Category Archives: Uncategorized

Collaborative Web Content Management Strategies

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Presenter
Brittany Richardson is the Web Services Librarian at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library. Her primary work includes front-end web development and content coordination. She conducts assessment of web content through UX testing, stakeholder feedback, and analytics. She strives to continuously improve user experience through collaborative efforts with colleagues across the library.
Description
Library websites represent library services, resources, and information from a variety of library departments. How can we implement web content management strategies inclusive of these unique entities without subjecting the library’s web presence to disjointed editing or design by committee? This session will present collaborative methods that can be used by library web developers/content managers, including a framework for departmental content audits and mechanisms for obtaining internal stakeholder feedback on website redesigns. The benefits, and barriers, to implementing an increasingly open web design process will be discussed. Attendees will be encouraged to evaluate their library’s web content management processes and consider opportunities to improve the representation of all library departments.

Sustaining Virtual Members in Professional Associations

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Presenter
Rhonda Marker is Director, Shared User Services at Rutgers University Libraries. Among her responsibilities are the coordination of support and infrastructure for online information literacy and library instruction, as well as the management of digital projects and library publishing. Previous positions included Repository Collection Manager and Head of Cataloging. Rhonda has been active in ALA for more than 30 years, serving on several ALCTS committees. In that time, she was involved in the review of groups and committees that resulted in substantive changes and even the dissolution of groups that were no longer necessary. No librarians were harmed in the committee restructuring. Recently, Rhonda observed the stresses on sustaining committees and member involvement when they began meeting more often online than in person at ALA conferences.
Description
Imagine that you are attending a library conference. You have a list of potential committees that interest you and you want to become active in one of them. If your schedule and logistics allow, you sit in on one of the committees and realize this is YOUR group. At one point, the chair says, “Would anyone like to work on this?” You raise your hand and the chair takes your name. After the meeting, you chat with a couple of other people who will be working on the task, as you exit the meeting room together.

Now imagine that the same committee meets only virtually. Can this involvement scenario be replicated in a virtual setting? What do you, the member, and the association have to change to make participation possible for you? In what ways can virtual meetings incorporate inclusive behaviors to sustain and refresh membership in a professional association?

Participants will understand the pitfalls of applying traditional meeting structures and membership development in an increasingly virtual environment. This session will invite participants to explore creative ways to encourage virtual participation in professional associations such as ALCTS/LITA/LLAMA, and make bold suggestions for our association to capitalize on the virtual environment in order to broaden participation.

The changes that we have to make in order to thrive in a virtual environment will incorporate inclusive behaviors. These might include communicating beyond our current active members to seek out potential members, reaching out to allied groups, and giving not-yet-members opportunities for meaningful participation.

ORCID US Community: Libraries Leading the Way for Interoperability in Research & Scholarly Communication Workflows

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Presenter
Sheila Rabun
Description
Stakeholders across the research and scholarly communication landscape are increasingly recognizing the need for name disambiguation and system interoperability to measure impact, meet reporting requirements, and reduce administrative burden while ensuring that researchers’ contributions are accurately linked across institutions and workflows. Research libraries in the US are taking the lead in adopting ORCID (Open Researcher & Contributor Identifier) as a solution for persistently linking researchers to their contributions and institutional affiliations over time while also serving as a mechanism for interoperability in sharing data across systems. In January of 2018, four consortia in the US – the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), LYRASIS, and the NorthEast Research Libraries (NERL) – joined forces to form a nation-wide consortial approach to ORCID membership for research institutions in the US, known as the ORCID US Community. With LYRASIS serving as administrative lead, the primary goal of the ORCID US Community is to encourage ORCID adoption and foster a community of practice around ORCID in the US, as research institutions continue to join the growing circle of funders, publishers, and other stakeholders benefiting from research relationships and identity management in the ORCID ecosystem.

With this lightning presentation, participants will learn about the current trends, challenges, and opportunities of ORCID adoption at libraries and research institutions at large, featuring examples from across 125+ research libraries in the ORCID US Community.

Metadata Futures, UI, and Discovery Creativity

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Presenter
Jesse A. Lambertson is the Metadata / Digital Resources Librarian at University of Chicago’s Law Library, having arrived not too long ago from Georgetown’s Law Library. He is interested in metadata, of course, but also how systems process it, make it viewable, and enable its use. He is an active member of UChicago’s LD4P Sinopia team where he catalogues and tests workflows in linked-data cataloguing. He also plays guitar and is currently studying Koine Greek.
Description
For the subjects specific to day 3, Collaborations and Cooperative Endeavors, I am proposing a lightning round on the subject of metadata’s changing landscape, its relationship to how it looks to users, and what we might be able to do in Discovery in the near future. In this context, I hope to instigate a discussion about how BIBFRAME and linked-data could change discovery.

The idea here is to use my lightning session’s 7 minutes to draw out some of the modes by which metadata professionals, reference librarians, and sys admin folks can truly work together in order to not only prepare for metadata’s future, but also to share our specific expertise across the ‘aisle.’ This will bring folks from diverse areas of the libraries and backgrounds together to talk about the technical side of library technology in a transparent way.

I want to use my lightning session to deliberately engage in conversation about metadata in its current form, how it will change, and how those changes might look different to the user. As a result, my session will be, in part, a audience discussion between a range of folks from different libraries and contexts.

Changing Your Library’s Caustic Culture with Kindness (and Coffee)

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Presenter
Joyce Garczynski is the Assistant University Librarian for Development & Communications at Towson University’s Albert S. Cook Library. In this role she teaches journalism students about the research process, manages her library’s social media, and raises money for her library. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2009 and has a Master’s in Communication from the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania. She also authored a book titled, “Fundraising: How to Raise Money for Your Library Using Social Media” and co-authored “Fundraising for Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians” which is being published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2020 .
Description
How would you describe your library’s staff culture? Would you use words like indifferent, unfriendly, or even hostile? With so much work to do and fewer staff members to do it, many libraries face challenges when it comes to information sharing. It’s easy for managers to miss what’s going on outside of their own departments and for front line staff to feel unrecognized for their accomplishments. This can create divides and resentment, which can destroy a library’s culture.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In this lightning talk, the presenter will share how she sought to break down her library’s siloed culture by creating a Shining Star program. This inexpensive initiative rewards staff members not only for their going above and beyond, but also for recognizing the great work done by their colleagues. This session will begin with the audience sharing some of the cultural challenges that they face and then the presenter will discuss how she successfully developed and implemented this Shining Star program at her library.

Keynote: Sustainable Thinking for the Future of Libraries

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Session Description

Library leaders must mobilize to ensure libraries take an active, visible role in building sustainable and resilient communities. Our future depends on citizens who are able to work together with empathy, respect, and understanding to adapt to the many challenges facing society. In 2019, the American Library Association adopted sustainability as a core value of librarianship. We will explore the importance of infusing the new core value of sustainability into everything we do, and demonstrate how libraries that lead into the future using “sustainable thinking” fulfill our mission as libraries in new and innovative ways. “Sustainable Thinking” is a concept that aligns the core values of libraries with the “Triple Bottom Line” definition of sustainability (i.e. the intersection of economic feasibility, environmental stewardship and social equity) to inspire investment and build support for your library in the future.

Presenter(s)

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS)

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, a powerful advocate for public libraries, is the executive director of the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) in Hudson, New York. In addition, she is a certified sustainable building advisor (CSBA) and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). Smith Aldrich holds an advanced certificate in Public Library Administration from the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, where she is also an adjunct professor. She is a founding member of ALA’s Sustainability Roundtable and helped to pass the ALA Resolution on the Importance of Sustainable Libraries in 2015. Smith Aldrich was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2010 and writes a sustainability column for the journal. A prolific writer, Smith Aldrich is the author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring Your Library’s Future in an Uncertain World. She has also contributed chapters to Better Library Design (Rowman and Littlefield) and The Green Library (Library Juice Press). Like Drabinski, Smith Aldrich has given numerous presentations and keynote addresses at venues that include IFLA, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries Conference, the US Embassy in Peru, the American Library Association Annual Conference and the New York Library Association Conference.

Keynote: Making Power, Making Change

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Session Description

Librarians make the future every day: we select and acquire, catalog and classify, circulate and preserve, determining along the way what is worth accumulating, sharing, and keeping forever, and what is not. Every time we decide to purchase one book and not another, we use our power to shape the library of the future. But what happens when we want to use that power for transformative change and not just tinkering? How do we upend our own systems and structures in order to produce more just futures? How can librarians change the world? Drawing on lessons learned from the labor movement, this talk develops an analysis of power as something library workers can build with and for each other. Using tools and techniques we already have in our repertoire, we are well-positioned to make another world possible.

Presenter(s)

Emily Drabinski, Interim Chief Librarian at Mina Rees Library, Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)

Emily Drabinski
Emily Drabinski is the Interim Chief Librarian at Mina Rees Library, Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the liaison to the School of Labor and Urban Studies and other CUNY masters and doctoral programs. Drabinski’s research includes critical approaches to information literacy instruction, gender and sexuality in librarianship and the intersections of power and library systems and structures. She currently serves as the series editor for Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies (Library Juice Press/Litwin Books). Additionally, Drabinski serves on the editorial boards of College & Research Libraries, The Journal of Critical Library & Information Studies and Radical Teacher, a socialist, feminist and anti-racist journal devoted to the theory and practice of teaching. Drabinski has given numerous keynote addresses and presentations at the Big XII Teaching and Learning Conference, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference and the Digital Library Federation.

Culturally Responsive Public Services

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Session Description
Libraries strive to welcome all members of their communities, but many fall short of their desire to truly reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. The work of diversity and inclusion requires deeper engagement than offering a few programs coinciding with special holidays and similar initiatives. This program will draw on the principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching — a pedagogical framework gaining traction in academic library instruction departments — to inspire librarians to transform how we provide library public services, such as access services, reference, and community outreach. The session will introduce key principles of cultural responsiveness, guide participants through self-reflection exercises, and encourage collaborative development of practices for building inclusive public services.
Presenter(s)

Sarah Copeland, Director, Desks and Patron Experience, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Sarah Copeland
Sarah Copeland is Assistant Professor and the Director of the Desks and Patron Experience team at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library. Her professional experience in academic libraries has included collections management, public services, instruction, assessment, and administration. Sarah draws on her varied experience to collaborate across departments in the pursuit of improving user experience.

Chapel Cowden, Health and Science Instruction Librarian, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Chapel Cowden
Chapel Cowden is the Health & Science Librarian and a UC Foundation Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she also teaches Perspectives on Death and Dying for the University’s Honors College. Chapel is passionate about applying mechanisms to promote critical thinking and the construction of authentic learning environments into her instruction classroom, with the belief that we should strive to prepare students not only for “what’s now” but for “what’s next”. Her research interests include bibliometrics, culturally responsive teaching, and death positivity.

Lu Gao, Student, SUNY Albany

Lu Gao
Lu Gao is a postgraduate student at University at Albany (SUNY). She is working on her Information Science CAS certificate. She is from China. She has earned a B.A in International Trade and a Master of Science in Information Science (MSIS). Her educational and work experiences are cross-cultural and bring a diverse perspective to academic librarianship. She is passionate about applying Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in library instructions to promote inclusivity for culturally diverse students. Her research interests include data analysis, culturally responsive teaching, and multimedia information sources.

Session Slides
Chat Transcripts
Chat transcripts are included as part of the recording.

Making Connections Through Campus Collections

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Session Description

This presentation will outline how one lone cataloger took steps to represent diverse University department collections in the library catalog and build bridges in the process. Taking the seed of an idea that had sprouted but not flourished, this presenter set about to gauge interest and gather feedback from staff who managed collections in University departments such as the LGBT Center and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. This process, from making contact to making changes will be unpacked during the course of this presentation.

Presenter(s)

Susan Ponischil, Metadata & Resource Discovery Librarian, Grand Valley State University

Susan Ponischil is the Metadata & Resource Discovery librarian at Grand Valley State University Libraries. She received her MLIS from Wayne State University and has worked in the Technical Services arena since 2006. Her research interests include critical librarianship and promoting the value of technical services.

Are We Ready? Including Organizational Readiness in Your Change Plan

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Session Description

Much attention is paid to how to manage the uncertainty throughout a change process, but often, it can be too late. This presentation will focus on the pre-work of a change initiative. Specifically, I will provide a holistic change model that extends Lewin’s three-stage (unfreeze, change, refreeze) model. The presentation will focus on a missing stage prior to unfreezing: readiness. Increasing readiness for organizational change will increase the effectiveness of a change initiative by reducing uncertainty, setting expectations, establishing clear expectations, and providing appropriate outlets for organizational pressure release.

Presenter(s)

Dr. Aaron Noland, Senior Strategist, Director of Planning and Assessment, James Madison University Libraries

Aaron Noland
Aaron Noland is the Senior Strategist and Director of Planning and Assessment at James Madison University Libraries. Aaron has a PhD in Strategic Leadership from JMU and an MA in Communication from Miami University (OH). Aaron’s focus is on aligning organizational strategies, activities, structures, and assessments. He has extensive experience facilitating training sessions for professional audiences. Aaron has over 10 years of consulting and training experience and has worked with large health care organizations, multinational corporations, educational departments (including Libraries), and nonprofits.