Busy as usual

First off, I have to apologize, especially to myself for not posting as much as I would like over the last few weeks.  There has been so much that is going on at the moment, and with Spring Break now over, everything is now in hyperdrive if you will.  AND I still have a class or two to teach.  There has been so many things going on in the library blog world I have really wanted to comment on, but it really is difficult to get to everything.  Besides, I don’t trust an academic librarian who can find the time to post daily. .  I did leave a comment at Life as I Know It.  Jennifer was experiencing some of that wonderfully annoying stuff we all go through at institutions of higher learning…..being ignored.  As librarian blogs tend to be currently raveing web 2.0, I don’t see a lot of them discussing the state of the library on campus. What university wide committees are their librarians on? How do they promote themselves to administration and faculty, as opposed to just students? And most importantly, how do they get themselves included in the discussion on issues that affect the college/university as a whole, such as the one Jennifer was discussing? 

So, instead of setting up a Twitter acount, I am going to think more about that.

Some strategic planning thoughts.

Some strategic planning thoughts.I WOULD LOVE to discuss some of the strategic planning that is going on at Hamline University, and especially on the group I am a part of, but since we are currently “a work in progress” it would be probably not be the best place to air details.  Maybe in the future I can elaborate more on some of this very important work.  What I can tell you, is that it has taken up quite a bit of time for me this school year.  I am a part of the Teaching & Learning framework group.  You can read all about the framework groups here.  I would imagine that most institutions go through this exercise, but it would be interesting to see how many librarians actually get involved in this process.  All the professional librarians from Bush Library are a part of each group. Not only has it been helpful to discuss “library” issues in a variety of capacities, such as spaces, resources, faculty status/tenure, curriculum, university mission, etc…, it has been quite enlightening to see other people, whether faculty, students or staff, react to new ideas and issues that concern the university as a whole.   It has also been helpful for the librarians to bring back these issues from each framework group and discuss the implications they would have on the library. 

It would be interesting to hear how much discussion do academic librarians in the US have on how they carry out the missions of their institutions?  How do they position themselves for the future in the curriculum, information literacy, use of technology, etc….?  AND generally, how involved are they with their institutions?

Collaborative Research.

A group (hopefully, just a  sample) of us Hamline University bloggers, and enthusiasts have met for the first time to discuss the possibility of getting some grant money for a Grad Ed collaborative group project.  Our subject?….”blog* “.  Our focus? Well, that has not yet been decided,  but the grant proposal due date is in one week. Here are some of the brainstroming ideas that we came up with, or at least the ones I could remember:

1. Using blogs in the “classroom” (what the hell is a classroom these days? )
2. Blog* and information literacy
3. Blog* as collaboration tool- across campus, profession, the globe
4. Blog* as marketing tool

What is the end product?  I think that will be half the fun. We are starting out with six people and I would imagine we will end with quite a few more.  The good thing is that we seem to be interested in real results and what it means for learning and development, and not just display an orgy of technology zealotry. We can’t just say “this” will happen if we just apply a blog to that  situation.   As part of this project we will be setting up a reading group to discuss some of the literature and maybe even have some guest speakers.  And of course, there will be a blog, which I would imagine that most of our collaboration will take place.

More Zoho.

Briefly talked about Zoho a couple months ago. I see Slate is “promoting it” over Google Apps.

Information literacy reading club

With the possibility of an information literacy component/class on the horizon, the reference librarians will be starting a discussion on issues with information literacy and how do we envision or implement these ideas at Hamline University and across all units, including the graduate schools. To help facilitate this conversation we will be starting a “book club”, or perhaps, just a “reading group”. The discussions will be added on to our regular weekly reference meetings.  For the first discussion, we will be discussing Information Literacy as a Liberal Art by Jeremy J Shapiro and Shelley K. Hughes. Being 10 years old, the article is still relevant today. It not only calls out the usual benefits of an information literate person, but ties it to the development of a “free society” and social justice with the help of French philosopher Condorcet.   How’s this for a preface for web 2.0

Educated citizens would not only be able to manage their lives properly: “They will be able to govern themselves according to their own knowledge; they will no longer be limited to a mechanical knowledge of the procedures of the arts or of professional routine; they will no longer depend for every trivial piece of business, every insignificant matter of instruction on clever men who rule over them in virtue  of their necessary superiority.”

The authors go on to suggest a curriculum that not only “equips people with a bunch of technical skills”,  but a critical awareness of knowledge and information, including it’s “origins and developmental trends, it redefinitions of experience and social life, its philosophical justification, biases and limits, its potential for human emancipation and human domination, and for growth and destruction.”

That last part is pretty powerful. Maybe my philosophical questions to the article are, “In a web 2.0 world, where is the individual responsibility in the creation of information?  Or is that ‘relegated’ to the group, as in blogs, wikis, etc…?” “What kind of meaning(s) are being derived with the use of social tools?  Authentic or ‘good enough’? Is ‘responsible use’ of information a moral dilemma?