Mark your calendar now for an exciting opportunity to attend a very special event in which you will “explore cutting edge trends” in “evolving libraries.” Opening keynote speaker, Michael Stephens will speak about how libraries can play a vital role in how “emerging technologies” can change the way we “live and learn.” Other scheduled presenters include: Kyle Felker and Kristin Meyer from Grand Valley State University, Amy James and Elizabeth Walker from Spring Arbor University, Sonya Schryer Norris, Library of Michigan and Rebecca Renirie from Central Michigan University. Registration Earlybird Registration Deadline: May 22, 2015 Advance Registration Deadline: June 4, […]
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Our readings for New Horizons, New Models examined what forwarding thinking libraries are currently doing and envisioning as important future concepts. Of course, excessive future orientation can push some upstart librarians into technolust and, as Schmidt points out, make them forget about the people who are central to the library’s mission. To my surprise and satisfaction, space and people are recurring themes in this module’s readings. A focus on space and people dovetails with the theme of my #hyperlib blog. Today’s public library is an important social space. Libraries serve multiple functions in diverse communities. The library is a public […]
I am honored to have written this piece for the Queen’s Education Letter with Margaret Jean Campbell. Margaret served as our graduate research assistant throughout the MOOC planning, delivery and assessment phases. http://educ.queensu.ca/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.educwww/files/files/Community/ed_letter_spring_2015.pdf Findings from our research yield a positive view of the cMOOC experience, with many inspired to explore new potentials in the LIS field, especially with new technologies. MOOC participants discovered that they can learn, reflect upon professional practices, discuss and exchange ideas with others in evolving networks and create new networks outside their individual library environments.
Stephens, M., & Jones, K. M. L. (2015). Emerging roles: Key insights from librarians in a massive open online course. Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning, 9(1-2), 133–147. doi: 10.1080/1533290X.2014.946353 Abstract: From the cutting edge of innovations in online education comes the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), a potentially disruptive and transformational mechanism for large-scale learning. What’s the role of librarians in a MOOC? What can librarians learn from participating in a large-scale professional development opportunity delivered in an open environment to illuminate their own practice? This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of librarians/information professionals participating in an […]
Amy Hofer, Sylvia Lu, and Lori Townsend’s keynote at the 2015 Information Literacy Summit (Illinois). They discuss their research and thinking about information literacy threshold concepts, which underlie ACRL’s Information Literacy Framework for Higher Education. The IL Summit is a partnership between the Moraine Valley Community College Library and the DePaul University Libraries. Description: When introduced to threshold concepts, librarians usually ask “How do I use them?” Yet this question hopscotches another: “Do I understand threshold concepts and how they relate to information literacy?” Threshold concepts are themselves a threshold concept. They are transformative, integrative, irreversible, bounded, troublesome, and – […]
You won’t want to miss reading about this library’s innovative experiment with Minecraft to build a community of young users. John Blyberg, assistant director for innovation and user experience at the Darien (CT) Library has turned his “public library into a gathering spot for friends new and old, and a place to decompress” simply by running a single server for Minecraft users. To read more about Blyberg’s innovative way to build an “afterschool sanctuary” follow this link: http://www.slj.com/2015/04/technology/my-public-library-minecraft-community/#_
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (2012) has been on my books-to-read list for over a year now so I was quite pleased to see it included in the list of suggestions for this Context Book assignment. My only hesitation was that I was unsure how a book on habits could be applied to the library community. I needn’t have worried. This book is not a ‘self-help’ manual, and Charles Duhigg is not a therapist or neurologist. He’s a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist which is evident in his conversational […]
We interviewed Computers in Libraries 2015 speaker Michael Stephens about why he thinks opportunities for learning everywhere are so important to our library community. Read below for his answers and make sure to attend the workshop he is teaching with Wendy Newman. Dr. Michael Stephens Assistant Professor San Jose State University & Tame the Web Question 1: What key library issues are you most concerned about for the coming year? M.S.- I think it’s an ongoing issue that each and every library find the best and most useful ways to tap into community needs. Librarians need to be present in communities (city, town, campus, school, company) […]
You gotta see me change See me change, Yeah I’m leavin’ town On a midnight train, Gotta see me change Change, change, change, Change, change, change Change, change, change, Change, change, change Woa, change, change, change ~ “The Changeling” by The Doors (Rocking out to The Doors while reading this is encouraged) Change is supposed to be temporary. We know change as that transitional, unsettling state between more reassuring times. In our imagination, and as it plays out in life, change happens but then things stabilize. Or at least that’s how it used to be. As the foundational readings underscore, […]