Digitization 101

From March 4-31, I'm offering an asynchronous eCourse on copyright through ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions.  After giving copyright webinars last year through ALA, I'm please to have been asked to deliver a four-week course entitled "US Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide eCourse."  The description is below.  Registration information is on the ALA website.  The four weeks of course material, including materials to extend your learning, will provide approximately 28 hours of learning activity.  Participants will be able to interact with each other - and with me - during the course. I'm looking forward to the library-related copyright discussion that will develop!

Description:

The library is a hub of content, all of it subject to copyright law. The legal reality of copyright is dynamic—changes in technology have created a landscape that is constantly adapting and can be difficult to predict. If you don't have any formal training in copyright law, it can be intimidating to know how to answer your patrons' copyright questions and to know what you can and cannot do with your library’s content and resources. It can be tough to understand the line between providing information and answering a legal question.

In March, I'm offering an asynchronous eCourse on copyright through ALA ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions.  After giving copyright webinars last year through ALA, I'm please to have been asked to deliver a four-week course entitled "US Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide eCourse."  The description is below.  Registration information is on the ALA website.  The four weeks of course material, including materials to extend your learning, will provide approximately 28 hours of learning activity.

Description: 

The library is a hub of content, all of it subject to copyright law. The legal reality of copyright is dynamic—changes in technology have created a landscape that is constantly adapting and can be difficult to predict. If you don't have any formal training in copyright law, it can be intimidating to know how to answer your patrons' copyright questions and to know what you can and cannot do with your library’s content and resources. It can be tough to understand the line between providing information and answering a legal question.

Coffee and Beignets

During the next three months, this is where my speaking and traveling schedule is taking me. As always, if you're in the same location as me, I hope you will say hello. If time permits, let's have a cup of coffee together!

• Jan. 10, 10:00-11:00 a.m. ET - Presenting "Roam Your Community and Meet Them on Their Turf " (webinar) for Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN).
  Description: We’ve heard the refrains of eliminating the reference desk, embedded librarians, and the like. We also hear of the need to get out into our communities. Yet meeting our community members where they are – not where we are – is still a challenge. If we are free to move about our communities, and deliver services outside of the library, what might that look like? What innovative or imaginative twist can we use, which will spark the community’s attention and interaction? 
• Jan. 31, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET   - Presenting "Assuring Materials Can Be Used By Your Community" for the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). 
  Description: Having materials in a library's collection is good; having those materials in the formats needed by the library's community is much better. The act of supplying content in the formats that community members require is critically important to meeting their information needs. This webinar will delve into ways of discerning the format needs of a community, including using the census and other data, along with existing reports, to discern the best way of provisioning material for the community.
• Feb. 7-9 - Attending the ALISE 2018 Annual Conference, Westminster, CO 
• Feb. 21, 10:00-11:00 a.m. ET - Presenting "Putting the Answer Up Front and Advocating for Libraries" (webinar) for Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN).
  Description: Since January (2017), more people are writing letters to their federal, state and local representatives. Many of these “letters” are constructed through web sites, which provide letter templates. Other “letters” are comments on sites like Countable or Facebook. While these methods of advocacy are good, it is better to craft your own message/letter which advocates your position using the information that is relevant to you.
• Feb. 28, 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction - Part 1" (webinar) for ALA Editions.
  Series Description: Library staffs are often seen as defenders of copyright.  Indeed, copyright touches many things a library and its community do. This two-part copyright webinar will help you understand what copyright is (and isn’t) so you can defend how your library and users/patrons/community use print and digital materials.
  Session Description: The fact that the Office of Copyright exists within the Library of Congress conveys its importance to libraries and the information industry.  Yet we often ignore the details in the U.S. copyright law, because we perceive those details as being too complex.  One area where we show of lack of knowledge is with the public domain.  We are quick to say that something is in the public domain, but do we actually know how a work receives that designation? This session will place the basic rules of copyright law in ordinary terms, and put their usage into context. 
• Mar. 7, 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction - Part 2" (webinar) for ALA Editions.
Series Description: Library staffs are often seen as defenders of copyright.  Indeed, copyright touches many things a library and its community do. This two-part copyright webinar will help you understand what copyright is (and isn’t) so you can defend how your library and users/patrons/community use print and digital materials. 
Session Description: Building upon part 1, this session will tackle two important areas to our libraries: Fair Use and ebooks.  Fair Use is a critical part of the U.S. copyright law, yet do you know that there is an actual test to determine if the use is fair?  As for ebooks and other digital materials, it is important to know where they do (and do not) intersect with U.S. copyright law.  Given that digital works are generally licensed and not sold, what should we be advocating for on behalf of our libraries and community members?
• Mar. 27, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET - Presenting "Copyright 101: Staying Legal"  (on-site workshop) for for Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN).
  Description: We are often quick to make decisions about the use of someone’s content, based on what we believe copyright law states. Unfortunately, most of what we know about copyright is hearsay or guesses, yet everything we do in a library is guided by copyright law. This workshop will provide a firm foundation in the fundamental rules of U.S. copyright law. It will help you stay legal and out of trouble with copyright owners, by helping you understand, explain and use the law in your library community.

I like "watching" LIS conferences both up-close and from afar.  One of the things I take note of is attendance.  While some are growing (e.g., the Charleston Conference), some have had recent attendance challenges (e.g., ALA, SLA and CIL).  Many people have pondered why.

I  began going to LIS conferences in the heyday of the 1990s, when people, organizations, and vendors spent more on them.  There were also fewer conferences.  Now people have a wider variety of mainstream and non-traditional professional development events, which they can attend in person or virtually.  Social media assures that anyone can dip a toe into a conference, without being there.  And with tighter budgets, we are all being more selective about which conference/event to attend.  More information professionals/library staff split among a growing number of events.  Mathematically you can see how a conference would have lower attendance.

We need to stop pondering why our conferences aren't attracting as many people as we'd like, and begin acting on what we know about the situation.  Perhaps some conferences need to be revamped.  Maybe it is time for some to end or to merge with another event. We likely need to rethink their purpose (which may include providing necessary operational funds for an association) and their budgets, and consider what benefit we really want these events to deliver. We need to stop holding onto what that conference has been and allow it to morph into what it should be now.

And we need to do this SOON.

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Nota Bene: Because I have kept track of  this for several years, I asked a colleague to get this info for me.  This year, the attendance at the Computers in Libraries Conference was about 10% less than 2016. According to what I heard from day 1 of the conference, attendance was 1307 including exhibit only participants (1069 without) and would probably reach 1500 with onside registrants.  Participants came from 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. as well as 16 countries outside the U.S. The number of international participants was done.  Some of that may have been due to the current political climate.

It wasn't until my MSLIS program was approaching its time for our ALA accreditation rview that I considered who the reviewers actually are.  The ALA accreditation review site visit is conducted by a team of library and information professionals.  There is an ongoing call by ALA for people willing to do this.  I'm pasting below text from the ALA web site on this opportunity.  Those interested need to attend training at the ALA annual conference, and be willing to put in the time and effort needed to conduct a review of a specific program.  While you would be volunteering your service, I can tell you that this is a critical role in assuring that the accreditation process works well.

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From ALA.org:

Minimum qualifications

• Master's or doctoral degree in LIS or related field
• Seven years of professional experience as a librarian, information professional, or LIS educator
• Demonstrated interpersonal and team participation skills
• Willingness and ability to commit up to four consecutive days onsite during the academic year for site visits
• Participation in training sessions at ALA Annual Conferences
• Demonstrated analytical skills
• Demonstrated ability to write logical and clear analytical reports
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with administrators, staff, students, and the public regardless of culture, gender, ethnicity or race
• Appreciation for and understanding of the higher education environment and peer review

• Public librarianship
• School library media
• Archives and records management
• Information science
• Information technology
• LIS graduate program administration
• Service to diverse populations
• French language skills
• Spanish language skills

To apply

If you meet the above criteria, please complete the External Review Panel application and submit along with your current CV or resume to accred@ala.org.

• External Review Panelist application (Word)

Sari Signorelli at the SU booth

Due to my schedule, this post has been weeks in the making. Hopefully it is ready for primetime.

The American Library Association Midwinter Conference was held in Boston on Jan. 8-12. The conference attracted 6,941 attendees and 3,879 exhibitors for a total of 10,820. Among the booths was one from Syracuse University and I worked the booth on Saturday and Sunday. Working an exhibit booth provides a very different point of view of a conference, especially when thinking about who comes into the Exhibit Hall.

Exhibitors comprise one of the economic engines behind most conferences.  Exhibitors come with the aim of talking with conference participants about their products and services.  At ALA, there are many publishers in the Exhibit Hall, who attract attention because they are giving away books and having author signings.  The rest of the exhibitors hope that people will seek them out or perhaps find them because they are wandering the Exhibit Hall. Since many of the people who attend Midwinter are leaders (and thus people who have influence), it is hoped that they will come to the Exhibit Hall and be willing to truly engage with the products and services.  However, at Midwinter, the Exhibit Hall had some quiet periods and it was clear that not all 10,000 people came into it. I suspect that the leaders were tied up by meetings, while others may have not heard the sirens song. Still I did talk to some librarians from New Hampshire, who had specifically come to the Exhibit Hall on a day-trip.  Were exhibitors saddened by the foot traffic? Yes, some were. Hopefully, ALA - and other conferences - can find ways of getting people into the hall, so that exhibitors stay engaged.

While I'm thinking about the conference, kudos to ALA for its work to provide an inclusive atmosphere.  ALA has a code of conduct, which was highly visible. They had a New Mother's Room and gender neutral restrooms.  Signage said that every room has seating reserved for those who use mobility devices (like a wheelchair).  Buses were available to take people between ALA venues, which was greatly appreciated.  With over 10,000 people in attendance, some events were not in the convention center and many people were in hotels that were not within walking distance of the convention center (or each other).

Because of the size of the conference, there are meetings that are co-located with it.  Several MSLIS programs met with the ALA Committee on Accreditation as part of their accreditation review.  I'm pleased that the MSLIS program at Syracuse University was reaccredited for seven years (the maximum length of time).  Our next self-study will occur in 2022!  I led our effort and so this is a huge weight off my shoulders.

Finally, because of the size of the conference, it is a time to get together with colleagues whom you might see infrequently.  Why attend a conference?  One of the answers truly is "to maintain my professional network."  Thanks to Brent Mai, Paul Signorelli and others for the conversations and the assurance that I would not lose weight while in Boston!

• What are the humanities?  No one definition.
• What is digital humanities? One web site serves up a variety of definitions. Digitally created as well as those converted to digital format.
• How does the NEH define it? You see some definitions in grant applications. 
• Faculty want libraries to be part of digital humanities.  Libraries are a central place for research.  Libraries have or can develop the needed skills.
• Faculty though do not see that libraries can totally meet their needs.  Faculty want help with project management, for example.
• Librarians want to be partners of digital humanities projects.
• For some libraries, involvement in digital humanities is on an ad hoc basis.
• There overall assessment of current services is quite low.
• How does this affect the students?  Yes, faculty do give assignments that rely on digital humanity resources.
• The full survey results are online at americanlibraries.org

• While digital humanities is an imprecise term, that's note a bad thing.  
• We've been doing it for a long time. It is a collaborative process.  It requires a bundle of skills.  It is a natural interest for academic research libraries.
• For the humanities, the libraries is their laboratory.
• We have a lot of skills in this area and the ability to acquire additional skills.
• We are challenged in understanding how to keep older projects in a useful state, especially when the owners have left.
• It is getting easier to raise resources for projects, including from alumni.
• Seeing faculty and staff hires related to digital humanities.
• There are space implications.
• This is an area of research.  Can the library be a collaborator on a digital humanities research project?
• How do we evaluate and value digital humanities work in tenure and promotion cases?

• Terms of possibility
• Reuse
• Reproducibility
• Transparency
• Permanence
• Attribution
• Hack vs. yack
• Two definitions of digital humanities:
• Arguments made using digital methods, tools and sources
• Arguments about digital methods, tools and sources
• HathiTrust
• DPLA 

• Portico is committed to the preservation of scholarly literature published in electronic form to ensure that these materials remain accessible to future generations of scholars, researchers, and students.
• Why use a third party? Scale and complexity
• They currently have three services; one that has Gale as a client/partner.
• Leveraging preservation infrastructure and experience to benefit the community.
• Potential assistance with text and data mining.

South St. in Philadelphia, PA

With 2016 just around the corner, this is where my travels will be taking me:

• January 5-8: ALISE, Boston, MA. (#alise16) - ALISE is a conference for library and information science educators, as well as LIS deans and program directors/chairs. I register for this conference early and even before the schedule is known, because I know the sessions and the conversations will be excellent.  As a MSLIS program director, this is a "must" conference for me.
• January 8-12: ALA Midwinter, Boston, MA. (#alamw16) - I'm not actually attending ALA Midwinter, but I am attending two ALA accreditation related meetings that are held during the conference.  I'm also working the SU iSchool booth on Saturday morning (booth 948).  I'm also visiting some LIS employers in Boston. (Want to suggest anyone?)
• March 8-10: Computers in Libraries (CIL), Washington, DC. (#CILDC) - I will be speaking twice on Thursday and one of those is with a group of colleagues.  More about that later.  I'll also be visiting some LIS employers in that area.
• June 12-14: SLA Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA (#sla2016) -SLA is returning to Philly after being in that city in 2011. I am speaking at one session Sunday on copyright.  More about that later.  I believe the SU iSchool will have a booth at the conference and so look for me there.

If you are at any of the conferences above, please stop me and say "hi".  If we can, let's grab a cup of coffee!

Below are conferences that I hope to attend this year.  ALA Annual and IFLA are not a definite; however, it would be shame for IFLA to be this close and to not go! 

• June 23-28: ALA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL (#alaac16)
• August 13-19: IFLA, Columbus, OH (#wlic2015)
• November 2 - 5: NYLA, Saratoga Springs, NY (#NYLA16)

If I get to ALL of these conferences, it will be a very busy year.

Work-in-progress poster session

I have now been back in Syracuse for several days, after a successful ALISE Annual Conference. ALISE - The Association for Library and Information Science Education - is the one conference where I interact with a room-full of people who do what I do in academia. This was my third ALISE conference and it was as welcoming and as insightful as my first. The conference is held right before the ALA Midwinter Conference and in the same city, which also allows people at one conference to perhaps see those coming for the other, which is also a nice benefit.

When I attend a conference - as a participant or speaker - I always "do" the conference, which means that I go to the sessions. You have already seen my blog posts from ALISE, so you know that I went to many interesting sessions. Others also blogged and tweeted the conference, which helped us share information with each other and with those who were unable to attend.  Among the blog posts is one by Diane Rasmussen Pennington that helps to wrap-up the conference (see ALISE 2015: Breaking down silos, pouring coffee). Adam Worrall dominated the twitterverse, which I appreciated, since we didn't tend to go to the same sessions.

ALISE has two poster sessions - work-in-progress and doctoral - which are good for networking and garnering new ideas. One of the most interesting posters I saw was "It’s all about the 2.0 Bro: A Future Study of the Impact of Technology on Millennial Males Choosing the Library Profession" by Heidi Blackburn. You can read the poster's abstract AND see the poster at http://works.bepress.com/heidi_blackburn/19/.

Many dean, directors and chairs of MSLIS academic programs attend ALISE, which provides a good opportunity to talk about how things are going, share what's new with our programs, and discuss ALA accreditation.  One of the things we did was to review the proposed new ALA Accreditation Standards, which were to be voted on the ALA Council (I think) during the Midwinter conference.  As I write this, I do not know if the new standards were adopted.  If yes, programs would begin using them for their accreditation review in 2018.  (Addendum, 8:09 p.m. ET - I just learned that the revised standards were adopted with one wording revision.)

Courtney Young, ALA president, 2014-2015

These new proposed accreditation standards are a revision to the standards adopted in 2008.  Those were the first revised standards since 1992.  Because the LIS profession believes in the standards, I think more practitioners should read the standards and understand what they mean to an LIS program.  For example, the standards don't mean that every program teaches the exact same thing.  They do mean that programs need to demonstrate that they are supported by their larger institution, for example. I bet most LIS programs would be willing to talk about the overall accreditation process (from biennials to the self-study and to the decision by the Committee on Accreditation).  Because of the importance of that process, wouldn't it be interesting if the state-level library association conferences had sessions so that practitioner understand the impact of the process on everyone involved (including the practitioners themselves)?

Finally, I want to give a shout out to some great Chicago restaurants and eateries. I ate twice at the Chef's Burger Bistro, which serves much more than burger (e.g., Chop House Blue, which is a pulled pork sandwich like none other, and the Grilled Tuna sandwich).  I had lunch at the Michael Jordan's Steak House Bar, which is in the InterContinental Hotel (Rotisserie Chicken & Arugula Salad).  The Eleven City Diner is a New York City style diner with great sandwiches, and I had dinner there will Paul Signorelli, who was in Chicago for ALA Midwinter.  I also ate at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, a chain that is not in my region, and the Cubs Bar & Grill at the airport, where I had two Chicago-style hot dogs.  A wonderful conference, great conversations, and good food - the best combination!

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Addendum (2/5/2015): Andrew Dillon, who also attended the Deans and Directors meeting at ALISE,  has written a thought provoking blog post on accreditation entitled "Please reform accreditation."

In the last couple of years, conferences have been adopting codes of conduct for their speakers and participants.  The code of conduct ensure that everyone understands that there are boundaries that determine was is acceptable in terms of behavior.  Yes, speakers can be inappropriate and participants can be inappropriate...and by doing so, create an atmosphere that isn't conducive to learning and building positive professional connections.

In July 2013, John Scalzi said that he would no longer speak at conferences that did not have a code of conduct.  It may not be practical for all of us to avoid conferences that do not have a code of conduct, but I think we should raise the issue with them and get them to adopt one.  There are plenty of examples (see some below), so a conference does not have to start from scratch.  It might also be worthwhile for conference participants to circulate a petition, if they feel that the conference organizers need a bigger push to implement a code of conduct.

Finally, I encourage you to talk to your conference colleagues about what acceptable behavior is at the conference, and promise to point out to each other when you may be acting or speaking inappropriately. Yes, that could be uncomfortable, but it would help to educate all of us about an issue that needs our attention.

• Here's What to Include in Your Meeting's Harassment Policy, http://www.pcma.org/convene-content/convene-article/2013/12/08/here%27s-what-to-include-in-your-meetings-harassment-policy
• SLA Anti-Harassment Policy, http://www.sla.org/attend/2014-annual-conference/general-info/anti-harassment-policy/ 
• Statement of Appropriate Conduct at ALA Conference, http://alamw14.ala.org/statement-of-appropriate-conduct
• DRAFT SAA Code of Conduct, http://www2.archivists.org/news/2014/call-for-member-comment-on-draft-saa-code-of-conduct
• Anti-harassment work: Conference anti-harassment policy, https://adainitiative.org/what-we-do/conference-policies/
• O'Reilly Conferences: Code of Conduct, http://www.oreilly.com/conferences/code-of-conduct.html 
• PyCon 2013 Code of Conduct, https://us.pycon.org/2013/about/code-of-conduct/
• UN: What is sexual harassment? http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/pdf/whatissh.pdf

The ALA Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) is developing a "proposed interpretation of the ALA Code of Ethics on the topic of copyright."  This interpretation will be considered by the Council at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in June.  The proposed interpretation is now open for comments on the ALA Connect web site.  Please take a moment to read it and leave comments on that site to note anything that you believe needs clarification.  It is also important for you to speak up, if you disagree with any part of the text.

As library and information professionals, we frequently turn to ALA for its guidance.  Therefore, it is important that we all review this draft, since it is likely we'll be using it in the future.

The American Library Association released the 2014 State of America’s Libraries Report this week, which is National Library Week (April 13– 19). Yesterday I commented on the Academic Libraries section.  Today I want to look at the section on ebooks and copyright, which reminds us of what we already know.  Ebooks are gaining in popularity, yet it is difficult for libraries to acquire and circulate them.  Jeannette Woodward, who has authored books on this topics, suggests that libraries work together to negotiate with publishers, rather than acting like islands unto themselves.

This section of the report also reminds of us copyright news from 2013, such as:

And in November 2013, after eight years of litigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the fair use doctrine when it dismissed Authors Guild v. Google, a case that questioned the legality of Google’s searchable book database. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin’s decision protects the Google database that allows the public to search more than 20 million books.

When this case began in 2005, it garnered a lot of attention including news articles, podcasts, blog posts, and more.  I don't think as many people noticed its conclusion.  Forbes noted that this decision is a big deal because:

• It adds to the small body of search engine law.
• The case rejects concerns about analog-to-digital conversion.
• Google Books is great. 
• The ruling extends Google’s market leadership.

However, a number of reasons also point to it not be a big deal, including that this decision is likely not going to help anyone except Google.  And...of course, it might be appealed.

This section of the report also notes two victories for those with visual impairments.  First, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) finalized the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.  Second, the ability of those who are blind, visually impaired, or have a physical disability to be able to download audio and braille books to their mobile devices, if they are registered with the LoC’s National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Ensuring that people with visual impairments have the same access to books and other materials, as the rest of us, is a big deal. They should be able to access the same information as the rest of us.

Finally, I'm sure that others are looking at this report and writing about it.  My colleague, Paul Signorelli, wrote these two posts, which you may find of interest:

• The State of America’s Libraries 2014: Libraries, Community Engagement, and Learning
• The State of America’s Libraries 2014: Libraries, Social Networking, and Learning

If you find other blog posts, that are delving into the sections of this report, please let me know.

The American Library Association released the 2014 State of America’s Libraries Report this week, which is National Library Week (April 13– 19). This 81-page report contains sections on:

• Libraries and Community Engagement
• Public Libraries
• Ebooks and Copyright Issues
• School Libraries
• Academic Libraries
• Social Networking
• Library Construction and Renovation
• Outreach and Diversity
• Washington Scene
• Intellectual Freedom

Reading the section on academic libraries, this stood out to me: (text bolded by me)

Data curation, digital resource management and preservation, assessment, scholarly communication, and improved services for graduate students are growth areas for academic libraries. New technologies and digital materials are creating more new jobs in academic libraries including digital content management, electronic resources, emerging technology specialists, scholarly communication, user experience designer, and web services librarians.

Graduate students in library and information science programs need to take notice of the job areas listed.  These are all areas that require an understanding of technology and may require skills in areas such as data science, databases, information creation, publishing, or digital presence.  These are areas where people with the correct skills will be valued and sought after.  Eventually all colleges and universities will have professional staff in these areas, however, you might look at research universities or those with large academic libraries as the ones that will develop these positions first.  (And in reality, a growing number of institutions already have these jobs.)

For MSLIS students, I encourage you to use your electives to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities that will allow you to work with new technologies and with digital materials.  Consider taking classes related to data science, where you will learn to acquire, analyze, archive, and curate data, which is something that research institutions need, as well as many other organizations.  If that isn't of interest, then look at other areas - e.g., web or emerging technologies - which not only will be needed in academic libraries, but again in other institutions. And if that isn't of interest, look at the list above and figure out what IS of interest.

These are real areas of need.  If you don't help meet these needs, who will?

This post is my explanation and should not replace you reading information on the ALA web site or talking to your LIS program about its accreditation.  This post does not reflect the thoughts, knowledge or views of my employer. 

In a conversation today, I was reminded that most librarians do not know what it means for a library program to be accredited by the American Libraries Association (ALA).  I must admit that I didn't understand it, until I had to get intimate with the details because of my work.  Yes, I went to an ALA accredited program, because I was told that doing so was important.  Yes, even when I didn't understand the details of accreditation, I have counseled people to go to a program tjat is accredited.  Most libraries seek to hire librarans that have an accredited degree.  Without an accredited degree, people often are unable to obtain the jobs that they desire.

What is accreditation?  According to ALA: (bolding added)

Accreditation is a voluntary system of evaluation of higher education institutions and programs. It is a collegial process based on self-evaluation and peer-assessment for improvement of academic quality and public accountability. Accreditation assures that higher education institutions and their units, schools, or programs meet appropriate standards of quality and integrity.

Accreditation is both a process and a condition. The process entails the assessment of educational quality and the continued enhancement of educational operations through the development and validation of standards. The condition provides a credential to the public-at-large indicating that an institution and/or its programs have accepted and are fulfilling their commitment to educational quality.

Notice that accreditation does not mean that every program is alike.  Programs, in fact, can be very different in terms of mandatory classes, exit requirements, and more.

The Office of Accreditation, within ALA, is the group that oversees all accreditation activities. Besides the staff of that office, external review panels (ERP) are involved in reviewing each program.  On a specific schedule an ERP is assembled and tasked with reading the self-evaluation documents created by a specific LIS program and then visiting that program in order to gather more information.  It is the ERP that recommends to the Office of Accreditation if a program should be re-accredited, or if it should be given a conditional accreditation and asked to address specific concerns.

Yes, a program can be given a conditional accreditation (see glossary) and asked to plan how it will improve.  Over the years, many programs have had conditional accreditation, including those that people at the time may have felt were top-notch institutions.  Remember that the accreditation review begins with the program assessing itself.  If the program isn't living up to what it desires, the conditional accreditation provides a time for the program to step up and get itself back on track.

If you have an ALA accredited library degree (e.g., MLS, MSLIS, MLIS), it means that you received your degree from a library program that has gone through an intensive review and that it meets appropriate standards for quality and integrity.  It doesn't mean that you attended the same classes as a person in another program.  It doesn't mean that you learned the same things as someone from another program.  It does mean that ALA found that you program met its standards.

ALA does not act alone.  It is part of an "accrediting community through recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and volunteer service with the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA),"  Therefore, some of what it asks of LIS programs are requirements, for example, from CHEA (e.g., the need to make program assessment data public).

Now that I have become better versed in what ALA accreditation means, I wonder why library professionals rely on accreditation, but don't fully understand it.  Yes...I'm asking that of my former self and I think the answer is that no one stands up and tells us that it is important to understand.  In addition, none of our non-LIS employers or community members ask what it means.  (If they asked, would they sit still for a full answer?)

If you are now intrigued, spend some time on the web site for the Office of Accreditation. If you are connected to an LIS program (alumni or current student), be aware of the program's accreditation and be willing to help as it prepares for its next review.  I am not sure what help you can provide (or what the program might need), but I'm sure they will be happy to hear that you want to ensure that the program remains accredited.  

If you're a librarian in the U.S., likely you got pulled into the conversation started by Library Journal on the value of the MLIS degree (Master's degree in Library & Information Science).  This week, I'm involved in two follow-up conversations on that topic, which are available online.

First, Matthew Gunby - a recent MLIS graduate - and I wrote a joint blog post entitled "A Conversation on The Value of the LIS Degree."  Matthew and I recognize that this conversation has many sides to it, and we tried to select a "side" that we thought brought up some different ideas.

Second, Steve Thomas (Circulating Ideas) and LitTech's Emily Thompson and Addie Matteson had a conversation on this with Dave Lankes and I.  That conversation is becoming two different podcasts: one for Circulating Ideas and the other for LitTech. (In total, less than 60 minutes.)

The MLIS degree is a professional degree, accredited by the American Library Association. Doctors, lawyers, and journalists all receive professional degrees, so librarians are in good company.  It is a degree that aims to educate a person's first day in a professional position and ensure that person can stay relevant throughout his/her career.  While a person will likely need to engage in ongoing professional development, the MLIS should provide a base on which additional knowledge and capabilities can be built.

Relevancy - When I graduated with my MLS degree, my first job was in IT and not in a library.  Still the work I had done for my library school professors was what got me hired.  When I moved out of IT and became the head of a corporate library - and yes, that was my first professional library position - my classwork became immediately relevant.  Some became even more relevant when I became a digitization consultant and was dealing with ideas around information storage and access.  While others have been confused about the relevance of their MLS/MLIS degree, I have never been.  I could always see its impact on my life, even when I wasn't working in a library.

Yes, I've attended a great deal of professional development over the years, which has built upon what I learned in school.  I have figured that librarians never stop learning and, those that I hang out with seem to believe that it is true.  Getting the MLS, didn't make me think I knew it all, and heading a corporate library proved that was so.  And the fact that I did professional development didn't make me think any less of my degree.  Those workshops and conferences just added to my web of knowledge.

One hard part for me is looking at every LIS student and saying "this is relevant", when they don't see the relevancy yet.  It is also hard to look at an LIS professional and tell that person that the degree was worth getting, when the person hasn't fully seen its relevance yet.  For me, the keyword is "yet."  I don't know when the "yet" will occur for each person.  And I fear that some will never recognize the "yet" when it does occur.  They may see the degree's relevance in others, but not in themselves. They don't see that everything they do is different because of the knowledge that the degree gave them.  What they see instead is the cost of getting the degree both in time and money, and not its benefit on their lives.

Job vs. Passion - Bence Oliver, who spoke at the SU iSchool graduation convocation this last weekend, told the graduates to not get a job. Instead he asked that they follow their passion.  He recognized that obtaining a degree takes time and money.  He wondered, though, why anyone would waste that effort on just doing a job. Why not apply all that you have learned towards doing what you love?  We might see this as being unrealistic because there are bills to pay, including student loans.  However, as I listened to him, I wondered if what is missing from the MLIS discussion is indeed passion?  Did the degree help you follow your passion? If yes, then Oliver would say it was worthwhile.

A Never Ending Conversation - The one thing that I know is that this conversation about the value of the MLIS will never end.  Next year, some journal will write an article that will prompt it all over again.  What I hope is different next year is that some people consider how what they have learned has changed them and how that change has impacted their lives.  If even a few can focus on that, then the conversation will be a bit better.

Topher Lawton & Maurice Coleman

I attended my first SLA conference in 1992 in San Francisco.  On the cross-country flight, I spotted a woman reading the conference program.  At baggage claim, I struck up a conversation with her (Kate) and that was the start of a long friendship!  In 2001, when I came to Syracuse University to teach on-campus classes, Kate - a librarian and an instructor  - was the person who gave me advice about how to handle a three-hour class.  It was exactly what I needed to learn at that moment!

For years, I would pack in as many conference sessions as possible.  They gave me content that was of value to me, my employer/consulting clients.  For a while, I even wrote a report of the SLA conferences that was published in Searcher magazine!  In hindsight, through, the sessions are a blur and what remains are contacts that I made, especially those that have had a bearing on my life and work.

On Friday, I asked in Twitter for people to share their best memory from a Computers In Libraries Conference.  Most of the memories shared were about meeting specific people.  Yes, we go to sessions and we learn from them, but the people provide access to relevant information after the conference is over (or even before the conference began).

While we can network (meet people) anywhere, why go to a conference to do it?  The conference provides context in terms of topics, industries, job focus, etc.  I know when I go to conference "X" what type of people are going to be there. That context frames my conversations and expectations.  Every session isn't just a topic, it is an opportunity to talk to other people who are interested in that topic!  So now I come home with notes on the topic and business cards (or Twitter names) of people who I can talk to about it.

All of those people that we interact with at a conference are a gateway into larger topic-focused networks.  For example, take Maurice. Several people in Twitter mentioned meeting Maurice Coleman as being their memorable  moment.  And...yes...Maurice is a memorable person...but also of interest about Maurice is that he can connect you to a network of library trainers and other people, who are passionate and vocal about what they do.  It is a group that will share what they know and do so joyfully.  What a great example of networking at its best!

As you head to your next conference, remember that you are entering a community of people that have a similar focus as you. Since you can never know everything about the topics of interest to you, take time to get know others at the conference. Talk about your points of view, problems, opportunities...even wild ideas.  Exchange contact information.  And then...follow-up...and look forward to the next time your paths cross.  (Heck, make sure your paths cross!) 

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I tried to work the photo above into the text of this blog post and it didn't "flow".  So...here's the story about the photo.  Imagine being a grad student, writing a literature review, then meeting at the ALA Annual Conference one of the people that you cited.  Because Maurice knows me, he went to the SU booth in the exhibit hall, just to say "hi' to whomever was there.  Toph was smart enough to ask, "Who are you?" and the rest is history. I look forward to them crossing paths again at CIL in a few weeks.  I also look forward to introducing Maurice to 15+ additional LIS students that I know are attending the conference.  They all need to have him in their network.

These conference tips are from episode 100 of the podcast T is for Training. (link to MP3 file) I tried to capture who said each tip, although in a couple of cases, several people chimed in together on the same one!

1. Don't make a schedule, make a wish list of sessions that you want to attend. (LibrarianKate)
2. Use the ALA conference scheduler. (LibrarianKate)
3. Schedule some downtime. (LibrarianKate) [like Craftcon]
4. If you can't get to a session, find the presenter online and see if the person will share the handout with you.  (BaldGeekinMD)
5. Schedule time for serendipitous discovery. (BaldGeekinMD)
6. Schedule time to visit the exhibit hall. (BaldGeekinMD)
7. Don't ignore the Twitter back channel. (PS)
8. Use social media. (LibrarianKate)
9. Go to some social events. (MLx)
10. Dress comfortably. (MLx)
11. Do wear shoes! (BaldGeekinMD) 
12. Use a totebag from another conference, so you can easily spot your own bag.
13. When you're outside of the conference, take off your conference badge.
14. Set aside things to pack when you think of them, cause ya know you're gonna forget! (Jill_HW)

Do have any additional tips to share? Or links to tips? If yes, please leave a comment on this post. Those that are attending the American Library Association (ALA) conference or other conferences will appreciate it.  Thanks!

I received a phone call yesterday from a reporter who wanted to know the value of libraries now that "everything" is online. I spent a few minutes with her on the phone and she got excited when I outlined the role for libraries today. What I said, as well as information from others was published in USA Today.

Michael Dowling, director of ALA’s International Relations Office, is quoted as saying, "There's this idea that with everything available online, there's no reason to continue building libraries. But libraries do so much. They are lifelong learning centers. This is an opportunity for us to reach out." I noted that the challenge "is adapting to the ways people want to access resources." Although she called me because I'm a digitization consultant, I never mentioned digitization in my responses to her questions. Instead I talked about meeting the needs of every generation as well as those who do not have access to technology (e.g., broadband Internet). I did not want her to get sidetracked into a narrow focus for libraries. I wanted her to understand the bigger picture; the bigger role.

You can read the entire article here, which include information on what librarians did at the American Library Association Annual Conference besides going to sessions, eating and sightseeing. You might be pleasantly surprised!

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Whether your submitting a letter of support for a grant application (e.g., Institute for Museum and Library Services), supporting (or opposing) a legislative action, or advocating something more local/personal, your actions must be timely. For example, when an organization submits a grant application and needs letters of support, often it is asking for those letters at the last minute which means those letters need to be written and delivered quickly. Lending support to something that is occurring within the government may mean having to contact the appropriate government representatives immediately in order for the support to be effective. Advocating often cannot wait for a convenient time.

This past winter, I worked on a grant application with a team of people. Our call for letters of support when out as soon as we had a firm idea of what people were being asked to support (and after we had some documentation to share). But our supporters did not have weeks in order to write those letters; they only had days. We needed very quick responses and got them from those who were able to act immediately.

At the Special Libraries Association annual conference, Doug Newcomb explained that SLA had created a public policy platform that allows the organization to decide quickly what to advocate for. Rather than having to poll members of the Public Policy Advisory Council about each issues, Newcomb can use the public policy platform to decide what to support. That is useful, especially when letters of support need to be done quickly (sometimes even instantaneously).

We did not mention the fact that advocacy must be timely when we talked to the Spectrum Scholars yesterday. ALA had a web site of resources to help library advocates, including the Library Advocate's Handbook (which was handed out yesterday). Being timely is mentioned in at least one bullet point, but it should be in big letters. Yes, there are things you need to do all the time, but you also need to be prepared to act quickly when the need arises.

Although geared specifically for libraries, Library Advocate's Handbook would be useful to any organization. Even new digitization programs would find information here that could help them. Yes, you may have to think a bit about how to change some of the advice to fit your situation, but some of it you could use immediately like the Shaping the Message Worksheet on page 31.

Finally, if you know that you will need people or other institutions to be advocates for you, educate them ahead of time about what you are going to need and when, as well as why. Get them on board now. Get their questions answered now. Then when you need them to act quickly, they will be prepared to do so.

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Technorati tags: ALA,American Library Association

As I noted yesterday, today I was one of the speakers at the American Library Association (ALA) 2007 Spectrum Leadership Institute. Spectrum is "a scholarship program designed to improve library service through the development of an ethnically diverse workforce" sponsored by the ALA Office for Diversity. In 2006, ALA awarded 69 scholarships and I believe all of those scholars were at the Institute.

It was rewarding to be among this group and see their enthusiasm for the profession. It was also heartening to hear the speakers who talked about being librarians outside of the library, the morning's first session. Those speakers were Sandy Littletree (independent contractor), Elisia Johnson (prison librarian), Anne Caputo (corporate director), and Marcia Farabee (orchestra librarian). Adding to the diversity of the already diverse group, Littletree, who is Navajo, introduced herself in the Navajo language as well as in English and Caputo shared proudly that she is Potawatomi. Of the four, Farabee had the job that I had never thought of -- orchestra librarian -- which sounded fascinating.

Having been a Dialog user since 1981, it was interesting to hear Anne Caputo talk about going to work at Dialog as their sixth employee (obviously before 1981). Her involvement in the information industry goes back a long way and I suspect that she had forgotten over the years more than many of us will ever know about the inner workings of the industry.

I bet it was interesting for the Scholars to hear a bit about the value of these individuals and their earning power. When Caputo started at Dialog, librarians had the ability to earn more than they thought they could. And I remember in 1983 knowing how much I was worth if I went to work for the federal government, and then being shocked to learn what I was worth in the corporate world. Johnson was quick to impress on the group that being a prison librarian pays well. People with skills in information storage, retrieval, analysis, etc. are valued assets (than as now).

I spoke on a panel with Doug Newcomb from the Special Libraries Association and Jonathan Band, an attorney who is focused on technology law and policy. We were focused on advocacy. Newcomb gave an overview of several policy issues that library organizations are following globally. Band spoke specifically about Orphaned Works and H.R. 1201 (The FAIR USE Act of 2007). Band was asked numerous questions about copyright and other issues, which was good. These are issues that these new librarians will need to understand, so it was good to hear/see them wanting to know more.

I spoke on personal advocacy and used these four rules as the basis for my talk. When I began working on the presentation, I created this slide of qualities, which are all good, but the four rules worked much better in the time that I had.

In all of our careers, we must advocate for ourselves. We must also empower those around us to be our advocates, our supporters. They must be able to tell our stories and pull other support towards us. After today, I think that every Spectrum Scholar will advocate for themselves and also advocate for the profession. If they do that, they will be unstoppable.

It was a wonderful day. Good conversation and energy. I hope this won't be my last time interacting with this group.

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6/23/2007: Sorry about the typos I had in the title earlier! I wrote the post at the end of a long day. And thanks K.P.R. for saving me further embarrassment!

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