Friday, March 27, 2015

Want to be a GLA Academic Library Division Sponsored Program at GaCOMO15?

GLA Academic Library Division is interested in sponsoring 1-2 GaCOMO programs on the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Use this form to send us your program idea by Wednesday, April 8, 2015: http://goo.gl/forms/5xv42itYvn

The ACRL Framework COMO Programming Subcommittee will notify all applicants by Friday, April 17th if their proposal was selected for sponsorship.

Topics of interest include: 

  • What are the new standards and how do they compare with the old standards
  • New ideas for implementation in the following types of situation
  • One-shot classes
  • Flipped classroom
  • Credit bearing course
  • Online tutorials
  • Map through the curriculum
  • Ideas for developing learning outcomes and assessing impact
  • How to get faculty on board
  • How to get all library instructors on-board and ensure consistency with the standards
  • Influence on reference services


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Carterette Series Webinar on Information Access and Civil Discourse - April 1, 2015


From the Georgia Library Association Carterette Series comes another fantastic free webinar, open to all:

I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own: Information Access and Civil Discourse in the Digital Age

Wednesday, April 1, 2015
2pm Eastern (11am Pacific | 12pm Mountain | 1pm Central)
Register at http://goo.gl/ffQjzA

In this webinar, Brandy Horne will outline different factors that can influence, and even hinder, our ability to access information in a digital environment, and she’ll discuss how the information we do access can ultimately impact our ability to engage in civil discourse.  Finally, addressing some possibly conflicting directives from ALA documents, such as the Core Values of Librarianship and the Code of Ethics, we’ll look at how libraries might strike a balance between showing patrons how to find the information they need and helping them to find the information they want.

About the Presenter:
Brandy Horne works in the Gregg-Graniteville Library at the University of South Carolina Aiken as an Instruction and Reference Librarian, and she is currently the Secretary of the CSRA Library Association. In addition to presenting at the Georgia COMO conference three years in a row, Brandy was a speaker at TEDx Telfair Street in Augusta in 2014.

Can't make it to the live show? That's okay. The session will be recorded and available on the Carterette Series Webinars site for later viewing.

Contact a member of the Carterette Series planning team with questions or suggestions: carteretteserieswebinars@gmail.com

Monday, March 16, 2015

Winter 2015 issue of the Georgia Library Quarterly is Available

The winter 2015 issue of the Georgia Library Quarterly is available at http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/

This issue includes a lot of good columns, news and a peer-review artilce.

Some highlights are

Georgia Library Spotlight
Maneuver Center of Excellence HQ Donovan Research Library by Ericka Loze-Hudson
Georgia Perimeter College Libraries by Pat Ziebart, Karen Viars, and Scott Pieper
CURVE: Collaborative University Research & Visualization Environment, Georgia State University Library by Joseph Hurley

My Own Private Library: A Peek Inside the Personal Library of a Librarian by Amy Burger

Peer-Reviewed Article
The Flipped Library Classroom at Georgia State University: A Case Study by M. Leslie Madden and Ida T. Martinez

and many others

Friday, March 13, 2015

American InterContinental University Library in the Spotlight!

The Library at American InterContinental University (AIU) – Atlanta is the hot spot on campus for general computing and printing, as well as online research and circulation. Recent renovations on campus included moving the Learning Center into a classroom in the Library’s space, making it easier for students to obtain academic support services in a single physical location.

Because degrees at AIU are career-focused, several highlights of our collection are particular to individual academic programs. For example, our fashion forecasting materials are in high demand as fashion students do marketing research, and work on their portfolios. These trend books (from New York, Paris, and Milan) give students a sense of what color palettes, themes, and fabrics will be walking the runway 18-24 months from now.

Films are another significant aspect of our collection. This includes general new releases (popular with all students), but also classic and foreign films more specifically directed towards our Media Production students. One job of a media student is to watch as many different films as possible, and the Library facilitates this through our popular DVD collection, as well as with documentaries and instructional videos.

The Library is also a hub for events around campus. Recent events in honor of Black History Month included a giant, themed crossword puzzle in the campus lobby, a Black History film series, and a round table discussion on Black History Month’s relevance. Events are intended to both highlight and promote parts of the collection, to create dialogue on campus, and to contribute to overall student satisfaction.

Following the screening of More Than a Month, a documentary that explores the idea of doing away with Black History Month in favor of teaching Black history as integrated history year-round, the Library is creating an initiative called Black History 365. This program will highlight an event, accomplishment, or person related to Black history every day on campus, in addition to periodic special events.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Helpful Sources for Writing an Academic Paper

By Rebecca Rose, Research Papers Committee Chair

For those contemplating writing an academic paper, numerous print resources are available that can assist with the process. Books targeted for librarians include ALA’s Writing and Publishing: the Librarian's Handbook and Handbook of Academic Writing for Librarians by Christopher Vance Hollister.

Also, the following titles are recommended because they help with establishing structure for any writing project, and answer many questions about the scholarly writing process.

Belcher, Wendy L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. Belcher is helpful in specifying the components and styles unique to different disciplines. The book gives guidance on sticking to a writing schedule and keeping you on track.

Bishop-Clark, C and Dietz-Uhler, B. (2012). Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Guide to the Process, and How to Develop a Project from Start to Finish. This book describes creating a project, then gathering and analyzing the data. Authors do a wonderful job of differentiating between qualitative and quantitative research in plain English.

Want more? Do not overlook scholarly articles that discuss writing for academic publications. Did you know there is a Journal of Scholarly Publishing? Subject headings for this topic include Academic Writing, Scholarly Publishing, and Writing for Publication.

Interested in submitting a research paper proposal to the GLA Academic Library Division? More information is available here.

The deadline for submitting a proposal for this year’s research paper for COMO is April 1, 2015.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Professional Development Events in March


This list is provided by Georgia Public Library Service.


The GPLS CE Calendar has been updated with free online continuing education events for March.

Some selections include:

Tuesday, March 10 (2–3 PM)
Genealogy Research at the Library: How to Get the Most out of Library Resources (Booklist)
Almost all public libraries offer the library edition of popular ancestry resources, but not many provide in-depth training on how staff can help patrons use those resources. Getting the most out of online genealogy resources requires knowing some basics about research and practicing search strategies that really work. In this informative webinar based on her book Genealogy: A Practical Guide for Librarians (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), Katherine Pennavaria will cover those basics and answer questions about doing genealogy research, and also show you how to search ancestry resources like a pro. Moderated by Booklist’s Reference and Collection Management editor Rebecca Vnuk.
For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://tinyurl.com/l68j55m

Tuesday, March 10 (2–3 PM)
Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future (OCLC)
Join this first event in the Transformative Leaders webinar series for current and future library leaders. This webinar will explore the changing landscape of libraries and the role of leadership in managing effective change.
For more information and to register for this program, visit: https://www.oclc.org/events/2015/Past_Future_Mar_10.en.html

Thursday, March 12 (2–3 PM)
The Future of Libraries (American Libraries Live)
Get the inside scoop on pressing library topics from leaders in the field—free--with American Libraries Live. It’s a streaming video program that you can view in your library, at home, or while sipping coffee at your favorite wi-fi enabled coffee shop. This is not just a webinar with voice-overs drilling through PowerPoint slides. You’ll watch presenters live onscreen, and you can ask questions in real time via chat.
For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://americanlibrarieslive.org/

Wednesday, March 18 (2–3 PM)
Assisting Patrons with E-Readers: Tactics for Teaching & Troubleshooting (TechSoup)
Do you help library patrons with e-readers? E-Readers have changed the way people consume
information – and the way libraries operate. More than 50% of American adults now own an e-reader and e-reading is on the rise. However, many people still need help downloading e-resources from the
library. The challenge is that there are so many different types of e-readers and e-books that patrons
can get confused by what to download. Come to this free webinar to learn tips and tricks for how you
can provide better assistance and customer service to library patrons with e-readers. We will hear from e-reader experts who have been making a difference in their libraries.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=n56ote2u2jkb

Wednesday, March 18 (5–6 PM)
Collaborative Flipped Instruction (EdWeb)
Participatory learning tools like social media and/or learning management systems can strengthen
instructional partnerships between classroom teachers and school librarians. This webinar will highlight examples of how such partnerships can increase student achievement and professional learning for teachers. Assessment, blogging, and discussion forums will be covered. This webinar will benefit school librarians, classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, and administrators in grades 6-12.
For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://www.instantpresenter.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=ED56DB83854D