We’re Not Your

Grandma’s Library
or Even Yours!
 Point-of-need Tutorials

3 weeks of workshops
1266 new items
Information Literacy

open access

2904 inquiries
52 classes
institutional repository

I could tell you that our librarians taught over 100 classes this past year. I could tell you that we answered over
3000 inquiries. I could tell you that we selected and catalogued over 2000 titles this past year. But it’s hard to
know what those numbers mean. I could talk to you about information literacy, how information literate students
are able to recognize when information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the
information.
I want to tell you stories. Stories that illustrate that the library is a vital partner in learning, teaching and research.
Together the students, faculty, and the library are the heart of the intellectual life at Antioch New England.
Imagine . . .
 You are a new student.

It’s your first day at Antioch.

You are feeling completely overwhelmed. Your partner got your kids off to school this morning so that you could
leave the house at 5 a.m. to get to Antioch on time. you’ve been running from one event to another, and the last
thing for the day is the library orientation. your librarian is a familiar face; you met her on visiting day.
Your librarian subscribes to the cookie theory of learning: that people learn better when they are not overwhelmed
or panicked, when they feel safe in their environment. So not only are there cookies and coffee available, but your
librarian walks you through two of the most important technologies you’ll be using while you’re at Antioch: Sakai
and the library website. You will also see the librarian throughout the year in courses and workshops. From day
one the library connects you with information, technology, and resources that you need to be a successful
learner.
 You are an international student

from Mongolia.

Your written English isn’t as good as your spoken and you’re worried about all the research papers you see on the
syllabi for your courses. You’ve received an email from your librarian saying “hey, stop by the library, we have
something for you.” when you go to visit your librarian, you receive a gift basket with among other things maple
syrup and this book . . .
They say/I say lays out the conventions of scholarly writing and invites students to join the conversation. The
library strives to stay ahead of your learning needs, whether that’s researching and purchasing new materials--
books, journals, databases, keeping up with new technologies, or producing tutorials for specific courses or
research activities.
 You are a student.

Half way through your first semester.

You are buried in information, paper everywhere, articles, syllabi, class notes, books, chapters . . . You have a
phone meeting with your librarian in which you talk about research strategies for a literature review. You also
mention your information overload. Your librarian says I know a software that might help with that . . .
some of our students are using onenote a terrific software for organizing and storing information. It’s an
electronic notebook with pages and tabs and complete freedom on the page. And it works well with the free
citation manager, zotero which is great for organizing your references or citations and you can use to create a
bibliography in one click. The library connects you with technological tools that facilitate learning.
 You are a faculty member.

You’re jazzed about online opportunities.

You’re looking forward to the challenge of figuring out how to translate Antioch’s constructivist, transformational
pedagogy from face-to-face courses to online teaching and learning. Your librarian is equally excited about using
online technologies to increase learning and forwards an email to you about a free Google Wave for Educators
webinar.
You both attend, and after brainstorm about ways that google wave could be used in courses in the doctoral
program. The library is a partner in teaching and learning connecting you with resources to accomplish your
goals.
 You are a student.

Your daughter Imogene has been sick.

and work has been crazy busy the last few weeks. You are miles behind on your research papers. It’s Monday,
You’ve got to crank something out by Friday. Luckily library resources are available 24/7 and you dive into the
article databases. There you find the full-text of several articles that are helpful, but there are also a handful that
look perfect for your topic that aren’t available. so you head over . . .
to the library’s online Interlibrary Loan/Document Deliver request form. You receive half of the articles you
requested the next day, and the remainder the following. By Wednesday, you have what you need to finish the
research paper. The library connects you with the information you need to learn.
 You are a student

trying find to find a dissertation topic.

While meeting with your librarian to talk about your assignment for Qualitative research, she asks about your
dissertation plans. You’ve gone back and forth a number of times on topics and keep coming back to
psychological prisons but are not sure about methodology, getting through the HRC (the Human Research
Committee), among other things. Your librarian says “I know someone who might be able to help. Megan is a
doctoral student a couple of cohorts ahead and she’s in the middle of her dissertation research at a prison.
She’d be a great resource and I’m sure would love to talk.” You follow up with Megan and your conversation
inspires a pilot study and dissertation proposal. The library connects you not just with technology and tools,
but with people.
 You are a faculty member

preparing for a sabbatical.

You’re traveling to London to do historical research on vitamins using primary documents at the Wellcome Library.
You need to know the archives and the material that are available so that you can make the best use of your time.
Your librarian researches documents, books, and articles so that you have a complete bibliography ready to go for
your trip. The library is your partner in research. This is the wellcome library in london, which we’re using as a
model for the space in our new building.
 You are a student.

Your professor has recommended a paper.

But the paper is no longer available online. You search and search the databases, google scholar, the web and
can’t find it. As a last long shot, you instant message your librarian, who locates the paper using the Wayback
machine . . . . The library continually scans the environment for useful tools to access information in order to
connect you with the material that you need. And as an example of what the Wayback machine can provide . . .
Here’s the Antioch website from 10 years ago in 2000.
 You are a faculty member.

Your students are struggling with writing.

And you know that your students are struggling because your librarian contacted you after seeing a pattern in
student questions about summarizing and paraphrasing, as well as seeing an instance of inadvertent plagiarism in
a student paper. The two of you get together and your librarian offers resources you can use with the students,
and together you brainstorm ideas for class assignments in which students would become skilled at paraphrase
and summary. The library is a partner in teaching.
 You are a student. Or maybe a faculty member.

You live in Montana.

You found a great book on your topic of interest that are available from AUNE. After checking your local libraries,
none of which have the book, you request it using the online ILL/Document Delivery form and the book is mailed
to you.
The library connects you with the information and resources you need. And we’ll go to just about any lengths to
do that.
 You are a faculty member.

You have the perfect guest to bring to class.

it might be Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity, or Derrick Jensen, author and activist, or a well-known
marriage and family therapist. Whoever it is, the guest lives in another part of the country. You call your librarian
to ask what your options are. You decide to use skype video. Your librarian sets up a video camera on the class so
the guest can see the students, while the guest uses a webcam and is projected on the wall. The library is a
partner in using technologies to enhance learning.
 You are a student.

You have found the perfect article on vicuñas.

It’s pretty obscure and it’s in Spanish, and it’s not available from ILL, which is really unusual. Your librarian
searches for other possible sources. . .
and finds two articles for you. You’re thrilled. Not only are these articles by the same researcher, but you don’t
speak spanish and these are in english. your librarian shows you how she found them. The library is a partner in
research and connects you with the information you need.
 You are a faculty member

who is committed to open access.

and you would like to submit your next article to an open access journal. After years of escalating prices in
scholarly publications such as journals, there is a vibrant movement to create open access to information,
scholarly communication. I could go on for a long time about this and would be happy to talk with any one who’s
interested. So you call your librarian . . .
and she gets you a list of likely candidates of open access journals to submit to. Which you do. The library is a
partner in research.
 You are a student

doing a practicum in Borneo.

You’ve got a bunch of questions you need help with, so you take the four hour bus ride to the nearest
metropolitan area (and that’s using the word loosely) and go to the one internet cafe in town. you have 15-30
minutes to figure out the answers you need. What do you do?
You Instant message your librarian. IM is a great way to connect synchronously for free with students who aren’t
local. Instant message also worked well for helping Tharcisse, a student in Nairobi, upload his dissertation to the
open access repository, the OhioLINK Electronic and Theses Dissertation center. Of course it works for local folks
as well, it’s not uncommon to get IMs from students in the building. The library uses technology to stay connected
with you.
 You are a faculty member

wanting to stay up with technology.

You look around and see your students using Zotero and journal alerts for environmental scanning and say “I want
some of that.”
One of the reason students are ahead is the workshops the library provides, which faculty are welcome to attend.
We also do faculty specific workshops called Tech Tune-ups. The library connects you with technologies and
information that enhance learning.
 You are a graduating student

about to hit the job market.

You are about to hit the job market. your librarian encourages you to use your information literacy skills.
Academic Technologists
Systems Technicians

Research Coaches

Technology Consultants
Faculty Members

Instructional Designers
Information Wranglers

AV Technicians
 And libraries aren’t just libraries.

they’re learning centers where students, faculty, and librarians come together to create vibrant learning
experiences and opportunities and create knowledge.
It’s no longer just about the collections.
 It’s about the connections.

connecting our faculty and students to information, resources, people they need to create new knowledge.
 “A friend of mine is a doctoral student at Harvard.”

I want to return to the quote that Marcy read. It’s important for me that you know my nomination for the award
could have been written for any staff member in the library. It’s important that you know that the nomination was
more about the library than it was about me. So here’s the quote in the context of the library.
 “I have to meet with her to teach her
what the AUNE librarians teach us . . .
She isn’t getting any sort of training or support
through her program at Harvard.”
 “My friend can only imagine having
a research librarian dedicated to her success.”
“I would rather have our librarians and our tiny library
than all the resources of the Harvard libraries.”
It’s not just about the collections.

It’s about the connections.

 21st century
Library

We believe the AUNE library is what an academic library should be and can be in the 21st century. We also believe
that the library is never done. There are five laws in library science, the fifth of which is “the library is a growing
organism.” We never arrive, the library is on a perpetual, brilliant, fun journey to grow and learn and adapt with
our students and faculty.
 winning victories for humanity
before we die

It’s about the journey, it’s about connections, it’s about partnership. it’s about our students and faculty and
alumnae and board members and the amazing work they do at Antioch and in communities around the world. We
are all partners in . . .