Embedding Librariansin Virtual Communities

Valerie Hill, PhD (Valibrarian Gregg)Texas Woman’s University

School of Library and Information Studies

David Shumaker (Dmitri Starsmith)Clinical Associate Professor

Dept. of Library and Information ScienceCatholic University of America

ACRL Virtual World IG & ALA CVL MIGApril 27, 2014

Serving Patronswherever they are

“What we’re trying to do is have the library be wherever you are.” Nancy Roderer, John Hopkins Welch Medical Library http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins

Physical World Librarian

Print is no longer king of the information hierarchy.

Information literacy includes all formats: print, digital, audio, video, logos, images, social media, apps, 3D worlds and “transmedia.”

Integrating Information Literacy:the challenge of the embedded librarian

The game has quickly changed.

Time to make your move, strategically balancing tradition and innovation.

Information Literacy is like breathing.

Information Inhalation

• Literature appreciation

• Listening & viewing

• Reading• Collecting &

curating• Evaluating

sources

Information Exhalation

• Writing• Podcasting &

recording• Web 2.0• Filming Videos• Building 3D

content• Reflection on

personal growth

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dklimke/6732980387/">dklimke</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Information Literacy includes all formats: physical, virtual, and augmented.

•Digital literacy•Media literacy•Traditional literacy•Transliteracy•Audio-Visual literacy•Web literacy•Print literacy•Balanced literacy•Metaliteracy

What are digital

footprints?

Am I creating them?

Information Literacy and Digital Citizenship

An embedded librarian shares resources and information literacy in numerous formats: both synchronous and asynchronous- both physical and digital.

Examples: Media Mondays, Wiki Wednesdays, online resources, tutorials, content curation, makerspaces, live chat, or virtual worlds.

The way we search has changed. Our first “go-to” places are:

David Ferriero, Archivist of the US stated,

“Students believe if it isn’t online, it doesn’t exist.”

ALISE 2012

Social Media & PLNs

Web 3.0 & the Rise of a Networked Generation

We all live in virtual worlds, whether or not we have avatars.

Virtual World Embedded Librarian

Global Information Literacy Panel

Virtual World Librarianship Examples

• Exhibits, Museums, Displays• Immersive Learning Environments• Historical Simulations• Reference Work• Information Literacy in new formats• Professional Development• Global Professional Networking

Embedded Librarians can be Physical or Virtual

“The embedded librarian combines proactivity and energy with strong working relationships, close alignment with team goals and objectives, shared responsibility for outcomes, and full membership in the team.”

Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27.

The library and the librarian are not synonymous.

Take a risk and go where nolibrarian has gone before!

“It may be that the great age of libraries is waning, but I am here to tell you that the great age of librarians is just beginning. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be a part of it.”

~T. Scott Plutchak

Embedded? Librarians in Cyberspace

David ShumakerCatholic University of America

For the ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group

April 27, 2014

The Story of the Embedded Librarian Who Wasn’t

20

Embedded Librarianship Isn’t …

Dependent on Place

21

Embedded Librarianship Isn’t …

Driven by Technology

22

Embedded Librarianship Isn’t …

Only about Teaching

23

Embedded Librarianship Is…

Relationship

Mutual understanding

Shared goals

Customized, high-value contributions

Team membership

24

Embedded Librarians in Distance Learning

Curriculum development

Course design

Collaborating with subject instructors

Collaborating with students

25

Information literacy “is not extraneous to the curriculum but is woven into the curriculum’s content, structure, and

sequence.”

--ACRL, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

26

27

Epilogue

The best way to predict the future is

to invent it.--Alan Kay

Photo: Macbird, Bonnie. (31 March 2007) “Alan C. Kay.” Viewpoints Research Institute (http://www.vpri.org ) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Alan_Kay2.jpg Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. (Accessed May 6, 2013)

28

For More Information…

Email: shumaker@cua.edu

Blog: http://www.embeddedlibrarian.com

Book:

Bibliography ALA. (2013). Standards for the 21st Century Learner. http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/standards

Gant, Scott. (2007). We’re All Journalists Now. New York: Free Press.

Gleick, J. (2011). The information: A history, a theory, a flood. Pantheon.

Grassian, Esther. (2012). Teach Information Literacy & Critical Thinking. https://sites.google.com/site/teachinfolit/ (accessed January 15, 2014). Hill, Valerie, and Hyuk-Jin Lee. (2009). Libraries and immersive learning environments unite in second life. Library Hi Tech 27, (3): 338-56.

Howard, H. (2012). Looking to the future: Developing an academic skills strategy to ensure information literacy thrives in a changing higher education world. Journal Of Information Literacy, 6(1), 71-81.

Kenton, J. and Blummer, B. (2010). Promoting Digital Literacy Skills: Examples from the Literature and Implications for Academic Librarians. Community & Junior College Libraries, 16(2), 84-99.

Kolowich, Steve. (2010). Embedded Librarians. Inside HigherEd. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins (accessed March 22, 2014).

McCluskey, C. (2013). Being an embedded research librarian: supporting research by being a researcher. Journal Of Information Literacy, 7(2), 4-14

Plutchak, T. Scott. (2007). The Librarian: Fantastic Adventures in the Digital World. Serials, 20(2), 87-91.

Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27. Webber, Sheila and Diane Nahl. (2011). Sustaining Learning for LIS through use of a Virtual World. IFLA Journal (37)(1): 5-15.