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
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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)
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.
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