IST 511--Day 4

Since tonight is the last night of "Boot Camp" at SU's Summer Institute, I thought I would reflect on something that has made a huge impact on my grad school experience this week--Teamwork. Several of our assignments over that last week have been group projects. For IST 605 we worked in groups to find an innovative technology solution to a real-life problem. I have blogged about this previously, noting how fortunate I was to have such a great group to work with. Well this week we were assigned new groups and a new project. Our group (#13) selected the topic "Dewey or Don't We: Does the Dewey Decimal system adequately serve the needs of public library patrons?" Once again, I was blessed to have landed in another terrific group. I was coupled with Mike again (thank goodness!) as well as Spencer, Sharon and Heidi. We are all very different from each other in many ways--age, experiences, geography, you name it. And we all brought different strengths and skill sets to the table. What I found made us so successful (we get graded tomorrow on our Poster Session) was compromise. I heard some real horror stories from classmates who were not making progress in their groups because individual egos were interfering with the overall goal of a quality project. The five of us did an excellent job of setting aside all petty rivalry or personal attachment to an idea or preference. We had healthy, respectful debate. And even though we may not have been in "lock-step" 100% of the time, we all had our eyes on the prize and made decisions for the good of the group. This attitude fostered a positive attitude, and great team chemistry--making the time spent working on this project (roughly 20 hours) enjoyable and even fun. Thank you teammates for all of your efforts!

IST 511-Day 3

I don't think I'm cut out to be a library systems person. Today's professional panel was comprised of 5 very interesting folks who work in various aspects of library systems. They clearly love what they do, but seemed to speak a language that I'm not sure I could (or want to) master. Their work is very technical (not my strength) yet is also quite rewarding for them. If I ever did change my mind about being a school librarian, I could see myself doing preservation and restoration. We visited the Rare Books collection on the 6th floor of Bird Library today and got to see exactly how books are painstakingly restored and preserved. Now that looked right up my alley! We also spent time in the book repair shop where books are quickly reconditioned with the goal of getting back into circulation as soon as possible. Think of it as a M*A*S*H* unit for books. Lastly, Professor Lavender spent some time with us--surrounded by a few of the gems from the Rare Books Collection of Syracuse University. And when I say gems, I am being literal as one of the books he shared with us actually had emeralds and sapphires embedded into the cover. He had some truly amazing artifacts, and even better stories to accompany them. There is a lot to librarianship (much more than I thought) and I'm enjoying learning about the many aspects of this interesting and exciting profession.

IST 511--Day 2

"Serendipity" is what Senior Assistant Director of the Morrisville State College Library Steve Schuster said, led him to become a librarian. Opting to take a menial library job right out of college in order to get health benefits for his family has translated into an amazingly rewarding career in libraries that has taken him around the world many times. Along the way he connected with a hand-full of people who played influential roles in his career decisions. Now, he is back in Morrisville doing what he loves and loving what he does. I don't think you could write a better recipe for a satisfying career trajectory--and he's not done yet! And while many people spend a great deal of time strategizing their careers, networking and glad-handing in order to get the job of their dreams, Steve has done it by just being true to himself and working hard. I was inspired by Steve's talk today and love that he continues to find ways to keep it fresh, learn and grow. We should all strive to live a "patron driven" life--like Steve. Thanks for coming in today to share with us!

IST 511--Day One

It is 11:56 pm on Monday July 20th. If I can finish this and get it posted in 4 minutes, it will technically be "on time." The fact that I am posting Monday's blog on Tuesday morning (I'll never make it in 4 minutes!) is an indication of what kind of day today was for me! Very full, very busy, very long--but very interesting as well. Perhaps the highlight of the day (other than riding the shuttle bus with SU quarterback and former Duke point guard Greg Paulus) was listening to today's two guest speakers who discussed their careers as public librarians. Back in the spring at the Admitted Student Reception, Scott Nicholson said that during 511 he would bring in speakers each day of the course to talk about their careers and at the end of each day, students would change their minds about what type of librarian they wanted to be. I thought this was hyperbole and that I wouldn't ever want to switch from School Media. Well today's presenters "almost" made me want to switch career plans and become a public librarian. The type of experiences each has had in the public setting were varied, challenging and rewarding. I especially enjoyed hearing about one who worked as a librarian in a correctional facility. And while I still plan to become a school librarian, the idea of becoming a public librarian lingers. At tonight's advising session, Blythe Bennett encouraged us to (at the completion of our School Media program) pay the $5 fee and become a certified Public librarian as well as a school librarian. Good advice.

One down, thirty six to go!

I've officially completed my first graduate course at SU (IST 601) and it feels great! The one credit, introductory course was titled Information and Information environments. It was a very strange feeling walking into that lecture hall on Saturday morning after 24 years away from college. I purposely told myself to not make the same mistakes that I did as an undergraduate at Boston University. So instead of sitting in the back row like I usually did in college, I sat closer to the front. (Baby steps, I know!)

There were two highlights from this weekend. The first was the group project and presentation we did on the Troy Public Library. My group really worked well together. In fact, I could not have wished for a better group. Mike, Penny, Mary and Carolyn all pitched in, worked hard, and the final result was an outstanding powerpoint and presentation. Professor Heckman gave us great feedback and praise. The second highlight was getting back my graded Reflective Essay. As I mentioned, I've been away from college for a long time and, while I've written a lot since then, I've not been required to write a graded essay. Professor Heckman's observations and comments were spot-on, and very helpful.

At the end of the day on Sunday, we were asked to answer the question, "What did you learn in IST 601?" And while most of my classmates listed quotes from discussions and faculty lectures ("Innovation is not invention." or "Organizational change is difficult, but not impossible.") my answers were a bit more personal and reflective. I learned this weekend that over the next two years I will be surrounded by some amazingly smart, talented, and friendly students, faculty and staff. I learned that graduate school professors are human, and like to laugh. And, most importantly, I learned that I can do this--I can handle the rigors of the iSchool and am confident in my ability to complete this graduate program. Going into this weekend I had a great deal of doubt and anxiety regarding this question. IST 601, the energetic faculty and my helpful, enthusiastic classmates (colleagues really) all helped me realize that getting this degree will not be impossible after all.

Reader Response Paper--Web 2.0 & You by Donna Baumbach

In the article Web 2.0 & You by Donna Baumbach, she presents an effective argument as to why it is imperative that school media specialists become adept with Web 2.0 and the emerging technologies and social networking applications that so many of our students use every day. She writes "Web tools are tools--much as pencils, paper crayons and glue are tools. They can be used in almost every subject area for almost any academic objective." (19) She goes on to say that once we understand Web 2.0 tools, we (teachers/librarians) can once again focus on the students we teach and not necessarily the technology used to teach it. We just need to get to that level of understanding and comfort with these tools.

Baumbach begins her article with a brief history of the use of the web in academic settings. She describes a time when the web was one-sided (Web 1.0) and only useful for gathering information rather than interacting with it (Web 2.0). "Some librarians think of Web 1.0 as a period which they and their students could locate, read, and evaluate a rapidly exploding store of information, while the current Web 2.0 environment enables them to use the web as a desktop." (13) She points out the social benefit to using Web 2.0 and the ability it allows teachers and their students to collaborate on their work. Collaboration is a significant bonus provided by Web 2.0 tools and is one way to support and enhance the learning process.

Through the use of surveys given to school library media specialists, Baumbach determined that these information professionals were, in large numbers lacking the skills, understanding, training, and technology to even partially engage in Web 2.0 learning. Several reasons were cited for this deficit. In many schools for example, Web 2.0 tools are inaccessible, or even blocked by school policy and administration. YouTube for example can be an excellent learning technology but is frequently blocked on school computers. Another reason cited is the lack of time to learn, explore, and practice using these technologies. Experience and repetition are required in order to become proficient in the use of these tools. Training is also necessary and Baumbach lists poor (or lack of) training as an additional reason why so many school library media specialists are way behind the curve (and the students) when it comes to understanding Web 2.0. Baumbach's survey and analysis resulted in the creation of a wiki designed to help school library media specialists learn more about Web 2.0 tools and how to make use of them in their schools and libraries.

Baumbach asks (and then answers) the question: "Why should library media specialists learn and use Web 2.0 tools?" (16) She then lists the benefits that can be attained by incorporating these tools into ones library program. While some of the benefits may be lofty ("Remain educational leaders, become educational innovators") (16) others are far more pragmatic. The ability to use technology to stretch your library budget makes good sense during these tough economic times. Many Web 2.0 tools can be obtained for free or very low cost. Baumbach also notes that the use of Web 2.0 tools supports the goals of national and state achievement standards in public schools. Many state standards include skill development like "inquiry," "problem-solving," "information, media and technology skills," and "life and career skills." (17) These types of academic skills are fostered and enhanced through the use of Web 2.0 as a teaching tool. Additionally, she stressed that educating with Web 2.0 tools teaches skills for today and the future as many of the 2.0 applications used in the classroom (wikis, blogs, podcasts, etc.) are also used in everyday life by both students and adults. Perhaps that is one reason why the use of Web 2.0 tools in schools is so popular with the students. They see it as fun, current, practical, cool, and something that are already familiar with. Baumbach believes that the use of Web 2.0 tools in today's media centers and libraries is vital for the future of our profession, and for the future of our students. It is essential for school library media specialists to master them in order to "remain effective, relevant, productive and competitive." (19)

Baumbach, D. (March/April 2009) Web 2.0 and You. Knowledge Quest 37 (4), 12-19.

Reflections on assigned reading—The Portable MLIS Chapter 15

Prior to reading this chapter (Research by Ron Powell) I suspected very little of his words would apply to me--either in my past life as a school teacher and administrator or to my future life plans to become a school media specialist. And I hoped that very little would apply to my current life as a graduate student in LIS. In my mind, "research" implied lots of science, math, statistics and quantitative data analysis--all things that do not appeal to me. In fact, Professor Powell even acknowledges that my feelings are not uncommon and that LIS research is not necessarily at the top of the list for LIS students. On page 178 he states, "The shortcomings of education in research methods are exacerbated by the fact that most students view LIS programs as primarily practical and professional in nature and not concerned with imparting academic skills such as research methods. Some LIS master's degree students seem to begrudge having to devote one of their courses to the study of research methods."

But once again, my preconceptions about library science topics has proved to be incorrect and ill-conceived. In fact, many of Professor Powell's words reminded me that I have spent a lot of my professional life doing research--although I may have called it something different--and certainly didn't view it in an academic context.

For example, my current work as a character education instructor in the Utica (NY) elementary schools requires that I "survey" my students at the end of each trimester. I guess I never considered this to be "evaluative research" but in fact, it is! The data collected from these surveys was very "pragmatic" and directly guided the management team in its decisions about which topics to offer the following year and how best to present the material to students.

During my years as a college admission officer, the capstone of most years was the completion of the Admitted Student Questionnaire (ASQ). This set of common questions was submitted to students admitted to our college as well as peer or competitor colleges and surveyed a range of topics related to the admission and application process. The results of these surveys were invaluable to us as we developed our recruitment strategies for subsequent years. I've also employed "focus groups" to evaluate and respond to admission publications. These reactions (while sometimes expensive as we were forced to abandon some marketing strategies based upon the sour reactions of the group) ultimately proved to be vitally important in our overall efforts.

While I learned a bit more about research from reading Professor Powell's essay, I must state that the greater lesson learned is for me to not make assumptions about a topic before I attack it. Since I am new to the field of library science (and really know very little about the nuts and bolts of it all) it will serve me well to tackle each new topic with an open mind and a positive attitude.

References:
Powell, Ron (2008). Chapter 15, Research. Found in The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts by Ken Haycock & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.), Libraries Unlimited, Westport, Connecticut.