Eastern Ne
ork
ACRL Chapter
Newsletter
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
CHAPTER OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
John Cosgrove
Skidmore College
(518) 580-5522
jeosgrov@skidmore.edu
PAST PRESIDENT
Francesca Livermore
Colgate University
(345) 228-6579
flivermore@colgate.edu
VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-
ELECT/PROGRAM CHAIR
Natasha Cooper
Syracuse University
(315) 443-9518
nacoop01@syr.edu
SECRETARY
Kathryn Johns-Masten
SUNY Oswego
(315) 312-3553
kathryn,johnsmasten@oswego.edu
TREASURER
Yu-Hui Chen
University at Albany
(518) 442-3586
ychen@uamail.albany.edu
COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR
Kathryn Frederick
Skidmore College
(518) 580-5505
kfrederi@skidmore.edu
GOV. RELATIONS CHAIR
Bill Walker
Bard College
(845) 758-7729
wwalker@levy.org
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
Suzanne Preate
Syracuse University
(315) 443-4243
smpreate@syr.edu
ARCHIVIST
Susan Kline
Syracuse University
(315) 443-9758
smkline@syr.edu
FALL 2011
Letter from the President
Dear ENY/ACRL Members,
Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, a
difficult economy and a new academic
year--turbulent times indeed! It seems like
our Spring Conference in May was either
just last week, or a long, long time ago. |
hope that all of you have weathered the
recent months without too much difficulty.
Like many of you, my introduction to
ENY/ACRL was through colleagues who
took the time to mention that ENY/ACRL
was a great organization and invited me to
attend ENY/ACRL events. This fall, we'll all
have some good opportunities to show how
powerful word of mouth can be. Please
consider reaching out and inviting a
colleague to attend one of the excellent
ENY/ACRL events happening this fall.
In October, our Brown Bag lunch series is
scheduled to coincide with Open Access
Week. These discussions will be held at
SUNY/ESF, University at Albany and
Clarkson University. As part of the Brown
Bag series, ENY/ACRL is co-sponsoring,
with the U Albany Libraries, a presentation
by Dr David Hogg, entitled “Open Science,
Free software, and Citizen Astronomers."
In November, ENY/ACRL is sponsoring a
Data Curation Profiles Workshop at Cornell
through a grant from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
As you can see, Tasha Cooper and the
Program Committee have been very busy
planning and organizing. In addition to
these events, the Spring Conference, at
Mohawk Valley Community College, is
shaping up to be another good one.
Please help make these events successful
by attending if you can, but also by inviting
a colleague, especially a junior colleague.
A
Hurricanes, earthquakes,
tornadoes, a difficult
economy and a new
academic year-turbulent
times indeed!
% y
Ye
It's a “soft sell,” but very effective way to get
new folks aware of and involved with
ENY/ACRL. (Plus these events are going to
be excellent!)
On another topic--I’m happy to announce
that Susan Kline, from Syracuse University,
has agreed to become the new ENY/ACRL
Archivist. We're very grateful that she is
willing to share her expertise with us in this
position, and we are confident that she will
continue the good work that Michelle Perry
did in keeping our organization’s archives
usable and useful.
Hope to see you this fall.
-John Cosgrove, ENY/ACRL President
IN THIS ISSUE
Letter from the President p.1
A New Teaching/Learning Method p.2
CitationFox @ UAlbany Libraries p.2
New Reference Model at Folsom Library p.3
Librarians Connect w/ Student-Athletes p.4
“Mini” Library Sessions p.4
The James Family Celebration p.6
Notes from the Field p.7
PAGE 2 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
A Transformational Teaching/Learning Method
Trudi Jacobson
Head, Information Literary Department
University at Albany, SUNY
Consider this scene, taking place in a one-credit information literacy course: Students, within their permanent teams, are
debating a class topic. They are engaged, and listening carefully to their teammates. They call upon the course readings to
buttress their points (they have actually done the homework!).
The teacher is at the side of the room, keeping an eye on things,
but her participation isn’t really needed. In fact, the teams might
see it as intrusive at this point.
Is this wishful thinking? Nirvana? No, actually, it is team-based
learning in action. A number of the librarians at the University at
Albany who teach our one-credit information courses have begun
using this new teaching/learning method, and have gotten
remarkable results. Team-based learning (TBL) was developed
by Professor Larry Michaelsen at the University of Oklahoma in
the late 1970s. It is used in a variety of disciplines, particularly
the health sciences. UAlbany’s Institute for Teaching, Learning,
and Academic Leadership (ITLAL) has introduced this
instructional method to campus, and more and more professors
are adopting it. TBL goes far beyond simply dividing students
into teams. There is an entire framework into which the
teamwork fits, and it is the cohesive package that makes TBL such a powerful avenue to student learning. Team-based learning
has four key components: team formation and it; accountability; ;and design. Continued on
Page 10.
UAlbany students in Info. Lit. Course, photo by Elizabeth Taylor
Citation Fox at the University at Albany Libraries
Carol Anne Germain, John Pardavila, and Daryl Bullis
The University at Albany Libraries is proud to announce its newest online citation tool, CitationFox. For years, the Information
Literacy Department provided handouts, in-class and Internet-based instruction, and other resources to meet the style guide
needs of students, researchers, faculty and other patrons. At times, we felt these resources were limited since we could not
provide information about a variety of publication formats (e.g., online television show, online-only book chapter). To expand
upon this assistance, we explored the creation of a more comprehensive, Web-based application to better assist our users. A
collaboration between the Information Literacy Department and the Systems Department made it possible to bring this project
to fruition.
The end product, CitationFox, available in both APA and MLA, includes over 900 nodes with templates, examples, and notes.
Library users can easily toggle between these two styles. This tool includes resources in print and online formats. CitationFox
was proudly built with precision tools of the open source community. Utilizing the richness of PHP, the team entered valuable
citation data into the application to create a dynamic teaching tool. The citation data and examples were stored in a MySQL
repository. The fluid nature of the CitationFox is due to the nature of jQuery for user interface effects and AJAX server calls. The
whole package is a true open source, collaborative effort between library literacy and IT.
CitationFox, at http://library.albany.edu/cfox (APA) or http://library.albany.edu/cfox?type=mla (MLA), has been well received
and is becoming one of the most frequently viewed sources on the University Libraries' homepage. This summer, CitationFox
was added to the PRIMO (Pt Instructional ‘ials Online) database.
Please feel free to browse this utility and encourage users to link to the site.
Citation ox
PAGE 3 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
Folsom Library Institutes a New Reference Model
eae Mote i Library, & i Services,
Rensselaer Libraries
Rensselaer Libraries has recently implemented a new reference model in an effort to maximize efficiency and patron
satisfaction during a time of declining staff resources. Information Desk (i.e. reference desk) use statistics have indicated a
drop in patron demand. As a result of this change, it was determined that full-time coverage at a reference service point was
no longer needed.
Our first step in implementing the new model was to physically remove the Information Desk and to work toward the
establishment of a purely on-call system for in-person inquiries. This also presented the opportunity to free up staff time for
the development of new projects such as enhanced online tutorials, additional digitization of high profile institute collections,
and the investigation of the libraries’ future role in the possibility of curating data for grant recipient researchers on campus.
Once the decision was made to physically eliminate the Information Desk, other steps were taken to support that transition.
The original Circulation Desk was renamed the Service Desk. The Public Services staff, who would be staffing the newly
renamed Service Desk, participated in a customer service training program sponsored by our Human Resources Division. In
addition, an intern from the University of Albany's Department of Information Studies, who had an interest in examining new
models of reference service, was recruited to assist the reference unit in preparing for this change. At the beginning of the
academic year, the following on-call, tiered level of reference service was initiated.
a Full-time public services staff members were designated as the first point of contact for Service Desk A
reference questions. To successfully accomplish this several additional stipulations were put in place:
Tier A At least one full-time public services staff member should be present at the Service Desk at all times.
during the week; Supplement staffing with just one or two college work study student assistants to handle
routine circulation and collection management activities; Folsom Library's Administration Office coordinator (adjacent to
the Service Desk), was assigned as a Level A back-up for times of either peak demand at the Service Desk or if there was
a shortage of Level A (i.e., public service) personnel available. The staff member maintains an online calendar of the
\teference librarians’ schedules and posts it weekly or daily, if need be, at the Service Desk. SJ
Three reference librarians to be primarily available to answer any referrals that Level A staff members feel
Tier B unsure in handling.
. Three additional library staff, with an interest in reference work and strong customer service skills, to help
TierC fiela questions when the reference librarians are unavailable. One library specialist from public services,
one library specialist from technical services, and a technical services librarian were selected for this Tier.
In order to maintain reference statistical metrics, the manager of the Reference and Instructional Services Department
researched and implemented an open source software and web based application called Libstats
(website: http://code.google.com/p/libstats/) to serve as an online tool that any library staff member could access, as
needed. This application is still being tested by librarians, but the expectation is that it will eventually serve as a knowledge
base for reference questions and provide a statistical tool to help analyze and manage the new reference
model.
iPads, configured with applications such as “iBooks,” “PLoS Reader,” “Skype,” “Wikipanion,” “WorldCat
Mobile,” “Dropbox,” “Evernote,” and other reference and productivity tools, were provided to Tier B
(reference librarians) and Tier C (back-up support from Public Services and Technical Services staff) in
order to conduct one-on-one consultations with patrons at any service point. Tier B & C staff plan to meet
periodically to further investigate the use of the iPad in reference and to share information on iPad
applications and the effectiveness of the new reference model in general. Continued on Page 11.
PAGE 4 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
Librarians at FMCC Explore Ways to Connect
with Student-Athletes
Michael Daly, Public Services Librarian
Daniel Towne, Systems/Electronic Services Librarian
Fulton-Montgomery Community College
Academic librarians have long been masters of inventing (or re-inventing) services to offer to their users; committed to an
on-going process of allowing students to discover the relevance of libraries and librarians in their academic careers. Many of
the new services being tried by librarians are technology-based. The librarians at the Evans Library at Fulton-Montgomery
Community College (FM) are no different. We have begun circulating Kindles. We have joined a virtual reference cooperative.
We are on Facebook. We are Tweeting. But, we have found other ways to provide essential library services to specific user
groups and at the same time make ourselves more visible on campus.
A group that we have begun to work with more closely is our student-athletes. The evolution of our partnership with the
student-athletes has its roots in the typical. Our librarians have division liaison responsibilities and are members of campus.
committees. One librarian is the liaison to the Health, Recreation, and Physical Education (HPER) division - comprised of the
Physical Education and Health instructors and the Athletic Director. Not surprisingly perhaps, many members of this
academic division are also coaches of various athletic teams at FM. Another librarian is a member of the Student Life
Committee. We found ourselves presenting the typical library services to the members of these groups in a typical setting
and with a typical delivery system: we sat around a table and told them about all the wonderful things the library can do for
them and their students.
We needed to break away from the typical but we were unsure how to do it. An opportunity arose when the Coordinator of
Specialized Student Services needed a place to hold student-athlete study halls. We volunteered our information literacy
classroom and an informal partnership was born. Our interactions with the student-athletes became more frequent. The
interactions were not, and are still not, completely academic in nature. We talk about games and players. How their team is
doing and what or who is next on their schedule. As a result, we began to build relationships - and trust. As we all know, it is
easier to ask Someone you know and trust for help than is it to ask a “stranger” for assistance. Continued on Page 13.
“Mini” Library Sessions at SUNY Plattsburgh
Elin O'Hara-Gonya, Associate Librarian
SUNY Plattsburgh
As Coordinator of the course-related library session program at SUNY Plattsburgh, | have heard students sigh “A librarian
AGAIN?” on many an occasion. | wondered if students, in fact, benefitted from these sessions as much as | hoped. | also
wondered if there might be a better model than the 75-minute “cram in as much as we can” format for delivering one-shot
library sessions to students. It was necessary to ask myself “What do students really need?” and “From which aspects of
sessions have students benefitted most in past library sessions?” My answers to these questions were:
e Students require point-of-need instruction, a more pedagogically-sound model for library instruction than 75-
minutes delivered at the start of the semester.
e Students benefit most from library session content tied more closely to course and assignment content.
Having come to these two conclusions, the path to more effective library sessions became obvious. | decided to pilot a new
method of providing course-related library instruction services via a series of mini-instruction sessions tied to immediate
research needs students had demonstrated or verbalized to their professors. Instead of a lengthy once-semester library
session for a course, | would drop-in to a class for roughly 15 minutes several times a semester to address a specific
research need the students had demonstrated to the professor within a week of identifying the need. Continued on Page 12.
PAGE 5 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
The James Family Celebration
Carol Lee Anderson
University at Albany, University Libraries
Renowned author Henry James and his brother William, a psychology professor
and philosopher, had many ties to the Albany area. Their father graduated from
the Albany Academy, and their grandfather, an Albany merchant, made his fortune
in real estate. Henry James opened his story, Portrait of a Lady, in a brownstone
on Albany's State Street. The significant works and pivotal thought of the two
brothers helped shape the twentieth century and more particularly, the
intellectual, artistic, and philosophical movement now called modernism.
With funding by a major grant from the New York Council for the Humanities,
UAlbany's Center for Humanities, Arts, and Technosciences and its partners.
engaged audiences in the literary and cultural legacy of the James Family of
Albany during a yearlong James Family Celebration. Humanities and social
science scholars, historians and archivists animated the imaginative worlds of the
novelist, Henry, and the philosopher, William the father of modern American
psychology. Interactive events explored and investigated the brothers' impact on
society and the humanities and examined their roles in the history of ideas and aesthetics. Events were held between
November 2010 and October 2011.
Programs were held at various locations, both on and off UAlbany's campus.
Events included a presentation and panel discussion entitled At the Gateway
to Modernism: A Celebration of William and Henry James, November 10,
2010; Henry James on Stage, March 4, 20114; Henry James Film Festival at
the Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio, April 8 & 9, 2011; Henry James
Senior and a Tragic Incident in Academy Park, May 1, 2011, Academy
Building, Academy Park; and Albany Rural Cemetery Tour, May 2, 2011. The
grant led to collaborations with local public libraries broadening the reach of
the James Family Celebration and enriching the communities of Colonie,
Guilderland, East Greenbush, Cohoes, Watervliet, Altamont, and Menands by
featuring James related films, book discussions, book reviews, and a second
film festival.
cc i made for 41 events. Pre ing partners
included the UAlbany University Libraries; UAlbany Performing Arts Center;
UAlbany Department of English; and University Auxiliary Services. Community collaborators included The Linda, WAMC's
Performing Arts Studio; the Albany Academies; William K. Sanford Town Libraries (Colonie); Altamont Free Library; Bethlehem
Public Library; East Greenbush Community Library; Guilderland Public Library; Menands Public Library; and the Watervliet Public
Library.
Images
Top: Dr. Warren Roberts, Henry James Senior and a Tragic Incident in
Academy Park
Right: Dr. John Pipkin, Albany Rural Cemetery Tour
Left: Henry James Film Festival at The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts.
Studio
PAGE 6
Notes from the Field
Binghamton University Libraries
New staff members: Marian Stern, Technical Services Assistant;
Carrie Blabac-Myers, University Downtown Center Library Reader
Services Coordinator.
Promotions: Adam Basa, Science Library Information Services
Coordinator; Jill Dixon, Acting Director of Public Services.
John M. Meador, Jr., Dean of Libraries, and Edward Corrado,
Director of Library Technology, spoke at the Rosetta Advisory
Group Meeting, Ei Ossi: i t Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland, June 15, 2011.
\elique Jenks-Bi and Jill Dixon the poster
session "Engineering a Collaborative Information Literacy
Partnership" at the 2011 American Library Association Annual
Conference in New Orleans, La.
Ben Andrus, Anne Larrivee, and Jill Dixon co-presented "In with
the New: Training New Hires under a Restructured Framework" at
the 2014 SUNYLA Conference at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Rachel Jaffe and Molly O'Brien co-presented "Two New
Librarians: Two Perspectives on the Future of Cataloging" at the
2011 SUNYLA Conference at SUNY Plattsburgh.
The Binghamton University Libraries showcased the newly
acquired Vera Beaudin Saeedpour Kurdish Library and Museum
Collection with an exhibition and event on September 23, 2011,
featuring speaker Janet Klein, Associate Professor of History
from the University of Akron, an expert on Kurdish history.
Hamilton College
Fall 2011 Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture: “From Schopenhauer
to Schwarzenegger: The Impact of Copyright on Art and
Scholarship in the Digital Age.”
Please join us on Thursday, October 6 at 4:10pm in the Bradford
Auditorium (Kirner Johnson 125) for the Fall 2014 Couper Phi
Beta Kappa Lecture “From Schopenhauer to Schwarzenegger:
The Impact of Copyright on Art and Scholarship in the Digital
Age.” Kevin Smith '81, Scholarly Communications Officer at
Perkins Library, Duke University, will examine the problems and
possibilities for copyright in a digital age over three broad areas -
teaching, scholarship and the creative arts.
The Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture was established in 2005 to
honor Hamilton alumnus Richard "Dick" Couper '44, who died in
January 2006. This yearly lecture recognizes Couper's
commitment and contributions to the college and the Phi Beta
Kappa Society. Each year a distinguished speaker is invited to
present on a library-related topic.
ENY/ACRL Newsletter
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
Sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Hamilton College
Library, and the Dean of Faculty.
Hands On Hamilton History
Hamilton College is celebrating its Bicentennial Year. In
recognition, each month, Hands on Hamilton History will feature
a small group of documents, artifacts, and visual materials
relating to a specific period in the history of Hamilton College. A
brief discussion of these materials will happen in the Patricia
Pogue Couper Research Room in the Emerson Rare Book Room,
third floor Burke Library, at 10 AM and 2 PM on the fourth
Thursday of each month. Visitors will be allowed to get up close
to the artifacts and even handle some of them. The next day
these items will be installed in the display cases on the first floor
of Burke Library.
Fall 2011 Schedule:
September 22: Samuel Kirkland
October 20: Von Steuben, Kirkland, and the Revolutionary
War;Hamilton-Oneida Academy
November 17: Founding of Hamilton College
December 15: Life and Education in the Early Decades of
Hamilton College
Morrisville State College
In June, Wenli Gao, Assistant Librarian for Instructional Services,
presented “Teaching from LibGuides: Engaging Students with
Activities and Embedding Other Media” at the ACRL/New
England Library Instruction Group Annual Program, Exploring
Creativity in Information Literacy, in Lowell, MA. This presentation
discussed how to use functions within Libguides to create class
activities, how to use other software to create activities and
embed them in Libguides, as well as how to embed a texting
activity. The presentation is online at
http://people.morrisville.edu/~gaow/nelig/
Working with the Norwich Campus AmeriCorp group, Systems
and Electronic Resources Librarian Angela Rhodes presented a
week-long series of technology and information literacy
workshops for Chenango County residents. Topics ranged from
introductions to Microsoft office applications to effective internet
searching and social and i n rking tools.
RPI
The Rensselaer Libraries recently added a new entry to its digital
collection. The Darrin Fresh Water Institute, founded in 1967 as
the Fresh Water Institute, has produced research for over 40
years on aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric systems, with a
focus on the ecological consequences of human activities. This
rich body of research includes reports, scientific papers, theses,
and lectures. Included in the collection are clips of news reports
and interviews. You can access the collection at:
http://digitool.rpi.edu:8881/R/?func=collections&collection_id=
1211.
PAGE 7 ENY/ACRL Newsletter
Notes from the Field
Continued
Skidmore College
Skidmore College's ambitious plan to redesign and renovate
Scribner Library has begun. The renovated library will make
space for Skidmore'’s Information Technology department while
providing more group and individual studies, expanded IT
services, and enriched collections. Students and faculty will have
access to the Reference Desk, Writing Center, ESL office, GIS
Lab, IT Help Desk, and Media Services, and, of course, the
library's traditional collections and services, in one location.
Yvette Cortes, Fine Arts Librarian is now chair of the ACRL/Arts
Publications and Research Committee. Yvette's book review of
Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern by Paul
Eisenhauer and Lynne Farrington has been published in
ARLIS/NA Reviews (September/October 2011):
http://www.arlisna.org/pubs/reviews/index.html
Kathryn Frederick, Systems Librarian, presented on mobile
library websites on September 30th at the LITA National Forum
in St. Louis, MO.
Susan Zappen, Associate College Librarian for Collections, is
presenting a paper titled ““What Gives When Something's Gotta
Give” in the Serials Management Preconference at the 31st
Annual Charleston Conference: Something's Gotta Give on
November 2 in Charleston, SC.
SUNY Oswego
While students were away for the summer, Penfield’s building
got some much needed attention. First, although few people will
see this, we got a new roof. And, a new elevator was installed.
Although we had to carry books up and down three flights of
stairs all summer, it was definitely worth it to make elevator rides
less adventurous! We also had many of the areas in the library
painted. Last, and most noticeable, is the replacement of the
carpets in the large study areas on the second and third floors.
The old orange and blue carpets were installed in the late
1970's, so the new carpets are a welcome addition to the new
furniture we've been adding throughout the last several years.
In response to student requests, Penfield Library started the new
semester with our new 15 minutes earlier opening time! One of
our most popular services at 7:45 AM will likely be our “quick
print” stations, where students can make those last minute
printouts in time for their 8 AM deadline. This time is also perfect
for a little early morning book browsing or getting a head-start on
a big research paper before going to class.
Memories of Oswego abound in the Ontarian, the college
yearbook. Penfield Library, in collaboration with the Northern NY
Library Network, is pleased to announce that a digitization
project is underway to preserve those memories in an electronic
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
format. Whether you are seeking classmates, an aerial view of
the campus in the ti i tion before a
reminder of an icy day along the Lake Ontario Shoreline,or
images of performers who have come to campus like Harry
Chapin and Bruce Springsteen there is something for everyone
who has attended SUNY Oswego. Check back frequently, as this
collection continues to grow.
Library resources & services are now even closer to your
fingertips thanks to the Library's new mobile web site. Using your
smartphone or other mobile device you can check library hours,
work on research, or consult with a librarian. The mobile Ask-A-
Librarian site allows you to talk, email, text or chat with our
librarians. The mobile catalog allows you to find books, ebooks,
government documents, cd's and dvd's - and you can even read
the ebooks on your smartphone or device! You can search
databases for journal articles, too. The mobile site includes links
back to the full site for more in-depth research and services.
Librarian Mary Bennett retired in June after 29 years of service
at Penfield Library. She wore many hats during her time here,
most recently as Government Documents Librarian, Assistant
Coordinator of Reference Service and liaison librarian for the
departments of Biology and Health. We have missed her friendly
smile and the excellent help she gave all our students and
faculty, so we're really glad she’s returning for fall semester as
an adjunct Reference and Instruction Librarian. Penfield Library
welcomes temporary assistant librarian Tina Chan to the staff.
Tina comes to us from Syracuse University, where she worked in
the Learning Commons, and was also the librarian liaison to the
English Language Institute. At Penfield, Tina is part of the
reference team and is the librarian liaison to the Art and Biology
Departments, teaching information literacy classes in those
areas.
SUNY Potsdam
Edward Komara received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for
Scholarship and Creative Activities at a May 2011 recognition
event for SUNY Potsdam employees. Ed has been the Crane
Librarian of music at College Libraries since 2001. As stated in
the program, "his contributions to the published literature on jazz
and the blues, as well as music collection development activities,
have established him as a scholar with vision." His most recent
monographs are the 2-volume Encyclopedia of the Blues
(Routledge Press, 2006) and The Road to Robert Johnson (Hal
Leonard Corporation, 2007). His current publication project is
serving as an associate editor for the Music Library Association's
buying guide A Basic Music Library.
Jane Subramanian served as a grant reviewer for New York State
Archive's Documentary Heritage Program in May 2011. She also
gave several presentations, including "The Nature and History of
Crane Chorus" for the students in Crane Chorus for Spring
Semester, on January 26, 2011, which was then repeated as
part of the campus Spring Festival lecture series on April 30th,
and "Large Conference Benefits and Highlights of the 2010
Society of American Archivists Annual Conference" at the
PAGE 8 ENY/ACRL Newsletter
Notes from the Field
Continued
SUNY Potsdam, Continued
Northern New York Library Network's 2nd Annual North Country
Archives and Special Collections Conference on April 8, 2011 in
Lake Placid. She also gave a presentation regarding how the
permanent exhibit on the college's history was accomplished at
SUNY Potsdam for the college's Alumni Weekend in July. She
continues to serve on the board for the New York Archives
Conference organization and has recently assumed the position
as President of SUNY Potsdam's chapter of the Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi.
The College Libraries is pleased to welcome Matt Francis as the
new College Archivist. Matt received his M.A. in public history
from Wright State University in 2008. Most recently he worked
as an Assistant Archivist at the American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming, 2008-2011. Matt currently serves on the
SAA (Society of American Archivists) Issues & Advocacy
Roundtable Steering Committee.
Senior Assistant Librarian Dan Newton has left SUNY Potsdam
for a position at Scottsdale Community College in his home state
of Arizona.
On Sept. 8th, the College Libraries hosted its 6th annual Library
Expo. The event is held for incoming freshmen to help orient
them to the library building, services and friendly staff. Over 311
freshman participated this year. Give-aways included a
crossword puzzle, pencils, rulers and a raffle. Candy, popsicles
and gooey desserts helped launch them on their way to gaining
their "Freshman 15." Photos of the poster sessions are available
on Flickr: http://tiny.cc/expo2011
Syracuse University Libraries
Ted Koppel, original anchor of the ground-breaking ABC News
program Nightline, has agreed to make a donation of videotapes
and other items he has prepared or received during his career in
broadcast journalism to the Syracuse University Library. Koppel
began his broadcasting career at Syracuse University in 1956,
ultimately serving as SU radio station WAER's Program Director in
1959-60. Now, 51 years later, the largest body of his work,
including programs that ran in the late 1950's on WAER, is
finding its home on the Syracuse campus.
Sound Beat, a public radio program originating in the Belfer
Audio Archive at Syracuse, was awarded a $15,000 Arts on
Radio and
Television grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Sound Beat is a daily 90-second public radio show and
companion website that uses historic sound recordings from the
1890s through the 1960s, along with entertaining back-stories,
to educate listeners about the arts and history.
<http://www.soundbeat.org>.
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
The Syracuse University Board of Trustees recently approved the
Library's plan to construct the South Campus Library Facility
(SCLF), a high density storage facility to be located adjacent to
the Hawkins Building on Jamesville Avenue. The design-
development phase of the project will begin immediately, with
construction expected to be completed in 2012. The 20,000
square foot building will house approximately 1.6 million
volumes and will include a processing area and conference
room. Most important, this facility will enable the library to
support the long-term research needs of the faculty by providing
space for collections growth.
Tasha Cooper was selected as the 2011 ENY/ACRL Librarian of
the Year Award recipient. She was chosen as an outstanding
member of the chapter whose contributions have benefited the
chapter and the library pi ion. The award is in ition of
an ENY/ ACRL member who has exhibited a dedication to
fulfilling the ACRL mission and furthering the goals and
objectives of ACRL and ENY/ACRL in particular. The award
includes a plaque and a $250 honorarium, which is presented at
ENY/ACRL's spring conference. The only other SU librarian to win
this award was Elaine Coppola in 1996
Tarida Anantachai, Resident Librarian, received her MLIS from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and her B.A.
in English and American Literature from Brandeis University.
Prior to coming to SU, she worked at the UIUC History,
Philosophy, and Newspaper Library. In the past, she has also
worked in public library adult services and for an academic
publisher. Tarida will also be serving as (general &
interdisciplinary) liaison to international students.
Michele Combs has been contracted by the Newberry Library in
Chicago to create a new XSL style sheet for their EAD finding
aids. This upgrading of the Newberry's finding aids display and
functionality is part of a grant to the Library to process the
records of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company.
In addition she was invited to chair a panel on EAC-CPF at SAA’s
annual conference, but due to some annoying woman named
Irene and the transportation sector's paralyzing fear of imperfect
travel conditions was unable to do so.”
Rachel Fox von Swearingen is the Librarian for Music, Dance,
Musical Theater in SCRC. Rachel holds a MLIS degree from Kent
State University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory
from Ohio University. Before joining SU, Rachel held two
positions at the Boston Conservatory, first serving as the Evening
Librarian/Metadata Specialist and later as the Public Services
Librarian.
Linda Galloway is the biology, chemistry and forensic sciences
librarian at Syracuse University Library. She helps expedite
access to scholarly resources using a variety of tools and
Linda is i about i to
the library by in | \dded content and
initiatives. She came to Syracuse from SUNY-ESF.
PAGE 9 ENY/ACRL Newsletter
Notes from the Field
Continued
Syracuse University Libraries, Continued
Susan Kline is now Project Archivist for the Council on Library
and Information Resources (CLIR) grant funded project to
process the Grove Press Records. Prior to this, she worked on
the Marcel Breuer project (funded by the National Endowment
for the Humanities) and was Cartoon Archivist for National
Historical icati and Records C¢ (NHPRC) project.
which involved processing the cartoon collections at the Special
Collections Research Center.
Yuan Li is the new Scholarly Communication Librarian and will be
instrumental in developing Surface, Syracuse's newish digital
repository. She comes to Syracuse from the University of Rhode
Island, where she was Digital Initiatives Librarian.
Amber Moore, Safire Project Archivist in SCRC, received an MLIS
with a ion in Archives from Simmons
College (Boston) and holds a bachelor of liberal arts degree cum
laude in history with a concentration in African American history
from Spelman College (Atlanta). Most recently, Amber was
Project Archivist at the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans.
Suzy Morgan was the Gaylord Preservation Intern at Syracuse
during this summer. She received her MSIS from the University of
Texas at Austin, where she was trained in book and paper
conservation. She has previously interned at the Cincinnati Art
Museum, The Ringling Museum, and Northwestern University.
Before coming to Syracuse, Suzy is a conservator in private
practice in Chicago.
Lucy Mulroney, Curator in SCRC, is currently completing her Ph.D.
in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Her
research and teaching focus on the intersection of 20th-century
it-garde art, ii and social history. This
October, Lucy will present her research at the Art Book Fair
Conference at the Museum of Modern Art PS1. Lucy also
received her B.A. in Art History and Criticism from the University
of California at San Diego in 2004. In addition to her academic
work, Lucy has several years of experience in archives and
museums, working as a research assistant at the George
Eastman House Rare Book Library and as the Editor and
Publicist at the historic San Francisco Art Institute where she
worked with curator and critic Okwui Enwezor.
Peter Verheyen and Marianne Hanley presented Book Repair
Basics as webinar for ALA/ALCTS on September. The webinar
included several videos demonstrating techniques. Also included
were numerous links on where to fine hands-on training...
<http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/upcoming/we
binar/pres/091411.cfm>
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
University at Albany
Gerald T. Burke and Carol Anne Germain have co-edited a new
book, Information Literacy through the Streets of Hollywood.
(Library Instruction Publications, 2011). It is number 10 in the
Active Learning Series. For more information go to http://library-
instruction-pubs.com/als10-info.php.
Trudi Jacobson, a University at
Albany Libraries faculty member
and Head of the Libraries’
Information Literacy Department,
has been appointed to the rank
= of Distinguished Librarian.
Ms.Jacobson is nationally known for her scholarship in the field
of information literacy instruction. Many of her publications are
acclaimed as seminal works, transforming our understanding
and teaching of information literacy.
Ms. Jacobson has held many leadership positions in national
professional organizations. She has chaired numerous
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction
Section committees, as well as ACRL's Information Literacy
Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Urban Library
Journal Advisory Board and was editor of the Public Services
Quarterly (2004-2011). She is also past member of the Research
Strategies editorial board. In 2009 Ms. Jacobson recieved the
Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian of the Year Award, the
highest honor conferred by the ACRL Instruction Section.
Ms. Jacobson is only the fourth librarian to be promoted to the
SUNY Distinguished Librarian rank.
PAGE 10 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
A Transformational Teaching/Learning Method
Continued from Page 2
Trudi Jacobson
Head, Information Literary Department
University at Albany, SUNY
Team formation and management: The students are divided into teams using a criterion of the professor's choosing. This may
be particular student strengths that he or she wishes to distribute amongst the teams, or might be something more casual. |
divide mine based on discipline, which helps to allocate various areas of expertise. Students continue in these teams
throughout the course.
Accountability: TBL holds students accountable for their learning. This is manifest in several different ways. Students are tested
on their understanding of assigned readings and other homework at the start of each unit. This testing comes before the topics
are introduced in class. These readiness assessment tests (RATS) are taken first individually, and then in the team. Team
discussion surrounding each item on the test is a fertile time for additional learning to take place. Students are accountable to
their teams not only for their preparedness for the team RAT, but for other graded work done in class. For example, the team
application exercises, which allow students to put their new knowledge into practice, may be graded.
Feedback: Frequent and prompt feedback is critical to the success of TBL. Team RATs involve the use of scratch-off cards,
similar to lottery cards, that allow the teams to know right away if they are correct in their thinking or not. Through this process.
students also realize how they did on their individual test. Students also receive feedback from their team members. Both a
midterm and an end-of-term peer assessment is recommended. This feedback is incorporated into each student's grade.
Assignment design: Assignments are carefully developed to promote team development as well as student learning. Teams
grapple with complex problems that shift their knowledge from understanding concepts to being able to apply them.
As you would expect, this brief introduction cannot address many components of this classroom method. There are key
resources listed at the end of the article that are extremely helpful for learning more. | also welcome questions about its use,
either in credit courses or single session course-related instruction.
I've been teaching our IL course for 11 years, and have used TBL since 2009, in a total of 10 sections. We have always had
many seniors in our course, even though the expectation is that our students will meet the IL general education requirement in
their first or second year. These seniors bring a great deal to the course, but often don’t acknowledge its value at this stage in
their academic career. They just want to meet the requirement so they can graduate. In addition, some students have very set
opinions about how much outside class work should be required for a one-credit course, and have been inclined to grumble
about the actual amount over the years. TBL has changed the dynamic of the course enormously, as shown in the scenario
above. After teaching with this method, | can’t imagine returning to my previous method, even though students were very active
participants in that method. There is just no comparison.
Team-based learning website: http://www.tear ning.org/
Jacobson, T. E. (forthcoming). Team-based learning in an information literacy course. Communications in
Information Literacy 5 (2).
Michaelsen, L. K. (2008, Winter). Getting started with team-based learning. New Directions for Teaching and
Learning (116), pp. 27-50.
Michaelsen, L. K., & Sweet, M. (2008, Winter). The essential elements of team-based learning. New Directions for
Teaching and Learning (116), pp. 7-27.
Additional Resources
Michaelsen, L. K., Knight, A. B., & Fink, L. D. (Eds.). (2004). Team-based learning: A transformative use of small
groups in college teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
PAGE 11 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
Folsom Library Institutes a New Reference Model
Continued from Page 3
Bob Mayo, Director
Fran Scott, Library, & Services,
Rensselaer Libraries
The reference manager provides reference interview guidance for both the Reference and Public Services departments and
instruction on the overall workflow processes and methodology for recording metrics. In addition to the web-based tool used by
the librarians, the Service Desk staffers are keeping tallies of the number and types of questions they are completing and how
many referrals are being made to the librarians.
The reference manager, the reference librarians, interns, and the library administration office coordinator worked together on
developing publicity for the new model. They designed posters with Quick Response (QR) codes to be exhibited on the Library's
main floor, slides for the Institute's digital signage systems, and bookmarks with QR codes advertising the libraries mobile site.
Despite the fact that an Information Desk no longer exists, the decision was made to retain the department's unique phone
number for future reference inquiries, which is posted throughout the libraries’ web navigation tool, “RensSearch”
(http://library.rpi.edu). It was also decided to have any calls made to that original number automatically forwarded to the
Service Desk.
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Since the implementation of the new model, the main method used to contacting reference librarians is by telephone. There
has been some discussion of experimenting with two-way radios for better in-house communications and to give the on-call staff
the ability to be more mobile and to more readily ascertain who is available to field a reference question. If implemented, these
devices will be made available to all Tiers in order to coordinate the distribution and assignment of difficult questions that Level
A personnel at the Service Desk may not feel confident in handling.
Finally, as part of the new reference model, reference librarians are no longer scheduled to handle weekend email inquiries but,
rather all librarians and archivists have been asked to i monitor email req
Although, it is still in in its infancy, we are confident that this new model of tiered on-call reference service will work, and actually
improve our level of reference service.
PAGE 12 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
“Mini” Library Sessions at SUNY Plattsburgh
Continued from Page 4
Elin O'Hara-Gonya, Associate Librarian
SUNY Plattsburgh
| would also answer questions students had generated based on the research they already conducted earlier in the semester.
These mini-sessions would be accompanied by LibGuides created ifi to address the p' " and students’ identified
research needs. | hoped the students would better absorb the library content since it would be given in small, discrete portions
at the time they need the information. | also hoped the students would respond more favorably to the instruction because the
students would have precipitated the library instruction request. | would no longer be teaching the sessions based entirely upon
what | perceived their needs to be.
In the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 semesters |
tested this new method in two 400-level courses. |
selected these courses because these professors
had frequently requested library sessions for their
courses, but had not been entirely satisfied with
the outcome of the sessions. | visited a 400-level
Human Development and Family Relations class
twice: once to provide APA in-text citation help the
students had requested and once to provide
subject-specific database searching help that the
professor had requested based on student work.
The professor reported significantly improved APA
in-text citation format as well as improved overall
source quality. In the Spring 2011 semester |
piloted the mini-sessions in a 400-level Health
Education course. In this case | visited three times:
once to address the professor's concerns about
the quality of the students’ APA in-text citations,
once to address students’ difficulties selecting
appropriate databases and controlled vocabulary,
and once near the due date to ask simply if
anyone had any lingering research concerns. This professor also reported significant improvement in source and citation quality
compared to previous semesters. In these courses, moreover, students reported that they felt these sessions were both highly
useful and effective. The professor, in fact, requested | provide these mini-sessions to this Health Education course again this
semester. Colleagues and | are curious whether these results can be achieved in foundation-level courses as well. We are,
therefore, in the planning stages of testing this mini-session model in an English 101 course next semester, which would
include a more formalized assessment mechanism such as pre- and post-testing.
In addition to the positive outcomes, there were several other unanticipated results. Multiple short visits scattered across the
semester required less scheduling lead time, but also quickly generated significant numbers of requests for time-consuming
individual research consultations. | have also found that the “on-demand” nature of the sessions requires | be very responsive
to class needs and very flexible with regard to scheduling. | have also had to be conscientious about “checking in” with both
students and faculty about perceived instructional needs. The seamless nature of the mini-sessions across the semester also
seems to require that the same librarian provide all the mini-sessions to a given course; therefore, based on workload concerns,
more colleagues will need to participate in this program if it becomes a larger, formalized library program in the future.
Marketing efforts will also have to be significantly expanded if the pilot becomes a formal program.
Once word-of-mouth spreads news of these mini-sessions’ efficacy, we are optimistic that more faculty members will be willing
to request this library session model in the future. (My sales pitch will be that improved student research equals lighter
professor workload). If more faculty request this model in coming semesters, | hope to see continued improvement in student
research outcomes and increasing librarian visibility within the student population. We'll keep you posted...
Photo by Elizabeth Taylor
PAGE 13 ENY/ACRL Newsletter VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2
Librarians at FMCC Explore Ways to Connect with
Student-Athletes continued from Page 4
Michael Daly, Public Services Librarian
Daniel Towne, Systems/Electronic Services Librarian
Fulton-Montgomery Community College
The informal became formal when Dan Towne, our Systems Librarian, became the Head Women’s Softball Coach. A direct
link between the student-athletes, the athletics department, academic support services, and the library was created. As a
librarian/coach Dan is concerned with his players’ academic progress. He needs to ensure they are succeeding academically
to be able to participate athletically. Contact between the library, academic support services, and the athletics department
now happens on a daily basis.
Another unique situation that we are leveraging to expose our student-athletes to library services is the simple fact that many
other academic support services are located within our building. The Writing Lab, Math Lab, and the TRiO Study Lab all finda
home in the same building as the Evans Library. Many of the student-athletes utilize these services to fulfill a mandatory
three hours a week of study time.
Other ways we are trying to work with student-athletes include offering directed study courses with individual athletes and
offering our 1-credit College Research class over the winter term. These options help student-athletes that may need to gain
credit for eligibility requirements and also prepare them to do effective research project in their fall and spring semester
courses.
We have also made conscious efforts to attend as many home games as we can. At a minimum we try to stay aware of game
schedules for the sports that are in season. We've found that when a student- athlete knows we are interested in their sport,
they start to connect on a more personal level; they approach the reference desk on a consistent basis, more easily become
an active participant in information literacy classes and provide us an opportunity to discover how we might further serve this
population. More often than not at the end of these interactions, we’re asked if we're coming to the next game. We also try
to use the campus fitness center on a regular basis as well. This is a great way to connect with students and other college
staff members. Allowing ourselves to be seen outside of the library, as people with varied interests, has sparked casual
conversations which have led to rigorous reference interactions or direct referrals to other student-athletes, that the
“librarians know how to help you”.
This outreach service is a natural outlet for us. We are both genuinely interested in sports and we think that shows when we
speak to student-athletes in and out of the library. We recognize that some student-athletes may not be aware of library
services or may not want to use them. We feel that making a connection with them has opened their eyes to the benefits of
utilizing our services, ultimately helping them win what FM truly offers -- a college education.
Do you have questions or comments about the ENY/ACRL newsletter?
Please contact Kathryn Frederick, kfrederi@skidmore.edu
