Integrating Storytime and the Digital World

Paganelli, A. (2016). Storytimes IN A DIGITAL WORLD. Knowledge Quest, 44(3), 8-17.

This teacher librarian finds over time finds that her students are less and less engaged in her read-aloud storybook time.  She investigates different digital options to strengthen her storybook time.

Several charts present side-by-side comparison guides for read-aloud and digital story time.  Suggestions of options to provide digital versions are given, alongside paid and free websites/apps.  Clearly, this librarian is well-versed with various digital options.  I find myself a little overwhelmed with the options she offers.  But by providing various options, I can find the ones that would work with my population.

G Thormann

Spring 2016

Collaborative Connection and Collection Development

Loertscher, D. & Koechlin, C. (2016). Collection Development and Collaborative Connection Development: Or, Curation. Teacher Librarian, 43(4), 52-53.

This article by our professor and his colleague resembles our course goals at this time in Spring of 2016.  Collaborative connection development using Open Educational Resources (OER) is presented as the next best practice for collection development. 

The premise of “It’s my job as a teacher librarian to develop the collection” is changed to “It’s OUR job as teacher librarians, classroom teachers, and students to curate the best education resources for the topic at hand.”  Using free resources such as Google Apps, teacher librarians, classroom teachers and students can use and add resources, and completed projects to a topic being studied.  Thus, a Virtual Learning Commons (VLC) is created with collaborative connection input from everyone.

Different levels of participation are presented for implementation:  Within a school, district, region or state, national, and on every level.  This level of participation can compete directly with Google and Wikipedia.  And, regardless of funding restrictions, as all resources are free, everyone can participate to build and use these resources.

G Thormann
Spring 2016

Internet of Things (IoT) and Security

Massis, B. (2016).  The internet of things and its impact on the library. New Library World, 117(3/4), 289-292.

As more and more devices are interconnected into the IoT – Internet of Things – the more at risk we are, as to our privacy and security rights.  However, the library that collects data quickly from interconnected devices can benefit to improve its environment. 

IoT is defined to be comprised of an interconnected system of ‘things’ that also includes people.  These relationships are people-people, people-things and things-things.  As the number of devices and connections increase, so do the vulnerabilities and the possibility that personal data may be taken without consent.  The stunning number presented in 2013 that by 2020 more than 26 billion connected devices will be in use, is supplemented by the forecast that 25 billion devices may be connected to the internet by now – early 2016. 

The article asks what can libraries do in this environment?  Librarians can answer with clear, calm, transparent answers about the networks patrons use in the library.  And, libraries should be posting and updating notices in real-world and digital forms so all are aware of the changes.  Librarians are encouraged to be active participants in this eventual reality, and to search for ‘security,’ as patrons ask questions.

G Thormann
Spring 2016

Do School Libraries Need to Have Books?

TVOParents Your Voice (May 23, 2010). Do school libraries need to have books?. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ULqg9qsbg7o?t=8m41s

A panel interview with Toronto librarians discusses whether books are still necessary in the age of digitization.  Are school libraries full of books an old fashioned notion?  These librarians say definitely no!  Variety of materials and library spaces that encourage imagination, ideas, creativity and most of all a love of reading is purported as the foundation of a strong school library.  Start watching at 8:39 to see the interviewees delve deeper into this topic.  While this video was hosted in 2010, nearly six years later I see the same pressures affecting school librarians and school library programs.  It is important to weigh the pros and cons of each type of format, whether print or digital, ideally having both to build an information/idea rich environment.  The other important aspect is taking stock in what patrons need and want when considering digital vs. print materials.

J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

Dewey Lite: Flippant or Forward Thinking?

Gattullo Marracolla, E. & Parrot, K. Dewey-lite: a solution to the nonfiction problem (PDF document). Retrieved from Institution Handouts: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/NI14Handouts/Dewey-Lite_Handout1.pdf

From a collection development standpoint, is reorganizing the school library using a system other than Dewey Decimal a good plan?  The 2014 ASLA Institute presentation, Dewey-lite: A Solution to the Nonfiction Problem, explains some of the potential benefits of this method, such as a significant rise in nonfiction circulation, better visibility of a wider variety of titles, and ultimately a patron-focused collection.  This presentation may be an oversimplification of these benefits, although this has become a trend across US children's libraries, as well as in Canada and others.  So what would one of these library collections look like?

First, nonfiction sections are broken up into, what is considered more intuitive categories such as these mentioned in the presentation from Darien Library,

• Create: which includes music, arts, gardening, dance, and cooking
• Then & Now: which includes geography, history, and current events
• Animals: which includes all living things prehistoric and currently living

Or these from the Metis system as mentioned in a School Library Journal 2012 article,

• Languages
• Humor
• Community
• Countries
• Machines
• Ourselves

When the reorganizing first takes place, sorting, organizing and weeding will likely take place too.  These new categories may bring unidentified collection needs to light and/or may help to address some needs that had been previously identified.  

Here is a look at this process in action, and the reaction afterward of two elementary school librarians in Ontario, Canada.  

J. Hasselberger

Spring 2016

Feel the Need to Weed!

  

Reaching Across Illinois Library System. (July 24, 2015). Feel the need to weed! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoyVSmb2aZo

In this RAILS(Reaching Across Illinois Library System) video, Rebecca Vnuk, librarian and author of The Weeding Handbook(2015) and Head of Youth Services, Veronica De Fazio, offer some great basics on how to weed a collection whether in a public library setting or academic setting.  While this video is designed for someone who has never embarked on this endeavor before, it is thorough and the Question & Answer portion starting at 51:21 offers useful specifics for a variety of situations.  Get your basics covered with this hour long watch.


A little bit of food for thought:

J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

Crowd-Sourcing Weeding: Making it fun, makes it effective

Empire State Library Network. (April 4, 2016). Patron-driven weeding as engagement and collection management. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbUVT0igDl0

After a comprehensive analysis of the library collection and circulation habits, university librarians, Kristin Hart and Rebecca Hyams, realized their collection was in dire need of an overhaul.  With their work cut out for them, they attempt some unorthodox methods for a major (80% of collection) weeding involving students and faculty.

Reasons to weed:

• Not serving needs of students or faculty
• Students/Patrons inclined to pick the shortest book, were not necessarily picking the best for scholarship/relevance
• Students/Patrons when desperate were using the "take anything" method, rather than the most suitable and reliable resource

Ways to Make a Fun Weed with Patrons:

• Design a Scavenger hunt for the funniest/strangest/oldest/weirdest book, divide students into groups and offer prizes (most of what was collected was on the "No Circ" report and ultimately weeded out
• Incorporate Weeding activities in regularly scheduled Library Workshops - Students didn't need much guidance and managed to pick things within the standard weeding criteria

Ways to Involve Faculty

• Share collection metrics, even if it's negative data
• Pitch participation as relying on their expertise to pick the right items to keep/get rid of
• Send out survey- open up lines of communication
• Plan weeding days 

Results

• About 5,000 books evaluated, about 41% discarded
• 10 faculty very involved in process
• Involved students spend more time in library, make face-to-face suggestions for purchases
• Will hopefully lead to a more thoughtful library policy 

J. Hasselberger

Spring 2016

Collection Promoting and Merchandising

This area of study is a favorite of mine, as I did a research paper on marketing/merchandising public libraries early in my MLIS studies.   The author agrees that public libraries ought to take a lesson from successful bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble.  These stores are arranged, illuminated, and scented (seriously) to sell books to visitors, not to make work easier for their employees.  Isn’t that what libraries should strive for – high circulation and patron satisfaction?   This chapter covers user behavior as well as types of merchandising and promotion, such as displays, fronting, shelving, and end caps.  This is a highly valuable chapter for the modern librarian.  However, I would have liked to have seen more information on advertising the collection in other ways (online, community promotion, etc.)

Disher, W. (2014). Crash course in collection development (Second ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 107-114.

Jhana Morlan

INFO 266 / Spring 2016

Collection directions: Some reflections on the future of library collections and collecting.

Summary:  Written for academic and research libraries, this article delves into changing access patterns.  The authors note how access and collections are being “decoupled” away from purchasing and local storage and towards a more general facilitated access.   They say that this trend “moves the library towards a set of services around creation, curation, and consumption of resources that are less anchored in a locally managed collection, and more driven by engagement with research and learning behaviors.” (p. 10)    The authors go on to say that “The network [presumably the World Wide Web or the internet, and not a university LAN] is reconfiguring how libraries organize their systems and collections, and how faculty and students organize their research and learning workflows.” (p. 13)   They have included a wonderful collections grid (see above) (p. 16): 

 Evaluation:  This article was well-written and au courant.   As we move away from localized, standalone storage in any arena, shared access and collaboration becomes more natural and expected.  Demand-driven licensing models and “rightscaling” investments in print appear to be the future.

Dempsey, L., Malpas, C., & Lavoie, B. (2014, July). Collection directions: Some reflections on the future of library collections and collecting. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 14(3), 1-42. doi:10.1353/pla.2014.0013

Jhana Morlan
INFO 266 / Spring 2016

Poets as Librarians: Marrying the worlds of writing and librarianship

Smith, Sean

SS

http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2014/librarian-as-poet-poet-as-librarian/

This article discusses the relationships between poets as librarians and building a sustainable poetry collection. The author discusses the duality of the writing and library communities and how she balances both.

As a writer and librarian, I found this article to be helpful and insightful. Like the author of this article, I typically keep my writing life separate from my work life, which happens to be in a public library. The thought of bringing in poets to read to the library has crossed my mind but to be honest, I don’t believe that the patrons of our library would be very receptive to this. Our patrons are more interested in local history, and culture in our city isn’t really a priority among citizens.

An interesting quote at the conclusion of the article: “It is my hope that the networks between poet librarians will grow, helping us to collaborate while supporting each other through the (equally stressful?) process of writing and librarianship.”

Tags: poets, poetry, librarians, writers, writing

Sean Smith, Spring 2016, INFO 266

Weighing in on 21st Century Library Collection Development

OCLCVideo. (December 5, 2011). Library collections in the 21st century. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bofpsEciiQ

VP for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University, Mr. James Neal describes what he thinks are the four most important aspects of 21st century library collection development.  See his short interview here.  My favorite and I think something that we have touched on quite a bit in this class is what he calls, radical collaboration; a notion of "rather than standing side by side, standing with one another".  It is not enough for libraries to survive by supporting one another independently, but forming groups and coalitions that share and support is fundamentally more sustainable.  What would this look like for school libraries, I wonder?  LAUSD libraries for example share database subscriptions and a digital library of both paid and free materials is supported at the district level, but what if other districts in the southern California area were to pool resources this way?  Or better yet, what if school librarians were to collaborate on digital curation of OERs?  Our profession is only strengthened by collaborations, and similarly is the service we provide to our patrons, in my case students.  The California History Project for Fourth Graders (curated by INFO 250 and 266 Information Science graduate students) is a good example of a project which calls for librarians and other educators to pool resources to benefit the whole.  Click the link here to see this example.

How else can radical collaborations enhance collection development?


J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

Advocating and Integrating: LGBTQ lit in school libraries up to par?

Hughes-Hassell, S., Overberg, E., & Harris, S. (2013). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ)-Themed Literature for Teens: Are School Libraries Providing Adequate Collections?. School Library Research, 161-18.

In their study of 125 high schools throughout the southeastern United States, Hassel, Overberg and Harris came to a few important, and perhaps surprising conclusions regarding materials for and by LGBTQ community members.

#1     While it is probably no surprise that the high schools studied were generally undercollecting LGBTQ-themed materials, many libraries failed to properly tag or catalog their LGBTQ themed titles so they were nearly impossible to find through the catalog.

#2      LGBTQ Biographies were found to be especially lacking in high school collections.  While identifying with fictional characters can be self-affirming, reading about individuals who have braved and survived a homophobic world can be incredibly empowering to queer students.  Let's step it up!

#3      School libraries are called to uphold curriculum and support state standards.  As it stands, nearly all states have adopted comprehensive reproductive health curriculum that includes LGBTQ health-related issues, yet most of the high schools in the study had none or very few materials related to LGBTQ health issues.  For this reason alone school libraries have a responsibility to provide health and sexuality information.  Reproductive health, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are topics that fall within any high school health course.  We can do better and we are obliged to.

J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

International School Libraries Count!: Collection Development from Across the World

Aiani, C. W. (2015). International school librarians count: current issues with intellectual freedom and access to information. Knowledge Quest, 44(1), E5-E9.

1948 marked the turning point when United Nations declared intellectual freedom a basic human right.  While school libraries all over the world and in the United States alike uphold and defend the right of access to information, there is a distinct difference in the fight.  Candace Aiani, library coordinator and upper school librarian in Taipei describes her experiences in Taiwan and the experiences of her colleagues.  She says the main difference is that each library is pretty much left to fend for itself and while that may seem lonely, Aiani argues it can sometimes be a good thing.  She shows that librarians are charged with making all of the decisions for their community and for the most part they are trusted to do so with little complaint.  On the other hand, there are few laws and professional organizations to uphold a strict standard, which can act as support and guidance when areas are gray.  Aiani calls for more international collaboration and coalition building between school librarians world-wide.


J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

Engaging Community in the Weeding Process

(May 15, 2015). Campus-wide review. S15-10, University Policy, Revisions to SJSU Library Policy (7.2.2.2). Retrieved from http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S15-10.pdf

When I popped on to the SJSU King Library website this morning, I noticed an interesting post that pertains directly to our class.  Last year, SJSU Library Policy was updated to reflect a new communication method that encourages campus-wide involvement in collection management procedures.  Most recently, the Accounting and Finance department has devised a list of items set to be discarded which the Liaison Librarian has put out to the campus community for review.  Instructions are to review the Google document of titles and freely make comments where appropriate using a separate form.  This is a good example of a library policy which values the input of patrons in developing a collection of the highest quality and relevance.

Find the posting using this link.


J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

Forbidden Genres: You be the judge

      

Intner, S. s. (2016). Forbidden Genres. Technicalities, 36(1), 14-16.

It is common for librarians today to save their precious library budgets for other materials rather than invest in the cheap thrills of romance novels, series mysteries and even sometimes comic books even if they are popular among patrons.  Is there a hard and fast rule about what is considered "trash literature", scorned by staff as inappropriate for school library settings?  Furthermore, can a case be made for these sorts of books in the hands of teens to promote pleasure reading and for that matter, reading at all outside of academics?  This article looks at the history of science fiction, a genre in the 1940s and 1950s written off as "trash literature" but is now considered one of the fastest growing genres within YA literature.  This article is a fun read, but also provokes a deeper look at what we consider less valuable literature of today - it is not the genre itself, but the quality of the writing that warrants examination and what should be the guidelines for student "pleasure reading"? You be the judge.



J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016

X-Files?

The Real X-Files: Archiving the Unexplained

This was an article from an issue ALA Magazine. I was really inspired to write about this article after I saw an article that, I believe it was Evan, posted. He posted an article about cataloging toys and games and circulating them. This is a little different, but I saw a connection between the two...

This article came out just around the time that the newest season of the X-Files started. Of course, at that point in time I was watching all the old episodes in preparation for the new release. A library in Sweden collects items that are bizarre and out of the ordinary. Most of the items have something to do with extraterrestrials or the unexplained. The tiny library, founded in 1973, began as a single bookshelf. Over the years, thanks to donations and collecting, the library houses 30,000 volumes. It is currently the “largest repository devoted to controversial topics” (ALA, 2016). It is now used by people from countries all over the world.

Now, there is an obvious difference between cataloging toys and cataloging alien UFOs, but the point is that libraries are shifting gears towards popular interests. I also thought it was interesting that one library could have an emphasis collection as the entirety of their collection. As a public library, I am used to seeing materials that are reliable and provide the most general overview of a small, specific emphasis collection. Not long before I read this article, we had discussed general and specific emphasis collections. As a public librarian, I would view this small collection as a VERY specific emphasis collection. I would be interested to learn how those who work in special libraries feel about this collection. Do you think you would consider it a specific emphasis collection, even though it is housed in its own location? Or do you think that if a collection is moved to its own building or room, it becomes the core collection and then each smaller topic becomes a specific emphasis collection? I also highly recommend the article as a fun read.

Connection, Not Collection

Connection, Not Collection By Sydney Eng (Article from American Libraries Magazine)

This was a fascinating article that, in a way, appeared to stray away from what our class has been discussing. But on second thought, it's right on the money. The beginning of the article discussed everything we have said in class so far; libraries exist for the user, library expectations have changed, libraries have to prove themselves worthy, they have to "facilitate the relationship between patrons and resources."

This article was mainly about a new product called the iBeacon. This item is a tool that connects via Bluetooth on a mobile device. When someone entered the library, they would connect to the iBeacon and the beacon would send signals to the patron's smartphone. The signal would send a standard message about where they were in the library and what services they were in proximity to. At the particular library where this product was installed, students were not aware of what the library had to offer. By connecting to patrons using technology, the faculty developed more of a bond than if they were to wait for a student to drop by with a question.

The article concluded with this quote: “Successful libraries look for opportunities to add value for their users by responding to how the patrons find and use information. The beacon system represents a new way for the library to provide and market its resources and services in a way that is consistent with the communications methods being employed by today’s device-enabled users.” What the author of the article is saying is what we have been saying in class all along. Librarians must stay at the edge o new technology and they must know how to use it before the patron comes in with questions. They must learn by observation and come up with solutions to the ever-evolving technology ages. By recognizing the needs of their patrons, they developed a product that speaks in a "language" that this current generation understands.

Resources we should know about as students and librarians!

URL: http://discover.sjlibrary.org:50080/ebsco-w-b/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=82b01511-97b3-4fcf-85c8-f605acb3ce65%40sessionmgr103&vid=1&hid=116

Citation: Digital Collections. 2016. Library Technology Reports, 52(2), 10-16.

This is a great article! Not only does it explain some of the history regarding open-access, it also describes where librarians, particularly those in academic libraries, find the resources to build a LibGuide.

The article gets started discussing the different elements of a LibGuide and what learning need that resources would fulfill.

The part that is really helpful, besides the demonstration of connection and linking, is the many lists of free resources. The author of the article categorizes or groups different types of open-access resources often utilized by librarians in order to guide their students. The article breaks the resources down between audio, visual, ebook, images, etc.

This is one article I had picked out towards the very beginning of the semester as a "must-read," and I just recently realized it would have been a great resource throughout the semester. If you are looking for supplemental material for a presentation or paper, I would highly recommend bookmarking this page.

Seattle’s school libraries: a stark example of rich and poor

Salazar, Araceli

Cornwell, P. (2016, May 7). Seattle’s School Libraries: A Stark Example of Rich and Poor. Retrieved from http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/librarians-urging-equality-in-school-libraries/

This article sheds light on school library inequality in budget and what they do to raise money for schools. The article talks about budgets within the Seattle school districts and how some libraries are given more money while others are not depending on the school district. In consequence many schools are not able to provide services and materials to their students. Advocates are encouraging equalizing budget through all school libraries.

This article was a good read because it shows how collection development can be difficult within school systems when budget is an issue. However, the article does not give a solution to the problem but shows that librarians need to be proactive in becoming advocates for change. When librarians educate the community of such problem then change can happen with their help.