General Principles of Intellectual Property: Concepts of Intellectual Proper...
Embedding Librarians in Virtual Communities
1. Embedding Librarians
in Virtual Communities
Valerie Hill, PhD (Valibrarian Gregg)
Texas Woman’s University
School of Library and Information Studies
David Shumaker (Dmitri Starsmith)
Clinical Associate Professor
Dept. of Library and Information Science
Catholic University of America
ACRL Virtual World IG
& ALA CVL MIG
April 27, 2014
2. Serving Patrons
wherever they are
“What we’re trying to do is have the library be wherever you
are.” Nancy Roderer, John Hopkins Welch Medical Library
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins
3. Physical World Librarian
Print is no longer king of the information hierarchy.
Information literacy includes
all formats:
print, digital, audio, video, log
os, images, social
media, apps, 3D worlds and
“transmedia.”
5. Time to make your move, strategically
balancing tradition and innovation.
6. Information Literacy is like breathing.
Information Inhalation
• Literature
appreciation
• Listening &
viewing
• Reading
• Collecting &
curating
• Evaluating
sources
Information Exhalation
• Writing
• Podcasting &
recording
• Web 2.0
• Filming Videos
• Building 3D
content
• Reflection on
personal
growth
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dklimke/6732980387/">dklimke</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
7. Information Literacy includes all formats:
physical, virtual, and augmented.
•Digital literacy
•Media literacy
•Traditional literacy
•Transliteracy
•Audio-Visual literacy
•Web literacy
•Print literacy
•Balanced literacy
•Metaliteracy
8.
9. Information Literacy
and Digital Citizenship
An embedded librarian shares
resources and information literacy
in numerous formats: both
synchronous and asynchronous-
both physical and digital.
Examples: Media Mondays, Wiki
Wednesdays, online
resources, tutorials, content
curation, makerspaces, live
chat, or virtual worlds.
10. The way we search has changed.
Our first “go-to” places are:
David Ferriero, Archivist
of the US
stated, “Students believe
if it isn’t online, it doesn’t
exist.” ALISE 2012
15. Virtual World Librarianship Examples
• Exhibits, Museums, Displays
• Immersive Learning Environments
• Historical Simulations
• Reference Work
• Information Literacy in new formats
• Professional Development
• Global Professional Networking
16. Embedded Librarians
can be Physical or Virtual
“The embedded librarian combines proactivity
and energy with strong working
relationships, close alignment with team goals
and objectives, shared responsibility for
outcomes, and full membership in the team.”
Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27.
17. The library and the librarian
are not synonymous.
Take a risk and go where no
librarian has gone before!
“It may be that the great age of libraries is waning, but I am
here to tell you that the great age of librarians is just
beginning. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be a part
of it.”
~T. Scott Plutchak
24. Embedded Librarians in Distance
Learning
24
Curriculum development
Course design
Collaborating with subject instructors
Collaborating with students
25. Information literacy “is not extraneous to
the curriculum but is woven into the
curriculum’s content, structure, and
sequence.”
--ACRL, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher
Education
25
27. 27
Epilogue
The best way to
predict the future is
to invent it.
--Alan Kay
Photo: Macbird, Bonnie. (31 March 2007) “Alan C. Kay.” Viewpoints Research Institute
(http://www.vpri.org ) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Alan_Kay2.jpg
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. (Accessed May 6, 2013)
32. Bibliography
ALA. (2013). Standards for the 21st Century Learner. http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/standards
Gant, Scott. (2007). We’re All Journalists Now. New York: Free Press.
Gleick, J. (2011). The information: A history, a theory, a flood. Pantheon.
Grassian, Esther. (2012). Teach Information Literacy & Critical Thinking. https://sites.google.com/site/teachinfolit/ (accessed January
15, 2014).
Hill, Valerie, and Hyuk-Jin Lee. (2009). Libraries and immersive learning environments unite in second life. Library Hi Tech 27, (3): 338-56.
Howard, H. (2012). Looking to the future: Developing an academic skills strategy to ensure information literacy thrives in a changing
higher education world. Journal Of Information Literacy, 6(1), 71-81.
Kenton, J. and Blummer, B. (2010). Promoting Digital Literacy Skills: Examples from the Literature and Implications for Academic
Librarians. Community & Junior College Libraries, 16(2), 84-99.
Kolowich, Steve. (2010). Embedded Librarians. Inside HigherEd. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins (accessed
March 22, 2014).
McCluskey, C. (2013). Being an embedded research librarian: supporting research by being a researcher. Journal Of Information Literacy,
7(2), 4-14
Plutchak, T. Scott. (2007). The Librarian: Fantastic Adventures in the Digital World. Serials, 20(2), 87-91.
Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27.
Webber, Sheila and Diane Nahl. (2011). Sustaining Learning for LIS through use of a Virtual World. IFLA Journal (37)(1): 5-15.
Editor's Notes
As media formats change…so do the terms for literacy --- information literacy, digital literacy, media literacy and a new term I am hearing – transliteracy (See http://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com) Print is, of course, still important- but are they always the best choice for learning? This giant dictionary is now an antique!
Ok, well it looks like we have a lot of embedded librarians. You all are in a great position to affect how your institutions implement MOOCs. Everyone else, you have some work to do. So, since many of you are experienced embedded librarians, I’ll very briefly review the characteristics. There are 5 factors:• Relationship• Mutual understanding• Shared goals• Customized, high-value contributions• Team membershipWhen we relate this to MOOCs, it means that librarians need to have strong working relationships with the people who are developing the strategy for MOOCs. We need to understand the forces driving our institutional strategies – and we need to convince the leaders that we have something to contribute. We need to share the institution’s goals: in other words, it’s not about the library; it’s about fulfilling the institution’s mission. We need to then deliver on our promise and make a difference. Ultimately, then, we need to get on board and be part of the team, and not act in isolation.
Ok, well it looks like we have a lot of embedded librarians. You all are in a great position to affect how your institutions implement MOOCs. Everyone else, you have some work to do. So, since many of you are experienced embedded librarians, I’ll very briefly review the characteristics. There are 5 factors:• Relationship• Mutual understanding• Shared goals• Customized, high-value contributions• Team membershipWhen we relate this to MOOCs, it means that librarians need to have strong working relationships with the people who are developing the strategy for MOOCs. We need to understand the forces driving our institutional strategies – and we need to convince the leaders that we have something to contribute. We need to share the institution’s goals: in other words, it’s not about the library; it’s about fulfilling the institution’s mission. We need to then deliver on our promise and make a difference. Ultimately, then, we need to get on board and be part of the team, and not act in isolation.
As Alan Kay said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” I hope this presentation has triggered some ideas and energized you to take action and invent your embedded future.
As you invent your future, please stay in touch. Email me. Check out the Embedded librarian blog for an occasional update on embedded librarianship. Get the full picture and a detailed map for inventing your future from the book. I wish you the very best success, and hope to hear from you!