11/20/2014
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro hosted its 6th annual iDEAL Summit on November 7th of this year through the Library and Information Studies department. Unfortunately, as an online student working in Charlotte, NC, I was unable to attend the summit in person, but I did watch the recordings of the main sessions, and was therefore able to understand some of what was discussed.
The keynote speaker, who recently became the director of the ALA Center for the Future of Libraries, was Miguel Figueroa. His talk on the trends emerging for 21st century libraries and how the iDEA concept will shape the changes to come was interesting (and occasionally hilarious), and touched on a number of ideas I had already considered. In particular, he talked about how libraries will change to better suit the needs of the populations they serve, and how those populations are expanding from the previous local, physical community to a global scale, in some cases making their resources available to anyone with an Internet connection. I was also intrigued when he pointed out one possible reason for libraries to have problems reaching parts of our increasingly diverse communities that have historically not been major library users, that those groups adapted to reach knowledge through other paths, and will need to be reached out to in order to bring them back to a library. This is not a question of putting them in our networks; we need to put ourselves in their networks.
One side note to anyone working on live-streaming or recording events in the future: make sure you check that your camera is positioned where your online audience can actually read the PowerPoint presentations that accompany your speakers. The presentations in the videos from this summit were just blurs, and it was very disappointing. Thankfully, the keynote speaker was understandable without his presentation, and chose to forego using it.
11/2/2014
Information, and the need to find and use it, is the reason for the existence of libraries, but how do we define information? What forms does it come in? How do we use it? More importantly, how do we know what information to use? As librarians, what roles do we play in dealing with information?
Lester and Koehler define information as “aggregated data, which become information when processed by the human mind.” Since that means next to nothing to the average person, let us instead use the definition “knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction.” Information can be gained in a number of ways: through reading, research, experimentation, observation, or instruction.
As librarians, we more often deal with physical or digital representations of information than we create new information. In the past, this usually meant books, magazines, and other hard-copy text documents. With the move towards digitization, more and more non-traditional information sources are being utilized. The Internet now offers information seekers access to information through text, video, audio, and pictures, all with a few mouse-clicks or swipes on a touchscreen. However, the abundance of information available online raises a new issue: how much of it is actually valid, useful, or relevant? Part of being a modern librarian is learning how to sort through information and determine what is blatantly wrong, what is unsupported, what is irrelevant, and what is useless, and then being able to turn around and teach our library patrons how to do the same thing. Being a librarian is not just about finding and allowing access to information, it is about distinguishing what information is appropriate to fill the needs of the person seeking it.
11/1/2014
When I consider access in relation to librarianship, two major issues immediately spring to mind. First, how people access information, whether by physically finding and opening a book, or by using technology, including how access changes from person to person. Secondly, how and why decisions are made to allow or prevent access to information.
The massive changes in technology in recent years have had a tremendous impact on libraries and how we access information. For certain groups of library users, this has been a blessing. People with disabilities have benefited greatly from new technology, whether it is in the form of audiobooks for the blind or e-books for those with limited mobility who can now access materials without having to physically go to the library. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has published a checklist for libraries looking to expand their efforts to assist patrons with disabilities which can be found here: http://www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-professional-reports-89 .
Technology and physical availability is not the only area of library and information studies where access becomes an issue, however. Something libraries have struggled with for a long time, particularly school libraries, is censorship. There will always be topics and issues that are controversial, and deciding how to deal with these issues in a collection will always be a struggle for librarians. Robert Wengert’s article, “Some Ethical Aspects of Being an Information Professional” raises the point that concern over what information should or should not be made available has been complicated by the rise of the Internet. Where previously decisions were made about what should be included in library collections behind-the-scenes, now users can access seemingly unlimited information without the input of library staff.
10/26/2014
What does the term “engagement” mean in relation to library and information studies? Personally, I see this as defining how we, as librarians, interact with both the resources we are charged with and the people who come to us in need of those resources. This is how we measure our dedication to our profession and our responsibilities, through our activities in our daily work as librarians and our connections to the library community outside of our places of employment.
One of the most important aspects of engagement in library and information studies is that of ethics and ethical behavior. Since we are charged with connecting people with the information that they want or need, we must strive to obey the standards of ethical behavior that our societies hold. Of particular concern now is how librarians can protect the privacy of our patrons. In his article Some Ethical Aspects of Being an Information Professional, Robert Wengert points out that new technology makes it far too easy for people to access private information about others, resulting in uncertainty about how well we can continue to respect the privacy of our users.
Engagement can also refer to participation in professional organizations designed to support and promote aspects of the information professions. The stereotype of librarians as quiet, isolated hoarders of books has no relevance in our increasingly connected world. Today’s library professionals have to reach out to their colleagues and be willing and eager to continue learning in a profession that changes incredibly rapidly. Whether through attending conferences and sharing ideas with other librarians, or by taking courses or attending seminars that fall under the heading of “professional development,” it is an integral part of our profession to be lifelong learners.
10/24/2014
The Library and Information Studies department at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has adopted the i.D.E.A. concept as a cornerstone for their program. This concept, which outlines four major areas information professionals should be cognizant of, is intended to ensure that those who pass through the department go on to promote equality in information through their work. Candidates are required to be examples of how Information, Diversity, Engagement, and Access are important to the library community and how we can improve upon them.
So, how does this impact me as a MLIS student? While I will go into more detail about each part of iDEA in later blogs, I want to summarize briefly the roles that I see each of these concepts playing in my studies and my work as an information professional. Obviously, information is why this field exists. I first became interested in librarianship because I understand how important it is to be informed, to be able to make decisions based on logic and evidence, and to understand why and how to find use information. A librarian has to be able to locate and evaluate information, being able to determine what is relevant, useful, and valid. We also have to make a point of keeping up with information trends, in order to better meet our patrons’ needs. By being aware and accepting of diversity, we learn and continue to meet and anticipate the information needs of others. Through constant engagement with our patrons and our fellow librarians and information professionals, we build meaning and connection with information that goes beyond words on a page or pictures on a website. Finally, keeping in mind all of these points and doing everything we can to ensure that any and every potential patron or user has access to the information that they need allows us to cement our place in society and, in our own way, seek to improve the world we live in. That is what iDEA means for me.
For more information about iDEA or the MLIS program at UNCG, see the links below.
10/23/2014
This country has had a long history of struggles with diversity, from the arrival of the very first European explorers, extending into the present with our current issues with immigrants from South and Central America. While clearly these issues have seen most of their attention in the social and political spheres of our culture, their impact on our education and library systems cannot be ignored. Our immigrant culture means that library collections need to designed, curated, maintained, and made accessible to suit people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Currently, three of the most important issues relating to diversity in libraries are the structure of special collections devoted to minorities, the classification and assignment of cultural materials, and the collection and availability of non-English materials. Several libraries already exist that cater to specific groups, whether they are libraries that follow a traditional classification system such as the DDC or LCC but only collect materials related to their specific audience/subject, or those like the library at the Native American Educational Services in Chicago, which has designed a unique classification system especially for Native American materials organized in a manner that is consistent with Native thinking and terminology.
In light of the growing Spanish-speaking population in this country, as well as immigrants from other parts of the world, demand for resources in languages other than English has been on the rise. Libraries are important for immigrants, because many of these people have limited means and therefore rely on libraries for everything from pleasure reading to internet access and job search training. The burden therefore falls to the librarian to ensure that these resources are available to library patrons who may need them. Sections of the physical collection devoted to non-English materials need to be clearly labeled in the language they represent and displayed where patrons can see them, especially in areas with large numbers of immigrant residents.