Conference Reports

ACRL 2009 - Standing on the Edge of Change

Presented by M. Sue Baughman and Elaine Z. Jennerich

In these days of potential change for higher education in general, and libraries specifically, this workshop was very timely. The presenters talked about attitudes, emotional responses, resistance to, and behaviors associated with change as well as providing insight to one’s “change-friendly quotient” and four specific models that can be used to institute change.

 They shared these things that individuals can do to prepare for change: educate yourself, clarify, read everything (twice), make mission-based decisions, live in the moment, be open to new points of view, look for opportunities, be a leader, be a follower, take care of yourself, laugh more, unload old baggage, tell the truth.

 These video clips were also shared with the audience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sPwK87jeYg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBWYvljzefg

 

ACRL 2009--Campus Disconnect: Academic Libraries and the Information Needs, Skills, and Behaviors of Non-teaching University Staff

Cara  Bradley
Distance Education & Outreach Librarian, University of Regina

My notes on this presentation are fairly brief but my take away thoughts are pretty strong.  Basically, Bradley conducted a survey of non-teaching university staff to ascertain what kind of professional (and persona?) information needs they had, how they met those needs, and if they used the library. She opened by mentioning that her partner is a non-teaching university staff member and he mentioned having a lot of difficulty finding some piece of information--yet it never occurred to him to contact the library for help.

The survey results indicated that many non-teaching staff not only didn't use the library, they frequently forgot it was there.  Bradley didn't say this, but it sounds like the non-teaching staff mentally organized the use of the library with students and faculty and never considered it as a resource beyond the classroom.

Things that librarians might consider doing:

• Create liaisons to non-teaching departments along the lines of teaching departments--so the journalism/mass comm librarian might also work with the Communications office
• Extend invitations to new non-teaching staff to visit the library, take tour, or just offer information about services

My thoughts:
It seems that stronger relationships with non-teaching departments is win-win for everyone.  Especially if those departments oversee the distribution of physical or fiscal resources.  Many corporations have research services for their staff--a university shares enough similarities with corporations that it might make sense to offer similar services.  And, if a librarian is able to locate a piece of information that would have taken an associate provost four hours to find, then there is cost savings to the university and a greater understanding of the library's role in the university.

ACRL 2009--Playing on Practice Fields

Craig Gibson of George Mason University presented this paper investigating research and development in academic libraries.

Gibson framed R&D in the context of creating labs, internal think tanks, sandboxes, test beds, or innovation systems.  The goal would be to "conduct research as an organizational strategic focus in order to apply it to the creation of new products, services and practices." 

Examples of R&D in academic libraries:
MLibrary Labs--University of Michigan
MIT Libraries Betas
University of Minnesota Digital Library Development Lab
Project Bamboo

The future of R&D in academic libraries lies in federated, collective action.

ACRL 2009 - Dan's experience in Seattle

Having never posted to the Conference Reports blog before, this will be a new experience for both of us.  So come with me on a journey through some contributed papers.  And the open keynote.  And one invited paper:

Opening Keynote - Rush Kidder

Unfortunately, the planned opening keynote by Naomi Klein was canceled due to a family emergency.  I'm not familiar with Ms. Klein, nor was I familiar with Mr. Kidder.  Kidder's speech revolved around choosing between "right and right," by which he meant that most of the choices we face both personally and professionally don't entail a right vs. wrong decision.  That's a decision we make easily, so easily it's rarely even a decision.  Steal or don't steal?  Don't steal.  Easy.  We don't run into that kind of choice too often.  Where he lost me was in economics - basically further regulation will worsen the economy further and lead us down the path to communism (not the harmless hippy commune kind but the KGB and Stalin kind).  Also, further regulation will lead to worse offenses against libraries than anything the PATRIOT Act afflicted upon us.  I wonder if someone told him later that libraries are a largely socialist institution?

Later that evening, I attended the ACRL gaming night. 

ACRL 2009--Studying Your Students: Adapting Research from the University of Rochester Study

Presenters:

• Christine  Inkster MA English, MLS, Ed.D.
  Coordinator of LR&TS Assessment, St. Cloud State University 
• Jennifer  Quinlan 
  Assistant Professor, Reference Librarian, St. Cloud State University 
• Michael  Gorman 
  Reference Librarian, St. Cloud State University 
• Katie  Clark 
  Associate Dean, Public Services & Collection Development, University of Rochester

University of Rochester
Katie Clark form the University of Rochester provided the context for the University of Rochester Library Undergraduate Study. At Rochester, they were less interested in solving a particular problem, but in understanding what the world likes like (or at least libraryland) through an undergraduate's eyes.  They used a variety of ethnographic research methods to conduct the study: