Our college’s design team has been doing a series of videos to highlight their awesome work on our library’s upcoming Graphic Novel Symposium. (I posted on this back in May here.) Our library is fortunate to have such talented individuals who make us look good. Behind the Scenes: Graphic Novel Symposium Graphic and Web Design
Yearly Archives: 2014
106 posts
My new May column is available at LJ: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/05/opinion/michael-stephens/library-as-classroom-office-hours/ I’d argue that our libraries of all kinds also serve as creative classrooms, supporting learners by employing the building blocks mentioned above. Just explore some of the notable examples of academic, public, and K-12 library spaces shared here in LJ over the past few months. You’ll find community learning spaces that help people achieve, game-focused initiatives that make the library a laboratory for exploration, creation zones with requisite digital and 3-D hardware for building things, and potentially endless opportunities to connect virtually with people worldwide.
This past semester I had the opportunity to take part in Michael Stephens’s Hyperlinked Library course. The course, especially the readings and discussions on reflective practice, teaching, and learning brought together for me the professional and the personal. A little bit about my background: my previous career was in German Studies, but a couple years ago my contract as an Assistant Professor wasn’t renewed. My wonderful, supportive colleagues said again and again that it was due to budget pressures, but deep down and for quite a while I felt I had failed. What the experience offered me, though, was a […]
The Value of Public Libraries – Telling Our Stories – Video Initiative Chatham-Kent Public Library is celebrating Ontario Seniors Month with the release of a very special video. This video features Una Miklos, a Blenheim Senior who describes the important role libraries have played in her life. The public library is a lifelong resource for members of the community. Chatham Kent Public Library staff will debut this video at the Municipal Council meeting on Monday, June 9 2014. This video is part of a series that Chatham-Kent Public Library will be launching this year recognizing and celebrating all populations who […]
I have written several times on this blog about ACRL’s draft Information Literacy Framework that is set to replace the Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education. The new Framework has generally been well-received, and the Task Force is working diligently to address questions and concerns expressed by members’ responses to previous drafts. (As I have noted in the past, I am a member of this Task Force but I do not speak on behalf of the Task Force here.) The new Framework is built upon a set of threshold concepts that define a continuum between novice and experienced researchers. Threshold […]
I’m honored to be talking about #hyperlibMOOC and our MOOC research at SLA this Sunday: SPOTLIGHT SESSION – It’s a Brave MOOC World: Challenges and Opportunities for Librarians Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are gaining in popularity as another tool in the expanding field of learning technologies. At the same time, the librarian’s role is being redefined as many move from traditional reference and instruction roles to offering more integrated and embedded information services, whether via subject-specific or general expertise. What opportunities do MOOCs offer for librarians, and how can librarians adapt to and take advantage of the opportunities offered […]
A big AHA! moment about 21st century participatory librarianship came from an unlikely source: a book about ancient pueblos of the American southwest. The author observed that each pueblo was comprised of a collection of living spaces surrounding a large common area – first, the Great Kiva, and later, the plaza. Every living space faced into this common area, which was the hub of pueblo life and ceremony, because, as the author noted, every community needs a center (Scully, 1988). That’s it! I thought.That’s the 21st century library. The 21st century library is some combination of physical and virtual space […]
Context Book Assignment: Net Smart: How to Thrive Online Critics of modern social media and our emerging hyperlinked culture are abundant. So are cheerleaders and utopians, who praise the potential of new media and our always-on, always-connected, society. Critics warn us that Google might be “making us stupid,” as Nicholas Carr put it. They wonder, as Sherry Turkle has, “Why do we expect more from technology and less from each other?” They worry that we are becoming overloaded with information, unable to focus on sustained chains of reasoning, and “driven to distraction.” They express concern at the tendency for Facebook […]
Warren Cheetham’s final report and presentation about his 2013 VALA Travel Scholarship to the USA, to investigate libraries and broadband internet, is now publicly available. The report was presented at the VALA Library conference in Melbourne earlier this year. This page has links to the written report and a video of the conference presentation. The page linking to the paper seems to indicate that it’s not available yet, but scroll to the bottom and accept the terms and conditions to access the paper. The video link requires a name and email to register, but it should then play right away. http://www.vala.org.au/vala2014-proceedings/795-vala2014-session-6-cheetham […]
Note from Michael: Valarie Kingsland delivered the SJSU SLIS Outstanding Student speech at our convocation She graciously allowed me to publish her remarks here. Thank you, Dr. Hirsh, for your generous introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here with you and your loved ones. To share in the celebration of this special day, when we reflect upon our time as students, delight in our new titles as archivists, librarians, and information professionals…and contemplate our future. It’s an honor to have been chosen to represent you and share our story. Our Story Remember when you found out you were accepted […]