LiliUM

The UML Information Literacy Newsletter

A digest of news and information about library instruction & the things that
influence it

Issue 12, October 1 2009

Mark Your Calendars

“Designing Specialized Information Literacy Courses in Higher Education.”

Learn how to develop or expand upon your current information literacy coursework to help your students
succeed at your library. This three-week course will be offered October 19 - November 9, 2009. A full course
description and a link for registration are available at
http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/elearning/courses/specinfolit.cfm.
This is an asynchronous self-paced course, so group registration isn’t available. Registration is limited
to 60.
Please see staff.lib for more details.

1. New Publications:
Finally, the proof we need?
In “Connecting the Dots: Correlation between Information Literacy and Academic
Standing” University of Colorado librarian Denise Pan shows a correlation between
academic success and exposure to information literacy instruction.
http://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/MWRC09/DISC10/MW
RC09_ConnectingTheDots.pdf

1
Blogger extraordinaire Gerry McKiernan draws our attention to Library Mashups:
Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data
“As web users become more savvy and demanding, libraries are looking for new ways
to allow patron participation and keep their websites dynamically and collaboratively up-
to-date. Mashups—web applications that combine freely available data from various
sources to create something new—can be one very powerful way to meet patrons’
expectations and provide exemplary web-based service….This essential guide is
required reading for all libraries and librarians seeking a dynamic, interactive web
presence.”
It’s on order for the Dafoe Library.

York University’s Sophie Bury offers commentary on Barbara Fister’s new article “The
role of faculty development in fostering information literacy.”
http://sophiebury.ca/2009/09/10/the-role-of-faculty-development-in-fostering-information-
literacy/

A new study in Webology finds that Wikipedia is cited more than Britannica in ISI
Web of Science: “Wikipedia popularity from a citation analysis point of view.”
http://www.webology.ir/2009/v6n2/editorial20.html

Do blogging and twittering result in better student papers? In “Studies Explore

Whether the Internet Makes Students Better Writers” the Chronicle of Higher
Education asks if the academic curriculum should adapt to new writing styles, or if
students should adapt to traditional modes of academic communication.
http://chronicle.com/article/Studies-Explore-Whether-the/44476/

Newsletters:
The September issue of LOEX Currents is available at:
http://www.emich.edu/public/loex/currents/2009_0929_currents.htm

The September issue of Library Instruction Round Table News (LIRT) is not
available online yet, but the paper copy has landed in my office. Let me know if
you would like it routed to you.

2. Calls for papers:

a) ALA 2010 (June 24-30th, Washington, D.C.):
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/sections/is/committees/discussiongroup.cfm
Have an instruction topic you'd like to get your fellow librarians' opinions
on? Want to get some input on an instruction idea? Now's your chance! Propose
a topic for discussion at ALA's Annual Conference in Washington D.C next year.
Deadline: November 2nd , 2009.

2
b) LILAC 2010 (29th - 31st March in Limerick, Ireland):
http://www.lilacconference.com/dw/conference/call_for_papers.html
Themes:
* Measuring Impact
* Developing the IL practitioner
* IL and research
* Making connections: cross-sectoral initiatives
* Innovative practice
Please read the notes for presenters before submitting a paper using on the online form.
Deadline: November 1st 2009. Presenters will hear if they have been successful by 1st
December 2009.

c) LOEX 2010 (April 29 – May 1, 2010 Dearborn, Michigan)

http://www.loexconference.org/callforproposals.html
The conference theme, Bridging and Beyond: Developing Librarian Infrastructure, spans
the information literacy landscape, looking for the best in library instruction. Successful
proposals reflect elements of one of seven themes:
* Structural Supports
* Infrastructure
* New Materials
* Expansion
* Bridges Near and Far
* Removing the Tolls
*Reinforcements
Session Formats:
a) Presentation: A 60-minute session that includes time for a 45-minute presentation and
10-15 minutes of question and answer.
*b)Interactive Workshop: A 60-minute session where the presenter facilitates a learning
environment in which attendees develop or explore teaching and/or research techniques
In addition, there will be Poster sessions.

Deadline: November 20th , 2009. Proposals only can be submitted through the online
submission form. The primary contact on the proposal will be notified if the proposal has
been accepted for presentation by Friday, January 15, 2010.

3.Conferences & Continuing Ed:

UTS
The slate of seminars for this fall has been announced. While not directly related to
information literacy, the seminars offer useful information on various aspects of teaching
and learning. This fall’s lineup is:
The Classroom : A Learning Playground. Creating and Using Games as Learning
Tools
Tips for Teaching Large Classes
"To Learn or To Earn, That is The Question: Educational Purposes, Beliefs, and
Strategies"
Allies in Inclusivity: Ways to Provide a Welcoming Environment for Aboriginal
Students
Artifacts of Teaching Effectiveness for the Teaching Dossier

3
 Difficult Students
For more information or to register go to:
http://umanitoba.ca/uts/workshops/Faculty_Fall_09.html

Upcoming ACRL Online courses

These are 3-week long, asynchronous courses, and ACRL advises that due to the
nature of the course structure they can’t offer a group registration rate.

Instructional Design for Online Teaching and Learning,

October 5 - 31, 2009. Registration rates are ACRL member: $135, ALA member:
$175.
Designing Specialized Online Information Literacy Courses in Higher Education,
October 19 - November 6, 2009. Registration rates are ACRL member: $135,
ALA member: $175.
Implementing Online Teaching and Learning: Using Moodle and Other Web 2.0
Features
November 9 - December 5, 2009. Registration rates are ACRL member: $135,
ALA member: $175.

Webjunction Webinars
“WebJunction webinars are live events that are conducted online. Anyone who has an
internet connection and access to a telephone or VoIP connection can participate. These
free events allow you to meet and learn from library leaders and fellow library
practitioners” Archives are also available. Recent webinars of interest are:
Digital Reference Summit: Be Where Your Users Are
an overview of new methods of virtual reference delivery. [note - I suggest that
you start the webinar at 29:00 on the time index.]
Building the Digital Branch for the 21st Century
a look at how to transform a library web page from a static one-way information
source to an interactive online “branch”.
Bringing Web 2.0 into Academic Libraries
using social networks and other web-based technologies to reach member of
academic communities
You can access the archives at: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webinars/webinar-
archives Click on the webinar link and enter your name when prompted. You may have
to run the Wimba system configuration widget before accessing the webinar.

Augustana Information Literacy in Academic Libraries Workshop:

Registration is now open! www.library.ualberta.ca/augustana/infolit/workshop
When: Thursday, December 3, 2009 (with optional Wednesday, December 2 dinner)
Topic: New Foundations: Building an inquiry-based information literacy agenda
Presenter: Dr. Ross Todd, Associate Professor,
Rutgers University School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies

4
4. Tips n’ Tricks:
Newspapers are looking for ways to survive and be relevant in an online world.
ARCLog suggests that academic libraries may have something to learn from their
example:

“A Dozen Newspaper Survival Tips For Academic Librarians”

http://acrlog.org/2009/09/17/a-dozen-newspaper-survival-tips-for-academic-librarians/

Information literacy assessment is always tricky, and the ACRL standards are
somewhat byzantine in their complexity. The Association of American Colleges and
Universities has developed an information literacy rubric which gives a much simpler
assessment structure:
http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/pdf/InformationLiteracy.pdf

5.The IL Channel:
From Houston, Texas:
What's the use of Facebook? Well, we use Facebook to host our tutorial videos:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Houston-TX/LSC-North-Harris-Library/75136419361
In the absence of server space, Facebook's video hosting capability is a handy way keep
them organized. And the resolution is pretty good, too.

Nostalgia alert!
Popular Search Engines in the 90’s: Then and Now
“This article harks back to the days of AltaVista, HotBot, and when Ask was still Ask
Jeeves. You’ll see how the web designs of ubiquitous search engines of the past have
evolved through time.” http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/popular-search-engines-in-
the-90s-then-and-now/

6.Thoughts from the field:

Sound familiar?
“My optimism to put together really fantastic library sessions appears like clockwork at
the start of the first academic term. Then, just as quickly, any hopes of conveying any
real knowledge about this fabulous information world we live in falls away as instructors
begin to schedule their classes.” Robert Monge of Western Oregon University says that
we have to stop treating one-shot library instruction sessions as “gateways to
information literacy.” http://robertmonge.blogspot.com/2009/09/argument-against-
fabulous-one-shot.html

What’s your wish list?

In 1998 Mary George created the “11 Commandments” of things she wished professors
would communicate to undergrads about the research process *before* coming to the
library. In her September 17, 2009 blog entry, Ms George reviews the commandments
and her expectations.
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/keywords_from_a_librarian/great_expectations

5
7.Milestones:
“The National Forum on Information Literacy, Inc. (http://www.infolit.org) will celebrate its
20th anniversary in Washington, DC on October 15 and 16 at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace Conference Center in Washington, D.C., to celebrate 20 years of
advocacy and achievement.”

8.In the News:

Are you ready for the vook?
It’s a combination of book and video and it’s the latest publishing venture from Simon &
Schuster. You can read the story at the New York Times site,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/books/01book.html?_r=1, a summary on Gerry
McKiernan’s blog, http://tinyurl.com/ybyao2f or see a vook in action at:
http://vook.com/product.php?book_id=1

The end of Wikipedia?

This thought-provoking new article from TIME suggests that Wikipedia may have
reached a critical mass and is evolving into something more like what academics
would recognize as being a peer-reviewed source:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924492,00.html

Are academics becoming more like Wikipedia contributors?

In “The Future of Peer Review” ACRLog describes a new publishing project by Pomona
College’s Kathleen Fitzpatrick. “While Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology,
and the Future of the Academy will go through the traditional blind review process (it’s
slated to be published in print next year by NYU Press), Fitzpatrick also plans to
incorporate reader comments from the online manuscript into her revisions,
asserting that “peer review will be a more productive, more helpful, more transparent,
and more effective process if conducted in the open.”
http://acrlog.org/2009/09/29/the-future-of-peer-review/

Public Library of Science metrics:

“As part of our ongoing article-level metrics program, we're delighted to announce that
all seven PLoS journals will now provide online usage data for published articles.
With this addition, the suite of metrics on PLoS articles now includes measures of: online
usage; citations from the scholarly literature; social bookmarks; blog coverage; and the
Comments,Notes and 'Star' ratings that have been made on the article.”
http://tinyurl.com/ph85db

Questions, comments, contributions? Please send them to:

Betty Braaksma
betty_braaksma@umanitoba.ca
E3-362A Engineering Library
474-7193