Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Podcast: The Future of Digital First Sale

Star Trek - Enterprise D TransporterIn January, Christopher Kenneally moderated a discussion between Richard Mandel, Jonathan Band, and James Grimmelmann on the future of digital first sale with the court case Capitol Records v. ReDigi providing context for the conversation.  The result is a 38-minute podcast episode of Beyond the Book, which begins with an in-depth look at the ReDigi case and why it matters, then moves to thinking about "digital first sale" and "digital fair use" (especially in relation to libraries), and finally ends with Grimmelmann evoking analogies from Star Trek as a way of thinking about the future of this problem.  This is worth listening to because it may likely present the problem in a way you had not yet considered.  (And don't you want to know what Star Trek has to do with this??)

The episode is available on the Beyond the Book web site and through your favorite podcast listening platform.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

World Intellectual Property Day is coming on April 26, 2018

Powering Change: Women in innovation and creativity
Each year, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) celebrates World Intellectual Property Day. This year, World IP Day (#WorldIPday) is April 26.  As WIPO says:
This year’s World Intellectual Property Day campaign celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courage of the women who are driving change in our world and shaping our common future.
As you think ahead to April 26, consider the women in your community who are creators.  Could you hold a celebration of their work (creativity)?  Are some of them patent holders?  If yes, could you have an event where young girls and women can interact with them, and gain some inspiration?  Would you want to gather personal histories or photos, to place in local history or share through social media?  Yes...there are lots of options/opportunities, so grab one and run with it!

If you want promotional materials, there are some on the WIPO web site which you can use.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Feb. 28 - Mar. 27 2018: Jill is giving three copyright workshops

Large copyright sign made of jigsaw puzzle piecesI want to highlight that I am giving three copyright workshops over the next four weeks.  The first two are online, while the third is on-site in Florida  Yes, the content of the SWFLN workshop will be different than the two for ALA! Please follow the links for more information.
  • Feb. 28, 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction - Part 1" (webinar) for ALA Editions.
    Series Description:
    Library staffs are often seen as defenders of copyright.  Indeed, copyright touches many things a library and its community do. This two-part copyright webinar will help you understand what copyright is (and isn’t) so you can defend how your library and users/patrons/community use print and digital materials.
    Session Description: The fact that the Office of Copyright exists within the Library of Congress conveys its importance to libraries and the information industry.  Yet we often ignore the details in the U.S. copyright law, because we perceive those details as being too complex.  One area where we show of lack of knowledge is with the public domain.  We are quick to say that something is in the public domain, but do we actually know how a work receives that designation? This session will place the basic rules of copyright law in ordinary terms, and put their usage into context. 
  • Mar. 7, 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction - Part 2" (webinar) for ALA Editions.
  • Series Description: Library staffs are often seen as defenders of copyright.  Indeed, copyright touches many things a library and its community do. This two-part copyright webinar will help you understand what copyright is (and isn’t) so you can defend how your library and users/patrons/community use print and digital materials. 
    Session Description: Building upon part 1, this session will tackle two important areas to our libraries: Fair Use and ebooks.  Fair Use is a critical part of the U.S. copyright law, yet do you know that there is an actual test to determine if the use is fair?  As for ebooks and other digital materials, it is important to know where they do (and do not) intersect with U.S. copyright law.  Given that digital works are generally licensed and not sold, what should we be advocating for on behalf of our libraries and community members?
  • Mar. 27, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Copyright 101: Staying Legal"  (on-site workshop) for for Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN).
    Description: We are often quick to make decisions about the use of someone’s content, based on what we believe copyright law states. Unfortunately, most of what we know about copyright is hearsay or guesses, yet everything we do in a library is guided by copyright law. This workshop will provide a firm foundation in the fundamental rules of U.S. copyright law. It will help you stay legal and out of trouble with copyright owners, by helping you understand, explain and use the law in your library community.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Fact sheet: The Right to Terminate: a Musicians’ Guide to Copyright Reversion


I'm not a musician and music copyright is not my forte, so I appreciate when I find a good music copyright resource written by someone else.  The Future of Music Coalition produced a fact sheet in 2012 entitled The Right to Terminate: a Musicians’ Guide to Copyright Reversion.  As the site says:
Unlike most countries, the United States copyright law provides musicians and songwriters an opportunity to regain ownership of works that they transferred to outside entities, such as record labels and music publishers. Congress established this “second bite at the apple” for authors of creative works after a period of 35 years. “Termination of transfer” is not automatic, however, and there are certain steps creators must take to regain the rights to their works. This guide aims to shed more light on the process for the benefit of musicians and songwriters who are eligible to reclaim ownership of their creations.
 This is a very details fact sheet.  If you are a musician, who wants to regain control of your copyrights, please read the fact sheet carefully, then consult an attorney.  An attorney, who is versed in music copyright, can help you ensure that you pursue the correct path at the correct time. 

Friday, February 16, 2018

Make it obvious

Another tragedy happened this week in a K-12 school and the media showed us video of panicked students fleeing from the school.  Thankfully, they knew how to get out of the school.

Each day is a good time to look around your facility and see if it is obvious to someone how to get out in an emergency or even if it is obvious to tell if there is an emergency. I still remember being in graduate school at the University of Maryland and walking into the student union when many people were leaving. Of course, the student union was a busy place, so that didn't seem unusual and I wasn't the only person walking in. Yes, there was a beeping sound, but it didn't sound like an alarm (or at least an alarm I was familiar with). Thankfully, it was only a bomb scare and my mistake was not harmful.   What I learned is that alarms do not all sound the same and that has informed how I react to beeps!

On every floor of the Westin in Westminster, CO is signage with the evacuation plan.  Notice that it contains information on what the fire alarm sounds like ("continuous, loud whooping sound").   That is good information, even if your not quite sure what "whooping" sounds like! 

Map of the 6th Floor at Westin Westminster

In the Denver International Airport (DIA), there are many, many signs pointing towards tornado shelters.  Some are text, while others are text and image.  Denver is a massive airport, so it is good that there are many shelters available and lots of very obvious signage. While you might not want signage this big, does your facility have signage which will help people leave in an emergency?  Is it noticeable?  Is it accurate?

Directional arrow to a tornado shelter

If you find your signage wanting, please take time now to improve it. And then test it with your staff and your community. Make sure that in an emergency, it is obvious what people need to do.

Friday, February 09, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Juried Papers (Friday)

Approach to Harmonization of Entry Requirements for Graduate Program in Information Science at European Higher Institutions EINFOSE Project
Tatjana Aparac-Jelisic

Description: Various aspects of harmonization at European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that offer programs in Library and Information Studies (LIS) have been studied since early 1990s. Since 2004-05 – when a project on Curriculum Development was funded through Erasmus program – up to 2016, there were no projects on education in Library and Information Science funded by European Union. The main goal of this paper is to present and discuss the results after the first year of the Erasmus plus project entitled European Information Science Education: Encouraging Mobility and Learning Outcomes Harmonization (EINFOSE).  

Project’s web site is at Http://einfose.ffos.hr

Hypothesis:  Common entry might requirements mitigate or eliminate the differences in enrollment procedures at different HEIs that offer programs in IS and might contribute to the higher enrollment of students with different educational background at the graduate level in IS.

The project seeks to investigate how these barriers could be eliminated or lowered.

One goal is to make it easier and more desirable for students to spend time “abroad” in programs in other European countries.

Summary:  This project brought together several schools to develop and test a summer school, which provides basic information on several I.S. topics. The idea is that students learn information and skills which will put them all on a common knowledge level.  Students attend the summer school once (approx. 1 week) on-site.  Feedback from the students was very good.  They made suggestions for additional topics as well as for expanding the length of the summer school.

My thoughts: In the U.S., every MLIS program has an introductory course.  Is there an opportunity to collaborate on a shared introductory course? With many programs now being online, could that shared introductory course be offered in different regions of the country?  It would provide a face to face opportunity, give students a shared experience, allow them to build relationships across institutions which could be helpful after graduation, and give those students the same foundational/core skills.  I could imagine the shared course being cross-listed at each institution.

Building Connections between LIS Graduate Students and Undergraduates: A Case Study in Curricular Engagement 
Eleanor (Nora) Mattern

Flight 93 National Memorial contains over 800 audio interviews.  Some have been transcribed and some have been digitized.  That place became the site of a project for the students:
  • Archival Access, Systems, and Tools - MLIS students - Created a finding aid for the oral historian collection and tested the oral history metadata synchronizer (OHMS).
  • First Experiences in Research - undergraduate students - Engaged in research projects using the oral histories.
Students from the two classes were connected indifferent ways:
  • Social event
  • Visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial to learn about oral history project
  • Day-long workshop on OHMS and collection of undergraduate feedback on tool and documentation.
It was useful for the MLIS students to work with the undergraduate students, because it taught them how the content will be used. It also taught them (practical experience) about working with volunteers.

Undergraduate students gained an insight into terminology (e.g., metadata).  It taught them, for example, how metadata affects them in everyday life. It also taught them about working with an archivist and the skills an archivist needs.

Benefits:
  • She noted that there is literature in STEM on undergraduate and graduate students working together, and the benefits on the undergraduate students.
  • STEM literature notes that graduate students gain experience in mentoring and leadership.  It provides experience in supervising others.
  • Students noted that having more meaningful, sustained and regular interaction between all of the students would have been a benefit.
Does this provide a pipeline to the LIS profession?
  • Finding a faculty collaborator is key for reaching undergraduate students
  • Offices of Undergraduate Research can serve as a conduit to undergraduate students and provide infrastructure 

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Digital Literacy in the Era of Fake News: Key Roles for LIS Educators

Heidi Julien (ALISE president), Michael Seadle (Executive director of the iSchool Consortium), Dietmar Worfram, (moderator) Clara Chu

Digital literacy in the era of fake news: How to respond - Seadle

What is fake news?  The intent to mislead the reader in ways that serve a social or political goal.  It cannot be verified.
How we understand truth is a western concept tied to the ability to create and reproduce scientific results. 
Fake news undermines the foundations of the scientific methods.
Trust comes from the ability to produce reliable tools.  However, governments have made claims that no one could believe and that sowed distrust in our institutions.  
Fake news allows people to find excuses for what we want to believe.
Fake news mean unreliable sources.  Reliability is a scale.  
Lies can give help.
One role information professionals can play is to uphold standards for quality and reliability.
Who will be soldiers against untruth?

News Know-How: How to get news you can trust for study, work, play and community - Clara Chu presented the paper by Barbara Jones, who (at the last minute) was unable to attend

This presentation is an outgrowth of the news literacy project. 
In 2017, Jones worked on a new faked news project in Illinois. 

Themes:
  • Participants define their news landscape.  
  • Participants encounter examples for fake news.
  • Participants find out why the library is the best place to get news.
  • Engage participants to consult the library and to gain fact-checking skills.
Truth decay: erosion of clear line between fact and fiction,  widespread lack of trust in the news.

News versus editorials/opinions 

What news do you receive close to home?  Where does it come from?  Is it correct?  How do you know?
Look at the local news.  What are the sources?
Look at the state and where you are getting that news.
Where do we get national news?
Where do we get international news?

Chu showed a legitimate article, where the accompanying photo was a mashup/fake.

There are handouts already that can be used in teaching how to discern fake news.

Jones is developing slides that could be used broadly to teach how to discern fake news.

Preparing Information Professionals to Teach Digital Literacy - Heidi Julien

Information professionals have skills and content knowledge.

Where do information professionals learn to teach?  Very few actually learn how to do teaching as part of their MS programs.  

Teaching is a skill set, science and art.  
Subject knowledge is insufficient,
Teaching is not well learned on the job.
Teaching is core to the work that most information professional do.

Teaching to teach requires a host of skills and many elements that go into good teaching. Additionally, they need to understand some specifics around fake news.
There are a range of cognitive challenges that must be overcome, including that impressions once formed will endure, confirmation bias, and resistance to change.  People may selectively avoid new information.  It can be easier to identify weaknesses in the arguments of others, but not in one’s self.

Pre-service preparation is critical for our emerging information professionals.

Discussion:
  • Is there an opportunity to collaborate with journalism faculty? There could be informal and formal collaborations.  An example that has occurred was an unconference. 
  • Noted that there are other people besides journalists with whom we could collaborate.
  • Journalists are reliant on libraries.  
  • Can we help end users understand how news stories are created?  That would be helpful for our students.
  • School librarians can have a role in helpful us tech how to teach.
  • Digital natives are skilled with technology, but not necessarily with understanding the content.
  • We are asking people to be skeptical, which requires more thought.
  • Can we (academics) encourage with the public and uphold our profession?
  • Is trust declining in libraries, which are civil institutions?  We know that trust is declining in civic institutions,  but there is limited data on libraries (outside of Pew data).
  • Fake news is entertaining and is part marketing.  Can we deliver information in a way that is more eye catching?
  • Will our associations and institutions support us in the public sphere if we confront fake news, teach about fake news, etc.?  Will our associations help us make positive social impact?  Will our academic institutions support us, rather than limit our engagement?  There is a social risk to this work.
  • Can we get resources out into our community?  For example, getting students and alumni to go to town halls, etc., to answer questions from participants with verifiable information. An example of this is Radical Reference, which began during the Republican convention under George W. Bush.
  • Can we engage with peoples’ rational minds?  Engagement requires respect and openness.
  • There is a difference between access to information and impact of information.
  • Can we (librarians) be one of the voices on TV as commentators, etc., talking  about sources, etc.?  Can we do that recognizing that the work would be fraught with emotional and social peril for the individual?
  • Can we work with search engine and online social networks to help them filter out fake news?
  • These issues exist outside of the U.S., although sometimes in different ways.
Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

Thursday, February 08, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Information Literacy and Continuing Education

Give me some slacks Public Librarians LINQ Together for Professional Development
Vanessa Irvin (presenter) and Wiebke Reile - University of Hawaii

LINQ is used on Hawaii
Inquiry-based professional development model for public librarianship
Incorporates online collaboration platforms for discourse 
They use Slack.com, which is free and easy.  Cloud-based which allows for a variety of different content to be incorporated.  It can be real-time or asynchronous.  Online collaboration platform. Conversations were in different topic channels.
A place to pose questions and have meaningful exchanges.
Librarians were about to share artifacts, including documents and photographs.

LINQ data in LIS 601
Sharing research data in the classroom
Hear what front line librarians are thinking, discussing, and sharing
Brings the wisdom of practitioners into the classroom
Disrupts the controlled environment of the classroom
Shows practitioners are experts
In using this data with their class last spring, LIS students wanted to ask a question in LINQ.  Faculty facilitated the interaction.

 Now some faculty are using Slack to teach their classes.  There are private channels on Slack.  She is using it for submitting assignments.

Faculty insights:
  • Coursework becomes more collaborative
  • Questions seem more welcomes as sites of inquiry and reflection
  • Student output more
Role of LIS Schools in Continuing Education
Valerie Karno, Lauren Mandel, Mary Moen (presenter) - University of Rhodes Island

Background / Problem
CE a necessity as libraries transform
Challenge - identify competencies
Challenge - delivery formats
What is the role of an LIS program?

They did a qualitative study with focus groups

Data collection
1) Competencies gallery walk 
2) Worksheet and consesogram about preferred delivery formats 

Data analysis led to finding common themes on competencies.  

Findings:

Image of findings related to competencies

Image of findings related to preferred delivery formats

Image of more findings related to preferred delivery formats

Role of LIS programs:
  • One shot workshops or series
  • Faculty expertise
  • Pull from existing content
  • Online courses
  • Post graduate certificate
Considerations:
  • Demand for interactive online learning - CE for faculty
  • Workshops - faculty service or compensation
  • Develop faculty expertise in identified topics or bring in others
  • How do make sustained CE worth their time and money?
  • How to competencies needed and format intersect?
Conclusions:
  • Interest in CE
  • Challenges application to all higher Ed
  • Need to explore options
  • As a public university, need to be accountable to the community
Learning by Doing: Using Field Experience to Promote Online Students’ Diversity Engagement and Professional Development
Denice Adkins (presenter), Jenny Bossaller (presenter), Beth Brendler, Sarah Buchanan (presenter), Heather Moulaison Sandy (presenter)  - University of Missouri

Challenges:
  • Lack of professional socialization for online students
  • Lack of student diversity awareness 
Solutions:
  • Experiential learning
  • Field experience
  • Diversity focus 
Kolb experiential learning theory - teaching and learning spiral 

Theory feeds practice and practice feeds theory

Diversity - theories
  • Contact theory - contact between different groups increases acceptance
  • Inclusive excellence 
  • Diversity levers - social justice, human dignity, equity in access to information, equity in information preservation. Where in the LIS curriculum does this occurs naturally?
“Practicum in information agencies” is the one required course where this can occur.

This can also occur as a class assignment.  Adkins and Buchanan walked through an example. Students worked with materials at the Black Archives of Mid-America during a fall course (2016) and then during spring break (2017).

Another way to put students in a diverse setting is through study abroad: South Africa, Ireland/UK, and St. Lucia.  Students wrote reflections everyday on the trips, which helped them learn from the experience.  Also did a service learning trip in Joplin, MO.

They also have a service learning class on community leadership.  

The digital libraries class worked with the Cambio Center on a project.

They noted that they still have challenges. The tools  that measure changes in beliefs about diversity are subjective and imprecise.

Final takeaways from the presenters:
  • These are things that we can do, e.g., teaching with Slack 
  • Bring people of color into online discussions
  • Have students lead in-Service training
  • Good to see people trying new things
Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Juried Papers (Thursday)

Teaching the ACRL Framework: Reflections from the field 
Melissa Gross, Don Latham, Heidi Julien

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was adopted January 2016.

They did a national survey of instructional librarians.  622 responses.  Respondents were generally positive about the Framework.  Most had yet to modify their Information literacy instruction in significant ways,

They then did a interview study with 15 instructional librarians.  Semi structured questions.  Conducted through Skype.  Looked for successes, challenges, and evaluation techniques. Asked about pedagogy techniques.

Pedagogical strategies:
  • Framework provides for structure
  • Provides guiding ideology
  • More conversational 
  • More hands on, peer to peer teaching
Most successful strategies:
  • Conversations or training with other librarians on site
  • Ditto with faculty
  • Using the frame to develop learning outcomes
  • Implementing the frames over time
Greatest challenges:
  • Time
  • Concepts are vague
  • Scalability
  • Librarian resistance to the Framework 
  • Requires lots of preparation
  • Buy in from faculty
  • Faculty still want skills-based instruction
Respondents noted a wide variety of ways for assessing student learning, including no assessments yet.

Discussion:
  • The Framework does require a change in thinking.
  • Difficult to fit the Framework into the typical one shot session
  • Harder to assess student assimilation of Framework ideas
  • Librarian attitudes about the Framework vary.
Implications for LIS education:
  • We should encourage our students to engage in critical reflection and debate about the frameworks strengths and weaknesses.
  • We should move away from a strictly skills based approach.
  • Need to help student develop assessments
There is more research that needs to be done on the adoption of the Framework. 

What are best practices in LIS programs for teaching students to then teach using the Framework?

E-Advising: Expanding Advising for Distance LIS Students 
Sue Kimmel, Elizabeth Burns, Jeffrey DiScala, Meredith Parker - Old Dominion Univ.

Challenges:
  • Navigating online systems and technologies
  • Lack of confidence
  • Need for advising and support services
  • Lack of contact with faculty or a designated program coordinator
  • Need for more detailed information about university expectations
  • Access during university business hours
They have:
  • Online office hours
  • Blackboard site that hold info that students will need
  • A lecturer as an overarching advisor from first contact through graduation
Students actually want help 24x7.

Their students are nontraditional with jobs and family. Few access existing resources for help.

Students into program complete coursework during times other than traditional business hours.  After 6 p.m. and on the weekend.

At the time of their survey, they did have a requirement that students come to campus for a three day boot camp (summer institute).

For ODU students, online, asynchronous learning was very important. They would not have been able to enroll otherwise.  Most of their students are from Virginia. All are school media students.

What do their students perceive to be the benefits on online advising?
Why do students seek assistance?
  • Plan of study - most frequent
  • Registration financial aid 
  • Technology 
  • Program advise
  • Navigating the ODU website
  • Conflicts with groups
  • Other requirements
What resources do they used? Most frequent:
  • Email my advisor
  • Online office hours 
  • Classmates
  • Email the instructor
Online advising is seen as being convenient. It allows students to feel a sense of community. 

Improvements and adjustments:
  • More frequent access to the program advisor
  • Promote the resources more frequently 
  • Obtain more advanced notice of deadlines, etc. 
  • Standardize office hours across courses and faculty

(Re)Discovering LIS Education Identity, Image, and Purpose in Engaged Scholarship
Laurie Bonnici, Jinxuan Ma

“...increasing difficulty in maintaining coherence of identity, image, and purpose.” - Cronin, 2002

Their research is using the @BlueZones and their work is not yet finished.

Engaged scholarship: education applied to social problems and issues faced by individuals, local communities, organizations, practitioners, and policymakers.

Community engaged learning is a course, internship, or program in an institution of higher education that includes:
  • Working with the community
  • Addressing societal needs
  • Intentional integration of learning objectives
  • Student preparation, ongoing reflection, and critical analysis
  • Reciprocal benefits
  • Ability to explore one’s civic identity

Community engagement is at the center of research, teaching, and service.


Image of University and Commuity Engagement

#ALISE2018 : A Critical Dialogue: Faculty of Color in Library and Information Science

Monica Colon-Aguirre, Nicole Cook, Renata Chancellor, Joe Sanchez, Bharat Mehra, Vanessa Irvin, Tonia Sutherland, Renee Hill, Amelia Gibson 

This session is based on a 2017 paper of the same title.

Prompts for each speaker will be the same.

Tell us about a time when you experienced discrimination as a faculty member.
  • Backhanded compliments in student evaluations.
  • Micro-aggressions. 
  • Comparisons that are racist.
  • Harassing emails because of someone’s research focus
  • Question: Are our associations and institutions ready to support faculty who are being harassed because of the faculty member’s diversity?
  • Inappropriate questions from students and faculty.
  • Colleagues who do not openly support a faculty member of color and do not confront people who aggressive towards faculty of color.  Support needs to be open, loud, constant, continuous. We need our colleagues to not be cowards.
  • When a faculty member of color’s story is not believed.
  • Comments about appearance.
  • Being challenged in class and on student evaluation because the faculty member’s intelligence is not acknowledged.
  • Needing to conform to the decorum of the majority.
  • Inappropriate assumptions based on a person’s last name.
What do you want the rest of the world to know about the experiences and/or needs of faculty of color?
  • “It was that traumatic that I can’t forget it.”
  • Realize that faculty of color are not being too sensitive.
  • That it takes a lot of work to educate individuals one at a time so those people can provide the support and protection that is needed.
  • It is everyone’s job on the faculty to understand the situations that are having a negative impact on faculty of color.
  • The stress is real and it can cause illness.
  • Retention is an issue.  
  • The initiatives that are bringing faculty of color into academia do not assure retention.
  • Faculty of color tend to follow research agendas which may require more work due to the level of community engagement require.  That may mean that the person may have fewer publications when going through tenure review.
  • Faculty of color are expected to over perform in order to be seen as equal.
  • “We are enough.”
  • You cannot just hire one person from a diverse background.  That person will be seen as a token and that person does not adequately represent the diversity in the community. Develop cohorts who can support each other.
  • Be willing and able to listen to people of color who are speaking up and placing information in the public forum.
  • Don’t just invite people of color for photos. Invite people of color to be a part of your research team (co-PI).
  • If you are researching diverse populations, do that work with faculty from those diverse populations.  
  • LIS associations need to do more than talk about diversity. Can they do something to broaden the diversity of the associations? 
  • That faculty of color need communities of support inside and outside of academia.
  • Know that some faculty will be unable to change so they are fully accepting of faculty of color.
  • Faculty of color need to keep themselves safe, sane, and healthy. Respect that need.
  • Support for faculty of color needs to begin when they are doctoral students.
Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Innovative Pedagogies SIG

Expanding LIS Education Universe
Suliman Hawamdeh, Univ. of North Texas 

We are anxious about new things and how to incorporate those things into our pedagogy.
He connects data science with knowledge management and LIS.
Challenges facing LIS programs
  • Declining enrollment
  • Outdated curriculum
  • Changing market and workplace
  • Technological changes
  • Changing roles, tasks and functions of the traditional LIS profession
  • Competing discipline (data science, data analytics, knowledge management, etc.)
Expanding curriculum:
  • Expanding roles and responsibilities
  • Collaboration across disciplines
  • Collaboration across areas of expertise
  • Emerging competing professions 
  • Growth necessitate change 
  • Digitization, curation, and sustainability of the digital world 
  • Innovative Pedagogies - teachers as facilitators 

Graphic which relates different parts of the information profession

The information profession - Rethinking DIKW

Master of Data Science at UNT
Designed to meet the rising need...
Check their web site for a list of core courses and electives.

Expanding thr Creative Side of the LIS Education through Acts-Informed Visual Research 
Anh Thu Nguyen - University of Toronto, hanhthu.nguyen@mail.utoronto.ca

INFI 300 (Foundations) was a mandatory course, but is now an elective.
Students do a visual research project using a draw-and-write technique. (LibSquares)  This follows the idea of the iSquares project. (ISquares.info)
Students learn to conduct original research.
In the end,students can choose to do a paper or a creative arts deliverable (paintings, sculpture, music, etc.). Students write an artist’s statement with the deliverable.  Students also learn to showcase and display their work.

There is an article on this in JELIS.

There is also a traveling exhibit.

Sample LibSquares

Question: if students draw an information professional, would the drawing be different than a librarian?

Image and Identity 
Librarians have been concerns about stereotypes since the early 1900s.
Identity Discourses of Librarianship
Image versus identity
Image is how others see librarians
Identity is how librarians see themselves
Professional Identity - five discourses
  • Advocacy
  • Services
  • Insider-outsider
  • Professionalism
  • Change 
Practical and pedagogical responses
  • Counter stereotypes through actions
  • Interrogate and reflect on emerging professional identities
  • Critical approaches to LIS
Consider having students draw what they believe librarians so and then have them reflect on the difference between the drawing and what they have said about librarians.  For example, did a student say that librarians are involved in technology, but the person drew a person surrounded by books?

From MLIS to MI: Changing a Program to Expand Community and Opportunity.
Lilia Pavlovsky, Rutgers University 
Her school has over 3000 students (School of Communication of Information)
The MLIS is a medium fish in a big pond.

The MLIS
Declining enrollment
Changing job market
Technological change
Call from faculty for new program

They formed a task force in 2013. Final report in April 2014.
  • Job market analysis
  • Stakeholder analyse
  • Curriculum review
  • Competitor analysis
  • Internal assessment of student community
Undergraduate students were not coming into the MLIS program because of the program name and image.

Key decision points
Flexibility
Inclusiveness
Relevant to broader info landscapes
Collaborative
Maintain core LIS values

They decided not to create a second degree program but to renovate the current degree.  It became the Master of Information (MI).  At Rutgers, you cannot change the curriculum when you change the name. Official state in fall 2015.

MI structure
4 foundation courses - 2 of 4 must be taken
1 technology requirements
3 zero credit courses
7 concentrations - electives

Opened up many more options for students
Notion of curriculum as product
Reorganization  of current assets 
Creation of integrated program that leveraged expertise.  Collaborative.

They now have a dual degree pathway with the undergraduate degree.
Currently 10-20 applicants per semester.

Outcomes:
  • Enrollment has gone up. 130% growth.
  • Marketing became clearer.
  • Diversity in student population.
  • More professionals in the program.
  • More international students.
  • Curriculum became cleaner.
  • LIS traditional still the anchor store and a vibrant community.
  • Clarity of identity.
Key lessons learned:
  • Program improvement never ends.
  • Change is the new normal.
  • Innovation as practice.
  • Complacency should be questioned!
  • Review of markets ongoing.
  • Assessment/evaluation.

The curriculum committee had 10 people. They met sometimes several times per month.  
In terms of manpower, some of the work was done on-load.  Some course revisions were done with buyouts or additional pay. They had practitioners help redesign courses.  They used adjuncts to fill-in teaching slots.

They see no problems with their upcoming ALA accreditation review.

They communicated frequently with their alumni, and included data.

Comment: Make as many changes in the current structure as possible, then change the formal structure to match it.

Most of Rutgers programs are 100% online and 100% on campus.


Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

#ALISE2018 : The Benefits and Challenges of Allied Programs and Specializations in LIS Units

Dietmar Wolfram began by talking about some of the current specializations that exist in MLIS programs and allied degree programs. ALISE wants to expand to include the emerging and expanding areas that our programs/schools are engaged in.

Anne Gilliland, UCLA

Archival education 
Over 30 schools in North America
An expansion of scope -> archival studies 
Archival studies was established at UCLA in 1995 
There is one mandatory course, then students select courses that match the person’s trajectory. Some courses are offered in over academic programs. 
Courses emphasize the proactive roles of archivists.  UCLA’s Department of Information Studies emphasizes social justice.

How has the department benefited from archival studies? 
  • Increased enrollment.
  • Emphasis on evidence supports the school’s social justice concerns.
  • Multiple points of intersection with other areas of the department, as well as other academic departments.
  • Built tighter connections with external communities.
Challenges include:
  • Had to overcome stereotypes.
  • Balancing faculty workload.
Best pedagogical practices include:
  • Helping students to connect between their background and communities to their future careers.  The classroom must be a safe space.
  • Rethinking class lengths to allow for more depth during a class session. For example, having a class that meets in 8 hour blocks several times a semester.
Suliman Hawamdeh, Univ. Of North Texas 

Trends:
  • Branding and repositioning
  • Relocation and merger with other programs
  • Expansion of programs and specializations 
  • Pedagogical shift - move to more on campus courses for international students ( mostly from India)
  • Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary 
  • Move to focus on the broader information science
Opportunities and challenges include:
  • Need for a different level of competencies
  • Nice to learn vs need to learn
  • Rich flexible curriculum
ALISE Academy Questions:
  • What is the LIS profession? Who are our students?
  • How can we brand our programs to demonstrate the versatility of our degrees?
  • Given demographic trends, how can the many related associations be sustained?
  • Should ALISE be the leader in developing alternatives to....?
UNT uses (informal) ”programs of study” to provide breadth to the MLIS program.

Their PhD. program uses 33 external faculty who are involved with supervision and mentoring.  This is in addition to 16 faculty in I.S. One I.S. Faculty member must be on the student's committee.

Howard Rosenbaum, Indiana University
The School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Department of Library and Information Science
One PhD, two master’s degrees, and some certificates.
M.S. of Information Science - 5 dual degree options
M.S.L.I.S. - 14 dual degree options 
In a dual degree, the number of credits is reduced.  This is helpful particular for students who want to go into academic libraries, where a second master’s will be particular helpful.

Most specializations have a faculty lead.  That person advises all of the students in the specialization.
It every specialization or dual degree has students all the time, but all have had students in them.
Specializations have required electives and free electives.
The specializations help with course scheduling and the hiring of adjuncts. Once you know how many students are in a specialization,who can figure that out.

Challenges include:
  • Assuring faculty to teach
  • Low enrollment in classes
  • Dual degrees must be approved by each department/school, then the campus, and the state.  Specializations are approved by the Board of Trustees.  He noted that most employers do not ask to see a student’s transcript.
Most students now take core classes in their first year, which helps with course planning.

Almost engaged in constant curriculum review.

Paul Sherman, Kent State 
From a user experience program.
The global information challenge - bad actors
Dark pattern problem -> the fear of missing out -> isolation

How can we help? Sherman delivered a call to action, rather than talking about what his program does.  

Discussion:

Should ALISE be the leader in developing alternatives to....?
Gilliland asked what is the profession that we are trying to serve?  Are these professions ready for the changes our students might bring with them?
Rosenbaum - the problem of recruiting diverse populations has been a concern since his work in academia since the 1980s.  He noted the lack of diversity in the room.
IS students are not interested in the L.
Sherman - we should be looking at educational programs, not just those that grant degrees.  We need to be aware of our competition.

Question about competencies
Hawamdeh - can people do the job?  That is more important that a grade.  How do we integrate competency based education into what we do?
Rosenbaum - competencies depend on where the student is going to work.  What is the profession that we’re trying to education students for?
Gilliland - she talked about this from an archives point of view.  The archival field has two “mistresses.” 

To what extent do undergraduate programs affect the culture of your school?

The MLIS degree requires a demonstration of LIS overarching concerns.  How does this work with the structures that were discussed?
Rosenbaum - capstones for the specializations
Sherman - they offer a range of culminating experience.  They suggest that students look for projects that will be relevant to hiring managers or projects at their current workplace.
Hawamdeh - have advanced seminars and independent studies. Students might produce a publication.  
Gilliland - her university requires either a thesis or a portfolio option.

Comment about the lack of diversity.  Research has shown that students before the age of 10-11 have decided/learned what they cannot be.  We need to get outside of our “world.”

In what way do knew programs contribute to the information professions? How do they affect our mission?
Sherman - concentrate on mission. It is a losing proposition to focus on defining what you are.
Rosenbaum - They looked at their undergraduate students and creating undergraduate majors.  About 10% of undergraduates do not know what they want to do. What could they go with that 10%?  They looked at what they could do with that group?  They allow students to take graduate classes in their senior year, so that students can quickly get an M.S. degree.  Most though are currently interested in the I.S. Degree.
Wolfram - Introducing students with related undergraduate classes can provide a gateway to the LIS degree. It opens up career options for students.

What kind of value proposition to your pick to a partner in a dual degree program?
Hawamdeh - Students want to know what the degree will do for  them.

Are programs aware of how many of their students are already practitioners?
Gilliland - Some applicants in archives enter the profession because they feel their community has not been well served by the archives profession.

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Will “online” go the distance? The quality of teaching and evaluation in online LIS education

32 of the yet 65 ALA accredited programs are fully online.

John Burgess, Univ. Of Alabama
Learning by play: an online approach to teaching the reference encounter 

Their MLIS program is offered in two modes: face to face and synchronous online 
Want a parity in lesrning experience 

Humanistic method
  • Parity can be challenging in subjects which require developing empathy, perception, and non-verbal communication as learning outcomes
  • Expectation of autonomous practice

Shari Lee, St. John’s University 
Student centered learning 

Rapid increase of online programs, including LIS
Ubiquity of the Internet and the development/evolution of technology
To be successful, we need a change in focus in how we teach
Demonopolisation
Students become active participants.  Student centered learning moves students from being passive to being active.

James Vorbach, St. John’s University
Managing and evaluating an online group project

The group project is in a web design course which uses WordPress for the web design. It is a six week project.
Project development stages
  • Group selection and client selection
  • Initial group meeting
  • Research
  • Design and implementation 
Assessments : Status reports (1 page each), progress report (longer, half of the final report), presentation,  final report (progress report plus other information), web site, and peer review survey (SurveyMonkey).

Evaluation : points are given for the presentation, final report, web site, and peer review. 40% of the final grade.

Summary from our groups discussions:
  • Establish the rapport that communication is always open, using the tools available.
  • One group discussed assessment and evaluation of group work and then deviated into talking about student feedback on their group mates.  Talked about communicating with students. Keep in mind that in the work world, not everyone works at the same level and assessing your peers in normal. 
  • Failure is okay.  Getting comfortable with teaching online, etc., takes time.
  • How do we support the technology for online education?  Where are the resources for supporting the instructors?
  • Faculty are hired for research, yet are told that they need to keep up to date on teaching technology.  Faculty may be required to troubleshoot the technology problems for their classes, because there is no IT support.
  • Does the university value online the same as face to face? 
  • When you teach online, be explicit with the instructions you give students.
Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Critical Thinking

Cultivating a critical thinking mindset among new information practice in an era of “alternative facts”
Rajesh Singh & Kevin Rioux

Lots of evidence of the erroneous reliance of “common sense” instead of critical thinking in recent discourse on misinformation, fake news, and propaganda.  Common sense is not based on systematic observation.

How can we teach critical thinking so students can distinguish sources and teach the skill to others?

They used two cases with students (online class) and then studied the results.  Both cases provided ethical and managerial dilemmas.  The study was qualitative. They identified three type of mindsets: idealist, pragmatic, and skeptic based on students written discussions.  They looked for thoughtful, analytical and reflective discussion as well as leadership, decision making and problem solving skills.  Did students Apple management and ethical theories?

Implications:
Utilizing problem based case studies in learning activities is an effective approach for cultivating a critical thinking mindset.
Responsive. Curriculum design to intellectually engage and challenge students in order to cultivate critical thinking mindset in addition to professional skills.

Health literacy and physical literacy: public library practices, challenges, and opportunities 
AND
Understanding physical activity in public libraries
Noah Lenstra and Ellen Rubinstein

They began with a discussion of what health literacy is and provided definitions from the World Health Organization and others.  Then there was a discussion of physical literacy. “Physical literacy is the ability, confidence, and desire to be physically active for life.” - Aspen Institute Sports and Society.  Physical literacy does not assume physical ability.

Oklahoma is the 43rd worst state in terms of the health of its residents. Rubinstein interviewed library staff about health and health literacy.  Lenstra did research in North Carolina.  NC is in the “middle” of the country based on health metrics and physical activity levels (https://stateofobesity.org).  He also interviewed staff.

Jointly their study is “Movement based programs in the U.S. and in Canada: A survey.”  Their survey received responses from 1418 different public libraries.  Responses came from urban, suburban, and rural libraries.  Programs are being offered for all age ranges.  They are still digging through the data.

There is an ongoing debate about the role of libraries in community physical activities.

There are libraries that have gym passes which can be checked out.

How do we educate students they are prepared to foster these literacies? Should they be prepared?  If yes, can they be prepared to work with people of all physical and cognitive abilities?

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018