One of the questions posed to our Emerging Leaders team when we took on this project to write posts for ACRLog and ACRL Insider, was whether blogs were still relevant. Based on my habits, which include subscribing to over 60 blogs through Google Reader, my initial gut reaction was “of course!” But then I started wondering, “are blogs the new Second Life?” No offense to people who find Second Life useful or entertaining, but outside of the realms of librarianship and advertising, very few people I know think it is relevant; some are surprised to hear it still exists or is used at all. And these people are visibly shocked when I tell them of ACRL conference presentations in which Second Life is used, or even discussed. Anecdotes, to be sure – from a small pool of people no less – but noteworthy, I think.

Blogs seem different though. The New York Times has dozens of blogs. There are mega-blogs run along the lines of traditional news sources, with multiple, regular columnists and editors; take Boing Boing or Gizmodo for instance. There are even peer-edited blogs such as In the Library With the Lead Pipe. And if, for a minute we can conflate the ideas of blogs and rss feeds, even the Anthropology Department that I am a subject-specialist for at the University of Oregon has a “blog” to which I can subscribe to keep up to date with all of the awards and accomplishments the department achieves.

As an aside, subscriptions like these, through my Google Reader, are crucial to my blog reading habits; this rss aggregator compiles all of the blogs I follow in one place, and I am notified when there is a new post. This saves me hours of bouncing around the web, trying to find out if anyone has posted something new.

Blogging is not just a hobby or a personal journal option, but also a career for many. It seems to me, that some people who are anti-blog are that way because they have an outdated view of what blogs are. Blogging is a format that has grown up and developed itself in terms of content over the past decade or so. And as it is a fairly versatile format, I don’t think that it will disappear too quickly. What I mean by all this, is that when anti-blog people think of blogs, their negativity may stem from an outdated idea of teenagers’ LiveJournal or GeoCities pages from the ‘90s; they expect the rants of an individual, rather than interesting news and links to more information. Blogs certainly still can be this (not to suggest that this particular one isn’t great, it is), but they can also be well crafted, cited, authoritative sources of cutting edge science like the Public Library of Science’s (PLoS) Medical Blog. Blogs don’t have many constraints; if you can imagine it, you can probably make it and call it a blog. And as that lovely Wikipedia entry states, you can embed pretty much any content you like.

Of course, I couldn’t write a post on information sharing on the web, without mentioning social networks like Facebook and Twitter – places that are somewhat blog-like in the way that people write posts (no matter how short) and share information with each other. Perhaps these will kill the Blog?

Perhaps, but on the other hand, where is this information that is being shared via links coming from? Online newspapers… and blogs! In response to this, and Facebook’s ongoing privacy issues, some people are leaving Facebook for other sites like Tumblr, a socially networked blogging platform, while others are coming up with their own new concept for online networking and information sharing, as with Diaspora.

Notre Dame recently hosted a science and mathematics career conference for 11-14 year old girls, Expanding Your Horizons. Data Librarian, Michelle Hudson, had the pleasure of talking to some of these young women about careers in library science and information architecture, and in the process, discussed blogging with them. Apparently, none of them “blog,” but they do use Facebook. (Michelle notes that it wasn’t clear if they recognized features like “notes” on Facebook are blog-like, and their reading habits were not explored.) So, maybe there are generational differences, maybe blogging is for people over 30. Or maybe it’s a semantic issue; many things look like blogs to me, which may not be called blogs, or be understood to be blogs by their users.

But what kind of a librarian would I be if I just told you my thoughts and didn’t invoke some Web 2.0 participation via blog comments? So, you obviously read some blogs – you are here reading this. But how many blogs do you tend to read? What are your favorites? And do you go directly to the blogs’ webpages, or do you import them via RSS to a reader? And do you think blogs are relevant, or do you know of some newer, cutting edge method of keeping up to date with news and internet memes?

Not long ago, a columnist at AAC&U’s Leap project blog, liberal.eduation nation, complained about the increasing crowd of literacies clamoring for our attention and suggesting that apart from the problem of all the newcomers – digital media literacy, spacial literacy, diaspora literacy – most new kinds of literacy have a short shelf life.

The “literacy” that seems most to vex educators and students alike is the one that takes aim at the moving target of technology. Indeed, the very terms used to name this elusive yet much-coveted literacy—computer literacy, information literacy, technological literacy, digital literacy, etc., etc.—are no more stable than the knowledge, skills, competencies they’re meant to describe.

Er, but . . . this seems to me to confuse information with information technology, learning how to think with learning how to use tools. Sadly, the only reference to an exploration of what we mean when we use the term “information literacy” is Stanley Wilder’s complaint that it is useless and misses the point. (ACRLog included the storm of debate it kicked up as a top story of 2005.) Given that most of us involved in teaching and learning in libraries thought Wilder didn’t actually grasp the concept he was criticizing, it’s kind of sad to see an organization that mostly wants to do what we are trying to do give him the last word.

The other big problem is linking information literacy with technology. Somehow once the techies took on the name “information technology” people forgot that information also resides in technologies that are centuries old. And they lose sight of the fact that it’s not about technology, it’s about what the student does with what he or she encounters. True, we get sucked into explaining how the library works, but the ultimate aim is to get students working in the library so that they can become part of the process of making knowledge, not just absorbing it as a finished product.

This morning I read Robert J. Nash’s essay in Inside Higher Ed, “Resist the Pedagogical Far Right” where he argues (as does AAC&U and as do most libraries serving a student population) that our focus should be on learning, not teaching, and on how the student can learn to as her own questions and solve problems rather than be exposed to a body of core knowledge in the hope some of it sticks. I’m not entirely sure why he characterizes this as a “far right” pedagogy – unless he’s thinking of ACTA, which, among other things, wants to return to basics and defend students from David Horowitz’s dangerous academics.He also seems to be taking a dig at those who feel youth have had their brains stolen by Web 2.0 and turned into ignorant and shallow-minded zombies. Or perhaps he’s thinking of the funding cuts and business strategies that have turned the professoriate into work-for-hire temps paid by the course. Whatever he means, he doesn’t really make a strong case for why this has a left-right dimension. What he says afterward, though, is a good defense of liberal (as in “liberating”) learning that focuses on the student.

The key is to remember that the most important part of the word evaluation is value. The best way to evaluate the outcomes of meaning-making learning is to ask students themselves what the value of their experience has been. According to [Ken] Bain’s research, the best evaluation stresses learning rather than performance. Performance means living up to others’ expectations and requirements. Learning means that students take full responsibility for their own intellectual, emotional, kinesthetic, and personal development. Performance is mainly about acquisition, storing information, and taking tests. Learning is developmental and an end in itself. . . .

So much of what I’ve learned about teaching in the academy for over four decades can be summarized in this way: often when I teach less, I find that I actually teach more. I call this a “pedagogy of ironic minimalism.” Whenever I take the time to call forth what it is my students actually know, and whenever I intentionally minimize the “endless breadth and depth” of my own “vast wisdom and knowledge,” then my students learn the most. This, dear readers, is why I keep coming back to the classroom — for lo these many years.

I think that’s actually our best argument for academic libraries and for giving students a chance to learn in them. Not learn about them, not learn how to manipulate the tools, but to be actively seeking, sorting, sifting, and making meaning as a central part of their education. If we want to define information literacy, we need to make it clear that practicing it – exploring ideas independently – is a big part of the high-impact practices that we know make learning stick.

And in the meantime, maybe we can also reflect on our own teaching practices. Can we teach less to make more room for learning? Do we do some of the things that Stanley Wilder believes is information literacy (information-seeking training done exclusively by librarians)? Can we put the focus on not just learning how the library works but learning where knowledge comes form and how it’s made? Can we work with faculty to make this happen more often?

Maybe if we can do that, Stanley Wilder will figure out what we mean when we talk about information literacy as a critical habit of mind and the AAC&U will realize it’s not about technology that will change next week.

A few weeks ago my Temple University colleagues and I traveled to Princeton University for a joint staff development program on digital reference. Stephen Francouer did a fine job of leading us through the evolution of digital reference, and shared his thoughts on where the technology and service is headed. Francouer summarized the key points of his talk in a post at his blog if you want to read what he had to say. There was no lack of excited conversation about the different appoaches our libraries were taking with chat and text reference. The discussion focused on using these technologies to connect with users and extend our traditional services in ways that better serve the user community.

What if the program theme had been tagging or podcasting or blogging or facebook profiles or any of the other 2.0 technologies academic libraries have adopted? I think the character of the conversations would have been far less dynamic with much less enthusiasm for where we are headed. It was as if we were talking about the next frontier – even though digital reference is hardly new. But digital reference is emerging as the library service – and technology – that best moves us into the next Web revolution.

According to BusinessWeek, that revolution is the “real-time web” which it describes as:

the exploding number of live social activities online, from tweets to status updates on Facebook to the sharing of news, Web links and videos on myriad other sites. It’s a whole new layer of innovation that’s opening up on the Web.

Academic libraries always had elements of Web 2.0 to them, but without the 2.0 technology. Much the same, the exchange of information in real-time (think phone and F2F reference) is not new to libraries, but now we have the convenience, immediacy and community presence of the real-time web world. We are poised to move there.

What are some characteristics of the real-time library?

* The real-time library is socially networked but it’s about more than just owning social network accounts; the real-time library has an active presence and shares information in real time.

* The real-time library updates its status regularly.

* The real-time library offers targeted services to the networked community.

* The real-time library is accessible on real-time communication devices.

* The real-time library is ready and waiting – all the time – to deliver information services.

* The real-time library monitors the multitude of emerging real-time web services and experiments to find those with the potential to enhance service in real-time mode.

* The real-time library designs information services specifically for delivery and use on the real-time web.

* Real-time librarians are adept at creating relationships with real-time library users.

At our program we explored the opportunities opening up to academic librarians connected to the real-time web – although “real-time web” was not a part of our terminology. But much of the conversation was about providing services in real time, and how to do that successfully. There was some talk of the Google’s Wave product. It will be a few months before we fully grasp the details, but the early announcements suggest it may offer a platform for real-time libraries that want to move even further into new communication and information exchange environments with their users. In real-time environments we may be able to work more collaboratively with each other and our users – even to the point of seeing the words of the other person’s messages as they are typed.

For now, don’t expect a set of principles for real-time librarians, the Real-Time Librarian blog or real-time library manifestos. This is all part of the user-generated/user-participation web evolution. As our users – our next generation of students – develop new behaviors and expectations for how they acquire and use information it is important that we pay attention to it, understand it and design it into the services we deliver.

Michael Berube, a literature professor at Penn State, points out at Crooked Timber that it’s one thing to complain about the bureaucracy of departments, but the intellectual rigor of disciplines is a virtue, and Taylor is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Timothy Burke, a history professor at Swarthmore, blogs at Easily Distracted about the need for either some concrete, implementable plans, or a more tentative tone.

And a new group blog in queer studies, the Bully Bloggers, has a series of posts taking issue with the market-based measures Taylor adopts: Jack Halberstam, Eng-Beng Lim, Miranda Joseph, Brian Eugenio Herrera, and Lisa Duggan all participate in this critical dialog.

Jose Marichal, political scientist at California Lutheran, takes a more sympathetic stance towards Taylor, comparing his vision of conceptual problem-focused studies to Web 2.0.

Religion scholar Brad Johnson writes as a colleague of Taylor’s, reading beyond the text of the op-ed to argue (implicitly counter to Berube) that specializations would still thrive in the kind of complex system envisioned by Taylor.

Finally, Peter Levine, philosopher and director of Tufts’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, imagines a college curriculum set up along Taylorist lines with a focus on civic engagment.

Could we create a library for a university as Taylor envisions it?  What about mandatory retirement for librarians?  Are we prepared to catalog and preserve non-traditional dissertations?  How would you develop a collection for cluster of conceptually-based inquiries that shift every seven years?

I can’t quite put my finger on it but the conference definitely has a different vibe this time. There are many new faces. Approximately one-third of the people here are first-time attendees. I’m hesitant to say this has added a younger demographic to the conference because some of the first-timers I’ve met are more traditional midlife career changers who are new to the profession. And while I don’t have the demographics I’m betting that the median age of the conference population is way down. Perhaps it is best to simply say this might be a watershed conference for academic librarianship because it brings with it the emergence of academic librarianship’s next generation.

In addition to the conference blog I’ve been taking a look at Twitter activity from the attendees – not all first-timers to be sure – but this is definitely one example of how the next generation is experiencing the conference and bringing a new dimension to the proceedings. Just looking at the stream of comments during the events you can get a picture of which programs are attracting the Twitter crowd. For example, in the 4:00 pm Saturday slot you can see there was lots of ongoing discussion about the paper presentations on LibGuides and student use of web 2.0 tools. What about the other programs in that time slot? Nothing.

I was chatting with a new-to-the-profession first timer, and asking how she liked the conference so far. It was clear that the new generation has little patience for speakers who simply throw up slides and talk for 20 or 30 minutes without paying attention to the audience. They want interactivity. They want to be a part of the program, and they want it to be a conversation not a lecture. That’s why they create their own conversation on Twitter. Is this a good thing for the conference? I don’t know.

To its credit ACRL continues to look for new ways to keep the conference timely, vibrant and relevant to its members – and the Cyber Zed Shed, the Virtual Conference and a conference hashtag for Twitter are all good signs. But the Philly 2011 planners have a real challenge ahead of them, and I hope they will pay attention to what’s transpired here in Seattle. It’s clear that ACRL needs to acknowledge the new generation, and give thought to how this conference needs to change to accommodate new academic librarians, new ideas, and new ways of communicating and learning. The winds of change demand a new ACRL Conference experience.

I know I certainly had this in the back of mind as I worked my way through the book I was writing in 2006 that was published in 2007. I believed it was an original topic – for our profession at least. I certainly knew of no other articles written or presentations on the same topic. Yet I really had no way of knowing if someone else out there was writing about the same topic. While I had been thinking during the writing process about starting a blog on the same topic - which is becoming a more accepted way to begin getting your ideas out there and to get comments and feedback while writing – it also struck me as a way to claim my stake to this whole area of study (new for librarianship at least). Think of it as a pre-emptive strike. Of course, that would probably not mean all that much if someone else had published a book on the same topic before my own (by the way, co-authored with John Shank). It turns out I had little to worry about. Only just recently have I noticed a few bloggers mentioning the application of design to the librarians’ work process or the idea of the library user experience. Unlike the batch of competing books about Web 2.0, this book about design has pretty much had the field to itself.

That said, I’m open to more librarians thinking and writing about design thinking. The more librarians that begin conversations about it the more librarians who will think about these ideas more seriously – which is what I hoped to accomplish in the first place. Still, unlike the authors profiled in the Chronicle article, I’m glad that I didn’t experience discovering another author writing a similar book at the same time. No one likes to appear competitive, but when it happens to you it can be pretty distressing.

Now, if your challenge is more specific to problems encountered in trying to write about your ideas then you should give some thought to a good idea discussed in another article in the same issue of the Chronicle. Get yourself a personal writing coach. That’s right. The next time you need help getting started or getting over your writing block, ring up your coach and let him or her help to figure out why you are having trouble – and more importantly get you writing again. Impossible you say. You could never afford it. Well, you may actually be able to get some help for free. Were you aware that the ACRL College Library Section offers a program called “Your Research Coach“. The program, run by the Section’s Research Committee, will connect aspiring writers and presenters with more experienced colleagues (they are actually called “coaches”) who can help with idea formation, methodology, research strategies, etc. Sometimes just talking over a writing hurdle can be a big help. I participate as a coach and I know I’ve been able to help a few folks just by listening to their ideas and then sharing some advice or steering them in a certain direction. The only requirement is that you need to be an ACRL member.

*SATURDAY 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.*

ACC

RM 203A An Endangered Species: The Black Male Librarian
AFL BCALA Track: Non-Track

RM 204B Ebook Workflows: Selection to Access
ALCTS AS Track: Collection Management & TechnicalServices; Collection Development

RM 204C RFID in Libraries: The Myths, FAQs, & ROI
LITA Track: Collection Management & Technical Services

RM 201D. ALA Committee on Legislation will hold a public hearing on the reauthorization of the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA).

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Redondo If We Don’t Call it Distance Learning, Does it Exist?
LITA Tack: User Services; Outreach (Note: This program goes until noon.)

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Disneyland Center BR. Are You in the Game? Harnessing Millennial Learning Strategies to Market Your Library
LAMA PRMS. Track: Non-Track

HILTON

RM: Huntington. ACRL 101 & Membership Meeting
ACRL Track: Career Planning

RM: California Pavillion A Sustainable Libraries:Shades of Green
LAMA BES Track: Administration & Leadership;Buildings

MARRIOTT

RM: 304. Sharing Best Practices in Library Advancement.
ACRL. Library Development Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

*SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. to noon*

HYATT

RM: Grand B. Leaders Wanted: Is an LIS Doctoral Program Right for You?
ALA DIVERSITY Track: Non-Track

SHERATON

RM: Plaza C. ACRL Instruction Section’s Welcome and Orientation
ACRL IS Track: Non-Track

*SATURDAY 10:30 a.m. – noon*

ACC

RM: 203A Traveling Exhibits: Share Your Experiences & Ideas
ALA PUB PROGS Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming

RM 203B Research to Underst& Users: Issues & Approaches
ALA LRRT Track: Research

RM:204A Review Outside the Mainstream
RUSA CODES Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Collection Development

RM: 204B Removing the Fence: Merging Print & Electronic Serials Workflows
ALCTS CRS Track: Collection Management & Technical Services

RML 207 D. What is the Future of Libraries?
ALA OITP

RM: 304A Staying Alive: Books Through Print On Dem& Technology
ALCTS Track: Transformation & Innovations

CLARION

RM: Orangewood 3. “Outreach and Collection Development Librarians”
RSS/CODES Dual Assignments Discussion

CROWNE PLAZA

RM: Cabo San Luco B. Personnel Administrators & Staff Development Officers Discussion Group.
ACRL Track: Non-Track

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Disneyland& Center BR. Are You in the Game? Harnessing Millenial Learning Strategies to Market Your Library
LAMA PRMS Track: Non-Track

RM: Wonder. Marketing and Motivating for InHouse Training.
ACRL. Professional Development Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

RM: Magic Kingdom 4. Hot Topics: Finding the Pod People: Looking at services and collections through podcasting
RUSA MARS Track: Non-Track

HILTON

RM: Balboa C. Building a More Hirable You: Developing Your Resume From the Inside Out.
ACRL New Member Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

RM: Capistrano. Getting What You’re Worth: Salary Negotiation Workshop
ALA APA Track: Non-Track

RM: California Pavilion D Succession Planning: The Future of Your Library Depends on It
ALCTS Track: Career Paths & Professional Development

RM: Pacific BR D. Shift Happens: Aligning Financial Decisions with Strategic Directions
LAMA LOMS Track: Administration & Leadership; Leadership & Management

MARRIOTT

RM: Platinum 3/4. Past Perceptions of the Commons as well as Current and Future Trends.
ACRL Information Commons Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

RM: Platinum 10. MLA International Bibliography Updates and Enhancements.
ACRL MLA Bibliography in Academic Libraries Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

*SATURDAY 1:30 -3:30 p.m.*

ACC

RM: 201D Digitizing Indian Country
AFL AILA Track: Administration & Leadership; New Models for Collaboration

RM 203. President’s Program: Libraries & Justice For All
AFL REFORMA Track: Research

RM: 203A. Academic Outreach 2.0 for business.
RUSA BRASS Track: Non-Track

Rm 204B. Metadata Mashup: Creating & Publishing Application Profiles
ALCTS Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Cataloging & Metadata

RM: 206A. Martin Luther King Holiday Multicultural Idea Exchange
ALA OLOS. Track: Non-Track.

RM 207D. Best Practices in Cooperative Virtual Reference: Management Tips for a Successful Service
OCLC

RM: 210 A-C. Reading Pictures: The Language of Wordless Books
ACRL LES Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming; Literature

RM 211 B. Re-Assess, Reassign, & Reinvent: Collection Building Without Global Borders
ALA IRRT Track: Administration & Leadership; New Models for Collaboration.

RM. 211A New Minds, New Approaches
ALA LRRT Track: Research

RM 304 A/B. Freedom of Expression®: Resistance & Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property
ALA IFRT Track: Non-Track

DISNEY GRAND CALIFORNIAN

RM: Wisteria. Federated Searching in Theatre & Film Databases
AFL TLA Track: Non-Track

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Pacific D. Successful Workplace Communication
AASL Track: Administration & Leadership; Leadership & Management

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Magic Kingdom 4. Knowledge Wants to Be Known: Open Access Issues for the Behavioral & Social Sciences
ACRL EBSS Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Magic Kingdom 1. Educational and Behavioral Sciences 2nd Annual Research Forum.
ACRL EBSS Track: Non-Track
Poster sessions and accompanying discussion groups.

RM: North BR. R U Communicating?: Speaking the Language of Millennials
ACRL ULS Track: User Services; Outreach

RM: Adventure. ILL Data Collection, Definition & Analysis: Why doesn’t my data match what I get from my ILL management system, OCLC & my consortial circulation system?
RUSA STARS Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Fantasy A/B Developing Cultural Competency Guidelines in Academic Libraries: Meaning, Purpose, & Direction
ACRL Track: Issues & Updates
NOTE: This program goes to 5:30 p.m.

RM: Dreams H. Global Scholarly Communication: The International Accesses & Accessibilities
ACRL AAMES Track: Issues & Updates
NOTE: This program goes to 5:30 p.m.

HILTON

RM: Pacific BR D. Learning Virtually: Online Professional Development for Library Workers with Tight Budgets & Full Schedules
ACRL CJCLS; ACRL CLS; ACRL DLS Track: Career Paths & Professional Development

RM: Pacific BR B. P(l)anning for Gold:Preservation Models in California & the West
ALCTS PARS Track: Administration & Leadership; New Models for Collaboration

RM: Pacific BR A. Tomorrow’s Library in Today’s Space: Redesigning & Repurposing Existing Library Spaces
LAMA BES Track: Administration & Leadership; Buildings

RM: Palisades. Introduction to Women’s Issues
ALA SRRT Track: Non-Track

RM Calif. Pavilion A. How to Influence Your Director with Skill & Finesse
ALSC Track: Administration & Leadership

RM. Calif. Pavilion D. People Spaces in Libraries: the Community Off-line Experience
LAMA BES Track: Administration & Leadership; Buildings

HYATT

RM: Harbor. Diversity Currents! Weighing the Balance: Affirmative Action Update
ALA DIVERSITY Track: Non-Track

RM: Royal A/B Geographic Information in the World of Web 2.0
ALA MAGERT Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: Roydal C/D. What the User Expects & How to Get There
PLA LD; RUSA Track: Digital Information & Technologies
NOTE: This program goes to 5:30 p.m.

RM: Salon VII Size Does Make a Difference: Library Networks, Cooperatives & Consortia in the 21st Century
ASCLA ICAN Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: Grand A. There’s No Catalog Like No Catalog: The Ultimate Debate on the future of the Library Catalog
LITA Track: Digital Information & Technologies

MARRIOTT

RM: Golden Key I/II Social Software Showcase
LITA Track: Transformation & Innovations

SHERATON

RM: Garden. ALCTS Collection Development Librarians of Academic Libraries

*SATURDAY 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.*

ACC

RM:204A The Plowman and the Rancher Should Be Friends: A Comparison and Discussion of Liaison Workings
RUSA CODES Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Collection Development

RM: 204B Getting Ready for RDA and FRBR: What You Need to Know
ALCTS CCS Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Cataloging & Metadata

RM: 204C Greening of the Presses
ALA SRRT Track: Non-Track

RM: 210 A-C Campus Open Access Policies: The Harvard Experience & How to Get There
ACRL Track: Non-Track

RM: 211 A. WorldCat Selection
OCLC WorldCat Selection Users Group. Track : UNO

RM: 304 B/C. Science Fiction and Fantasy: Looking at Information Technology and the Information Rights of the Individual
LITA Track: Non-Track

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Santa Monica. Disney Provides Great Service, Do We?
RUSA RSS.

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Magic Kingdom 2-3. Nine Digits Away from My Dream: The Plight of Undocumented Students Seeking Higher Education in the U.S. & the Hope of the Dream Act
AFL REFORMA Track: Issues & Updates

HILTON

RM: Palos Verdes A Evaluating New Learning Spaces
LAMA MAES Discussion Group

RM: Pacific BR B. Transformational Change: The Evolving Role of Library IT Departments
LITA Track: Administration & Leadership; Leadership & Management

RM: Capistrano. Tracking Reference Services in a Changing World.
ACRL Heads of Public Services Discussion Group

RM: Palos Verdes A. Evaluating New Learning Spaces
LAMA MAES (Measurement and Evaluation Section) Discussion Group Track: Non-Track.

HYATT

RM: Harbor Diversity 101
ALA DIVERSITY Track: Non-Track

RM: Grand B. Administration Team Styles: Fitting In, Contributing & Helping Shape the Senior Leadership Group of Which You are a part.
ACRL Senior Administrators Discussion Group. Track: Non-Track

MARRIOTT

RM: Marquis Northeastern. Virtual Communities & Libraries Exchange
ALA Track: Non-Track

RM: Salon A-D. Using the Social Web to Promote and Enhance Information Literacy.
ACRL IS

RM: Salon G-K Way Beyond Compare: A Discussion of Virtual Reference Technologies
and Tools
RUSA MARS Virtual Reference Discussion Group Track: Non-Track

SHERATON

RM: Garden. Discussion Group Women Studies Section Research Poster Session.
ACRL. Women Studies Section. Track: Non-Track

*SUNDAY 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.*

ACC

RM: Ballroom E. Archiving in Practice with JPEG2000
LITA Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: 203 A. The Highly Effective Job Search
ALA HRDR Track: Non-Track

RM: 204B. Creating the Future of the Catalog and Cataloging
ALCTS CCS Track: Transformation & Innovations
NOTE: This program goes until noon.

RM: 213 C. Eating Across Cultures: Food is Culture
ALA EMIERT Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming; Cultural Diversity
NOTE: This program goes until noon.

RM: 304 A/B The Lady, the Tramp, and the Lion King: Mixed Messages about Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in Disney’s Magic Kingdom
ACRL ANSS Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming; Cultural Diversity
NOTE: This program goes until noon.

DISNEY GRAND CALIFORNIAN

RM: Trillium B. Librarianship in For-Profit Educational Institutions Discussion Group.

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM; Wonder E. The “Librarian’s Library” in the 32st Century: Serving Today’s and Tomorrow’s Information Professionals.
ACRL. Library and Information Science Collections Discussion Group.

DOUBLETREE

RM: Tuscany A/B. Current Topics Discussion Group II: “Academic Library Instruction in an Online Learning Environment.”
ACRL IS Track: Non-track.

HILTON

RM: Pacific Ballroom A. Avoid Gray Hair! Jumpstart a passion for Building: Three Steps to an Extraordinary New Library for Your Community or Campus
LAMA BES Track: Non-Track

RM: Pavilion C. ASCLA President’s Program: The Universal Library: Mind, Body, and Soul
ASCLA Track: User Services

*SUNDAY 10:30 a.m. – noon*

ACC

RM: 201D Earth Wind and Fire @ Your Library: Changing Climate and Changing Lives
ALA SRRT Track: Non-Track

RM: 203 A Protecting Planet Earth
AFL FOLUSA Track: Non-Track

RM: 203 B. Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project
ALA PUB PROGS Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming

RM: 204A. Four Star Research.
ALA LRTT Track: Research.

RM: 204C. Energize Your Instruction: Keep the Magic Alive for You and Your Audience
ALA LIRT. Track: Non-track.

RM: 210 A-C. Library 2.0, Business Reference and the Tech Savvy Generation.
RUSA BRASS Business Reference Services Discussion Group.

RM: 211A. What is the State of Federal Libraries?
ALA FAFLRT Track: Transformation & Innovations

RM: 211B. The History of American Libraries and Librarianship in the West
ALA LHRT Track: Research

RM: 212A. Career Transistions: Surviving the In-Between Time
ALA HRDR Track: Career Paths & Professional Development

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Redondo. The Healthy Librarian: Cultivating Wellness in the Workplace
AFL BCALA; AFL AILA Track: Non-Track

RM: San Diego. I’m Too Sexy For My Job!” Career Advancement for Reference Librarians RUSA Reference Services in Small and Medium-Sized Libraries Discussion Group

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Magic Kingdom 4. Media Literacy, Artistic Expression, and Copyright
ACRL Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Adventure. The Open Library: Promise and Peril
LITA Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Dreams B. Business Reference Sources.
RUSA BRASS

HILTON

RM: Palisades. Facing Re-accreditation? Assessment approaches that work.
LAMA Medium-sized Academic Libraries Discussion Group Track: Non-Track

HYATT

RM : Grand A. Is Face-to-Face Reference Dying?
RUSA MARS Track: User Services; Reference

RM: Terrace Room The Embedded Librarian: New Role or New Title?
ACRL STS.

*SUNDAY 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m*

ACC

RM: Hall d. Special Events Area. Swap & Shop: Hot Ideas for Cool PR
LAMA PRMS Track: Non-Track

*SUNDAY 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.*

HILTON

RM: California Pavilion D. Top Technology Trends
LITA Track: Transformation & Innovations

*SUNDAY 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.*

ACC
RM: 201 A/B. Let Me Ask You This: Constructing & Using Effective Surveys
ALSC Track: Administration & Leadership

RM: 204A. The Best of the Best from the University Presses: Books You Should Know About
AASL Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Collection Development

RM: 204A Politics of Differences: Cultural Sensitivities and Global Ethics for Libraries and Librarians
ALA ETHICS Track: Non-Track

RM: 204B. Making the Switch from Print to Online: Why, When and How?
ALCTS CMDS Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Collection Development

RM: 207 D. Care Crisis on Libraries and Librarians
ALA COSWL Track: Issues & Updates

RM: 208A. Think Global, Act Local: How to internationalize your library?
ALA IRRT Track: User Services

RM: 210 A-C. You Know FRBR, But Have You Ever Met FRAD
LITA Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Cataloging & Metadata

RM: 211 D/ Ding dong the V(HS) is dead … or is it?
ALA VRT Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: 212A. Gov 2.0: Going further with Wikinomics
ALA FAFLRT Track: Transformation & Innovations

RM: 213 B. African Americans in Hollywood: Images, Performers, Films, Filmmakers, from 1903 to the Present.
ACRL AFAS Track: Non-Track.

RM: Ballroom E. Planning for Open Source in Cooperatives and Consortia
ASCLA ICAN Track: Digital Information & Technologies

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Pacific C/D. CALA 2008 Annual Program: “Global Outreach: A U.S.¨China Experience”
AFL CALA; ALA IRC/IRRT Track: Non-Track

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Adventure. Ethics in the Age of Web 2.0
AASL ISS Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Magic Kingdom 1. Providing Technology Services on the Front Lines
RUSA MARS Track: User Services

RM: Magic Kindgom 4. Don’t Run a Mickey Mouse Operation: Using the ILL Code to Develop Best Practices
RUSA STARS Track: User Services

HILTON
RM: California Pavilion A. LAMA President’s Program Visual and Verbal Literacy – Skills for Contemporary Leadership.
LAMA Track: Administration & Leadership

RM: California Pavilion B. Training Showcase: Best Practices for Continuing Library Education
ALA CLENERT Track: Career Paths & Professional Development

RM: Pacific Ballroom B. Get the Word Out: How to Do It Marketing for Small & Rural Libraries
PLA LD Track: Administration & Leadership; Advocacy, Marketing, & Fundraising

RM: Pacific Ballroom D. Moving Image Collections: Surveying Tools and Preservation Basics
ACRL RBMS; ACRL ARTS Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Cataloging & Metadata

RM: Manhattan. Practical Aspects of Open Access Publishing in the Behavioral Sciences
ACRL EBSS. Psychology/Psychiatry Discussion Forum Track: Non- Track.

HYATT

RM: Grand A. 14th Annual New Reference Research Forum,
RUSA RSS RSC

RM: Grand B-C Beyond White Privilege 101: Continuing the Discussion
ALA DIVERSITY Track: Non-Track

RM: Grand E-F. Fish4Info: A Next Generation Library Portal
AASL Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: Royal C-F. Coming Out at Work: 20 Years Later
AFL Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Salon 1. .Research Guides Remixed
ACRL

MARRIOTT

RM: Marquis Center. IS Conference Program, 2008: Creating Change: Teacher Librarians and New Learners
ACRL IS Track: User Services; Literacy and Learning

RM: Marquis Salon A-D. Film and VIdeo Preservation in Working Collections.
ACRL Media Resources Discussion Group.

*SUNDAY 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.*

ACC

RM: 203A. Alphabet Soup? Librarians in the European Union
ALA IRC Track: Administration & Leadership; New Models for Collaboration

RM: 203B. Scholarly Communication Discussion Group.

RM: 211B. Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Arab and Muslim World
ALA OLOS Track: Non-Track

RM: 212A. Library Researching, Archiving, and Collecting for the U.S. Congress
ALA FAFLRTTrack: User Services; Reference

DISNEY GRAND CALIFORNIAN

RM: Wisteria. Charting Courses: Diversity Research Grants
ALA DIVERSITY Track: Non-Track

RM: Trillium C LAMA BES Facilities Planning Discussion Group

EMBASSY SUITES

RM: Landmark Ballroom A. Coming to the Talking Circle
AFL AILA Track: Administration & Leadership; Advocacy, Marketing, & Fundraising

HILTON

RM: California Pavilion D. LITA President’s Program: Isn’t it great to be in the library…wherever That is?
LITA Track: Non-Track

RM: Lido A. Interlibrary Loan & Regional Campus Libraries: Sharing Resources Across Campus.
ACR: Regional Campus Libraries Discussion Group.

HYATT

RM: Ball Room B. Collection Development and Analysis, Resources, Instructions and Planning.
ACRL Philosophical, Religious & Theological Studies Discussion Group.

RM: Salon I The STS Research Forum
ACRL STS.

MARRIOTT

RM: Salon F. Is There a Right to Information Literacy? Academy Responsibility in the Information Age
ACRL Track: User Services; Literacy and Learning

*MONDAY, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.*

ACC

RM 203B. EPA Libraries Forum
ALA SRRT Track: Non-Track

HILTON

RM: Pavilion B: And Now for the Good News: Appreciative Inquiry
LAMA MAES Track: Administration & Leadership; Leadership & Management (8:00 -10:00 a.m.)

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: North Exhibit Hall, Meeting Room H Performance Issues for Reference/Information Librarians discussion group

*MONDAY, 8:00 a.m. – Noon*

ACC

RM 201D. One Part Inspiration: Creative Trends that Further Science Learning
ACRL STS Track: Transformation & Innovations

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Pacific A. Feminist Publishing: The Evolution of a Revolution
ACRL WSS; ALA SRRT Track: Issues & Updates

HYATT

RM: Royal E/F. Bull’s Eye! Targeting the Right Consumer with Market Research
RUSA BRASS Track: User Services; Reference

*MONDAY, 10:30 a.m. – noon*

ACC

RM 203A. Let’s Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness
ALA PUB PROGS Track: Authors, Literature & Cultural Programming; Literature

RM203B. Libraries & Government: Issues, Services and Strategies
ALA LRRT Track: Research

RM 204A. Going Local: Statistical Resources for Business
ALA GODORT Track: Research

RM 204B. Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin: The Future of Electronic Reference Publishing, A View From the Top
ALA PUBLISHING Track: Collection Management & Technical Services; Collection Development

RM 209B. Connecting with an International Project
ALA IRO Track: Non-Track

RM: 210 C/D. One Part Inspiration: Creative Trends that Further Science Learning. Poster Sessions.
ACRL STS

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Disneyland Center Ballroom. You’ve Been Shopped! Mystery Shopping for Better Service
LAMA SASS Track: User Services

RM: Magic Kingdom 1. Dude, Where Is My Retirement?
RUSA Track: Issues & Updates

HILTON

RM: California Pavilion A. Ergonomics in Libraries:Human-Centered Design for Library Facilities
LAMA BES Track: Administration & Leadership; Buildings

RM: Monterrey Toot Your Horn: Improving Your Image
ALA APA Track: Administration & Leadership

RM: Pallisades. Undergraduate Libraries Discussion Group.
ACRL. ULDG.

RM: Santa Monica. Cooperative Strategies for European Libraries: Access and Preservation
ACRL WESS Track: Administration & Leadership; New Models for Collaboration

HYATT

RM: Grand A. Legal Issues in Developing Open Source Systems for Libraries
LITA Track: Non-Track

RM: Grand B-C. Please Talk to Strangers Online: Spreading Trust in Virtual Reference Services
RUSA RSS Track: User Services; Reference

RM: Pacific Pacs in the Library 2.0 World
PLA LD Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: Salon I. ACRL Science and Technology Section, Research Posters. (Starts at 11:00 a.m. )

MARRIOTT

RM: Marquis Northeastern. Visual Literacy Ain’t Just Watching Ads
AASL ISS Track: Children & Young Adults; Best Practices and Programming

RM Salon F. ALCTS President’s Program: From Here to Eternity: the challenges of managing Oscar’s very special collections
ALCTS Track: Non-Track

*MONDAY 1:30 -3:30 pm.*

ACC

RM: 203A. Valuing Staff: Employee Relations and Recognition Programs
ALA APA Track: Non-Track

RM: 203B Professional Development Around the World: Meeting the challenge of rapid change in the digital environment
ALA IRRT Track: Non-Track

RM: 207D. Your Library, Your Space – Using Research to Make Libraries People Friendly
ALA ORS Track: Non-Track

RM: 208A Teaching the Teacher: How to Integrate Information Literacy into the Teacher Education Curriculum

DISNEYLAND HOTEL

RM: Adventure. Copyright 101 Poster Session: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid To Ask
ALA OITP Track: Issues & Updates

RM: Disneyland North Ballroom. President’s Program: Quality Service in an Impersonal World
RUSA Track: User Services

RM: Fantasy. Hot Topics in Copyright: Coyright Top 10.
ALA OITP. Track: Issues & Updates.

HILTON

RM: California Pavilion A. Top Building Trends
LAMA BES Track: Administration & Leadership; Buildings

RM: California Pavilion B. Keeping Your Computers Up and Running — We Can Help!

RM: California Pavilion D. ACRL President’s Program: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
ACRL Track: Administration & Leadership; Leadership & Management

HYATT

RM: Grand A. Institutional Repositories: New Roles for Acquisitions
ALCTS AS Track: Digital Information & Technologies

RM: Grand B-D. Collaborative Digital Initiatives: Show and Tell and Lessons Learned
LITA; ALCTS PARS Track: Digital Information & Technologies

MARRIOTT

RM: Platinum. GLBT Graphic Novels and Comics

*MONDAY, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.*

DISNEY PARADISE PIER

RM: Redondo. The Healthy Librarian: Cultivating Wellness in the Workplace
AFL AILA Track: Issues & Updates

First, some information about the respondents. Over 50% have been in the academic library profession 6 years or less. We’ve had past indicators that ACRLog, like most library blogs perhaps, is read by the “new(er) to the profession” demographic, and this respondent data appears to support that. There was almost an even split on taking an academic librarianship course; 54% never took one and 46% did. Again, that sounds reasonable to expect. Not everyone who ended up in an academic library was thinking about it when they went to library school, so an academic librarianship course may have seemed less important at the time. Also, there are several LIS schools that have never, and still do not, offer an academic librarianship course.

The survey asked respondents to identify, by choosing from a list of 30 topics, what should be the most essential topics for an academic librarianship course. Respondents also indicted which topics were “important” and “marginal”. The topics most frequently selected as essential are:

higher education industry (current issues)
academic freedom/tenure
academic library standards
public service operations
reference services
information literacy
instruction/teaching
collection management
scholarly communication
student issues
future of academic librarianship

Those items that received the highest percentage of “essential” ranking were information literacy, instruction and higher education industry. I think this list confirms that most of the topics on my course syllabus are the ones that practitioners want LIS students to study. The one activity that made it into the essential category was “a required presentation”. I can certainly understand that because it relates to instruction skill, and the presentation is a crucial part of the job interview. I used to have students do a five-minute presentation on their class project (a study/analysis of a single academic library that the student visits and reports on during the course), but gave it up. The presentations were not well crafted or delivered, and I could see it was really painful for the students to sit through them. So I agree entirely that LIS students need to learn how to present effectively, but there’s just no room for that in most courses. My recommended solution is for the LIS programs to offer a number of short workshops, perhaps a full-day, where skilled practitioners would be tapped to offer a “how to” session to give LIS students these important skills that can contribute to interview and workplace success.

The topics most frequently selected as important were:

visit to an academic library
academic library field study
higher education accreditation
higher education organizational structure
faculty status for librarians
tech service operations
web 2.0 technology
library as place
e-resource management
faculty issues
career advice/keeping up skills
community colleges

Again, all these topics are covered in my academic librarianship course. In addition to what students can learn from the class discussion, recorded lecture content and supplemental reading, guest speakers cover many of these topics in their presentations. My course features both F2F guest lecturers and those who visit via distance learning systems. That visits to and field studies of academic libraries are considered important suggests that out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities are vital to the development of a future academic librarian. I heartily agree. Visiting academic libraries and talking to the academic librarians one meets there is a fundamental learning method, not just for LIS students but even veteran practitioners.

So what topics did the respondents think were just marginal for an academic librarianship course?

academic library leadership
human resources management
metadata services
special collections / archives
budgeting
higher education history

Of these topics, leadership/management issues comes as the biggest surprise. It seems to be much on the minds of practitioners so I expected it to rank higher as a priority. I do spend some time on higher education history the first night of the course as I think it’s helpful to have that foundational information, but the other topics are better covered in those courses designated to give LIS students a primer on administrative, leadership and management.

I received a lengthy list of “suggested topics” that an academic librarianship should include – those items not among the 30 from which respondents could choose. There are too many to list here, but here are some of those that appeared more than once:

publishing and presenting for tenure
how to survive your first year as an academic librarian
project management
decision making
grantsmanship
advocacy
organizational politics
writing skills
ethics
assessment
reading the Chronicle
instructional technology for teaching
copyright
marketing
green library practices
mission statements
liaison relationships
dealing with deadwood
pedagogy
course design
vendor relationships
involvement in campus activity

A number of these, while not listed on the syllabus as official course topics, do come up as discussion topics at any point throughout the course. Marketing would be a good example because the students explore that as part of the course project and there’s usually some discussion about their findings. Reading the Chronicle is also covered through class assignments. Again, some of these skills are covered elsewhere in the LIS curriculum, but they could certainly be discussed in the context of academic library environments. The mention of writing skills is interesting because I find my students’ writing to be all across the quality spectrum. Fortunately, most are quite proficient. While I certainly want to help those who need improvement it can be incredibly time consuming and beyond the scope of what I can realistically accomplish. Like presentation skills this is something, while quite important, that needs to be dealt with outside the course.

I don’t know about you but I found the responses to the survey most informative. On one hand it affirms that much of what I cover in my academic librarianship course are the topics that practitioners find to be most essential or important. What about others who teach these courses? What do you think? The responses also provide me with some new ideas for additional topics of discussion. Why not spend some time talking about how academic librarians can contribute to the green campus movement? So many thanks to those of you who took a few minutes to respond to this survey. We are all stakeholders in the LIS education of our future academic librarians. Practitioners, it seems, have much to contribute to, and much to gain from, the development of a quality curriculum.

Katerina, could you please describe your university and the library.

Our university is one of the largest and oldest universities in Ekaterinburg. It is usually called a “classic” university, as almost all the sciences are taught here from nanotechnologies to religion studies. And of course our library on, one hand, has books and other resources to meet all the possible educational and scientific needs of our students, faculty and staff and, on the other hand, we try to implement the newest information technologies in our work to offer our users a wide range of services, such as ILL, computers, Internet access, wifi and more. Our library is subscribed to world famous databases, such as Elsevier, Ebsco Publishing, JSTOR, Springer Verlag, World Scientific Publishing and many others. Some information about our library you can see on our web site (in Russian only).

In Russian academic libraries do you have a job position for “Information Literacy Librarian” or “Instruction Librarian”?

Unfortunately, we don’t have such job positions. As a rule, the role of “instruction librarian” is usually played by reference librarians (bibliographers). I think it is not bad, as reference librarians usually know a lot about information resources and information retrieval.

Do you use ACRL’s Standards for Information Literacy in developing your learning goals or program outcomes or has a unique set of standards emerged for Russian academic libraries?

In our library we try to use the experience of our colleagues, but as far as I know, we don’t have a special standard for information literacy. We have chosen a set of skills and knowledge, that our students should learn. Every instruction librarian (I will call them this way here, though we don’t have such position, as I have stated above) writes his or her own course outline, depending on the amount of hours that is given for the course (from 4 to 30), the department (the information given to students of the History department will be different from that given to students of the Chemistry department), the students themselves (are they freshmen or graduates) and so on. But there are some mandatory elements: catalogues search (OPAC and card catalogue), citation rules, database and Internet search. I have developed my own course for the first year students of the PR Department, though it is not perfect, of course.

What are your thoughts on the degree of influence that American IL has had on the Russian librarian’s understanding of IL programs?

Well, I cannot speak for the whole Russian librarianship, but US resources influenced me much. When I started teaching IL about three years ago, I studied ALA’s standards, different resources devoted to IL, read articles. A lot of information for my lectures and workshops I’ve got from my american colleagues. Maybe I was wrong and I should have searched better for Russian materials, but I (and my students) like the results.

Would you say that there is an established information literacy movement in Russian academic institutions or is this something fairly new that your academic librarians are just becoming aware of?

Well, I don’t think that information literacy is something new for us. In Russia it is called “information culture”. I may be wrong, but I think that the information literacy (or culture) movement in Russia has started about 10 years ago. N. I. Gendina is one of the leading scholar, who develops these ideas in Russia. But it seems to me that IL is known mostly to librarians, and not to the teachers at schools or IHEs, or common people. I’ve seached “information literacy” and “information culture” on Russian Wikipedia (I personally like this resource) and found our that there is no information on both these terms. To my mind, it is a vivid characteristic of undevelopment and uncertainty of IL notion in Russia.

How much do your faculty know about information literacy?

Maybe they have heard this notion. For me it is rather difficult to assess their literacy level. The faculty members, like librarians, are very different in age and research experience. Some of them are afraid of computers, some are advanced computer and Internet users. Of course we don’t teach computer skills, but we arrange meetings with faculty to tell them about library news, new databases or books, and give workshops.

How would you describe their state of knowledge or concern with student use of Google, Wikipedia, plagiarism.

It also depends upon a faculty member. Some will be satisfied with a ready-made work, downloaded completely from the Internet, the other will not allow to use Internet resources at all. Of course we have some “advanced” faculty, but the majority thinks that either “Internet is evil”, or “everything can be found in the Internet”.

Are they ready or open to collaborating with academic librarians to improve student research skills?

The classes in information literacy are taught at most of our departments. Some in administration do their best to organize such classes. Sometimes even faculty members ask us to conduct a class in information retrieval or to select some resources on a particular topic and to tell their students.
More often faculty members aks us to help them with their personal research. We help them to find relevant information, correct the citations, give advices for independent search. And of course very often students come with such words: Professor XXX told me to come to you. She/he said you could help me. And we do our best.
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What are your thoughts on how American and Russian academic librarians could work together to improve our international collaboration and sharing of ideas? Can we overcome the language barrier?

I am for collaboration with both my hands! Sharing experience is always good. I know in some aspects Russian libraries lag far behind, but still we are eager to learn, and I am sure we can teach something useful. I think there are lots of possible ways: international conferences and workshops (e.g annual conference in Sudak, ScienceOnline etc.), international programs such as Fulbright or Edmund Muskie programs (btw, this fall I go to USA for a year thanks to Fulbright Faculty development Program). We also can establish individual contacts (through blogs of social networks). Of course the language barrier is a great problem, very few Russian librarians can easily communicate in English. But still if there is only one person in a Russian library, who has a good command of English, some interaction is possible (I am an unassuming result of it).

I know you read quite a few of our American librarian blogs. What are some of your favorites? Are these blogs widely read by your colleagues or as Russia’s first academic librarian blogger are you trying to create more awareness?

Yes, I have to read a lot blogs on library topics just to be well informed about what is happening around the world, or I’ll better say – over the ocean. It is difficult to chose the favorite. I like David Lee King’s blog, Annoyed Librarian, Digital Reference, L-net: Oregon libraries network blogs, ACRLog and many others. I also like LISNews much. I don’t know if my colleagues read them, it is rather difficult to “force” them to read and comment on Russian library blogs. The main reasons, to my mind, are 1. Very few librarians know English language, 2. Even less librarians know what a blog is or don’t want to waste time on such unimportant or silly things. That is why I try to share the news or ideas I’ve read in blogs, sometimes making translations, sometimes – on our meetings, or even in private conversations.

Finally, tell us a bit about your blog and what you try to accomplish? Are you focusing on any particular topic, such as information literacy? Do you think more Russian academic librarians will start their own blogs soon?

Well, my blog “Library Bat” or “Мышь библиотечная” in Russian, is relatively young – it is about 1.5 years old. At first I was blogging in English, but very quickly switched to Russian as I think it is more important and essential. I am not focusing on a special topic. I think that the Russian biblioblogosphere is too undeveloped for single-topic blogs. I try to tell about everything connected with libraries and books, do a lot of translations. Maybe some day I will make a blog, devoted to virtual reference services – my mostly loved library issue nowadays after library blogs. If to speak about the future of library blogging, it seems optimistic to me. Last summer I have written an article for InfoBib about Russian library blogs. The amount of blogs has grown three times since, but the problems still exist.

Many thanks to Katerina for sharing this information. I would have many more questions for her about academic librarianship in Russia but our space is limited. If you’d like to contact Katerina do so through her profile at Facebook or Library 2.0 profile.

I struggle with deciding what to include in the academic librarianship course I teach. At the Drexel LIS program the courses are only 10 weeks long (they are on the quarter system), so with a limited timeframe the content must be carefully selected. Though human resource management, budgeting and other administrative subjects are valuable to cover I find them necessary to skip; there just isn’t sufficient time. I think it’s more essential to focus on the critical subject areas my students will be likely to encounter as entry-level librarians. From my perspective, becoming well versed in the structure and operations of a higher education institution is critical; you need to understand the industry not just the library. To contribute to their employment prospects I also equip them to knowledgeably discuss the issues of the day.

Major topics covered in my course, and other academic library courses I’ve looked at, include higher education history, organizations and key concepts, library organizational structure, accreditation, tenure status, public services, technical services, information literacy, instruction, e-resource management, collection management, scholarly communications, library as place, community colleges, academic library futures, and then a variety of “hot” topics are scattered throughout and one session is devoted to the latest issues. That sounds like a good amount of content but I don’t doubt some important topics are missed. The overall goal is to prepare the student for the academic library setting, with the ability to keep learning as they enter that environment (thus additional attention is paid to “keeping up” in higher education and academic librarianship).

But I’d like to know what you think are the most important topics to cover in an academic library course. I’ve prepared a brief survey for those who’d like to share their priorities. There are four questions. The first two are simple background information queries. The third question asks you to rate 30 topics/activities as either essential, important, marginal or unnecessary. With the fourth open-ended question you can add additional topics that you think are important. I hope you will take a few moments to complete the survey. I’ll report the results in a week or two.