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My book is now available!

I have been working on a project for some time that has kept my writing more in Scrivener files and Word documents than this blog. And that project is finally available for others to see. My book, So You Want To Be A Librarian, is out! You can see the (very fun and relevant) cover here:

I’ve also started a blog to go along with the book, aimed at providing information for people interested in the field. If you’re interested in that, you’ll see more action over there in the near future. If you know of people who might be interested, please point them in that direction!

If you’d like to see the book, would like buy a copy, get it signed, or would just like to say hi, I’ll be at the Library Juice Press booth in the exhibits at the ALA Conference in Chicago.You can find me at booth 1637, Exhibits Hall, McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago at 10am, Sunday, July 12, 2009. There’s even a Facebook group if you’d like to RSVP. :)   If you’d like to order a copy for someone you know who seems like a future librarian, you can now order it from Amazon.

I’m thrilled with the final product and am so happy to have been able to do something like this. Working with Rory Litwin was great and Library Juice Press is a top notch operation. Speaking of which, Litwin Books/Library Juice Press’s 2009 catalog just came out, and is filled with books that I’m adding to my Amazon wishlist. You should check it out, too.

Writing a book was an entirely new experience for me. I am a big projects type of person, always adding to the list and rarely turning down something that sounds promising. This was the biggest one that I’ve taken on alone without being part of a committee or group. The process was longer than I expected it to be, much more all-consuming, and I learned a lot about myself in the process of working on it. I even went through a period where I could only read graphic novels because reading others’ text-based books became a bit too stressful. As with any project that is life altering in these ways, it made the completion of it all the more rewarding. And when the box of author’s copies showed up on my doorstop, I was beside myself.

My parents have reminded me that as soon as I could read, I proclaimed that I wanted to write a book, so it’s especially exciting to me to have done so. And it’s even more exciting that perhaps it can help our field in some way. Since getting into librarianship I’ve been interested in mentoring, even starting up a mentoring program for my library school while I was in the student association. I see this book as an extension of that part of my interests. It’s pretty basic. The book was designed to give an overview for those just getting started. I tried my best to address both traditional and evolving aspects of the field to paint a realistic picture for those who might be interested. We also aimed for a length that would be long enough to have some depth while short enough to not be intimidating.

There are also several interviews featuring perspectives from other librarians. Sue Kimmel, Kim Duckett, Amy Kearns, Rachel Walden, Mary Cimato, Ellie Collier, Melissa Rethlefsen, Courtney Stephens, Kathleen Burlingame, Audra Eagle, Cat McDowell, and Cliff Landis all contributed interviews to this book. (If you have a link you’d rather me use, let me know!) And the book is better for having multiple perspectives.

So, expect to see me in this space a little bit more, as this project has wrapped up (and a few more are wrapping up in the wings). I’m so pleased to have been able to work on this project, and I’m hoping it’s helpful for those who are thinking about entering the field. Please let me know if you have questions!

Posted 30 June 2009 † lauren pressley § librar* § projects ‡ Comments (8) °

A Week in My Library Life

I love the Library Day in the Life project. So, after a particularly intense week, I thought it was time to post on the topic again. This is what the week was like for an Instructional Design Librarian at my library:

Monday

Tuesday

  • Tuesday morning was all about assessment. I’m on the library’s assessment taskforce, and we met to go over some of the data that I was able to pull out of our assessment tool. We talked about the format the data needs to be in for the team heads, and I’m going to get that done before their next meeting (early next week).
  • Tuesday afternoon kicked off what I think of as “tech camp.” Giz Womack and I taught six 90 minute technology sessions over three days this week. For this reason, from 1:30-5:00 we were in classes Tuesday-Thursday. I taught a session introducing Web 2.0 as a concept. Giz taught one on social networking. He focused on using active learning techniques, so we both did a lot of one-on-one guidance.

Wednesday

  • Kicked off with a librarian assembly meeting, hearing about the transition to faculty status.
  • I know I had some kind of impromptu meeting, but honestly can’t remember what on.
  • We had a TED Talk lunch, but ended up talking more about the future of the library website than watching a talk.
  • Helped with Giz’s tech camp session on Google applications.
  • Gave a tech camp session on ZSR hosted blogs, wikis, and podcasts. Two of the professors are very interested in incorporating them into their next classes!

Thursday

  • Came to work and saw some of the fire doors were down. It turns out, lighting struck on Wednesday night leaving us with just a little power. One wing of the library was without lights or wireless. We gathered around places with power to get our work done.
  • I had a Net Neutrality talk scheduled for that morning, so I had been cramming on the subject as much as I could. We got to the new room (we had to move because the scheduled room was without lights) and very few people who were scheduled came. I chalked it up to the challenges we were all dealing with, so we talked a little bit and then decided to reschedule the formal talk for a better time.
  • Had a fun and informative lunch with some colleagues.
  • Headed back for the last day of the tech camp. Giz did a session on using Web 2.0 to get content (RSS, iGoogle, Google pages, podcast aggregator, etc) and I helped as I was needed.
  • My talk, on Instructional Design and Web 2.0, had a small number of people signed up for it. People had different interests, so I scheduled some one-on-one meetings to target specific needs, and chatted a little about instructional technology.

Friday

  • Power was still out for most of the day.
  • Mailed off a piece of writing I’ve been working on.
  • Participated in Strategic Planning meeting on IT and Information (University committee, really interesting stuff there!)
  • Chatted with a faculty member about how technology can be enhanced with some of the tools available to them. I’m going to work with them a bit more on this. It’s very exciting stuff!
  • Had lunch with a friend from another local library. I love chatting with her, we talked about all kinds of fascinating things, from professional organizations, future of libraries, professional involvement. It’s always a great time.
  • Spent the afternoon talking one-on-one with a few folks about specific projects, following up on a few things from earlier meetings, and looking through my todo list of things that hadn’t been done to see what was important enough that I’d need to do it this weekend, and what could wait for Monday.

I had a few other things going on in the background: writing projects, a presentation I’m beginning to think about, and a taskforce that’s active right now. And I didn’t have a lot of time at work to prepare for all of this week’s presentations, so it was a week of 2:00 evenings and being constantly “on.” Now it’s all wrapped up, though, so I’m having a remarkably relaxing weekend, and am planning for lots of fun. Whew! Next week, according to the calendar at least, will be nothing like this last one. :)

Posted 13 June 2009 † lauren pressley § librar* ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Teaching Librarians About Teaching

Today was the final day of the semester long teaching class I’ve been working on. Together, with Roz Tedford, we’ve held what boils down to a one credit course (without the credit) for any library staff member at Wake Forest University who is interested in instruction. We had great attendance. 22 people attended at one point or another, and most days we had over 15 participants.

We covered a lot of ground, too! We talked about what Instructional Design is, and the different models of ID that are practiced. We talked about taxonomies of teaching, educational psychology, multiple intelligences/learning styles, teaching styles, learning theory, problem based learning, active learning, classroom management, assessment, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The entire class took place in the classroom for the fourteen scheduled hours. That being the case, most of the class was very active and we covered a lot of ground together. I opted out of assignments and assessments though a few indicated they might like them. Knowing how the semester goes, I didn’t want to create an atmosphere of anxiety, so I focused on doing what we could in the classroom and avoiding out-of-class temptations. I knew that as the semester progressed, and as people got busy, they would stop doing any assignments, feel guilty, and stop coming to class.

And that wouldn’t have worked, because I wanted a full classroom. I know I have something to bring to the table on issues of instructional design and pedagogy. But I also know my colleagues are great teachers and have loads of experience and different types of training in educational concepts. So, though I led most of the sessions, I tried very hard to create an atmosphere in which everyone could contribute from their perspective.

One of the things we discussed in class is how much retention is realistic to expect. Since I knew we weren’t doing homework and I wasn’t going to be giving tests, I knew I was especially limited in what I could expect people to retain, so I boiled it down to a few main ideas:

  • Confidence
    • In the teaching we’re already doing.
    • For publishing in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
  • Some basic theory
    • Enough for participants to be able to know why things the thing they’re already doing work (or don’t).
  • New tools
    • New strategies and ideas
    • Sharing information from different courses taught by participants
  • To let people know I’m here to help!
    • When I do my library instruction session, this is the main goal I have for the students. I want my students (whether they’re literally students or colleagues) to know that if they need help after the fact, I am totally here for them I’ll meet with you one-on-one, or create workshops and sessions around your area of interest. So this was the recurring theme.

I’ve already seen some practical examples of some of these goals being achieved. A few people have talked to me about publishing about their teaching, a few have modified their courses in light of ideas they’ve gotten from others in our class discussions, and I’ve had one (and another scheduled) consultation session on class planning.

So, anyway, I just wanted to share in case anyone else is thinking about doing something like this in their library. It was a great experience, and I really think we’ll see some impact from what we were able to accomplish throughout the semester. Though I was worried about the commitment, particularly during an unusually committee filled semester, I was really motivated to plan (without feeling too much of a burden) because everyone who participated was so enthusiastic and engaged. It was an awesome time, and I’m so glad to be at a place where we were able to do something like this.

If you’re interested in seeing what we did, you can check out our course blog.

Posted 15 May 2009 † lauren pressley § future of library instruction ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , ,

the Internet, our culture, and accomplishment

Outliers I’ve been reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers for the past few days, and I love it. I loved The Tipping Point, wasn’t quite as enamored with Blink, so I’m glad to be back in the fan club. In case you’re not familiar with the premise of Gladwell’s newest book, he examines people who are incredible successes within their specific context. He draws some really interesting conclusions about how success is attained by examining cultural, historical, and familial context. He doesn’t deny that wildly successful people are intelligent, ambitious, and good at what they do. He just adds to the picture, indicating that those traits aren’t enough for wild success and that we need to give credit to a broader context in addition to the individual.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be born in the late 70s/early 80s, what it meant to grow up in the 80s, go to college in the 90s, and begin working in the 2000s. And so far, the clearest (and most obvious) cultural shift is how the internet shapes one’s perception of what is possible.

Over and over again, I’ve thought about how I’ve been allowed to do things at this point in my career that I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be able to accomplish by the time I turned 30. And it’s not just me. Many of my professional friends have had the same experience. I know that most of the things I’ve gotten to do have come through contributing in one online forum or another.

My blog started conversations with people that I didn’t think would even notice that I had anything to say way back when I was just starting library school. Giving a webcast at an early online conference helped me establish some area of expertise way before I would have thought that possible–and I’m sure I was only given the opportunity because I wasn’t too worried about attempting to give a webcast. Twitter means that I never go to a conference with strangers. And I say all this here not because these experiences are unusual, but because I know many of you have had similar experiences.

And this really is different. I felt comfortable saying things in blogs and webcasts that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying in an article or a face-to-face presentation. Getting good feedback in these informal channels helped me feel confident in more formal ones. I certainly don’t have expectations that I’d continue interesting opportunities without continuing work and productivity, but I also have no hesitation sending in all kinds of proposals for consideration for  journals, magazines, and conferences. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And at this point, if it doesn’t, I assume it’s more about the fit of the topic than anything.  That kind of confidence (especially for me) is something that is a direct result of the context in which I developed as a brand-new professional.

And what’s exciting about this, to me, is it’s all still happening, so we’ll continue to get more new voices. And even more exciting is that a whole large group came of age in this environment–or joined in and adapted with it–meaning we’ll have a whole lot more confident folks who feel comfortable sharing their ideas, opinions, and experiences, even if they are edgy, controversial, or radical. The entire field is richer for it.

So, anyway, Outliers is a great book, and a fascinating read. I am thankful for the clarity it’s giving me in thinking about what it means to be in the library and information science field at this point in our history, and I highly recommend it to you.

Posted 12 May 2009 † lauren pressley § future of information § future of libraries § internet culture ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , ,

Cluetrain Plus 10: The Metaphysical Construct

When I heard about the Cluetrain Plus 10 project, I knew I needed to participate.  The project celebrates the Cluetrain Manifesto and its decade of influence. I like manifestos. I really like predictive ones that turn out to be mostly right. So, to celebrate, I am blogging on thesis 13:

What’s happening to markets is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two.

And so it is true today.

We see markets being shaped by things happening online (perhaps mis)named “social” software and “social” networking. Searching for “twitter” and “advertising” will get you nearly 65 million hits. LinkedIn helps people find jobs. There’s a Facebook group for faculty interested in the ethics of using Facebook for academic purposes. Increasingly, these 3rd party, fun sites are being used for markets.

These things are social, to be sure, but that’s such a limited way of looking at things. “Social” software is really about communication. “Social” networking is really just networking. And we’re doing it online all the time. When Time Magazine declares “Why Facebook is for Old Fogies” we know it’s not just a space for the youngsters anymore. These sites are fun, but they’re also functional. One of my favorite professors once pointed out that while adults can help younger people learn to use technology for productivity and work, younger people can teach adults how to use it to connect, have fun, and be human.

And today there’s no shortage of people who would like to find more ways to incorporate these tools into their work. These tools give their business a human face. They help the business communicate with the users and the users to communicate with the business. They make business fun (which makes business more appealing to customers).

But many restrictions stand in the way. There are so many rules and regulations about user information, copyright, and basic behaviors online. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act is way harsher than any rules about analog materials were. The Company is getting in the way.

So, getting back to

What’s happening to markets is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two.

I can’t help but wonder, how do we keep “The Company” from standing between the two? Sure, we’re seeing the use of some of these “social” sites in markets, but largely in limited ways, and mostly from a few select businesses. How can we shift it towards being the norm? And how do we help institutions understand that it’s okay to have a human/personable face? Won’t we all be a little bit happier (and saner) when the same rules apply both in the markets and in our personal use of software? Wouldn’t it be nice if something that is a good idea is okay to do?

Because, really, I suspect thesis 13 will be just as true in 2019.

Posted 28 April 2009 † lauren pressley § future of the internets § internet culture ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Anna Quindlen: A Reader on Writing (and on the business of news)

One True Thing: A NovelA few weeks ago, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to hear Anna Quindlen speak at the Bryan Series. I had read several of her columns, and One True Thing, but went in not knowing much of what to expect her talk to focus on.

It was a fabulous talk. She covered politics, as you might expect, as well as reading and writing. She described reading in a way that completely resonated with my memories of reading as a child, and it made me want to read more. (These days, as I am writing book length works, I find it too stressful to read books. Reading them makes me stressed out about how people will read mine. Instead, I’m reading a lot of graphic novels. I can’t wait to get back to text novels and nonfiction once I’ve wrapped up these projects!) She described writing in exactly the way I experience: not nearly as fun as having had written.

As much as I loved what she was saying about reading and writing, my favorite part of her talk was about the news industry. She described the world as both bigger and smaller, simultaneously, due to technology. I’m sure than many of the blogging/twittering librarians have experienced this, as people across the country might know what’s going on in our lives more-so than our physical neighbors.  She talked about the amazing access to information that we have thanks to the internet, but how we’ve lost the talk over fences and on front porches that people used to have. And what was most impressive about this, was I didn’t get the feeling that she was judgmental about this shift, but rather that she was exploring the possible implications and meanings of this change. And she was looking for ways to get back some of what we lost, without shutting the door on what we’ve gained.

She also made a statement that touched on information literacy (as far as I’m concerned). She said,

“We have to reinvent the news, but you have to reinvent the reader.”

I love it. In this statement, she was describing how journalist have to adapt to how people consume news today. She described how journalism has shifted in the past to people’s changing needs and expectations, and described a more nuanced and deep form of journalism that we need today (that actually reminded me a lot of the Ira Glass keynote at ACRL). And then she pointed out that the readers of news also have to reinvent what news is. She talked about how readers need to be smart, and read widely, to get the full story, and essentially described an RSS reader to pull together various content.

Quindlen gave a great talk, and it’s one I’m still thinking over. I will make sure to hear her anytime I get the chance, and will (as soon as I’ve finished my big writing projects) read all of her works, and quickly!

Posted 26 April 2009 † lauren pressley § conferences ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

Instructional Technology Take Aways (CIT Showcase)

As you might have noticed, I spent yesterday at the Duke CIT Showcase. I attended a bunch of interesting sessions on the Duke Digital Initiatives, video feedback on assignments, alumni readers/critiques, a student’s perspectives of blogs in the classroom, iTunes University, and the physical arrangement of classroom space. James Groom, of the EduPunk movement gave the keynote.

I am constantly impressed with Duke’s Center for Instructional Technology. I’ve been paying attention to them for a few years, but really became a fan after attending last year’s showcase. The showcase is really for the Duke community, though they’re kind enough to invite those of us who do this type of work, too.  The presentations are all by Duke faculty for Duke faculty, focusing on really cutting edge or interesting ways of incorporating new technologies into the classroom. I normally feel really up on this type of thing, but both times I’ve come away with new ideas. The keynote is normally (at least based on the past two) a nationally known innovator in educational technology. They provide lunch, too, and both times I’ve been able to get a vegan box lunch…. something absolutely out of the ordinary at this type of thing. I normally carry food with me everywhere I go because I can never count on a place thinking of the vegans.

And that’s just about the showcase. The CIT provides all kinds of useful services for their community. They help faculty incorporate instructional technology into their courses with an eye for strong pedagogical uses and an emphasis on assessing the results. The people are outstanding, professional, and friendly. Duke is a better institution for having the CIT.

Okay, back to the showcase. From the sessions I attended there were two main themes of the day. 1: There is a benefit to having the “real world” view student work 2: Providing audio feedback allows you to give students more feedback. I am totally down with theme number one. This is why I try to put so much of the courses I work with online in public places. This is one of the reasons I avoid traditional learning management systems (like Blackboard). Point two is new to me. Though I love multimedia, and think of it a lot for student assignments, I hadn’t thought about all that it could provide by incorporating it into my grading. I have a few FERPA related things I want to work through (for example, I would assume spoken comments are FERPA encumbered, so do we have to keep those off the network?) but I definitely want to find ways to incorporate this. It actually reminds me a bit of the old-school tutor model, where you could have conversations with students (or, at least, more conversational feedback).

Out of the showcase came a few things I want to try:

  • A syndication plugin for a blog, rather than using FriendFeed, for my next class
  • Voice comments in lieu of written comments

Another theme for me, though not a major theme of the showcase, was that information management issues are increasingly intertwined with educational technology issues. Again, this is why I tend to think that librarians are in an excellent place to lead here. Every institution might not be in a place for librarians to take a role (and certainly not all librarians have this background), but at the very least I think there should be some level of collaboration. In the best case scenario, an institution would have librarians with a background that would allow them to lead in these issues. As faculty start having questions about archiving, indexing, and preserving the scholarly material created by a class, we should be ready to answer them.

Great stuff, and certainly worth the drive! Thanks again to the CIT, I look forward to keeping up with what you’re doing next year!

Posted 25 April 2009 † lauren pressley § conferences ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , ,

CIT Showcase: Teaching in a Flexible Classroom

Hugh Crumley, CIT and the Duke Graduate School

  • Showed images, asked for comments
  • Active group work, evaluating spaces
  • Buzz Phrase: Active and student centered: make thinking visible (allows fast formative assessment along the way), facilitate interaction
  • Showed rows, tables, circle with break out spaces
  • The walls of the room we are in area all whiteboard. They used a wallpaper product to do it.
  • The projector in this room is widescreen. Can also be used to project from two computers side by side.
  • Pointed out that we don’t all have the luxury of whiteboard walls.  Pointed out there are similar ways to achieve the same thing: writing on large pos-its, portable whiteboard, etc.

Posted 24 April 2009 † lauren pressley § conferences ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , ,

CIT Showcase: Audio Documentaries on iTunesU

John Biewen, Duke University, Documentary Studies

  • Another way to get student work out into the world.
  • Accessible through the iTunes store.
  • He played several samples of student documentaries. The quality was such that you might have thought they were professional podcasts.
  • Not a mass audience, but does have some reach. Someone heard a recording and decided to make a film as part of their film studies degree about one of the people featured in a podcast.

Posted 24 April 2009 † lauren pressley § conferences ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , ,

CIT Showcase: Teaching with Blogs: Advice From a Student

Jennifer Kim, Undergraduate Duke Student

  • Has taken 4 classes with blogs, all in english
  • 3 successful, 1 not

Why blogs don’t work

  1. Blogs fall into a black hold
  2. Blogs are not relevant to class and have no structure
  3. There are unrealistic expectations

How blogs can work

  1. Get people involved, RESPOND!
  2. There is proper incentive
  3. Provide an easy mechanism

Showed effective uses of blogs:

  • Weekly blog post with three questions and ask people to respond. Students often responded to each other, too.
  • Didn’t like the use of blog tools in Blackboard.

Posted 24 April 2009 † lauren pressley § conferences ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , ,