Information Literacy Round Table (MI Library Assn)

Information Literacy in Public Libraries

2007-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

From The Shifted Librarian blog comes a great post about Information Literacy in Public Libraries, from the Internet Librarian conference session Session B103 — Information Literacy in the Public Library. Here's a link to the PowerPoint (you'll need to scroll down the page to find the session).

Self-Regulated Learning at the Reference Desk

2007-11-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hello there! My colleagues on the Information Literacy Roundtable asked me to inform you all about an article of mine that has just been published in the latest issue of Reference & User Services Quarterly (Fall 2007). The article is called "Fostering Self-Regulated Learning at the Reference Desk" (pp.16-20).

Here is a short abstract:

"The independent research skills that are an integral part of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education have a great deal in common with the educational concept of self-regulated learning. A self-regulating researcher is able to formulate a research plan as well as monitor and control
progress toward the completion of the research. Furthermore, this self-regulation is an essential aspect of information literacy that is short-changed when librarians at the reference desk, with the best of intentions, insist on finding answers for students. This article focuses on the one-on-one nature of reference interactions, and how they relate to tutoring interactions. It argues that, in approaching reference interactions as tutorial interactions, librarians can scaffold the self-regulation of student researchers and thereby more effectively support their emerging information literacy."

MLA Conference Program

2007-11-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

The ILR/MPR Joint Program at the MLA Annual Conference was informative, educational and entertaining! Many thanks to our speakers, Amy Sayles of Jackson District Library and Angela Maycock of Michigan State University, for leading such an engaging program.

You'll find the notes from the group brainstorming activity on the ILR website. Thanks everyone for participating, and the great marketing ideas.

Here's the links to the resources discussed at the program:

Conduit: Create a free toolbar for your library http://www.conduit.com/
The ALA RUSA online course: Marketing Basics for Libraries (next offered Feb 25-Mar 28, 08)
WebJunction Marketing (Online Community for Library Staff http://www.webjunction.org)
Library Marketing: Thinking Outside the Book A blog from Jill Stover at Virginia Commonwealth
The "M" Word: Marketing Libraries A blog from Nancy Dowd, the Marketing Specialist for New Jersey State Library

Undergraduate Research Project at URochester

2007-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Steven Bell posted a link on the ACRLlog last month to the PDF of the new book by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons that describes the several year ethnographic study of how students do research at the University of Rochester. The book is called Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester. You can download it for free at the link above. I've just started reading it and it is utterly fascinating. It gives a real deep look into how our students do research and what the faculty expect of their work. This is exactly the kind of information that we IL librarians need to begin to rethink how we teach our students. The study resulted in a number of innovative changes in how the River Campus Libraries served their students.

Ed E.

CamStudio: Free Screen Capture Software

2007-11-01T10:12:00.001-07:00

Want to create some online learning modules, demonstrations, etc. for your users but don't have the budget for software. Try CamStudio.

ILR/MPR Joint MLA Conference Program

2007-10-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Information Literacy Roundtable and Marketing & Public Relations Roundtable invite you to their joint MLA Annual Conference Program on Friday, November 9 from 9 - 10:30 AM.
Our speakers are Angela Maycock, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Michigan State University, and Amy Sayles, Marketing Officer, Jackson District Library. They will discuss
trends in library marketing and illustrate accessible resources for developing marketing materials. You will also learn about their experiences marketing special and information literacy programs in their libraries.

Standards for proficiencies for instruction librarians and coordinators

2007-10-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

These Standards for proficiencies for instruction librarians and coordinators were approved by the ACRL Board on June 24, 2007.

Fast, Cheap, and in Control: Web Search and Technology for Your Library

2007-01-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Please join us for the MLA Information Literacy Roundtable's spring workshop:

Fast, Cheap, and in Control: Web Search and Technology for Your Library

Join us for a day long interactive workshop that focuses on librarians using Web search and other technologies to improve information literacy for their patrons. Keynote speaker Michael Lorenzen, Head of Reference Services at Central Michigan University, will reveal the secrets of search engines, giving librarians a better understanding of how search works, and discuss the ongoing competition librarians face working with and against Google.

Attendees will put new ideas to work in our hands-on sessions. Along with Stacy Nowicki, Director of Kalamazoo College’s Upjohn Library, you’ll put search engines to the test, and discover which are the best to share with your users and integrate into your own library’s toolbox. Ed Eckel, Science Librarian at Western Michigan University, will show you how to use RSS, blogs and other free web technologies to push resources to users. Both sessions will be offered in the morning and afternoon, so every participant can attend each.

To close out the day there will be a “Show and Share” poster session that will highlight best practices, and tools to use both in and out of the classroom. Come have a cookie, mingle with colleagues, and get some great ideas to take back to your library!

March 9, 2007
9:15am - 3:45pm
Central Michigan University
.4 CEUs

Register on the MLA Website:
http://www.mla.lib.mi.us/events/programs/form_workshop_registration
SPACE IS LIMITED, so please register early!

If you are interested in presenting a poster, see the ILR website (http://www.mla.lib.mi.us/ilr) for requirements and the submission form (poster proposal deadline: January 17, 2007).

See the attached flyer for additional information about the program. We hope you will join us at the ILR Spring Workshop!

A Successful Credit Course in Library Instruction

2005-12-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

A Successful Credit Course in Library Instruction. There is a new issue of MLA Forum up. In it, you will find this article by Beth Macleod. She write about the history of the LIB 197 at Central Michigan University. This is a one credit library course taught at CMU which has been around for 30+ years.

From the site:

Library 197 has obviously evolved over the years. Online catalogs, electronic databases, and Web evaluation have replaced card catalogs, Readers’ Guide, and lists of reference books. But the need for the course has remained a constant and it is an important component of our instruction program.

Lots of Good Links at the Open Directory Project

2005-11-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

The Open Directory Project is a human reviewed directory of Web sites. It has two categories in particular which may be of interest to readers of this blog:

Library Instruction - There are 30 links in the category.

Information Literacy - There are 56 links in ths category.

Featured above, Mozilla (the symbol of the ODP) carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Do not all instruction librarians feel this way at times?

University of Skövde, Library - Information Literacy Bibliography

2005-11-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

University of Skövde, Library - Information Literacy Bibliography. There is an excellent (and large!) list of articles relating to information literacy from this academic library in Sweden. Most link to html pages with the articles although a few are .pdf files. Most of the articles are in English but a few are in Swedish. This is clearly marked. It is easy to lose a whole day reading here!

P.L.O.T. Park Library Online Tutorial

2005-11-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

P.L.O.T. Park Library Online Tutorial. This is the library instruction/information literacy tutorial being used at Central Michigan University. It has original content as well as using material from the TILT Project.

The main designers of this tutorial are Beth Macleod (Reference Librarian, Park Library) and Connie Hildebrand (Reference Librarian, CMU Off-Campus Library Services.)

Information Literacy Weblog

2005-11-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy Weblog. Blogger appears to be the new home of the venerable Information Literacy Weblog maintained by Sheila Webber and Stuart Boon. There is always good stuff here and they stay rather focused on the topic of information literacy.

Searching, online misinformation and the role of schools (and librarians)

2005-11-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

Searching, online misinformation and the role of schools (and librarians). Keith Tipton has an excellent post dealing with information literacy up at his blog. It provides his commentary on the article The problem of online misinformation and the role of schools and INFORMATION SEARCH PROCESS: A SEARCH FOR MEANING RATHER THAN ANSWERS.

ERIC Digests on Information Literacy

2005-11-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

The ERIC Clearinghouse system was closed down in 2003. However, before the demise of the Clearinghouses, a variety of ERIC Digests were published dealing with information literacy.

Here are a few:

Information Literacy Instruction in Higher Education: Trends and Issues.

Information Literacy and Teacher Education.

Information Literacy.

Information Literacy: Search Strategies, Tools & Resources.

Information Skills for an Information Society: A Review of Research.

Article: Health Sciences Information Tools 2000

2005-10-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

The following citation is from Web of Science. Two of the author's are from Wayne State University.

Title: Health Sciences Information Tools 2000: a cooperative health sciences library public school information literacy program for medical assistant students
Author(s): Spang L, Marks E, Adams N
Source: BULLETIN OF THE MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 86 (4): 534-540 OCT 1998

Abstract: Educating diverse groups in how to access, use, and evaluate information available through information technologies is emerging as an essential responsibility for health sciences librarians in today's complex health care system. One group requiring immediate attention is medical assistants. Projections indicate that medical assistant careers will be among the fastest growing occupations in the twenty-first century. The expanding use and importance of information in all health care settings requires that this workforce be well versed in information literacy skills. But, for public school vocational education staff charged with educating entry level workers to meet this specialized demand, the expense of hiring qualified professionals and acquiring the sophisticated technology necessary to teach such skills poses a dilemma. Health Sciences Information Tools 2000, a cooperative work-study information literacy program jointly formulated by the Wayne State University's Shiffman Medical Library and the Detroit Public Schools' Crockett Career and Technical Center, demonstrates that cooperation between the health sciences library and the public school is a mutually beneficial and constructive solution. This article describes the background, goals, curriculum, personnel, costs, and evaluation methods of Tools 2000. The Shiffman-Crockett information literacy program, adaptable to a variety of library settings, is an innovative means of preparing well-trained high school vocational education students for beginning level medical assistant positions as well as further education in the health care field.

Library Instruction.com

2005-09-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Library Instruction.com was created and is maintained by Mike Lorenzen, Central Michigan University. It "contains library instruction lesson plans, articles about library instruction, a large library instruction bibliography, and links to library instruction resources. This site also includes material relating to information literacy." A great starting point for learning about information literacy. The lesson plans are especially useful for developing creative active learning activities.

The Information Literacy Land of Confusion

2005-09-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Mike Lorenzen from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant shares his thoughts and experiences from his travails in information literacy, among other things in his blog, The Information Literacy Land of Confusion.