A Discovery Case Study: EDS at Cowles Library, Drake University

Teri Koch; Marc Davis

Drake University

Cowles Library was an early adopter of EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS).  Our primary goal was to provide a single-search box interface for all our collections.

This implementation profoundly impacted the learning environment ranging from resource delivery to pedagogy.  Our experience provides both a model and a cautionary tale for those interested in Discovery products.

This presentation covers both theoretical and practical considerations when implementing Discovery products.  We discuss the philosophical and pedagogical goals we hoped to achieve, implementation, and include a frank assessment of the ability of the EDS product to meet our objectives.

Supplement: Slides

A Map, a Vehicle, a Destination: Using an Embedded Librarian to Implement the Information Literacy Campus Plan

Pam Rees; Megan Tedell; Dr. Avilah Getzler

Grand View University

Structuring a systematic information literacy program can be difficult. Grand View developed a campus plan using a tiered outcome approach (foundational, intermediate, and advanced) which incorporates information literacy into key courses. We intend to use the embedded librarian model for implementing the plan.  With a professor from Grand View, we will discuss the campus plan, the rationale behind the use of the embedded librarian model, the benefits of embedding information literacy into strategic courses throughout the major, the challenges we have encountered, current assessment of the program, and the future direction of embedded librarianship at our institution.

Cultivating Future Librarians: Growing Students into Colleagues through Mentorship

Cara B. Stone
Indiana University School of Library and Information Science (in collaboration with University of Dubuque)

What began as email correspondence from an MLS student seeking mentors turned into an internship at University of Dubuque's Myers Library. Learn more about planning, communication & shared goals key to the successful match, learning & teaching experiences that helped develop the student’s professional voice, and how the library & intern worked together to create a mutually-valuable experience.  Participants will engage in discussion of their institutions’ mentoring practices, share ideas that can be applied broadly to develop interns, student workers, paraprofessionals, and new librarians. Practical recommendations supporting meaningful mentoring and valuable partnerships within any library instruction program will be discussed.

 Supplement: Slides

Building an Active Learning Community through Student Collaboration

Rebecca Stuhr, Catherine Rod, Chris Jones

Grinnell College

Research supports the important role libraries have in supporting student success on college campuses. Programs emphasizing experiential learning help students to make personal connections and to create a feeling of community: two elements crucial to the success of all students, but especially women and students of color.  In this presentation we will describe how, in an effort to better serve our increasingly diverse student body, we collaborate with students from within the library and across campus to provide active learning opportunities in the library’s increasingly vigorous environment. We will open the conversation to give all present the opportunity to share their ideas, experiences.

Shrinking service points to better serve users (and save money)

Amy Paulus

University of Iowa Libraries

In 2009, the University of Iowa Libraries began to implement significant changes to services as a direct result of budget reductions.  This session will describe the process of combining 2 major and 2 minor service points in the Main library and how services have changed, one year later.  While our users have adapted to this one service point, this change has had its own challenges and accomplishments so come to this session to learn pointers on how to merge successfully or share your own success stories!

Skillful Scaffolding: Integrating Information Literacy Outcomes into Literature Courses

Dan Chibnall, Dr. Amy Getty

Grand View University

Information literacy can be taught a variety of ways, but one of the most effective methods is to blend the concepts with content within regular classes. Normally we teach students information literacy and research methods in single sessions, which students often find overwhelming. We realized students needed to reiterate these concepts using hands-on assignments in their everyday coursework. As a result, our librarians developed a tiered approach to teaching information literacy concepts within the classroom. In this presentation, an Academic Librarian and English Faculty member will discuss projects developed from this collaboration, specifically those pairings within American and Children’s Literature.

 Supplement: Slides

 Documents: Email dchibnall@grandview.edu to ask for a copy of lesson plans & ideas.

Have I Got a Deal for You: Free Tech Tools to Make the Essentials Easier

Becky Canovan

University of Dubuque

Have I got a deal for you?? Want to create short and dirty tutorials in less time than it takes to type out the directions for the same process? Tackle your scheduling and surveying needs with ease? Make slicing and dicing reference stats a breeze? In this economy, libraries are often asked to do more with less. This presentation will address, demonstrate and provide virtual handouts about four free technologies libraries can use to solve problems, accomplish tasks, and sometimes just make life in the library easier. Jing, Doodle, PollEverywhere, and Google Docs will be discussed.

Supplement: Slides (works in Firefox and Google Chrome, but not in Internet Explorer)

On Being Essential: Making Connections and Facilitating Access, Collection Development as Public Service

Kevin Engel; Rebecca Stuhr; R. Cecilia Knight

Grinnell College

Grinnell College Libraries approaches collection development as a collaborative public service involving all areas of the library and all librarians while at the same time building ties with faculty, and meeting the needs of students in a timely responsive manner. Our presentation will focus on the variety of ways that collection building and acquisitions occur at Grinnell, the obstacles we have removed, and some of the specific practices we have implemented to make the library work for our community. We will also invite our audience to share their innovations and successes.

Supplement: Slides

Rethinking Instruction:  Designing Online Information Literacy Courses

Ericka Raber

University of Iowa

This session will discuss how curriculum from a face-to-face research skills course has been modified for the online environment.  Many of the decisions involved with course planning have been influenced by the author’s participation in the ACRL Designing Online Specialized Information Literacy Courses web course.  Changes to the course are based on a better understanding of the challenges students encounter in an online learning environment, the challenges faced by the instructor, as well as the importance of planning for assessment.  Participants will learn:  strategies to modify information literacy curriculum materials for an online environment, and techniques for the development and incorporation of online instructional materials.

Seeking Wisdom in Community: Shaping a First-Year Research Experience

Andi Beckendorf, Germano G. Streese

Luther College

“Seeking wisdom in community” is the philosophy of Paideia, the first-year common course at Luther College, which encompasses both student learning and the shared responsibility between instructors and librarians for creating successful learning opportunities. Hear how our role has evolved over the last decade from partnership to collaboration, with our new LibGuides environment serving as the primary point of engagement for the research unit. Two recent Project Information Literacy reports provide a backdrop for “best practices” and the benefits we have seen for our first-year students, and we will share examples of tools, strategies and activities we have developed.

In Any Language - Libraries Translate to Learning

Jonathan Helmke

University of Dubuque

How does a library provide essential online teaching and learning resources that are non-bibliographic, such as Films.com, Music Online, and Rosetta Stone? What role does the Technical Services Department play in connecting these resources to faculty and students to meet their classroom needs?

The Assistant Director for Technical Services and the Serials & Digital Management Assistant will discuss how the Rosetta Stone project was planned, staffed, marketed, and implemented during the 2010 fall semester to meet a curricular and co-curricular need and to help the library deliberately reposition itself more clearly as a teaching and learning center.

Supplement: Slides (in Google Docs)

Advice, Empathy and Education:  Student to Student Mentoring in Reference Service

Julia Bauder, Beth Bohstedt and Phillip Jones

Grinnell College

At Grinnell College Libraries we believe that reference is an essential service that can be provided by well-trained students as well as by librarians. As a result, we have reimagined our reference service to incorporate student mentors. During this presentation, attendees will learn about both components of our peer mentoring program: the advanced research help provided by reference assistants (RAs) at the reference desk and the basic information service provided by all of the students working at any of the four public service desks in the Libraries.  We will provide sample training materials attendees can adapt for their own institutions.