Digitization 101: ALISE

Showing posts with label ALISE. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff, part 5

Black woman with laptop sitting in front of a bookcase

Yesterday, the ALA group on Librarian Education Reform held its March meeting. This group has no formal standing in terms of changing library and information science education; instead it wants to spark conversations around what reforms could occur. The monthly meetings are a way to disseminate information and engage in conversations around specific topics. This month I was the speaker and talked about "The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff." At the bottom of this post are links to my four blog posts on this topic from fall 2020.

I am not going to try to summarize the entire session, but do want to pull out some thoughts on the systematic ways library organizations limit their diversity.

Before I get to that, if you have not seen the movie Hidden Figures, I encourage you to watch this short scene and what happens in the public library. We think of libraries as being welcoming places. We think that we can recruit diverse members of our community, who visit our libraries, to become librarians. But are they having positive experiences?

Okay...so how are we limiting diversity in our libraries?

The barriers to obtaining as MSLIS degree have already been documented, including the cost, the fact that it is a master's degree, the application requirements, etc.
Some of the barriers to obtaining an MSLIS are there because of various accrediting bodies and their impact on universities. Accrediting bodies have more impact on our colleges and universities than most people realize. [By the way, because of my work experiences, I understand accreditation and can both defend it and criticize it.]
In the hiring process, bias may be built in. Read "Types of Hiring Biases and How to Reduce Them."
Libraries may search for someone who has an MSLIS degree rather than someone who has the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) to do the job. Focusing on the latter might allows libraries to hire candidates with more diverse backgrounds, including racial, cultural, thought, ability, and language.
People tend to hire people like themselves and promote people who are like themselves. The latter can eliminate diverse candidates from higher ranks in the organization.
Board of trustees for public and system libraries have various ways of bringing on new members. Depending on their charters, new members may be appointed by the local government, voted on by the community, or just be volunteers who are interested in the library. All of these ways can limit diversity on a library board of trustees, yet that board should reflect its community.
State laws set rules for who can be a director of a public library. In New York State, for example, whether the library director is required to have an MSLIS degree is determined by the population of the community. While people from diverse backgrounds, who do not have an MSLIS, apply for positions in smaller communities? Does the need for an MSLIS - and likely years of experience - limit the diversity of applicants for director positions in larger communities?
If the public library is governed by civil service, those rules may specify what knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed for specific ranks (e.g., Librarian I or Librarian II). That can limit diversity, especially if the MSLIS degree is required.

Those are the things that emerged during yesterday's conversation and I'm sure there are more. I approached the conversation without using the phrase "structural racism", but clearly our structures are having a negative impact on diversity. For example, I doubt that municipalities think of how they create their boards of trustees as being a part of structural racism, yet the structure does limit who will become a trustee.

If you have thoughts about this, I hope you'll leave a comment on this post. If you are interested in joining the conversation on librarian education reform, join the Facebook group. If you are interested and also a member of ALA, you can join the ALA Connect group for this.

Previous Blog Posts

Addendum (3/10/2021, 2:40 p.m.): Thanks to ALA for highlighting this article in its Library Worklife newsletter. The article is "Is Hiring For Culture Fit Perpetuating Bias?" from Forbes.

Addendum (03/15/2021): The T is for Training podcast focused on this topic last week. Thanks to my T colleagues for discussing this with me! Here are links to the 63-minute podcast and show notes. The podcast is also available on iTunes and on other podcast delivery services.

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Thursday, October 22, 2020

The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff, part 4

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi with moderator and ASL interpreter

Earlier this month, I wrote three blog posts about diversifying the profession. Many people read the first post, with a smaller number reading the ideas listed in part 2, and fewer reading my radical idea in part 3. That means that most people never got to the idea I put forth after asking, "how does library education need to change in order to have the diversity we desire in our libraries?" Too bad. No wonder there was no push-back on the idea!

Last night I had an opportunity to hear Dr. Ibram X. Kendi speak. Listening to him, I realized that those posts do not use the phrase "structural racism" or even the word "racism," yet clearly the structure (or pathway) which leads to becoming a librarian is racist if it inhibits people of color from that path. Yes, some people of color Black, brown and indigenous people do successfully become librarians, but not enough.

So let me ask:

How do we prompt real change?

What needs to change so there is real change?

I hope you will share with me, or with others, your ideas.

Ocr. 27, 2020: This article in tangential to the topic of diversifying library staff, yet I think it is important to remember: Iowa City Public Library to focus on DEI, alternatives to police intervention in new strategic plan.

Thursday, October 08, 2020

The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff, part 3

Disclaimer: What follows is my point of view. Mine and no one else's.

At the end of part 2, I wondered if there are other options which might help to diversify library staff. Yes, and it is a radical idea. (BTW here is a link to part 1.)

Focus on the Community

Mr. Spock: “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Captain Kirk: “Or the one.”

I know there are problems with that quote from Star Trek II, but I still like it. In this case, what if we focused on the needs of our communities in terms of having diverse representation among the professional library staff? What if we decided to break down barriers to make that happen? What if doing that outweighed - or altered - what we do now?

In other words, how does library education need to change in order to have the diversity we desire in our libraries? I'm talking real change and not just tweaks.

What does it mean to be an educated librarian?

Somewhere at least once a year there is a conversation about why the MSLIS degree matters. What is taught? What is learned? What should be taught? Is it a rubber stamp (is it truly necessary)? Is there some way of passing a test instead of going to graduate school? How come the undergraduate degree doesn't mean much?

In other words, what does it mean to be an educated librarian? Imagine if we knew the answer to that. Imagine if we - the profession, our academic programs, and associations - could agree on what that meant. We could then focus not on six years of higher education to become a librarian, but on acquiring specific knowledge and skills. We might create a path for more people from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession.

By the way, some of these conversations in the past turn into shouting matches, because everyone is passionate about this and people want it their way. Likely these conversations need skilled mediators, who can move the group beyond shouting, and beyond their own opinions and self interesting, and towards thinking about what is best for our diverse communities, if we want our staff to represent the people they serve.

An agreement on knowledge, skills, and abilities

The American Library Association - and other library associations - have lists of core competencies. The ALA document states:

This document defines the basic knowledge to be possessed by all persons graduating from an ALA-accredited master’s program in library and information studies.

The ALA Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies (2019) states under Curriculum:

II.2. The curriculum is concerned with information resources and the services and technologies to facilitate their management and use. Within this overarching concept, the curriculum of library and information studies encompasses information and knowledge creation, communication, identification, selection, acquisition, organization and description, storage and retrieval, preservation and curation, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, synthesis, dissemination, use and users, and management of human and information resources.

None of this gets at the core skills a librarian needs for specific positions or specific situations. That is left up to the hiring managers, who seek candidates with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) they believe are most relevant. Imagine being a student and trying to obtain the correct KSAs for the job you want to hold. You are going to receive different advice from various peoples on classes to take and skills to acquire (either in class or on the job). What if there was some agreement on the KSAs needed?

First, there would need to be agreement on what the jobs are in libraries and see similarities across those positions. Those jobs might be categorized and then specific KSAs determined for those categories. This step would benefit those interested in working in libraries, because they would be able to see a group of jobs that required similar KSAs. They would know better what KSAs to acquire, which positions to seek, and what their career path might be. They would also know what KSAs to acquire in order to make a career move.

Yes, this step would also help hiring managers, because it would help them define what skills (KSAs) a person needs for a specific jobs.

Second, there would need to be agreement on how these KSAs are acquired. Yes, it could be that some college courses would be required. And it could be that for some management positions - or very specialized positions - that a graduate degree would be necessary. However, if we want to make our profession accessible to more people, we need to eliminate the hurdles that higher education creates. What about:

Work in other industries where a person might demonstrate customer service skills, storytelling, working with special population
Specific workshops, webinars, or continuing education courses
Internships
Library work experience
Proof of specific skills through tests

This could be wonderful for skills we want staff to have, but that aren't in college courses like proficiency with office-related software.

Oh...I can hear you screaming at me how this wouldn't work. This wouldn't work in our current system, but what if we re-imagined our profession?

BTW although you may be reading these posts as focused on public libraries, I do believe this change would work across all library types.

Impact on accreditation and MSLIS programs

A change like this could not occur overnight because there would need to be widespread agreement about it, and specific groups would need to be willing to radically change how they think and what they do.

I have worked in a professional academic school and led a program successfully through an ALA Accreditation review. I understand the impact that the Council for Higher Education Accreditation has on programmatic accrediting organizations like ALA, as well as regional accreditors like MSCHE. None of them will look at the idea I've laid out here with glee, because it changes the paradigm they live in. It could make them less relevant, which they would not like.

MSLIS programs will not be happy with this idea, because it would decrease their enrollments. Some might successfully pivot to focus on those areas which would still need an advanced degree. Others might focus on providing those college classes that library workers would need to qualify for their positions. Some might focus more on professional development. Some might turn their efforts away from libraries and more into information science (a trend that some believe is already occurring(. A few might become the places that educate future library educators. (Yes, library educators would still be needed.) And, yes, some might close.

Would the MSLIS totally disappear? I don't think so, but I do think it would be very different.

Remember to focus on diversifying the profession

We're struggling to diversify the profession and so we need to think differently. We need to locate people from diverse backgrounds who have some interest in librarianship. We need to cultivate that interest in them and move them towards thinking about librarianship as a career. We know that there is a narrowing funnel between graduating high school and getting a master's degree, and that fewer people from diverse backgrounds make it through that funnel. So can we remove the funnel?

BTW our overall population trend in the U.S. is downward, which is why allowing people to immigrate to the U.S. is important. Fewer 18 year olds translates into fewer college graduates, etc.

We know that a stumbling block is the cost of a bachelor's degree, plus the cost of a master's, given the low salaries for many library positions. People are going into debt to become a librarian. Could this remove that stumbling block and make being a librarian a more economically feasible job choice?

No, I haven't lost my mind

Finally, no, I haven't lost my mind. I start this thought process because of notes in old work journals, where I saw the same issues and ideas rising again and again in different conversations. I think that the only way of moving forward is radical change.

Yes, I have just laid out in this blog post ideas that you might really not like. That's okay. Perhaps the radical change that is needed to diversify librarianship is something else and not this. Whatever it is, we need to be working on it because it will take time to implement and have a real impact. And we need to start now.

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Wednesday, October 07, 2020

The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff, part 2

Disclaimer: What follows is my point of view. Mine and no one else's.

At the end of part 1, I wrote:

Are we attracting diverse people to librarianship? Can we find those who have a bachelor's degree and are interested in library science? This is where LIS programs, LIS associations, and others spend their time and efforts. This is where some get frustrated, while others may have some success. This is where being methodical is important, but being methodical requires patience and we're not always patient.

Over the years, I have been in many conversations and meetings about how to diversify the profession. Every library association is interested in this as is every LIS graduate program. Many libraries want to hire staff who represent the diversity in their communities and thus are part of this conversation too. Some of our communities are quite diverse, with dozens of languages spoken, so mirroring the diversity of the community can be huge goal. What options do they consider or pursue?

A Laundry List of Ideas

Let me start by listing ideas from a broad range of sources which show up in my work journals, then I'll comment on the list. This list is in no particular order and with no judgment on the specific ideas.

Work to communicate a modern image of libraries, rather than an archaic image many people still hold in their heads.
Use marketing to show that there is already ethnic diversity in the field. In other words, you (the recruit) would be joining people who are like yourself.
Attend recruiting events at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Recruit at schools of education, since some people finish an education degree but then realize they do not want to be teachers.
Recruit at Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), which comprise the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).
Attend college recruiting events for high school students, in hopes of attracting them to librarianship.
Talk to existing library pages and clerks - especially those who are high school or college students - about making librarianship their career.
Show how the MSLIS degree relates to data science and/or information science, in hopes of attracting some students to crossover into LIS.
Emphasize the range of opportunities available to an MSLIS graduate, including those in "non-traditional" positions and more entrepreneurial work.
Encourage LIS programs to partner with libraries, so that students are connected with an internship site/employer immediately.
Place ads in places we believe likely applicants visit, including the student newspapers of undergraduate programs.
Create a clear identity for your MSLIS program, which sets you apart from the other programs, while attracting the students you desire.
Market to influencers, who can then recommend your program to their network.
Use social media and websites to reach perspective students.
Purchase and use email lists from relevant groups (e.g., associations for library assistants).
Showcase your diverse faculty as a way of attracting more diverse students.
Recruit from relevant undergraduate student organizations.
Offer large scholarships to attract applicants who are Black, indigenous, or people of color.
Hold recruiting events at job placement agencies.
Recruit through relevant trade unions.

Results?

WOW...yup, quite the list. There is merit in every idea, so which ones would make the most sense for any MSLIS program? That is for each program to decide. Here's my question - Will an MSLIS program grab an idea and then implement it long enough for the idea to work?

We all want quick results. We don't want a diverse graduating class in five year, but rather we want one now. We don't want to hire more diverse staff in five year, we want a more diverse staff now. According to 2019 data from the AFL-CIO:

Over 83 percent of librarians were white, non-Hispanic in 2019. Library technicians and assistants were slightly more diverse. Among library technicians and assistants, 68.9 percent identified as white, non-Hispanic in 2019.
In 2019, just 5.3 percent of librarians identified as Black or African American, 7.1 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and 3.5 percent as Asian-American or Pacific Islander.

Those numbers are not going to change overnight, but they will change with effort and if we recognize that we need to work for years, and not days or weeks. Sadly, it is hard to engage in an activity if you know the benefit it not going to happen for a couple of years or more. But consider that you might not even have any indication for 1-2 years that your actions are having any effect. You might need to engage in several activities (no...not all of those above!) and use feedback to decide which ones to continue for an extended period of time.

Imagine if you decide to educate college freshmen about LIS as a way of attracting some of them to enter graduate school and then become librarians? Well, you would need to engage with them as freshmen and then through the remainder of their college careers. You'd also need to engage with the next freshmen class and the next (and...). You would need to find ways of engaging with them that helped them understand what library and information science is, and help them see themselves as possible future librarians. Not all of them are going to be interested, so your pool will get smaller over time. However, you would hope that in four years that you might have some who are interested and ready to enter a graduate LIS program. Do you, your organization, or your institution have the stamina for that? Are you willing to seek the long-term benefit?

By the way, in the paragraph above I have actually gone through four recruiting steps:

Build awareness - Help the person become aware of careers in libraries.
Build their interest - Being aware isn't enough. You need to build their interest, which may mean showing them different type of jobs, careers, or employers. This is helping that perspective librarian begin to see themselves in a library-related career.
Help them build their desire - We know that being interested is not enough. The person needs to desire to take the steps to become a librarian. They have to be motivated.
Help them act on their desires - This needs to be easy and not a series of tough hurdles. Look at possible schools, making a decision on which one to attend, getting financial support, etc., should not be seen as huge barriers.

In this example, a student may decide to enter an MSLIS program, but not the one that has been working with that student for four years. Here that program has done all of this work and not gained from it. However, the profession has gained. Can we be truly happy if our efforts has helping the profession, even if they do not help our particular institutions? I hope so, but that can be hard.

Are there other options?

Yes, I think there are and I'll talk about those in Part 3.

Relevant Library Associations

One of the things often mentioned is working with different library associations. Because of that, I'm listing relevant library associations here. There may be other associations or sections of specific library associations, which I have not captured below. If you know of any to add, which are focused on specific non-White library staff, please leave a comment and tell us. Thank you!

Joint Council of Librarians of Color
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
American Indian Library Association (AILA)
Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)
Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA)
REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking
African American Medical Librarians Alliance Caucus (AAMLA), part of the Medical Library Association
Archivists and Archives of Color Section (AAC) of the Society of American Archivists
We Here^TM (added Oct. 26, 2020)

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Tuesday, October 06, 2020

The Struggle to Diversify Library Staff, part 1

Looking through notes I'd taken in an old work journal - and then looking at blog posts I've written - I can see this ongoing focus on diversifying library science students and library staff. This is something the profession has talked about for a long time and has engaged in focused activities. Sadly, the overall diversity of our LIS programs and library staff is not what we want it to be. Why?

Disclaimer: I need to stop and say that what follows is my point of view. Mine and no one else's.

First, we need to recognize that our public libraries were not originally for the public. They grew out of men's and women's clubs, which were not open to everyone. In addition, we need to remember that public libraries in the U.S. were segregated, meaning that Black people did not have the same access as those who were White. We need to acknowledge that academic institutions were segregated for many years. Historic Black colleges and universities (HBCU) offered LIS degrees, because people of color could not attend White institutions. Yes, now libraries are reportedly for everyone and anyone can hopefully attend any academic institution.

As a side note, here is the original "Library's Bill of Rights" passed by ALA in June 1939. This version says nothing about who can use the library. or if they can use the same materials. The current version of the Bill of Rights includes:

A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

Second, to be a professional librarian, you need an accredited master's degree. A student needs to have a bachelor's degree and be accepted to a master's program. Not everyone makes that cut. And the student needs to be able to afford - in money and time - to attend that master's program. Not everyone has the money and not everyone has the time.

2019 information from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 40% of Black students finish their undergraduate education compared to 64% of White students. This means that fewer Black students are eligible to attend graduate school. How many of them will see LIS as their career choice?

We know that student loan debt adversely affects many students. How many students can afford to take on more debt? Given the salary for librarians, is that debt a good choice?

Are LIS programs prioritizing scholarships to educate those Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) who have a bachelor's degree and have decided that they want to become librarians?

There is an important point in there. Are we attracting diverse people to librarianship? Can we find those who have a bachelor's degree and are interested in library science? This is where LIS programs, LIS associations, and others spend their time and efforts. This is where some get frustrated, while others may have some success. This is where being methodical is important, but being methodical requires patience and we're not always patient.

And this is where we'll pick up in Part 2.

Resources

There are many resources on this topic. Below are related posts that I've written. As you can see, this has been important to me for a long time.

Resources about Racism. Digitization 101. June 2020.
The Art of Listening. Digitization 101. Feb. 2020.
#ALAmw20 Day 2: Sustainability, Diversity, Change, and More. Digitization 101. Jan. 2020.
#ALAac19 : Bias, microaggressions, diversity, and inclusion. Digitization 101. July 2019.
Totally Off-Topic: Sample Interview Questions – Diversity and Equity. Digitization 101. Feb. 2019.
#ALISE2018 : A Critical Dialogue: Faculty of Color in Library and Information Science. Digitization 101. Feb. 2018.
Diversity on Both Sides of the Desk. Online Searcher, 2018, v. 42, n. 2.
What Color is Your Robot? Digitization 101. Dec. 2016.
#ALISE2015 : Re-constructing Utopia: How LIS educators and practitioners can dismantle structural racism on the Internet and in the profession. Digitization 101. Jan. 2015

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Monday, October 07, 2019

#ALISE19 : Copyright and LIS in a Global Context: Current Knowledge and Future Trends

Presenters

Laura Saunders, Allison Estell, Deborah Charbonneau and Dick Kawooya

Abbreviated session description

Copyright impacts nearly every aspect of an information professional’s job, across all settings. The centrality of copyright to the information professions suggests that LIS professionals need a strong grounding in this topic, and indeed the American Library Association considers knowledge of copyright to be a core competency...Together [four panelists] will share the results of five separate studies to provide a broad overview of the need for copyright knowledge in the field, and discuss the current preparedness of LIS professionals and students. The first panelist will report the results of a study on self-perceived copyright awareness and training needs of academic librarians highlighting copyright, fair use, and intellectual property. The second panelist will discuss the results of a content analysis of job postings for librarians, to examine trends in expectations for copyright knowledge. Finally, two panelists will discuss a series of surveys that put copyright knowledge and literacy in a global context. The first survey gathered current practitioners’ self-reported knowledge of copyright issues in the United States. Data from this study was pooled with data from the same survey distributed across 13 countries for a cross-country analysis. The second survey tested American LIS students’ copyright knowledge and gathered their feedback on actual copyright instruction within their LIS programs. The survey of LIS students has been replicated in 14 countries and while data is still being analyzed, the researchers will share preliminary comparative data. After sharing the results of each of these above-mentioned studies, the panelists will discuss implications for LIS education.

Notes

Copyright librarians - areas/requirements?

Because of my focus on copyright, this was a fascinating and important session. I know that many MSLIS courses touch on some portion of copyright and licensing, but that there are few regularly given courses on copyright in MSLIS programs. Given all of the electives a student could take, being able to take a course in copyright is a luxury that not every student can take advantage of.

For me, these things stood out in the session:

Members of our profession believe that copyright is an important topic for them to understand. People have taken advantage of a number of different ways in order to learn about copyright. Among those, who responded to a survey on this topic, most believed that they felt prepared in terms of copyright. However, the survey asked for their opinion and did not assess their actual knowledge.
People (including students) turn to library staff when they have copyright questions. In other words, people count on librarians understanding copyright and being able to answer questions appropriately.
More job ads are asking for copyright (or licensing) related knowledge. This seems to have exploded since 2013. It was noted that although copyright knowledge is desired, there is no widespread hiring of people with law (JD) degrees. Rather they expect librarians to have this knowledge.
Members of our profession believe that copyright should be in the LIS curriculum. Because every MSLIS student needs copyright knowledge, the speakers felt that copyright should be woven into (and across) existing courses.
Members of our profession also felt that there needs to continuous learning in this area. Once you learn about copyright, you need to refresh that knowledge, especially given that the courts do set new precedents regularly.

In term of weaving copyright into exist MSLIS courses, this would mean including such topics as:

What is intellectual property?
What is covered by copyright (Title 17, Sections 102-105)
The rights of the copyright owner (Sections 106-106A)
Fair Use (Section 107)
Reproduction by libraries and archives (Section 108)
First sale doctrine (within Section 109)
TEACH Act (within Section 110)

I've included the specific sections of the law above for two reasons. First, I think it demonstrates that this needs to be more than just a mention of a specific area, but rather what do we mean by "X". Second, I do think that students should become familiar with the law itself, in addition to using other resources, including articles and textbook.

These topics could be connected to courses such as:

Introduction to the profession
Reference
Information literacy
Library instruction
Collection development
Information policy
Materials for... (or classes such as Youth services)

However, the program would need to map which topics are being covered (and where), in order to ensure that students are receiving the copyright knowledge they will need as a practitioner. Of course, it may be impossible for every course to contain a copyright assignment, but courses could have appropriate lectures and readings. If classes are taken in a specific order, perhaps a later classes (e.g., Information policy) could contain an assessment which would require students to use all of the copyright knowledge that they have gained.

There were other topics at ALISE, where the answer was "this needs to be infused in the curriculum." Doing all of those changes would be a huge coordinated effort, a task that would not be for the weary. An alternative would be to take some topics or subtopics and create a way for students to engage in self-education. A student should know that they cannot learn everything in their MSLIS program; to do so would require much more than 36-42 credits. Therefore, students should be motivated to learn outside of the structure of the curriculum. In regards to copyright, a program could develop a list of external resources (books, articles, webinars, ecourses, etc.), which the student could engage with in order to learn the topic. While the program would not assess the student's learning, the student should be ready and willing to discuss what they have learned during an employment interview. Some students may find other ways of demonstrating their knowledge (e.g., articles, blog posts, etc.), which could be seen by prospective employers. Of course, some learning options might have their own built-in assessments.

I left this session very happy, because of my love of teaching copyright. I hope that others have taken what they heard back to their programs and are thinking of what they might do with this knowledge. I know that I am!

Resources

These are articles I found online and were not mentioned during the session.

Allison Estell, Laura Saunders (2016) Librarian Copyright Literacy: Self-Reported Copyright Knowledge Among Information Professionals in the United States, Public Services Quarterly, 12:3, 214-227, DOI: 10.1080/15228959.2016.1184997
Deborah H. Charbonneau, Michael Priehs (2014) Copyright Awareness, Partnerships, and Training Issues in Academic Libraries, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 40, n. 3-4, 228-233, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.03.009
LeEtta Schmidt, Michael English (2015) Copyright Instruction in LIS Programs: Report of a Survey of Standards in the U.S.A., The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 41, n. 6, 736-743, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.08.004

Addendum (Nov. 11): As an FYI, ALISE has reported this information about the conference:

A total of 282 people, including 76 first time attendees, traveled from eight countries - USA, Canada, China, Germany, Jamaica, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom - to participate.

Monday, September 30, 2019

#ALISE19 : Understanding information seeking behaviors within a community

The word KNOX made from large pieces of wood

Last week was the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Annual Conference in Knoxville, TN. This year's theme was "Exploring Learning in a Global Information Context." Part of the global context is diversity and a number of sessions connected with that specifically. A thread that crossed several presentations and posters was the information seeking behaviors within a community, however, that community is defined.

Information and Under-represented Communities

In the juried paper, "Information and Under-represented communities: LatinXs Finding InformaXion in Boston" by Monica Colon-Aguirre and Janet Caja Alcal, we learned of the information seeking behaviors of those who speak Spanish in the LatinX community. A 2015 Pew Research study found that LatinXs are less likely than other groups to know about the services offered by their public libraries. LatinX communities are the largest minority group in the U.S. and have complex information needs. Colon-Aguirre noted that LatinX populations are not monolithic, which means that we need to be careful about any assumptions we might make about their information needs.

Through 13 interviews, Colon-Aguirre and Alcal found that educational attainment and English language acquisition impact the use of library collections and facilities, and whether that use is for the person or for their child. For example, someone with a higher levels of education would use the library for themself, while a person with lower levels of education would seek services for their children.

Colon-Aguirre recommends that LIS educators prepare future professionals with the knowledge and skills to foster cultural competence. She also said we need to encourage students to acquire proficiency in languages used in our communities, other than English. She noted that LatinX communities are less likely to learn English than other migrant groups, mainly due to ethnic enclaves in cities around the U.S. Of course, the optimal solution would be to hire librarians that represent and look like the people in their communities.

Colon-Aguirre also recommended that libraries:

Employ community engagement strategies
Develop more programming
Build rapport with community members, especially those who are gatekeepers
Create bilingual catalogues

Besides being proficient in another language, library will want to build cultural competence. Cultural competence is a set of attitudes, skills behaviors and policies that enable a person to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. Rajesh Singh (St. John's University) and Beth Patin (Syracuse University) have MSLIS courses on this and others may also exist.

Chatman Revisited

LaVerne Gray and Bharat Mehra were two of the panelists in the session entitled, "Chatman Revised: A Panel Reexamining and Resituating Social Theories of Identity, Access, and Marginalization in LIS." Gray joined the SU iSchool in August, so she's been educating me about Chatman for a while! Mehra was her doctoral advisor and remains a collaborator.

Elfreda A. Chatman (1942-2002) was "well known for her ethnographic approaches in researching information seeking behaviors among understudied or minority groups." (Wikipedia) Chatman studied information seeking behaviors, and then created theories about them.

Because I will not be able to fully articulate her work, I encourage you to locate information on Elfreda Chatman. Two articles, which I quickly found, are:

Chatman, E. (1996) The Impoverished Life-World of Outsiders.
Burnett, G.; Jaeger, P.T.; Thompson, K.M. (2008) Normative Behavior and Information: The Social Aspects of Information Access.

When we look at a community, we will consider if the community has an abundance of information or is information deficit. We might ask whether the community seeks information from within itself or if it goes outside its boundaries to locate information. Chatman focused on how communities sought information from within itself. She saw an information deficit because a community - for whatever reason - might not go outside of itself for helpful information. Chatman created the theory of "life in the round", which explains why members of a community might seek information from within its boundaries.

Rather than seeing the abundance of information within a community, Chatman saw a deficit. Rather than seeing external forces that created the confined community and questioning those forces, Chatman focused on the community as is. Mehra looks at Chatman through fresh eyes and is willing to question her theories, recognizing that doing so is uncomfortable for some.

Epistemicide

Listening to Mehra and Gray reminded me of conversations with Beth Patin about community knowledge, especially in ethnic and indigenous communities and epistemicide (the destruction of traditional knowledge). That destruction begins with devaluing the knowledge held within a community. The community knowledge is held as being deficient, while knowledge from outside the community is held as being more valuable and important.

For example, using Chatman, the knowledge of an Amish community might be seen as deficit, because the community does not reach outside itself to enhance what it knows. Thinking of epistemicide, the external world seeks to destroy the traditional knowledge of the Amish people because it is not based on broader concepts and is not valued.

Did I Get it Right?

As I've written this, I have gone back through my notes and looked at relevant tweets. I'm thankful for those people who tweeted the sessions, because they captured ideas in real-time that were taking me longer to parse. However, now it is your turn. If you were at ALISE or are steeped in these areas, did I get it right? What should be added or corrected? Please leave comments and let me know.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

June - November 2019: Jill's Presentation and Travel Schedule

Web badge for I'm attending the ALA Annual Conference

It's June and I have several conferences on my schedule for the remainder of 2019. If you are attending any of these, let's get together!

Conferences

June 20-25 - ALA Annual Conference, Washington DC - While I've been to events "around" the ALA Annual Conference, this is my first time as an actual attendee, and I'm looking forward to it! This is the third annual conference to be held in DC in the last 12 years. In 2007, there were 28000+ attendees and 950+ exhibits), while 2010 had 27000+ attendees. Due to its size, if you want to cross paths with me, please message me here or on Twitter, so we can arrange to get together.

By the way, I would be happy to talk with people about the iSchool Public Libraries Initiative and the research we have done over the last year.

Sept. 24-26 - ALISE Annual Conference, Knoxville, TN - This is the first time in recent history (if not ever) that the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Annual Conference is being held without being adjacent to another library conference. While I appreciated networking with people who were attending the other conference, it will be nice to be able to focus solely on the topics and sessions at ALISE, including those on assessment and accreditation.

Nov. 13-16 - NYLA Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY - Yes, the NYLA conference will be back in Saratoga Springs (and again in 2020). As a member of a public library board of trustees, I've found the conference to be even more important to me. I look forward to what new information I'll learn this year.

Courses at Syracuse University

In the fall, I will be teaching these courses at Syracuse University in the School of Information Studies. If space is available, non-matriculated students can enroll in them.

Management Principles for Information Professionals (IST 614) - Aug. 26 - Dec. 10 (on campus, graduate course)
Basic ideas, concepts and perspectives of management as they apply to the information professions. Students learn to understand and apply basic principles of organization theory and behavior and managerial techniques needed to improve organizational effectiveness.

The Public Library as Institution (IST 600) - Oct. 2 - Dec. 10 (online with synchronous and asynchronous components each week)
This is a new course, which I am developing and which will be offered regularly. The description is: Unique aspects of public libraries include structure, governance, funding, and community interactions. In addition, public libraries are impacted by many societal concerns. This course prepares students to examine and support those areas of public librarianship.

Looking ahead to 2020

I want to note that the ALA eCourse I gave this year on US Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide went very well. I think it is a good sign that students wanted to learn more. I will be giving this eCourse again in February 2020 and it will be expanded to six-weeks in length. Look for more information on this in the fall.

Friday, February 09, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Juried Papers (Friday)

Approach to Harmonization of Entry Requirements for Graduate Program in Information Science at European Higher Institutions EINFOSE Project

Tatjana Aparac-Jelisic

Description: Various aspects of harmonization at European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that offer programs in Library and Information Studies (LIS) have been studied since early 1990s. Since 2004-05 – when a project on Curriculum Development was funded through Erasmus program – up to 2016, there were no projects on education in Library and Information Science funded by European Union. The main goal of this paper is to present and discuss the results after the first year of the Erasmus plus project entitled European Information Science Education: Encouraging Mobility and Learning Outcomes Harmonization (EINFOSE).

Project’s web site is at Http://einfose.ffos.hr

Hypothesis: Common entry might requirements mitigate or eliminate the differences in enrollment procedures at different HEIs that offer programs in IS and might contribute to the higher enrollment of students with different educational background at the graduate level in IS.

The project seeks to investigate how these barriers could be eliminated or lowered.

One goal is to make it easier and more desirable for students to spend time “abroad” in programs in other European countries.

Summary: This project brought together several schools to develop and test a summer school, which provides basic information on several I.S. topics. The idea is that students learn information and skills which will put them all on a common knowledge level. Students attend the summer school once (approx. 1 week) on-site. Feedback from the students was very good. They made suggestions for additional topics as well as for expanding the length of the summer school.

My thoughts: In the U.S., every MLIS program has an introductory course. Is there an opportunity to collaborate on a shared introductory course? With many programs now being online, could that shared introductory course be offered in different regions of the country? It would provide a face to face opportunity, give students a shared experience, allow them to build relationships across institutions which could be helpful after graduation, and give those students the same foundational/core skills. I could imagine the shared course being cross-listed at each institution.

Building Connections between LIS Graduate Students and Undergraduates: A Case Study in Curricular Engagement

Eleanor (Nora) Mattern

Flight 93 National Memorial contains over 800 audio interviews. Some have been transcribed and some have been digitized. That place became the site of a project for the students:

Archival Access, Systems, and Tools - MLIS students - Created a finding aid for the oral historian collection and tested the oral history metadata synchronizer (OHMS).
First Experiences in Research - undergraduate students - Engaged in research projects using the oral histories.

Students from the two classes were connected indifferent ways:

Social event
Visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial to learn about oral history project
Day-long workshop on OHMS and collection of undergraduate feedback on tool and documentation.

It was useful for the MLIS students to work with the undergraduate students, because it taught them how the content will be used. It also taught them (practical experience) about working with volunteers.

Undergraduate students gained an insight into terminology (e.g., metadata). It taught them, for example, how metadata affects them in everyday life. It also taught them about working with an archivist and the skills an archivist needs.

Benefits:

She noted that there is literature in STEM on undergraduate and graduate students working together, and the benefits on the undergraduate students.
STEM literature notes that graduate students gain experience in mentoring and leadership. It provides experience in supervising others.
Students noted that having more meaningful, sustained and regular interaction between all of the students would have been a benefit.

Does this provide a pipeline to the LIS profession?

Finding a faculty collaborator is key for reaching undergraduate students
Offices of Undergraduate Research can serve as a conduit to undergraduate students and provide infrastructure

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Digital Literacy in the Era of Fake News: Key Roles for LIS Educators

Heidi Julien (ALISE president), Michael Seadle (Executive director of the iSchool Consortium), Dietmar Worfram, (moderator) Clara Chu

Digital literacy in the era of fake news: How to respond - Seadle

What is fake news? The intent to mislead the reader in ways that serve a social or political goal. It cannot be verified.

How we understand truth is a western concept tied to the ability to create and reproduce scientific results.

Fake news undermines the foundations of the scientific methods.

Trust comes from the ability to produce reliable tools. However, governments have made claims that no one could believe and that sowed distrust in our institutions.

Fake news allows people to find excuses for what we want to believe.

Fake news mean unreliable sources. Reliability is a scale.

Lies can give help.

One role information professionals can play is to uphold standards for quality and reliability.

Who will be soldiers against untruth?

News Know-How: How to get news you can trust for study, work, play and community - Clara Chu presented the paper by Barbara Jones, who (at the last minute) was unable to attend

This presentation is an outgrowth of the news literacy project.

In 2017, Jones worked on a new faked news project in Illinois.

Themes:

Participants define their news landscape.
Participants encounter examples for fake news.
Participants find out why the library is the best place to get news.
Engage participants to consult the library and to gain fact-checking skills.

Truth decay: erosion of clear line between fact and fiction, widespread lack of trust in the news.

News versus editorials/opinions

What news do you receive close to home? Where does it come from? Is it correct? How do you know?

Look at the local news. What are the sources?

Look at the state and where you are getting that news.

Where do we get national news?

Where do we get international news?

Chu showed a legitimate article, where the accompanying photo was a mashup/fake.

There are handouts already that can be used in teaching how to discern fake news.

Jones is developing slides that could be used broadly to teach how to discern fake news.

Preparing Information Professionals to Teach Digital Literacy - Heidi Julien

Information professionals have skills and content knowledge.

Where do information professionals learn to teach? Very few actually learn how to do teaching as part of their MS programs.

Teaching is a skill set, science and art.

Subject knowledge is insufficient,

Teaching is not well learned on the job.

Teaching is core to the work that most information professional do.

Teaching to teach requires a host of skills and many elements that go into good teaching. Additionally, they need to understand some specifics around fake news.

There are a range of cognitive challenges that must be overcome, including that impressions once formed will endure, confirmation bias, and resistance to change. People may selectively avoid new information. It can be easier to identify weaknesses in the arguments of others, but not in one’s self.

Pre-service preparation is critical for our emerging information professionals.

Discussion:

Is there an opportunity to collaborate with journalism faculty? There could be informal and formal collaborations. An example that has occurred was an unconference.
Noted that there are other people besides journalists with whom we could collaborate.
Journalists are reliant on libraries.
Can we help end users understand how news stories are created? That would be helpful for our students.
School librarians can have a role in helpful us tech how to teach.
Digital natives are skilled with technology, but not necessarily with understanding the content.
We are asking people to be skeptical, which requires more thought.
Can we (academics) encourage with the public and uphold our profession?
Is trust declining in libraries, which are civil institutions? We know that trust is declining in civic institutions, but there is limited data on libraries (outside of Pew data).
Fake news is entertaining and is part marketing. Can we deliver information in a way that is more eye catching?
Will our associations and institutions support us in the public sphere if we confront fake news, teach about fake news, etc.? Will our associations help us make positive social impact? Will our academic institutions support us, rather than limit our engagement? There is a social risk to this work.
Can we get resources out into our community? For example, getting students and alumni to go to town halls, etc., to answer questions from participants with verifiable information. An example of this is Radical Reference, which began during the Republican convention under George W. Bush.
Can we engage with peoples’ rational minds? Engagement requires respect and openness.
There is a difference between access to information and impact of information.
Can we (librarians) be one of the voices on TV as commentators, etc., talking about sources, etc.? Can we do that recognizing that the work would be fraught with emotional and social peril for the individual?
Can we work with search engine and online social networks to help them filter out fake news?
These issues exist outside of the U.S., although sometimes in different ways.

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

Thursday, February 08, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Information Literacy and Continuing Education

Give me some slacks Public Librarians LINQ Together for Professional Development

Vanessa Irvin (presenter) and Wiebke Reile - University of Hawaii

LINQ is used on Hawaii

Inquiry-based professional development model for public librarianship

Incorporates online collaboration platforms for discourse

They use Slack.com, which is free and easy. Cloud-based which allows for a variety of different content to be incorporated. It can be real-time or asynchronous. Online collaboration platform. Conversations were in different topic channels.

A place to pose questions and have meaningful exchanges.

Librarians were about to share artifacts, including documents and photographs.

LINQ data in LIS 601

Sharing research data in the classroom

Hear what front line librarians are thinking, discussing, and sharing

Brings the wisdom of practitioners into the classroom

Disrupts the controlled environment of the classroom

Shows practitioners are experts

In using this data with their class last spring, LIS students wanted to ask a question in LINQ. Faculty facilitated the interaction.

Now some faculty are using Slack to teach their classes. There are private channels on Slack. She is using it for submitting assignments.

Faculty insights:

Coursework becomes more collaborative
Questions seem more welcomes as sites of inquiry and reflection
Student output more

Role of LIS Schools in Continuing Education

Valerie Karno, Lauren Mandel, Mary Moen (presenter) - University of Rhodes Island

Background / Problem

CE a necessity as libraries transform

Challenge - identify competencies

Challenge - delivery formats

What is the role of an LIS program?

They did a qualitative study with focus groups

Data collection

1) Competencies gallery walk

2) Worksheet and consesogram about preferred delivery formats

Data analysis led to finding common themes on competencies.

Findings:

Image of more findings related to preferred delivery formats

Role of LIS programs:

One shot workshops or series
Faculty expertise
Pull from existing content
Online courses
Post graduate certificate

Considerations:

Demand for interactive online learning - CE for faculty
Workshops - faculty service or compensation
Develop faculty expertise in identified topics or bring in others
How do make sustained CE worth their time and money?
How to competencies needed and format intersect?

Conclusions:

Interest in CE
Challenges application to all higher Ed
Need to explore options
As a public university, need to be accountable to the community

Learning by Doing: Using Field Experience to Promote Online Students’ Diversity Engagement and Professional Development

Denice Adkins (presenter), Jenny Bossaller (presenter), Beth Brendler, Sarah Buchanan (presenter), Heather Moulaison Sandy (presenter) - University of Missouri

Challenges:

Lack of professional socialization for online students
Lack of student diversity awareness

Solutions:

Experiential learning
Field experience
Diversity focus

Kolb experiential learning theory - teaching and learning spiral

Theory feeds practice and practice feeds theory

Diversity - theories

Contact theory - contact between different groups increases acceptance
Inclusive excellence
Diversity levers - social justice, human dignity, equity in access to information, equity in information preservation. Where in the LIS curriculum does this occurs naturally?

“Practicum in information agencies” is the one required course where this can occur.

This can also occur as a class assignment. Adkins and Buchanan walked through an example. Students worked with materials at the Black Archives of Mid-America during a fall course (2016) and then during spring break (2017).

Another way to put students in a diverse setting is through study abroad: South Africa, Ireland/UK, and St. Lucia. Students wrote reflections everyday on the trips, which helped them learn from the experience. Also did a service learning trip in Joplin, MO.

They also have a service learning class on community leadership.

The digital libraries class worked with the Cambio Center on a project.

They noted that they still have challenges. The tools that measure changes in beliefs about diversity are subjective and imprecise.

Final takeaways from the presenters:

These are things that we can do, e.g., teaching with Slack
Bring people of color into online discussions
Have students lead in-Service training
Good to see people trying new things

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Juried Papers (Thursday)

Teaching the ACRL Framework: Reflections from the field

Melissa Gross, Don Latham, Heidi Julien

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was adopted January 2016.

They did a national survey of instructional librarians. 622 responses. Respondents were generally positive about the Framework. Most had yet to modify their Information literacy instruction in significant ways,

They then did a interview study with 15 instructional librarians. Semi structured questions. Conducted through Skype. Looked for successes, challenges, and evaluation techniques. Asked about pedagogy techniques.

Pedagogical strategies:

Framework provides for structure
Provides guiding ideology
More conversational
More hands on, peer to peer teaching

Most successful strategies:

Conversations or training with other librarians on site
Ditto with faculty
Using the frame to develop learning outcomes
Implementing the frames over time

Greatest challenges:

Time
Concepts are vague
Scalability
Librarian resistance to the Framework
Requires lots of preparation
Buy in from faculty
Faculty still want skills-based instruction

Respondents noted a wide variety of ways for assessing student learning, including no assessments yet.

Discussion:

The Framework does require a change in thinking.
Difficult to fit the Framework into the typical one shot session
Harder to assess student assimilation of Framework ideas
Librarian attitudes about the Framework vary.

Implications for LIS education:

We should encourage our students to engage in critical reflection and debate about the frameworks strengths and weaknesses.
We should move away from a strictly skills based approach.
Need to help student develop assessments

There is more research that needs to be done on the adoption of the Framework.

What are best practices in LIS programs for teaching students to then teach using the Framework?

E-Advising: Expanding Advising for Distance LIS Students

Sue Kimmel, Elizabeth Burns, Jeffrey DiScala, Meredith Parker - Old Dominion Univ.

Challenges:

Navigating online systems and technologies
Lack of confidence
Need for advising and support services
Lack of contact with faculty or a designated program coordinator
Need for more detailed information about university expectations
Access during university business hours

They have:

Online office hours
Blackboard site that hold info that students will need
A lecturer as an overarching advisor from first contact through graduation

Students actually want help 24x7.

Their students are nontraditional with jobs and family. Few access existing resources for help.

Students into program complete coursework during times other than traditional business hours. After 6 p.m. and on the weekend.

At the time of their survey, they did have a requirement that students come to campus for a three day boot camp (summer institute).

For ODU students, online, asynchronous learning was very important. They would not have been able to enroll otherwise. Most of their students are from Virginia. All are school media students.

What do their students perceive to be the benefits on online advising?

Why do students seek assistance?

Plan of study - most frequent
Registration financial aid
Technology
Program advise
Navigating the ODU website
Conflicts with groups
Other requirements

What resources do they used? Most frequent:

Email my advisor
Online office hours
Classmates
Email the instructor

Online advising is seen as being convenient. It allows students to feel a sense of community.

Improvements and adjustments:

More frequent access to the program advisor
Promote the resources more frequently
Obtain more advanced notice of deadlines, etc.
Standardize office hours across courses and faculty

(Re)Discovering LIS Education Identity, Image, and Purpose in Engaged Scholarship

Laurie Bonnici, Jinxuan Ma

“...increasing difficulty in maintaining coherence of identity, image, and purpose.” - Cronin, 2002

Their research is using the @BlueZones and their work is not yet finished.

Engaged scholarship: education applied to social problems and issues faced by individuals, local communities, organizations, practitioners, and policymakers.

Community engaged learning is a course, internship, or program in an institution of higher education that includes:

Working with the community
Addressing societal needs
Intentional integration of learning objectives
Student preparation, ongoing reflection, and critical analysis
Reciprocal benefits
Ability to explore one’s civic identity

Community engagement is at the center of research, teaching, and service.

Image of University and Commuity Engagement

#ALISE2018 : A Critical Dialogue: Faculty of Color in Library and Information Science

Monica Colon-Aguirre, Nicole Cook, Renata Chancellor, Joe Sanchez, Bharat Mehra, Vanessa Irvin, Tonia Sutherland, Renee Hill, Amelia Gibson

This session is based on a 2017 paper of the same title.

Prompts for each speaker will be the same.

Tell us about a time when you experienced discrimination as a faculty member.

Backhanded compliments in student evaluations.
Micro-aggressions.
Comparisons that are racist.
Harassing emails because of someone’s research focus
Question: Are our associations and institutions ready to support faculty who are being harassed because of the faculty member’s diversity?
Inappropriate questions from students and faculty.
Colleagues who do not openly support a faculty member of color and do not confront people who aggressive towards faculty of color. Support needs to be open, loud, constant, continuous. We need our colleagues to not be cowards.
When a faculty member of color’s story is not believed.
Comments about appearance.
Being challenged in class and on student evaluation because the faculty member’s intelligence is not acknowledged.
Needing to conform to the decorum of the majority.
Inappropriate assumptions based on a person’s last name.

What do you want the rest of the world to know about the experiences and/or needs of faculty of color?

“It was that traumatic that I can’t forget it.”
Realize that faculty of color are not being too sensitive.
That it takes a lot of work to educate individuals one at a time so those people can provide the support and protection that is needed.
It is everyone’s job on the faculty to understand the situations that are having a negative impact on faculty of color.
The stress is real and it can cause illness.
Retention is an issue.
The initiatives that are bringing faculty of color into academia do not assure retention.
Faculty of color tend to follow research agendas which may require more work due to the level of community engagement require. That may mean that the person may have fewer publications when going through tenure review.
Faculty of color are expected to over perform in order to be seen as equal.
“We are enough.”
You cannot just hire one person from a diverse background. That person will be seen as a token and that person does not adequately represent the diversity in the community. Develop cohorts who can support each other.
Be willing and able to listen to people of color who are speaking up and placing information in the public forum.
Don’t just invite people of color for photos. Invite people of color to be a part of your research team (co-PI).
If you are researching diverse populations, do that work with faculty from those diverse populations.
LIS associations need to do more than talk about diversity. Can they do something to broaden the diversity of the associations?
That faculty of color need communities of support inside and outside of academia.
Know that some faculty will be unable to change so they are fully accepting of faculty of color.
Faculty of color need to keep themselves safe, sane, and healthy. Respect that need.
Support for faculty of color needs to begin when they are doctoral students.

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

#ALISE2018 : Innovative Pedagogies SIG

Expanding LIS Education Universe

Suliman Hawamdeh, Univ. of North Texas

We are anxious about new things and how to incorporate those things into our pedagogy.

He connects data science with knowledge management and LIS.

Challenges facing LIS programs

Declining enrollment
Outdated curriculum
Changing market and workplace
Technological changes
Changing roles, tasks and functions of the traditional LIS profession
Competing discipline (data science, data analytics, knowledge management, etc.)

Expanding curriculum:

Expanding roles and responsibilities
Collaboration across disciplines
Collaboration across areas of expertise
Emerging competing professions
Growth necessitate change
Digitization, curation, and sustainability of the digital world
Innovative Pedagogies - teachers as facilitators

Graphic which relates different parts of the information profession

The information profession - Rethinking DIKW

Master of Data Science at UNT

Designed to meet the rising need...

Check their web site for a list of core courses and electives.

Expanding thr Creative Side of the LIS Education through Acts-Informed Visual Research
Anh Thu Nguyen - University of Toronto, hanhthu.nguyen@mail.utoronto.ca

INFI 300 (Foundations) was a mandatory course, but is now an elective.

Students do a visual research project using a draw-and-write technique. (LibSquares) This follows the idea of the iSquares project. (ISquares.info)

Students learn to conduct original research.

In the end,students can choose to do a paper or a creative arts deliverable (paintings, sculpture, music, etc.). Students write an artist’s statement with the deliverable. Students also learn to showcase and display their work.

There is an article on this in JELIS.

There is also a traveling exhibit.

Question: if students draw an information professional, would the drawing be different than a librarian?

Deborah Hicks, University of Alberta, Deborah.hicks@ualberta.ca (a continuation of the same topic)

Image and Identity

Librarians have been concerns about stereotypes since the early 1900s.

Identity Discourses of Librarianship

Image versus identity

Image is how others see librarians

Identity is how librarians see themselves

Professional Identity - five discourses

Advocacy
Services
Insider-outsider
Professionalism
Change

Practical and pedagogical responses

Counter stereotypes through actions
Interrogate and reflect on emerging professional identities
Critical approaches to LIS

Consider having students draw what they believe librarians so and then have them reflect on the difference between the drawing and what they have said about librarians. For example, did a student say that librarians are involved in technology, but the person drew a person surrounded by books?

From MLIS to MI: Changing a Program to Expand Community and Opportunity.
Lilia Pavlovsky, Rutgers University

Her school has over 3000 students (School of Communication of Information)

The MLIS is a medium fish in a big pond.

The MLIS

Declining enrollment

Changing job market

Technological change

Call from faculty for new program

They formed a task force in 2013. Final report in April 2014.

Job market analysis
Stakeholder analyse
Curriculum review
Competitor analysis
Internal assessment of student community

Undergraduate students were not coming into the MLIS program because of the program name and image.

Key decision points

Flexibility

Inclusiveness

Relevant to broader info landscapes

Collaborative

Maintain core LIS values

They decided not to create a second degree program but to renovate the current degree. It became the Master of Information (MI). At Rutgers, you cannot change the curriculum when you change the name. Official state in fall 2015.

MI structure

4 foundation courses - 2 of 4 must be taken

1 technology requirements

3 zero credit courses

7 concentrations - electives

Opened up many more options for students

Notion of curriculum as product

Reorganization of current assets

Creation of integrated program that leveraged expertise. Collaborative.

They now have a dual degree pathway with the undergraduate degree.

Currently 10-20 applicants per semester.

Outcomes:

Enrollment has gone up. 130% growth.
Marketing became clearer.
Diversity in student population.
More professionals in the program.
More international students.
Curriculum became cleaner.
LIS traditional still the anchor store and a vibrant community.
Clarity of identity.

Key lessons learned:

Program improvement never ends.
Change is the new normal.
Innovation as practice.
Complacency should be questioned!
Review of markets ongoing.
Assessment/evaluation.

The curriculum committee had 10 people. They met sometimes several times per month.

In terms of manpower, some of the work was done on-load. Some course revisions were done with buyouts or additional pay. They had practitioners help redesign courses. They used adjuncts to fill-in teaching slots.

They see no problems with their upcoming ALA accreditation review.

They communicated frequently with their alumni, and included data.

Comment: Make as many changes in the current structure as possible, then change the formal structure to match it.

Most of Rutgers programs are 100% online and 100% on campus.

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

#ALISE2018 : The Benefits and Challenges of Allied Programs and Specializations in LIS Units

Dietmar Wolfram began by talking about some of the current specializations that exist in MLIS programs and allied degree programs. ALISE wants to expand to include the emerging and expanding areas that our programs/schools are engaged in.

Anne Gilliland, UCLA

Archival education

Over 30 schools in North America

An expansion of scope -> archival studies

Archival studies was established at UCLA in 1995

There is one mandatory course, then students select courses that match the person’s trajectory. Some courses are offered in over academic programs.

Courses emphasize the proactive roles of archivists. UCLA’s Department of Information Studies emphasizes social justice.

How has the department benefited from archival studies?

Increased enrollment.
Emphasis on evidence supports the school’s social justice concerns.
Multiple points of intersection with other areas of the department, as well as other academic departments.
Built tighter connections with external communities.

Challenges include:

Had to overcome stereotypes.
Balancing faculty workload.

Best pedagogical practices include:

Helping students to connect between their background and communities to their future careers. The classroom must be a safe space.
Rethinking class lengths to allow for more depth during a class session. For example, having a class that meets in 8 hour blocks several times a semester.

Suliman Hawamdeh, Univ. Of North Texas

Trends:

Branding and repositioning
Relocation and merger with other programs
Expansion of programs and specializations
Pedagogical shift - move to more on campus courses for international students ( mostly from India)
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary
Move to focus on the broader information science

Opportunities and challenges include:

Need for a different level of competencies
Nice to learn vs need to learn
Rich flexible curriculum

ALISE Academy Questions:

What is the LIS profession? Who are our students?
How can we brand our programs to demonstrate the versatility of our degrees?
Given demographic trends, how can the many related associations be sustained?
Should ALISE be the leader in developing alternatives to....?

UNT uses (informal) ”programs of study” to provide breadth to the MLIS program.

Their PhD. program uses 33 external faculty who are involved with supervision and mentoring. This is in addition to 16 faculty in I.S. One I.S. Faculty member must be on the student's committee.

Howard Rosenbaum, Indiana University

The School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

Department of Library and Information Science

One PhD, two master’s degrees, and some certificates.

M.S. of Information Science - 5 dual degree options

M.S.L.I.S. - 14 dual degree options

In a dual degree, the number of credits is reduced. This is helpful particular for students who want to go into academic libraries, where a second master’s will be particular helpful.

Most specializations have a faculty lead. That person advises all of the students in the specialization.

It every specialization or dual degree has students all the time, but all have had students in them.

Specializations have required electives and free electives.

The specializations help with course scheduling and the hiring of adjuncts. Once you know how many students are in a specialization,who can figure that out.

Challenges include:

Assuring faculty to teach
Low enrollment in classes
Dual degrees must be approved by each department/school, then the campus, and the state. Specializations are approved by the Board of Trustees. He noted that most employers do not ask to see a student’s transcript.

Most students now take core classes in their first year, which helps with course planning.

Almost engaged in constant curriculum review.

Paul Sherman, Kent State

From a user experience program.

The global information challenge - bad actors

Dark pattern problem -> the fear of missing out -> isolation

How can we help? Sherman delivered a call to action, rather than talking about what his program does.

Discussion:

Should ALISE be the leader in developing alternatives to....?

Gilliland asked what is the profession that we are trying to serve? Are these professions ready for the changes our students might bring with them?

Rosenbaum - the problem of recruiting diverse populations has been a concern since his work in academia since the 1980s. He noted the lack of diversity in the room.

IS students are not interested in the L.

Sherman - we should be looking at educational programs, not just those that grant degrees. We need to be aware of our competition.

Question about competencies

Hawamdeh - can people do the job? That is more important that a grade. How do we integrate competency based education into what we do?

Rosenbaum - competencies depend on where the student is going to work. What is the profession that we’re trying to education students for?

Gilliland - she talked about this from an archives point of view. The archival field has two “mistresses.”

To what extent do undergraduate programs affect the culture of your school?

The MLIS degree requires a demonstration of LIS overarching concerns. How does this work with the structures that were discussed?

Rosenbaum - capstones for the specializations

Sherman - they offer a range of culminating experience. They suggest that students look for projects that will be relevant to hiring managers or projects at their current workplace.

Hawamdeh - have advanced seminars and independent studies. Students might produce a publication.

Gilliland - her university requires either a thesis or a portfolio option.

Comment about the lack of diversity. Research has shown that students before the age of 10-11 have decided/learned what they cannot be. We need to get outside of our “world.”

In what way do knew programs contribute to the information professions? How do they affect our mission?

Sherman - concentrate on mission. It is a losing proposition to focus on defining what you are.

Rosenbaum - They looked at their undergraduate students and creating undergraduate majors. About 10% of undergraduates do not know what they want to do. What could they go with that 10%? They looked at what they could do with that group? They allow students to take graduate classes in their senior year, so that students can quickly get an M.S. degree. Most though are currently interested in the I.S. Degree.

Wolfram - Introducing students with related undergraduate classes can provide a gateway to the LIS degree. It opens up career options for students.

What kind of value proposition to your pick to a partner in a dual degree program?

Hawamdeh - Students want to know what the degree will do for them.

Are programs aware of how many of their students are already practitioners?

Gilliland - Some applicants in archives enter the profession because they feel their community has not been well served by the archives profession.

Edited for types and reformatted: Feb. 11, 2018