). Library collections and objecthood. [video file].  Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jk0nynPHOM8

This was an excellent video presentation by Ann Roll, discussing how books can become "objects" and this objecthood often inhibits weeding in a library collection.  Emotional responses to books can cause an emotional response from a library engaging in weeding.

The video proposes that physically interacting with books as objects is what creates such an emotional attachment to books.  Books become more like props in our everyday emotional situations, and the emotions experiences are then transferred to the books.

I found this to be a very interesting presentation, examining the emotional relationships people have with books.  I know that weeding can be a hot button issue to book lovers, and patrons often get upset about the act of weeding.  This presentation does a great job of explaining why these reactions happen, and how we can better approach weeding in a way that can reduce such emotional responses to weeding.  We all know how important weeding can be to keep a library thriving and useful, so this is a great guide to making the process a little less painful.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Greener Collection Development

Megan Hamby
INFO 266
4/26/16

Connel, V. (2010). Greening the library: Collection development decisions. Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table, 1(1), 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/nmrt/sites/ala.org.nmrt/files/content/oversightgroups/comm/schres/endnotesvol1is1/3greeningthelibrary.pdf

Connel’s paper discusses how libraries recycle and reuse resources as well as how they can further educate patrons as well as themselves about the various ways to reduce the amount of waste in their institution. These are two of the levels she presents as ways libraries create a greener collection as well as working with schools and adding resources to create a more sustainable collection. Connel also mentions how libraries work towards creating greener collection development policies including recycling e-waste and computer equipment, repairing old computers and consolidation.


One of the interesting things I found about this article was that Connel provided a large amount of data addressing the carbon footprints of the U.S book and publishing industries. What is great is that she addresses the fact that libraries are often adaptable and flexible. She also mentions the importance of being mindful to the “energy-saving and resource-recycling policies and behaviors (p. 10) which is something libraries already take into account.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Outstanding Books for the College Bound and School Libraries

Amy Jessica McMillan
INFO 266
April 24, 2016

Dando, P. (2011). Outstanding books in school libraries. Carstensen, A. (Ed.). In Outstanding books for the college bound: Titles and programs for a new generation (pp. 21 - 28). Chicago, IL, USA: ALA Editions. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

While many public and school librarians are acquainted with the Young Adult Library Association's online list Outstanding Books for the College Bound, they may not know there is a book by the same title. The book version expands on what is available online by describing how librarians can use the Outstanding Books list in different library settings, including public, academic and school libraries. In the chapter "Outstanding Books for School Libraries," Dando gives an overview for why school librarians should use this list when considering what to stock on their shelves. According to Dando, the Outstanding Book list helps librarians find the perfect match between "classics, YA literature, and resources to support the curriculum" (p. 21). She also gives advice for how to incorporate the list into a school library program through summer reading, curriculum connections, and teacher or classroom collaborations. There are sections about marketing the Outstanding Books list, which books are best for book talks, and which to use with book clubs.

From what I read, the Outstanding Book list is perfect for high school readers who want to challenge themselves and widen their interests. For those who work with junior high students, there are still many titles appropriate for early adolescent readers. The ones that jump out to me from the English list are The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime by Mark Haddon and The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. I recommend that junior high school librarians do a little more research on the titles before providing a revised Outstanding Book list to their patrons. Still, Outstanding Books could help all educators interested in vertical articulation between grade levels because it provides clues as to what students will be expected to read in high school and beyond. In fact, I liked this list so much I added the following titles to my own Goodreads "want to read" list: Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as a Stage; an anthology of literature titled Rotten English, edited by Dora Ahmand; and Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis. If Outstanding Books made me want to stretch myself as a reader, I imagine it will inspire younger readers in the same way.

As an English teacher (and aspiring school librarian), I generally like to have students read whatever they want, provided they read widely and consistently. However, I agree with Dando when she says, "...teachers have an obligation to ensure that the reading relates to their curriculum and is substantial enough to merit study and analysis" (p. 221). The lists and annotations provide by Outstanding Books for the College Bound does just that. I not only recommend this book, but I think it a must-have for all librarians who work with young adults.

A library of design: Electronic collections inspire modern research spaces

Pierucci, Jessica

Hampton, N. (2015). A library of design: Electronic collections inspire modern research spaces. Codex: The Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL, 3(2), 68-79. Retrieved from http://journal.acrlla.org/index.php/codex

Summary

This article discusses the transition to focusing on curating an electronic collection at the Xavier University of Louisiana Library Resource Center. The library lost part of its collection when 18 inches of water flooded the first floor during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The library did not have money available for easy replacement of lost materials at the time so the library relied on gifted items and interlibrary loan instead. In 2013, noticing the print materials left were not well used, the library undertook a collection evaluation and determined the best and most cost efficient way forward was through collecting electronic versions of many materials, including many journals, and getting rid of print versions to open up library space for a new information commons area where shelving could be removed after weeding. Feedback showed the project transitioning to more electronic resources and using the freed up library space for an information commons was overall a success.

Evaluation

The article is a great example of what I see as a likely future of academic libraries where parts of the print collection that duplicate the online collection move to just online, freeing up the library's physical space for study space. The article specifically discusses the transition of the library's journals, which I think are a prime candidate for removal from the print collection when the material is accessible, and more easily searchable and findable, online. Where I work we've weeded to only keep the last five years of print journals where we have online access and in the future I would be unsurprised if there's a decision to cancel all of these print subscriptions where we have online access to avoid duplication and free up shelf space for other uses. I really liked seeing how well this transition worked at one school and the benefits of having a nice new collaborative space for students to use in the library. I'm curious to see more examples of this transition and how it plays out in different types of library spaces in the coming years.

Providing Perpetual Access


Tutko, Lonny

Glasser, Sarah. April 8, 2015. Providing Perpetual Access https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvRnp_cgGzU Duration 54:06.
Very interesting video on ALCTSCE Youtube channel about libraries’ struggle to acquire and maintain perpetual access to publications from subscription database providers.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Patron-driven acquisition and the educational mission of the academic library

Lin, Connie


Walters, W. H. (2012). Patron-driven acquisition and the educational mission of the academic library. Library resources & technical services, 56(3), 199-213. Retrieved from: https://journals.ala.org/lrts/article/view/5528/6796

Summary: Patron-driven acquisition (PDA) is one type of acquisition system based on allowing patrons to select and purchase books for library collections without staff oversight. The goals of PDA programs are to provide immediate access to materials patrons might need and create a book selection responsive to patrons’ requests. However, Walter argues that PDA programs do not improve the quality of academic library collections due to the several factors like students’ inability to balance their own immediate desires with their long-term educational needs and lack of equal collection representation. By creating such PDA programs, Walters argues that while it is efficient in information delivery, it creates unbalanced or biased collections that fail to represent the full range of library stakeholders and may not support mission statement or goals of the library or institution.

Evaluation: Walters presents a persuasive argument against using patron-driven acquisition in academic libraries with examples from actual academic libraries. He categorize the libraries in the various types of patron-driven acquisition programs and provides helpful questions to keep in mind if a library decides to head down that road.  I thought this was a strong article about problems that arise from patron-driven selection process. Walter presents clear reasons and examples pull from real life situations. The author also admits that there has been no empirical study or comparative approaches that directly deals with the question of patron-driven selection’s impact on the collection, but provides advice for someone if they wanted to go ahead and do a study. Walters also does not write off patron selection all together – instead he just cautions giving patrons a no-holds bar access without librarian oversight. However, this is a specific article focused on academic libraries only. There is no mention of PDA programs in public libraries and I would be curious about their impact on selection.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The Brooklyn Public Library, a national winner

Acosta, Greta


Institute of Museum and Library Services. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.imls.gov/news-events/news-releases/ten-winners-nations-highest-museum-and-library-honor-announced


I read some great news today. My very own library, not my place of employment but my research topic and the library to which I belong in the service area, is one of ten honored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Join me in congratulating The Brooklyn Public Library!

I'm not at all surprised. This library has it all: a performance space, collections of ephemera and art, a recording studio, and so much more. The library is also very involved with the community from convict release programs to summer camp for kids.

Cumbersome Foreign Language Acqusition Processes and the Librarians who Overcome Them

Ward, J. H. (2009). Acquisitions globalized: The foreign language acquisitions experience in a research library. Library Resources & Technical Services,  53(2), 86-93.

This article looks at foreign language materials acquisitions, how they are influenced in the U.S. by “political changes, . . . the effect of the global marketplace’s growing need for personnel well trained in foreign languages and cultures[,] and the subsequently expanding boundaries of research” (p. 86), and how the focus in the library needs to be on the people who turn acquisitions into resources. 

The article includes a very interesting overview of the differences between the selection and acquisition process in the U.S. with North American vendors and the process when books are ordered from other countries.  The process is complicated by the publication norms in the vendor’s country, the extra fees incurred, and sometimes by irregular shipping standards.  Then there’s language proficiency.  In larger libraries, the selecting librarian, who might have the language skills, isn’t the librarian who will unpack the shipment, or catalog the books, or process them for circulation.   

Ward describes how Tech Services departments might solve these issues using both vendor-library cooperation and Tech Services staff members communicating with each other throughout the process.  Vendor records, while not necessarily in common U.S. formats, offer the librarians reference points for order records and the catalogers something to work with when building more accurate records; collaborative projects that included vendor records--OCLC, the Biliotheque national de France, and others--are described to illustrate the point. For the intradepartmental cooperation, Ward offers a case study of Rutgers University Libraries and the various issues that arose for those working to select, order, and process Western European, Asian, and Eastern European language materials.  The various vendors' dynamics, and the language skills that were needed at different points in the process, meant that “the workflow to acquire foreign language titles is typically characterized by less automation, longer processing times, and more frequent human intervention” (p. 93).  Focusing on the human factor and encouraging collaboration across the process is the simple but effective solution that can help get much needed foreign language materials into the hands of the patrons. 

H. A.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Collect or Curate?

Mitchell, Ruth

Mardis, Marcia A. (2015). Collect or curate? Open education resources and the future of the school library catalog. School Library Monthly, 31(4), 29-31.


With more and more Open Education Resources (OER) available, there is a need for teacher librarians to curate information for students and teachers.  In addition, school librarians can curate the information to provide access to up-to-date and accurate information.  According the American Association of School Librarians, “the digital content has probably become just as important as the print materials; the increasing reliance on OERs will only increase the need for the development of a strategy for onsite curation of existing and locally created material”. Mardis and her associates created Web2MARC software that creates a MARC record from the URL’s webpage that can be downloaded to the school’s library catalog. In addition, it matches the resource to CCSS and NGSS. According to the article, "the school library catalog can be a vehicle for promoting interdisciplinary connections".

Using Web2MARC sounds like an easy way to add "connections" and standards to the school library catalog for all users.

Friday, April 15, 2016

The Effectiveness of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Jonathan P. Bell
INFO 266
April 15, 2016


Smeda, N., Dakich, E. & Sharda, N. (2014). The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classroom: A comprehensive study. Smart Learning Environment, 1(6). http://link.springer.com/
article/10.1186%2Fs40561-014-0006-3


The article evaluates digital storytelling as an education tool. Storytelling has been a method of knowledge transference since humans developed language, and the advent of digital storytelling takes this communication method to the logical next step. Using now readily available and cutting-edge new media, students learn to be tech-savvy while telling stories digitally and more vividly than we ever did in oral cultures. The authors set out to determine the degree of effectiveness of digital storytelling by “explor[ing] the impact of digital storytelling on student engagement and learning outcomes.”

The authors approach digital storytelling through a theoretical framework of constructivism. In the constructivist framework, students learn best through collaborative and constructive instruction, through which they construct their own perspectives on the world. The learner should take an active role in student-led instruction. Student-centered digital storytelling provides an ideal platform for facilitating constructivist learning environments.

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of digital storytelling on student engagement and educational outcomes. Research was conducted in several grade levels at one school in Australia. The research employed the case study method. Using pre-observation forms and in situ field notes, the authors collected qualitative observational data on classroom interactions with digital storytelling. A quantitative component enabled data collection on timed use of technologies in the classroom. An evaluation rubric was developed to grade students’ digital stories on categories including Plot, Pacing, Technology Competence, Emotional Content. The authors interviewed teachers about their perceptions of digital storytelling in classrooms.

The authors confirmed that digital storytelling enhanced student engagement and improved educational outcomes. Digital storytelling was found to produce these five core findings:


  • Enhanced engagement -- Digital storytelling got students engaged in technology and new media. The authors found that student engagement fluctuated between moderate and high when they used technology tools to tell stories. Whether they were the story creators or the audience, students’ interest and participation was observably better.
  • Improved collaboration -- Students collaborated effectively when working on digital storytelling projects. They engaged with technology extensively, and worked together to complete the digital stories. Greater shared problem-solving and peer assistance was observed as compared to traditional classroom assignments.
  • Transformed learning -- Digital storytelling supported constructivist learning by placing the responsibility of design and delivery into students’ hands. The teacher shifted to a facilitator role while students took up the mantle of educator in student-led classrooms.
  • Improve digital literacy -- Digital storytelling resulted in increased capability with new media tools and techniques, thereby improving digital literacy. Because technology capacity varied among participants, some students became tutors who taught classmates with lesser developed skills how to use technologies. This was especially beneficial to immigrant students.
  • Personalized learning experience -- Digital storytelling supported the benefit of personalized learning. Because learning styles vary among students, a one-size-fits-all approach is not an effective teaching method. Personalized learning through digital storytelling accommodated different learning styles and built confidence in students.


Evaluation
It was reassuring to learn that digital storytelling produced a more engaging learning environment. The one-directional, top-down approach that I know from my U.S. public school K-12 education has many flaws that I now see, in hindsight, in adulthood. Chief among these flaws is the assumption that the teacher always knows more than the students, and that the student simply does not teach. While such a perspective may be true for elementary school environments (where I’d argue exceptions still exist), this perspective becomes increasingly untrue as grade levels approach adulthood. By the time students are in early adolescent years around high school, many of them have lived experiences that can be instructive. Some have faced hardships and loss, some have triumphed, many have travelled and so forth. While students may not be polished lecturers at the head of the class, they can nonetheless be effective educators through digital storytelling. Students and teachers can learn from their lived experiences rendered through new media technologies.

The authors point out that the results of the study are exploratory because they tested their theories in one school in the Australian educational system. It’s wise for them to acknowledge that limitation and to suggest further research. Still, I think the study’s core findings are broadly applicable and affirm that digital storytelling improves student engagement and learning outcomes beyond the Australian environment.

But I hasten to point out that the benefits of digital storytelling hinge on students having access to the tools and skills to tell digital stories. The authors note that digital storytelling helped build digital literacy among students, especially immigrants. This is great news. Of course it’s difficult to build digital literacies when digital divide keeps new media technology out of students’ hands. That digital divide persists globally, in developed and developing countries. We need to find ways to get these new media technologies into educational environments in marginalized communities, whose stories need to be told.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Approaches to Selection, Access, and Collection Development in the Web World: A Case Study with Fugitive Literature


Schmidt, K., Shelburne, W. A., & Vess, D. S. (2008). Approaches to selection, access, and collection development in the web world: a case study with fugitive literature. Library Resources & Technical Services, 52(3), 184-191.

In this highly fascinating article, the authors discuss the challenges of collection development from the Internet.  They address the application of existing skills and knowledge to collect materials from the Web, and in particular focused on the topic of hate literature.  Such fugitive literature, the authors state, “contains important manifestations of present day social and political history, art, and literature, and primary cultural output” (p. 184).  This topic had relevance to special collections already at the university where the authors work, and thus could be used to enhance these collections.  The central questions they wanted to answer were: how to locate this material; and how it might enrich an existing collection (either print or electronic).  The authors targeted Internet hate literature on websites that came from Illinois or surrounding Midwestern states (Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana).  An overwhelming number of sites were found, but eight websites/groups were eventually chosen for the study.  Some included the usual suspects such as Ku Klux Klan websites, or other white supremacist websites/groups, but some of the others were somewhat surprising, such as the Nation of Islam, Jewish Defense League, and the New Black Panthers.  The authors found that building a sustained collection of primary source materials from the web was very labor-intensive.  Various tools, programs, and webcrawlers were used, such as the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, and Archive-It.  A number of lessons learned from their project were provided to those interested in this work, and the authors write that “a powerful symmetry exists between the process of developing print collections and that of developing digital collections from the Internet” (p. 189).  And that this work is very accessible to subject bibliographers and specialists in research libraries.  Lastly, the authors argue that it’s the duty of librarians to collect and preserve such digital material, as they our part of our cultural heritage, which librarians have done with other types of material.  Print items in current collections may have appeared to be fringe back when they were collected, but are considered to have rich research value today.  This article was very interesting because it explores the issues of collecting from the Web (and thus very relevant to librarians today), but equally interesting was the fact that they chose hate literature as the focus.  I highly recommend this article.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Development of a Regional Musical Collection

Wanser, J. (2014). Collecting and Collaborating to Build Community: The Evolution of a Local Music Collection at a Small Liberal Arts College Library. Technical Services Quarterly, 31(4), 332-357.

Summary

This article tracks the recent development (from 2005 to 2013) of a regional music collection.  A small college in a small rural area develops and implements plans to create a collection of Northeast Ohio music to provide education and recreation, and to create more ties to the local community.

In 2005, the Hiram College library had a sizeable music collection alongside a music department.  Listed are the goals created by these librarians to build this specialized regional collection. Then, the construction of the program is described.  The decision was made to focus on collecting recordings rather than other ephemera.  An acquisition plan had to be established:  $2,500 a year was allocated which bought 150 titles a year, exchanging t-shirts for recordings brought recordings in, by searching through shops, flea markets, garage sales more recordings were found.  Continuing the project at the library, the librarians have had a task to find and connect with knowledgeable people.  And aside from funding, cataloging has been the other greatest challenge.

During the almost ten years of this projects, alongside other means, the librarians used social media, as it continued to change during this time, to find music and promote the collection.   Analyses of circulation and development is included, as well as tracking numbers of different kinds of musicians, and how their positions and numbers affect costs of works and development.  Doing this work, Hiram has constructed a unique collection that larger institutions around them do not have.  In conclusion after evaluating the original goals the author states further publicity is needed to increase public visibility.

Comments

This project is a great example of collection and connections development.  Even though the author writes of modest success as he evaluates his goals, I view this collection development project as admirable and inspirational.