Categories
Resources

The Greats – Better Sharing Collection

I recently discovered this amazing collection of artwork: The Greats, free illustrations from great artists to change the world. All works are published with Creative Commons licenses.

Share Freely Openly Like We Share Air
Share Freely, Openly, Like We Share Air” by Hust Wilson for Creative Commons. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

You can browse the Greats artwork by theme:
* LGBT+ Rights
* Women’s Rights
* Freedom of Speech
* Freedom & Democracy
* Equality
* Climate Collection
* Resilience
* Animal Rights
* Empowerment
* Black Lives Matter
* Hate Speech
* Reimagining Human Rights
* Culture of Solidarity
* Anti-War
* Bridging and Belonging
* Planned Parenthood

The art above is from the collection related to Better Sharing. I am sharing it in honor of Open Education Week. Attend an Open Education Week Event or add an activity or an open asset on the Open Education Week website.

Categories
Research Resources

Get Involved with the Library Writing Cooperative’s First Draft Matchmaker Program

Written by Holly Jackson on behalf of the Library Writing Cooperative

Someone writing on paper using a pen
Writing” by dotmatchbox is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.

Are you interested in publishing in the library field? Or are you an experienced writer already involved in the field? The Library Writing Cooperative, organized by and for library workers, offers a First Draft Matchmaker service to match volunteer reviewers with writers for supportive and nonjudgmental feedback that can improve the writing process prior to submission at a journal, conference proposal, or trade publication and to encourage many voices to participate in the professional conversation.

For writers who hope to have their work reviewed, you get to choose the aspects of your work where you would like feedback. This offers you the chance to get some additional feedback before you go to an editor or further in the peer review process. Generally, the timeline for this process is 2-4 weeks depending on the volunteer reviewer’s availability. Request to have a reviewer look over your work. You don’t even have to have it done yet – tell us that you’ll have it ready in the near future and we’ll send you monthly check-in emails until you’re ready.

For reviewers who want to give back to the field by looking over others’ drafts and supporting new and practicing authors in the field, you’ll receive onboarding materials on how best to share feedback with colleagues and a letter of thanks to include in annual reviews. You’ll be matched with a writer on an as-needed basis as requests come in. Sign up to be a reviewer and learn more about the review process.

We are thrilled at the initial responses for this program and hope to see this help both aspiring and already established writers from across the library world gain help and experience through this program. Through discussions with others across different areas of librarianship, we’ve found that there is a range of support when it comes to publishing. Some areas are not as supportive because it’s not a requirement (and therefore it’s hard to find help if you’re interested in publishing), while others have very strict requirements due to things like tenure track responsibilities (so it might be a bit more competitive). This program opens up access to all librarians (public, school, special, community college or other academic librarians, archival, etc.) and provides supportive and nonjudgmental feedback.

If you’re interested in taking part, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at libwrtcoop@gmail.com or check out the Library Writing Cooperative website.

Categories
Instruction Resources

PIL’s Provocation Series Essays

Project Information Literacy (PIL) is publishing the Provocation Series, a series of essays “about what ‘literacy’ means in all its manifestations. At a time when finding reliable news and information is more difficult than ever, we publish a new long-form essay every two months to spark discussions about pressing issues, ideas, and concerns.”

The essays published so far include:

Learn about forthcoming essays and access discussion questions for each essay to use with reading groups on the Provocation Series website.

On my campus, instruction librarians have discussed how to integrate concepts from the essays in information literacy instruction. We have also shared the essays with faculty on campus in liaison communications.

How are you using these essays on your campus to prompt discussions among librarians, students, faculty, staff, and beyond?

Photo by Olga Lioncat from Pexels
Categories
Reading Resources

Textbook Affordability and College Success Brief Post and Article

By Alyse McKealcreativecommonsorg

Textbook affordability is near and dear to my heart, something I care about greatly for its impact and reach are far and wide. While in my graduate school programs, I remember struggling to get my required reading completed due to not owning a textbook or sharing a textbook with a classmate. Sometimes I had to find part and parcel of a textbook online, do a short term rental, or implore a librarian friend to interlibrary loan the item for me, which can be quite tricky. This is not only an issue for me, but may be more of an issue for mine and your students alike. Textbook affordability matters greatly for student success and student retention and graduation (when speaking to our administrators).  “How to Reduce the Cost of Textbooks” by Joseph Eposito is a timely article available at https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2017/03/27/reduce-cost-college-textbooks/  .  This is especially true with the fall 2017 school year almost upon us. Students are beginning to register for classes and get their textbooks this spring. Let’s start planning to effectuate change for them now! #textbookaffordability #studentsuccess #affordability #success

Categories
Collections Instruction Outreach Presentations Resources

Conference Time is Almost upon us

acrl-2017

By Alyse McKeal

Are you heading to Baltimore, Maryland next month for the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference?  There’s quite a diverse selection of presentations, programs, papers, panels, contributed posters and much more geared towards junior and community college librarians and libraries! Here is a sampling of the offerings. (This is by no means a comprehensive list.)

Are you heading to Baltimore, Maryland next month for the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference?  There’s quite a diverse selection of presentations, programs, papers, panels, contributed posters and much more geared towards junior and community college librarians and libraries! Here is a sampling of the offerings. (This is by no means a comprehensive list.)

Fostering Diversity Through the Human Library (Poster Session)

Maximizing the Impact of the In-Person One-Shot: The Case for Targeted Library Instruction Outreach in Community Colleges (Contributed Paper)

Next-Gen Collection Policies: Developing Templates to Aid Collection Managers (Round Table Discussion)

If You Build It, Will They Come: Re-Framing Your Instruction Program (W0rkshop)

Steering Change in Liaisonship: A Reverse Engineering Approach (Contributed Paper)

The Coach in the Library: Coaching Undergraduates to Academic Success Through a Diversity and Inclusion Library Coach Program (Poster Session)

Scaffolding the Framework: Bridging the Gap Between 2-Year and 4-Year Institutions (Roundtable Discussion)

Confessions of a Teaching Librarian: Teaching Anxiety, Growth Mindset, and Resilience for Library Instructors (Roundtable Discussion)

Applying the Framework to an Online Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Course (Poster Session)

What’s Social Justice Got to do with Information Literacy (Panel Presentation)

Reclaiming Knowledge as a Public Good: Librarians Leading Campus OER Initiatives (Panel Session)

Pathway to Your Future: Roadmaps for Community College Student (Chair’s Choice Invited Program)

Casting a Wide Net: Assessment Strategies Community College Libraries Use to Stay Afloat (Panel Session)

Evolving Evidence-Based Practice: The ACRL Information Literacy Framework in Action (Roundtable Discussion)

Tending the Garden: Sharing Projects that Strengthen Communities within the Academic Library (Roundtable Discussion)

Going O’ER: Using Open Resources as the Path to New Pedagogy and Information Literacy (Panel Session)

Exploring Evidence-Based Approaches to Using the ACRL Threshold Concepts (Roundtable Discussion)

IT Security and Privacy in Today’s Connected Library (Panel Presentation)

Anchoring Instruction Through Design: Creating a Team with Diverse Skills to Transform our Process (Contributed Paper)

Diversity, Change, and its Discontents: The Role of the Library in Campus LGBTQ Transformation Efforts (Invited Paper)

From Request to Assess: Using Cloud-Based Tools for the Library Instruction Life Cycle (Poster Session)

Taking a Different Tack: Adapting First-Year Information Literacy Instruction to the Online Environment (Panel Session)

Using the Framework to Frame: Cataloging Policy and Practice as Seen Through the Lens of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Contributed Paper)

Every Day is a Winding Road – or Our Long Circuitous Journey to Assessment (Poster Session)

Open Educational Resources: It’s Time for Libraries to Take the Plunge (Contributed Paper)

Consortial eBook Purchasing for the Rest of Us (Contributed Paper)

Turning Lemonade into a LibGuide (Chair’s Choice Invited Program)

Diversifying the Academy: Librarians Coaching Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows Through the Scholarly Research Cycle (Poster Session)

Does ProQuest Research Companion Improve Community College Student Information Literacy Competency? (Poster Session)

If possible, take advantage of the discounted, advance registration rates and register by February 10th! Enjoy the ACRL Conference and Baltimore.  We hope to see you there!