ALA Midwinter 2015:  The proposed new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

will be discussed at the  ACRL Board meeting on Saturday afternoon, January 31, from 4-5 pm at the Sheraton Chicago, Ontario Room.  The Board meeting is open to all.

There is an open microphone session immediately following the Framework conversation on Saturday afternoon from 5-5:30 p.m. and interested individuals are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to share thoughts with the Board.

The ACRL Board meets a second time at the ALA Midwinter Meeting on Monday afternoon, February 2, at the Sheraton Chicago, Sheraton Ballroom 1. There is time on the Board agenda for the Framework at 3:15–4:00 p.m.

There are four proposals attached to the completed Framework. These proposals recommend(on page 3-4)

1)    That the ACRL Board approve the Framework…

2)    That the Board sunset the Information Literacy Competency Standards… in July 2016

3)     That the Board charge a new Task Force with managing the transition from Standards to Framework…

4)    Encourage ACRL’s discipline sections to use the Framework to

ALA Midwinter: “Research in Context”  OCLC  Meeting on January 30   The OCLC Symposium will feature Lorcan Dempsey (Vice President, OCLC Research and Chief Strategist) and Chrystie Hill (Director, OCLC Community Relations) as they discuss how research activities can move beyond insight into action. Roundtable discussion will follow, both live and online, about the ways in which research could help your library achieve greater impact and plan with confidence. The event will open with an update on recent Americas Regional Council and Global Council activities, and refreshments will be served after the symposium.

Research often starts by recognizing and mapping changes in the environment. But knowing where we are and how we got here is only half the equation. In order for research to be valuable, it must also be actionable.

Register now for the Symposium »

California Research and Education Network Gets 100-Gigabit Backbone

The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) has upgraded the core backbone of the California Research and Education Network (CalREN) to 100 gigabits per second (Gbps).

CalREN is a 3,800-mile advanced fiber optic network serving the California K-12 system, California Community Colleges, California State University, University of California, Caltech, Stanford, University of Southern California and other institutions. The network has three tiers: CalREN-DC for daily network use such as e-mail and Web browsing, CalREN-HPR for high performance research and CalREN-DX for network-based experimentation and development.

2015 – CCL Deans’ and Director’s Spring Meeting/Workshops

Thursday-Friday  April 9- 10, 2015

Sheraton Grand Hotel
1230 J Street, Sacramento, CA
(directions and transportation)

Library and Learning Resources Deans, Directors, Head Librarians, Coordinators & Department Chairs are invited.

No registration fee. We will cover the cost of Thursday night hotel room for one representative from each college - usually this is the dean/library director/head librarian/coordinator/dept. chair and corresponds with the contact name listed in the CCL directory, but it is ultimately up to each college to decide whose costs are covered. Sharing the covered room is always an option.

We will provide meals for all participants, except for Thursday night dinner.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation costs, but CCL will take care of on-site parking.

Questions? Contact Gregg Atkins at gregg.atkins@wavecable.com.

Thursday Agenda:

• Noon -- Opening Lunch (provided by CCL)
• 1pm - 2:30pm  Alicia Virtue: Tell Our Story- Showing our impact – new ways to message and report services
• 2:30pm – 3:30pm CCL Strategic Plan and Hot Topics:  A strategic plan update, planning for 2015-2017 strategic plan, and discussion of hot topics.
• 3:30pm – 4:30pm Regional Meetings. This is a time for regions to meet and discuss local issues. News and top issues will be reported out to the entire assembly.
• 4:30pm - 5:30pm Social Hour: Meet the New Deans & Director’s.  An informal time to meet and welcome the new Library Deans and Directors.
• 5:30pm Dinner, your choice, not provided by CCL

Friday Agenda:

• 8am - 9am Breakfast (provided by CCL)
• 9am – 9:30 CCL President’s Welcome
• 9:30- 10:30am Statewide Leadership: reports and presentations
• 10:30am - Noon Keynote Speaker – Monika Hogan:  Threshold Concepts and Wicked Problems
• 12:15pm - 1:30pm Lunch (provided by CCL) and conclusion

This meeting is organized and sponsored by

• Council of Chief Librarians California Community Colleges

Carl Bengston will retire from his position as dean of the Cerritos College Library and Learning Resource Center on January 31^st, after 40+ years in academic libraries. Carl began his varied career as an undergraduate student and library assistant in the Doe Library at UC Berkeley. After completing his MLIS at the University of Oregon, he accepted his first professional position as Humanities Cataloger at Cal Tech’s Milikan library in Pasadena. From there he went to work as an OCLC Coordinator (that’s right, he’s a “net-vet”), first for the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority (INCOLSA) and then for OCLC Western, when it was operating out of the Claremont Colleges Honnold Library. This experience prepared him for his next job, first as the General Library’s System Services Librarian and subsequently as Moffitt Library’s Director of Technical Services, back at UC Berkeley.

Carl’s first directorship was at Dominican College in San Rafael, now Dominican University of California, where he was the Director of Library and Information Technology Services. After seven years at Dominican, he accepted the position of Dean of Library Services at CSU Stanislaus, packing up his family, leaving his Bay Area roots behind, and setting down new roots in Turlock and the Central Valley. (Actually, he learned that he already had roots in Turlock, where his grandfather had lived and pastored a Swedish congregation for a time in the 1920’s.) Carl retired from CSU Stanislaus after ten years of service as the library dean there, but he decided he really needed to work in each and every sector of California higher education before retiring for good, so he accepted the deanship at a big community college in southern California, Cerritos College, where he has worked for the past six years, enjoying every minute.

Carl has even enjoyed his weekly commute between his home in Turlock and  his job in SoCal (five hours each way, up and down Hwy 99!). Thanks to audiobooks, he’s worked his way through just about every one of Charles Dickens’ novels and rekindled his passion for fiction in general and 19^th Century literature specifically. During his retirement, Carl says he plans to continue to satisfy that passion and read everything he hasn’t had time to read since graduating from college, raising his family, and working full time as a librarian. This and a long list of postponed home improvements are sure to keep him very busy. Hopefully he’ll still have time to maintain his swimming regimen and a little golf, too…

David Sparks, Head Librarian at College of Alameda, retired in December.  He is relocating to Chicago where his partner Randy recently obtained a tenure track teaching position at a community college.  Jane McKenna will be the new Head Librarian at COA.

COM news:

• The College of Marin Library held our first "Pause for Paws" therapy dogs event on December 3, 2014 - a week before finals. We partnered with the Marin Humane Society and Associated Students to provide happy dogs, snacks, and scantrons. It was a very popular activity and we plan to do it again in the spring.
• College of Marin and Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) co-hosted a Northwest regional mixer on Friday, December 5 at the SRJC Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery. There was networking and refreshments while we checked out the current exhibit on tattoo art.
• Pearl Ly, Director of Library Services was elected to the California Academic Research Libraries (CARL) Executive Board as the Northern Vice President/President-Elect.
• Pearl Ly published an article "Young and in Charge: Early-Career Community College Library Leadership in the Journal of Library Administration, DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2014.985902

• COM had  life size librarian cutout signs made to welcome our patrons and make our librarians more visible. We got the idea from and help from Claremont Colleges.

Columbia College held its 7^th Finals Cram Night on Thursday, Dec. 4. The Finals Cram Night originally began at our sister college, Modesto Junior College. The first Cram at MJC was held Dec. 2008. Finals Cram Night is an evening where the Library partners with the Associated Students (AS) and offers students an opportunity to connect with instructors, tutors or friends in the library during extended hours. The AS provides food and drink throughout the evening and the library stays open late. (MJC stayed open to midnight, Columbia stays open to 10 p.m.) Instructors are seated at tables where their students can gather to get some last minute help. We’ve had a flash mob dance the last two Cram nights that lends a festive start to the evening.

It is an evening of community more than an evening of cramming. Instructors have an opportunity to connect not only with their students but their colleagues. Students have an informal setting to connect with other students and the library is abuzz with the activity.  This year our AS offered an Ipad as a raffle prize and free scantrons and greenbooks were available.

It’s a great way for the library to partner with  the AS and it brings the faculty into the library.

Community College Library Consortium — Sarah Raley, Consortium Director

All January orders have been placed with the vendors. Please check your access as you return to work to ensure everything has been set up for your campus.

We are working on spring pricing. An email notification will be sent to the library primary contact when the renewal form is ready in the procurement system. Forms for new and renewal orders will be due to the League office by May 8th. As the spring pricing is finalized, vendor program announcements will be posted on the consortium web site.

We have negotiated a discount for the Computers in Libraries conference which will take place in Washington, DC on April 27-29. The rate will be $319 (normal registration fee $499). Use the discount code 15CCL with this link:    https://secure.infotoday.com/forms/default.aspx?form=cil2015

CCL and the Community Colleges League of California (CCLC) – the organizations which run the consortium buying program and direct the work of the Director – have initiated the process to find a successor to Sarah.  The job announcement is shown below.  The announcement will be listed in Chronicle of Higher Ed as well as various library publications; the job description will be posted on the League’s website.

You can help find someone with the experience, skills, talent and ability to understand and represent CCC libraries the way that Sarah has!  Help spread the word about the opening; get the message out on national listservs and message boards.  And think: who do you know who should be asked to apply for the job?  Send those names to CCL President Tim Karas and CCL Executive Director Gregg Atkins!

The Community College League of California (CCLC) is accepting resumes for the position of Assistant Director, District Services.  View the position description.

This position is a salaried position with CCLC. CCLC offers a competitive benefit package including retirement (CalPERS), health, dental and vision benefits and the option to telecommute for this position. Individuals with community college library experience are encouraged to apply.

If interested, please send a cover letter and resume to Kimi Shigetani at kimi@ccleague.org. Questions about this position may also be sent to the same email.

This opening will close no later than March 27, 2015.

Distance Library Services 16th Conference held on April 23-25 2014

Formerly called the Off-Campus Library Services Conference, this international biennial event brings together librarians, administrators, and educators to focus on the techniques and theories of providing library services to students and faculty either away from a main campus setting or in the online environment. Conference papers are published in the Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning.

Brief abstracts and links to detailed, extensive PowerPoint slide presentations are available at the conference Web site.

http://libguides.cmich.edu/dls2014/ataglance/papers

Choonhee Rhim who has been the library chair for the past 11 years will step down and will be working as the  Periodicals/AV Librarian. Erika Montenegro will be the new Library Chair from February 1, 2015.

East Los Angeles College Library will be hiring two (2) full-time tenure-track librarians for Fall 2015. The library is seeking candidates who have experience in general librarianship as well as in instruction integrating new and innovative technologies. For more information, contact Erika Montenegro via email: montene@elac.edu.

“Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today’s Complex World by David Lankes  Free eBook Download

“Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world, do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren’t about books, what are they about?

In Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World, David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that, to thrive, communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond books and literature. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of privacy, intellectual property, and economic development.

Expect More is a rallying call to communities to raise the bar, and their expectations, for great libraries.”

Why Free?

In the two years since Expect More has been published, it has sold thousands of copies and been used by librarians and those working with libraries. By making the digital version of the book freely available it is hoped that more librarians can use the book to engage their boards, principals, and provosts in a constructive conversation about the future of their libraries.

In addition to making the book available, it is hoped that the library community can engage in a conversation on how to improve the book and its impact.

Fall Workshop Evaluation Report – Jim Matthews, Chabot

CONNECTING LIBRARIES TO STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVES  Presented on Nov. 19^th and Nov. 20^th 2014 in Ontario and Walnut Creek California

Workshop documents: http://www.cclccc.org/documents/2014/Student-Success.docx

 Presenters:

Open Educational Resources -- Cheryl Stewart

 3CSN – South, Debra Harrington

         - North, Christina Goff

 Student Equity – James Todd and Dan Crump

Participants Satisfaction Survey results

The Future of Libraries 10: Libraries Fostering Communities, held on October 14, 2014

Presented by the Pacific Library Partnership this one day meeting held at the San Francisco Public Library, Koret Auditorium, provided online access to:

• Videos of all the presentations
• Presenters’ PowerPoint
• Handouts

Lassen’s new director John Taylor introduces himself to the CCL community with the following: I received my MLS in 1981 and have since been either a librarian or a vendor of technology to libraries (with a few years spent otherwise). I have always supported the cause of education and research as a tool for personal and social transformation, as it has been such for me. In my last position I was the branch manager for John F. Kennedy University’s campus in Berkeley CA. JFKU is a small private graduate institution, recently acquired by National University. At JFKU Berkeley Campus, I was responsible for all aspects of library services, instructional support technology and the computer labs. During my years there I worked with the faculty to improve research specifically with the Museum Studies graduate students and increased their publication rates prior to graduation. My staff and I found a way to provide free wi-fi and wi-fi printing to all students.  I worked with a small team to build a campus web site which served the faculty and students to know what resources were available to them, and an automated system for booking resources using Google Apps for Education. Our project was successful enough that a full time position was created to extend the Google Apps for Education tools and services to faculty on all three campuses. In addition to a significant history with vendor provided technology, I have a high interest in what free and open source technology can do for libraries and education.  I am excited to be a part of Lassen College because of it’s small size and big heart. I look forward to working with the students at Lassen College to improve their research experience, and increase their ability to evaluate research sources for bias and quality of information, and to support higher graduation and transfer rates.

Happy New Year!

CCL President, Tim Karas

I hope everyone had a pleasant and restful festive season. As the New Year begins, the Governor’s 2015-16 budget proposal was released on January 9, 2015. The budget proposal has increased funding for the California Community College system. Details can be found at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/home.php. We will continue to monitor and advocate for libraries throughout the budget cycle. The next milestone will be the May revise by the Governor. This year Districts were allocated Instructional Equipment and Library Materials funding and the continuation of this funding is paramount in the support of adequate library resources.

I would like to encourage each library to send someone to the upcoming CCL Deans and Directors Meeting on April 9-10, 2015. This is the one time each year we have the opportunity to meet, connect, and confer with one another. We are extremely fortunate to be able to provide funding support for one night of lodging at the Sacramento Sheraton and no registration fees for a representative from each College. I look forward to seeing you in April.

In December, I attended the Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Committee meeting (TTAC). The meeting was devoted to the forthcoming State RFP’s for Online Education, Common Assessment, and Educational Planning. These initiatives have since been awarded to Foothill-DeAnza CCD (Online Ed), Butte-Glenn CCD (Assessment and Ed Planning). More details can be found on the Chancellor’s Office website http://extranet.cccco.edu/Divisions/TechResearchInfoSys/Telecom.aspx

Lastly, in addition to addressing issues that are placed at our door, the CCL Executive Board is diligently making progress on our strategic plan. Much work has been done to accomplish this year’s action steps. Please read the CCL Executive Board meeting minutes for greater detail.

All the best,

Tim

The Systems Librarian: Library Technology Forecast for 2015 and Beyond. By Marshall Breeding   for Information Today Inc.

A commentary on the accelerating pace of change with a focus on:

• Relentless Consolidation
• Linked Data Opportunities
• Mobile
• 3D Printing and Makerspaces
• Technology to Enhance the Physical Library Experience

“Library Worklife–the newsletter for library workers”–

Now available at: http://bit.ly/LW_Jan15. The January issue contains timely, bite-sized articles for you to read and reflect on ways to incorporate the information into your work life. Here are the highlights:
*SPOTLIGHT
- Looking Ahead (and Back) to National Library Workers Day by             Aliqae Geraci
*ALA-APA News
- More Than 100 Graduates
*HR Practice
- Memos to Managers: Little Effort = Big Change
*SALARIES
- New Changes in Wages for the New Year
*Work/Life
- Top Ten Ways to Start (and Maintain) a Good New Year
*HR Law
- A New Year, New OSHA Reporting Requirements
*LW TIP
- Talk Directly to the IRS at Midwinter
- Are There Benefits to Being Told ‘No’?
- Free Webinar to Address Creating Resilient, Safe Workplaces

We believe good content should be read and shared. So feel free to share the link to Library Worklife (LW) [http://bit.ly/LW_Jan15].

If you are interested in writing an original article for LW, send an email to bcalvin@ala.org.

It has been a busy and growing year for our library.

We will be hiring a new librarian for Fall 2015. Applications are due February 20^th.

This is a Tenure track position and the closing date for applications is February 20, 2015.

The Library department currently includes five full-time faculty librarians and several adjunct librarians.

The link for the job description is: https://laccd.peopleadmin.com/postings/1799

There is also a current opening for a library adjunct position.

The adjunct librarian will be responsible for developing and running our one-on-one student success library consult program. Duties may include:

• Developing promotional materials
• Developing and implementing an outreach program
• Meeting w/Departments and Department Chairs to promote program
• Participating in Student Workshops/Education Fairs
• Consult appointments with students.

The position will involve approximately 14 hours per week during the college’s Spring and Fall semesters.

Applicants must have a master’s degree in Library Science or Library and Information Science from an accredited institution. For this position, please contact the Library Chair  at paggipm@piercecollege.edu

Pierce library will also be hosting from October 25^th – December 6^th the exhibit War Comes Home: The Legacy. The exhibit is a partnership between Cal Humanities, the California State Library and Exhibit Envoy and it is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the BayTree Fund, The Whitman Fund, and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. This initiative seeks to promote greater understanding of veterans and explore how war shapes a community. The exhibit highlights private correspondence from almost every major conflict in U.S. history. The exhibition, with historic ad contemporary letters, offers an intimate perspective into the thoughts and emotions of veterans and their families upon a soldier’s homecoming.

More information about Exhibit Envoy is available at www.exhibitenvoy.org and Cal Humanities at www.calhum.org

Through Equity grant resources and working with the Engineering and Architecture departments, we are putting together a Makerspace program. This also is planned to begin in Fall 2015.

On the Move…

After almost four years in temporary library space, Los Angeles Southwest College Library is getting ready to move, not once, but twice, beginning Dec. 20, 2014.  First move will be to a temporary library space for Winter session 2015 in SSEC bldg. 116.   LASC Library will reopen at the beginning of Spring semester 2015, in the newly remodeled permanent library in the Cox Building.  Not only will we be getting a freshly remodeled library, but also hope to have on board, a new Dean of the LASC Library following former Dean Stephanie Brasley’s departure for a new opportunity at CSUDH.  Other staff changes involve retirement of long time LASC Librarian Shelley Werts, whose position is currently being advertised.  Send us your positive thoughts for this upcoming time of change and celebration!  Will be posting pics of the new library once we move in.

The ASO’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Club put together an awareness display in the library. It included books and articles about LGBT awareness and history.

Chicano artist, Frank Romero visited In October. Romero is one of the first Chicano artists to have his work commissioned and displayed all over the world. He spent some time speaking to LATTC students in the library

Membership Report – Gregg Atkins, CCL Executive Director

90 colleges have paid their 2014-15 membership invoices as of December 30!  That’s a really great response – thanks to everyone who sent prompt payment authorization in to their business offices!

Is your college one of the 90?  Check it out online at cclccc.org (click on the Directory tab).

No star by your college’s name?  Check with your business office to see what’s up.  No one can remember even seeing the invoice?  Contact me (gregg.atkins@wavecable.com) to get another copy sent to you.  There’s a problem paying the invoice?  Please check in with me to discuss it.

The Library is delighted to welcome Glenn Tozier as their new Digital Services Librarian.  He comes from Alliant International University and is delighted to working with students at the community college level and has recently begun working with Monterey County Library-Seaside Branch to work with underserved high school students from local high schools to recruit them as future MPC students.  He brings his joy at working with link resolvers and using OpenURL to benefit our MPC students and feels strongly that information literacy and access are essential to educational and life success.  In his spare time, you might seem him driving his ’65 VW beetle, hauling one of his tubas to play in a street band, or he might be listening to Shostakovich’s 7^th, 8^th, or 9^th string quartets!

Luis Gonzalez, Ed.D. has been chosen as Assistant Dean, Transitional Studies/Academic Support/Library Services at Oxnard College

Dr. Gonzalez comes to us from Cuesta College, where he was Student Success Centers Supervisor.  He has also worked for Upward Bound at CalPoly, as a counselor at Allan Hancock College and Pathways Program Coordinator at UC Santa Barbara.  We are pleased to welcome Luis as our first academic manager since July of 2007.

Responsive Acquisitions: A Case Study on Improved Workflow at a Small Academic Library. By Brian Greene, Modesto College.  In the library with the Leadpipe November 5, 2014

Fast acquisitions processes are beneficial because they get materials into patrons’ hands quicker. This article

describes one library’s experience implementing a fast acquisitions process that dramatically cut turnaround

times—from the point of ordering to the shelf—to under five days, all without increasing costs. This was accomplished

by focusing on three areas: small-batch ordering, fast shipping and quick processing. Considerations are discussed,

including the decision to rely on Amazon for the vast majority of orders.

J. Frank Malaret, Dean of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Sacramento City College, will be overseeing the library as Interim Dean of Learning Resources for the Spring semester. SCC will soon be conducting a search for a permanent Dean to begin in July 2015.

SCC will also be advertising for a permanent Public Services Librarian to begin in Fall 2015.

North Bay and Bay Area librarians attended a Discovery Day Camp on December 5, 2014 sponsored by EBSCO Information Services and hosted at Santa Rosa Junior College.  A group of 35 librarians representing a unique blend of secondary and tertiary educational institutions, including 15 community colleges, spent the day learning about the EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS).  Intended as an opportunity to learn more about best practices for configuring the EDS for search and instruction, the day began with an in-depth overview of the architecture of the discovery platform, a look at how relevancy ranking works,  and an analysis of the configuration options that librarians can use to fine tune their discovery services for optimum search results.

A second session shifted gears from system configuration to classroom use, as several SRJC librarians presented a lightning round of ways discovery is being integrated into face-to-face and online instruction. Participants learned about how the EDS is used in lesson plans, and saw examples of EDS integration into LibGuides, access in online classes via the Curriculum Builder reading list generator, and EDS use as the basis for Guide on the Side active learning tutorials.

After lunch and a tour of the Doyle Library, a review of the current and upcoming reporting features of the EDS was presented. The day was a welcome opportunity for regional librarians to come together and share information, and ended with a lively mixer in the Doyle Art Gallery that was hosted by CCL.

“Student Research Process: What Librarians, Instructors, & Colleges Can Do for Student Success” by Dena Martin, Woodland Community College & Dr. Elena Heilman, Yuba College

Dr. Elena Heilman completed her Ed.D. last spring in which she studied transfer-level English composition students’ experiences with research. Specifically, she sought to answer four questions:

1)    What was their experience in creating a research paper?

2)    What was their process?

3)    How did they evaluate and choose resources?

4)    What were their challenges and frustrations?

Her studies illustrate themes of what students face and provide recommendations of how to support student success. Many of Dr. Heilman’s results will not surprise librarians. She reveals that students do follow a process to complete their research papers and that they learned about research while performing research. Students struggle with evaluating sources, but did not ask for help from any campus resource. Many of these conclusions confirm results in other studies. Additionally, her results stress how important access is to resources via mobile devices. This finding helped our district progress with more mobile friendly web solutions sooner rather than later. Dr. Heilman’s research analysis concludes with recommendations that librarians, instructors, and the colleges can use to support students success.

Library instruction to students should include successful search queries by building on knowledge students already have, such as including topics on keyword and subject searching, selecting the best type of resources for their needs, and highlighting the differences between Google (since students started with Google in her study) and library databases. Offering workshops and other independent learning opportunities, such as video tutorials, since students often choose self-reliance over seeking campus assistance, on topics that students find most challenging will be beneficial. Evaluating and citing resources were the tasks students find most challenging. Encouraging instructors to offer extra credit for library workshops can motivate students to learn outside of the classroom.

Another successful model for supporting students’ information literacy is embedded learning.  Dr. Heilman also recommends demonstrating database searching on a variety of electronic devices and offering training on the devices students own and will use to perform research. Having a single search interface, such as a discovery service, may encourage more students to use library resources because it resembles what they experience using Google. Working with faculty to promote library resources and assistance to students will be more successful if instructors incorporate using library resources and assistance as part of assignments, so librarians will need to form partnerships and encourage faculty to do this. Librarians will need to work with their Information Technology Department to improve off-campus access to library resources and anonymous research help options. Other options to reach out to students who would be more comfortable with anonymous help could include online forms or online discussion forums.

As most librarians have discovered through experience, it takes a partnership with instructors for a higher level of teaching success. Instructors have a unique role for assisting students in the development of information literacy competencies. By discussing the nature of the research process with their students, students can better understand what to expect and apply this knowledge to the process for an optimal learning experience. Instructors who include prompts in their research assignments that specifically provide detailed procedures for selecting, evaluating, and citing sources will strengthen student research skills. Emphasizing they want students to ask for help will encourage students who think they should be autonomous to seek assistance. Scheduling time in a computer lab and having students bring their own devices would allow instructors (or librarians) to guide students and teach them to overcome the challenges they face. Since scheduling lab time can be an issue for courses that are listed as lecture credit, instructors may need to consider supplemental learning activities outside of class to accomplish this.

College leadership also has a role to play in supporting student success. Librarians need administrative support to create environments that are best suited to what research teaches us about successful learning. Colleges should find ways to expand the ways information literacy is taught. Libraries must be funded with enough staffing and technological resources to improve access to learning assistance and resources as well as promote those services and resources. Other research suggests cross-disciplinary collaboration increases student learning and success. College leaders must ensure libraries have sufficient staffing to do this and librarians have flexibility to create relationships with faculty and students.

Although most of the recommendations are not new to us, Dr. Heilman’s research supports the same conclusions that other research and our own experiences teach us. Knowing about this research gives us an opportunity to try something new, confirm we are on the right path, and, maybe, increase support for the libraries at our own campuses.

If you are interested in reading Dr. Heilman’s dissertation (there is a useful literature review section on information seeking models/theories we did not cover here), we are happy to send you a copy as well as answer any questions. If so, please email eheilman@yccd.edu or dmartin@yccd.edu.

Wired Campus is the technology blog for the Chronicle of higher Education

Technology continues to change colleges, and our coverage of digitally driven change won the most attention from readers over the past year.

Here are the 10 top articles:

1. Are Courses Outdated? MIT Considers Offering ‘Modules’ Instead
2. Taking Notes by Hand Benefits Recall, Researchers Find
3. Why One Professor Thinks Academics Should Write ‘BuzzFeed-Style Scholarship’
4. 6 Technologies Will Change Colleges in Coming Years, Experts Say
5. 5 Things Researchers Have Discovered About MOOCs
6. The ‘Heartbleed’ Bug and How Internet Users Can Protect Themselves
7. This Guy Drew a Cat. You Won’t Believe What Happened 4 Centuries Later.
8. Video: Tech Tools Students Say They Can’t Live Without
9. How Streaming Media Could Threaten the Mission of Libraries
10. U. of Tennessee at Martin Encourages Helicopter Parents to Hover

Unconference 2015 – Saturday, May 2, 2015

Santa Rosa Junior College librarians invite the community to attend the Unconference 2015 on Saturday, May 2nd from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the Frank P. Doyle Library at the Santa Rosa campus.

Lunch will be subsidized and admission is free. The Unconference is limited to 65 registered attendees. This Unconference is an effort to connect community college librarians from around California in a low-cost, high participation and organic professional collaboration.

Registrants will submit discussion topics they wish to facilitate or titles of their presentations. Registrants will vote two weeks prior to the conference on which topics will be included on May 2nd.

To register and to view topic ideas, please see the Unconference 2015 LibGuide for these and other details.

Questions? Loretta Esparza, lesparza@santarosa.edu 707-522-2757.

usable libraries is a blog begun in 2011 by Emily Singley, a systems librarian at Harvard University.  The focus of the blog is library user interfaces, user experience, usability, and user research.  The blog regularly features libraries doing great work in the area of user-centric librarianship.

Of particular interest is a recent post:

“How college students really do research – findings from recent studies”

The posting looked at seven studies published within the last three years and includes narrative supporting these observations:

1)    Students do use library databases – though they often start in Google

2)    Discovery is not the problem – it’s knowing how to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize

3)    “If I can’t find it, it must not be there” – Students perceive their search skills to be better than they really are

4)    “What is it?”  Students have difficulty finding, using, and understanding library online resources

5)    Students use the resources they know best – even if completely wrong for their topic

6)    Wikipedia is more than an encyclopedia, it’s an access point

7)    “Good enough” –  not looking past the first page of results

8)    “I want it now” – ease and speed of access more important than quality or relevance

9)     Need help?  Ask Facebook, not librarians

Young and in Charge: Early-Career Community College Library Leadership by Pearl Ly, College of Marin.  Journal of Library Administration vol. 55, Issue 1, 2015

DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2014.985902

Although young leaders and entrepreneurs have become prevalent in the business and technology industries, academic libraries remain much more traditional. Library administrator job advertisements often require seven to ten years of library experience in progressively responsible roles as well as supervisory experience. This article shares the experiences of an early-career community college library administrator working with different generations, provides suggestions to become a manager through intentional leadership, and explores how managers learn to lead. Additionally, the author encourages community colleges to consider younger and/or newer librarians that bring a different perspective to addressing the critical issues facing community college libraries today.