Draft Project Due for Workshop 2; final presentation due on Canvas one week later
Third ed. textbook chapters 1–4
Goal: Create a product you could give to a non-library group that describes the library you are studying including the organization or community of which it is a part, the patrons it serves, its collection, the needs or curriculum it serves, and how it tries to reach out to non-users. For Fall 2020, you may have to discover a library community you can study from its website.
Product: You have a choice of format for your project. It could be a slide presentation with speaker notes, a video, or an essay.
In this product you are trying to understand the institution you are studying, and the patrons whom you consider your target for information services. There are three major parts of the product after the introduction.
INTRODUCTION: Here are some of the questions or topics you may address:
PART ONE: What demographics describe the potential patrons of your library? Describe the type of community, socioeconomic status, culture, racial mix, types of jobs available, industry or lack of, rural/suburban, etc. Give statistics, include charts or graphs. Remember that for this first part of the product you are trying to describe the entire population who could use your services. Such information is often readily available so look for such a description in the documents issued by your institution. If there is no such information, interview people in the know until you feel you have a handle on the population. You might use the 2010 federal census for demographic data or data available from city/county/state governments. American FactFinder from the U.S. Census Bureau is a helpful tool.
PART TWO: In the second part of the product, describe the patrons who actually use the library. This will be a subset of the total potential patron reservoir. Cover who comes, why they come. Also describe groups that don't come and why they don't come. Remember to think of both walk-in folks and electronic visitors. Some libraries may have already conducted a use study or keep statistics about those who visit. You'll be lucky if you find such data. You might have to do some interviewing to find this out. Try to talk to people who might know such as persons who have been with the library for a long time - those who observe those coming and going. You might do a brief questionnaire to user groups or nonuser groups. Talk to nonusers in places where they congregate. Since the physical library may have been closed, you will have to concentrate on persons visiting the library digitally.
I don't expect you to do a major study, but imagine what it would be like if you had to conduct such a study over a period of several months. How would you go about it and how would you make sure you could trust the data you were collecting?
PART THREE: Finally, in the product, discuss the discrepancy between the actual users and the potential users. Why is there a gap? How big is the gap? What do you think has caused the gap? What do you think could be done to close the gap? Is the collection itself the cause of the gap? Is it the atmosphere? The library staff? The location? Access rules? What implications does this product have for the person in charge of collection development?
Compare and Contrast: At the end of your product, discuss what our class has learned about your type of library and then libraries in general.
Schools or colleges (academic institutions): You need to know the majors and courses that are taught in your institution, and the major topics in those courses that are likely to require an information-rich environment. This is often an overwhelming task if the institution is very large. Start with a college catalog, a list of courses, textbooks used in those courses, curriculum outlines, school handbooks. You may have to interview persons teaching in the institution to get a better idea of what is really taught vs. what is listed as being taught. Course descriptions in college catalogs are so brief that they are only hints and not what you would really need. I do not expect you to become an expert in the "curriculum" at this time, but you should be able to get well enough acquainted that you can write intelligently about it. In your presentation, try to describe the curriculum the best you can. Brief examples are fine.
In the second part of this product, take a look at a single course of instruction and list the major topics covered in that course. For example, an American history course might cover colonial period, revolution, civil war, 20th century, etc. This will demonstrate to the professor that you understand the curriculum as a whole and can look into a single course for topics that are likely to be covered in depth. The textbook or course outline will often be helpful in looking at a course.
Public/special libraries (Needs Assessment): You should try to find out what type of information-rich environment would help the patrons of your library succeed. This is often called a needs assessment or user analysis. Try to see if your library has already done some sort of needs study. Many do. You might need to conduct a few brief interviews of the patrons. This might include both users and nonuser groups. You might seek people who are "in the know" rather than just random selection. Since I do not expect you to conduct a formal and thorough needs assessment yourself, try to envision how you might do this and act as though you had done something in a formal study. It would be nice to have a quarterly random sample of our entire patron base answer a few pointed questions so we could chart progress over time and spot new needs as they evolve. In your presentation, describe and summarize the needs that you have discovered. Convince me (an outsider) that you understand your patrons - both those that come and those who could - and that you can anticipate what information/materials they require before they walk in the door (real or electronic).
To give you some perspective, when I was first learning how to create the “Collection-Mapping” technique, I had absolutely no previous experience with any of the programs like Powerpoint. I am a technological novice since I have no experience with creating spreadsheets or slide presentations. At first, I couldn’t get a grasp on what the collection map was or even what it looked like. Whenever I tried to visualize the collection map, either a map of North America would pop up in my head or something amorphous and intangible would float to mind. I just couldn’t get a grasp of the concept.
So, if you’re feeling as uncertain as I was in the beginning, please rest assured that once you dive into the slide presentation and start playing around with the features, the creative process will take over and become a lot of fun. In addition, answers to questions you may have initially will gradually reveal themselves as the project unfolds. The process is one of exploration, journey, and discovery.
I decided to use the Google Presentation since it incorporates the latest Web 2.0 technology and the ability to collaborate. Another reason I chose Google Presentation is because I think Google’s search engine is far superior to any other on the Internet (at the time), and I feel similarly about Google Presentation now that I’ve used it. The program is extremely user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to find your way around.
At the same time, I don’t want to give the impression that I learned the program overnight. It was a gradual and slow process. In the beginning, the learning curve was extremely steep especially when I was creating Presentation #1. I learned how to use the various features one at a time mostly by clicking on the icons to see what it does. Not only did I have to figure out how to create the slide presentation, but I also had to learn how to use a brand new software program at the same time.
The primary element I like about the librarianship profession is the fact that you can bring the experience you’ve had in the past and apply the knowledge in the discipline. For example, I was an actor (or actress) for a long time before I enrolled in library school. As a result, I used what I knew artistically to enhance the creation. For example, I used the ability that I already possessed to make up for the lack of technical knowledge, which is my imagination, creativity, and the ability to bring written words to life. I recommend incorporating your previous background knowledge and innate strengths to enhance the slide presentation also.
I learned how to use the Google Presentation program the hard way by trial and error. If I didn’t have the use of technology, my methods would be primitive and tantamount to drawing by hand. For example, if I didn’t have access to a template or chart already created and provided by the program, I put together bits and pieces of shapes to create my own. I was very impressed with the fact that once you enter the data on the spreadsheet, the presentation program automatically gives you a choice in the charts you can insert. As an example, I could not find the option to select a template for a Flow Chart, so I created one using and extending the “arrow” shapes.
A professional graphic artist in the field could probably do it much faster and more efficiently, but since I didn’t know how to access the templates I did what I could to form the image I wanted to create. With each assignment, my slide presentation became increasingly sophisticated as I became more proficient with the Google program. Once I got over the hurdle of finding my way around the program, I had fun expressing myself visually.
I wanted to share some tips about creating slide presentations in hopes that it will save you some time, effort, and frustration in the beginning. I suggest making the presentation as entertaining as possible in order to hold the audience’s attention. Maintaining the audience’s attention is one of the most crucial elements in a successful slide presentation, especially in this age of technologically and people with short attention spans. In this instance, the term “entertaining” does not necessarily mean humorous, amusing or rolling on the floor funny. It’s simply a method to impact the audience and hold their attention in whatever way you can.
Instead of having fifteen slides in a row with the same template and repetitive charts try mixing it up. Experiment with a variety of themes or underlying message on each slide. For example, tug at the audience’s sympathy, leave an impact with positive or negative consequences, jolt their memory, or use a profound quote to make your point. The way you create the tone and theme is entirely up to you. The most salient point is that variety, change, and unpredictability are sure ways to keep the audience’s attention.
To personify my suggestion above, imagine a speaker with a monotone voice, with the same expression on his face, and standing rigidly still the entire time. Most likely, the speaker will not hold the audience’s attention and lose them in their own thoughts. Compare that speaker with one who is entertaining, animated, and easy to understand and the answer is obvious. The above example also holds true with slide presentations.
The impact of the message varies depending on the “packaging.” The equivalent in slide presentations would be the surrounding images and text supporting the primary message. Retail businesses spend a lot of money hiring designers to create packaging for their product, since they are fully aware that the visual impact influences the sales and profit. Along the same vein, the design of a book cover influences patrons, and whether they are going to be interested in reading the book or not.
At the same time, anything you add to the slide should serve the purpose of enhancing or clarifying the primary message and never detract from it. It is important that everything you place on the slide has a purpose. Make sure the image, text, and visual representation all contribute to serve a singular purpose: To deliver the primary message. With the above focused perspective, the images will not only remain decorative, unnecessarily frivolous, or just for “glitz.”
At the risk of sounding like a contradiction from the above, the following is also true. The slides should have a uniting element that is used consistently throughout the presentation. I believe all art has a uniting theme that brings everything together.
The consistency also maintains a through-line, string, and flow. Whether the slides incorporate different hues of the same color, patterns in a certain style or a uniform title text on each slide, use your imagination and creativity to keep the presentation connected as a whole.
The degree of professionalism, tone, and uniformity depends on the audience the presentation is trying to reach. As we learned by gathering data and creating Presentation #1 it is important to know the audience (demographics,) you can adjust the appropriateness of the slide presentation accordingly. I am not suggesting the presentation should be done in any particular way. This is where individual creativity, freedom of expression, and imagination enters in the process. As Dr. Loertscher states, “There is no right answer.” Naturally, everyone’s slide presentation will be different since each person’s data assimilation, synthesis, as well as visual expression vary.
Charts, data and information of any kind should have a strong underlying intention behind it. What are you trying to say? Form a strong message you want to convey. What would the viewer see when they see the slide? What message would they receive? Think of Pictionary. If you couldn’t use words, how would you draw what you are trying to say? With technology, you don’t even have to know how to draw because the tools on the program will do it for you.
Form a picture of the end product in mind, and work backwards from your visualization to create tangible forms on the slide. During the process however, stay flexible. For example, while you are surfing the Internet for the perfect image in your mind, you might come across something even better and couldn’t have created on your own.
Most importantly, a slide with data alone will not have nearly the same impact on the viewer as a slide with a strong intention behind it. As Dr. Loertscher (2009) said “Hundreds of thousands of internet sites provide only data rather than essential information directly related to the user” (CD-11, Relevance). Once you form a strong statement in mind, the rest will fall into place.
The program provides the user with a series of background templates to make the process easier. The program allows the user to select any background they like among approximately 20 templates, and the selected template will automatically appear on each slide. Although twenty sounds like quite a few backgrounds to select from, once you discover all the other things you can do to create your own background, the ones provided by the program begin to appear limiting.
More importantly, the template gives the user an idea of the slide’s boundaries and the area seen by the audience. The screen size the user sees when creating the slide is different compared to what is actually seen when the presentation is completed. As a result, it is important to know the boundaries of the area you are working in and make sure that what you create on the slide can be seen in the final “Slide Presentation” mode.
At first I was using the background template provided by the Google Presentations program. The background template makes it easier and faster to create each slide. At the same time, the entire presentation also ends up looking almost the same slide after slide except for the data provided. The template succeeds in making the slides uniform, but in some instances they can be restricting and repetitive.
So, I expanded my horizons and started searching for images and colors from the embedded Google images. For example, if you enter the query “purple background,” you get a large number of hits with a variety of different images in various hues of purple.
Sometimes, even if you enter an intangible word in Google’s search box, the retrieval results are creative and sometimes images that you never expect. For instance, I used Google to search for an intangible concept like “images for languages” and many interesting already-created visual images for “languages” came up.
Another case in point, I searched for a photo of the West Los Angeles Veterans building in “Google Images” embedded in the program and a lot of generic-looking buildings that could be anywhere came up. On the other hand, I searched for it directly on Google and was able to find and use an actual photograph of the West L.A. Veteran’s Association building. I also felt better using the actual photograph of the building in terms of depicting authenticity.
I was able to create more and more sophisticated and intricate shapes and designs on the slides, the more tools I learned how to use. For instance, I learned how to outline a photo with the icon that looks like a crayon to emphasize and reinforce the boundaries of the photo, either so it will stand out or distinguish itself from the background. Much later in the semester, I learned how to make a frame for the photo. FYI: Go to “Insert” and then “Shape” and select the icon that looks like a frame with an open window in the center. Then adjust the frame to fit the outer-boundaries of the photo. In addition, you can make the frame as thick or thin as you like by moving the yellow diamond points.
In order to strengthen the slide presentation with a strong message and point-of-view, it is extremely important to control the focus. As an analogy, imagine an actor on the stage with a soft and breathy voice. Even if the actor is emoting to the fullest extent possible, that actor is not doing anyone any good. The audience cannot hear a word the actor is saying and consequently is not serving his/her role as a messenger of the lines thoughtfully written by the playwright. As Shakespeare (1610) said, “These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air” (Prospero in the play, “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare). The point remains that the way in which you convey the message is almost as important as the message itself.
Pretend you are the director of a film or play. Whether it’s a slide presentation or a production of a play, the director uses tools and techniques in order to direct the focus and convey the message in the most convincing and succinct way possible.
As a tool, you may want to use “arrows” to guide the order of focus on the slide. In theatre, conventions such as changes in lighting, projection and movement, shift in scenery are tools used by directors to redirect the focus to where it should be. After all, a proscenium stage is much like a slide in that they are flat, empty, and rectangular areas of space. Whether it is a slide, still photo, or a proscenium stage, it’s how you fill the empty space that makes all the difference (ie: whether the message will remain flat or spring to life off of the page.)
One of the most salient elements is two-fold: let your imagination roam in your mind and on Google. I highly recommend surfing for images on Google, since you can find everything you need with the combination of Google’s sophisticated search engine and the Internet. Often, when I have something particular in mind, sometimes I come across an even better one. Often, I know what I’m looking for when I see it. Open your mind, think outside the box, and release all preconceived ideas and thoughts. The “collection-mapping” technique is communicating in a different way than what we are used to which is using “images” instead of “words.” Bring the “words” to life by springing them off of the slides in any way you see fit and backing it up with a strong intention.
Another very important element is to be as closely familiar with the material as possible. Naturally the more you know about the subject, the more ideas you will have about the topic. If I had more time, I would thoroughly investigate the topic for each presentation and I would make story boards for each slide.
However at the rate I’m working now, the ideas are coming as I am creating each slide. Sometimes, I find I’m suddenly inspired by an idea or concept about a totally different slide from the one I am working on at the time. The ideas seem to unfold the more I think about each topic.
In conclusion, the images and photos on the slides have to convey the idea immediately and concisely. Consequently, the combination of images along with minimum text all serve to express the concept as soon as the viewers see the slide. The audience must instantly know what the slide is about at first glance. Ambiguous photos or ones that are simply pleasing to look at does not serve the purpose of conveying a message or intention. Everything you put on the slide has to have an intention.
Think of a slide presentation as happening in condensed time similar to a television commercial. Everything that happens in the commercial is there to sell the product in condensed time. The idea has to be conveyed immediately within a very brief period of time. Keep in mind that the audience is not reading a book or even a pamphlet about the topic. As a result, the message must be conveyed instantaneously. Understand that fundamentally, the ability to convey a message immediately and succinctly is one of the biggest challenges of creating slide presentations. A fine-tuned balance of the above-mentioned elements will direct your endeavor towards a successful “Slide Presentation.” I sincerely hope the above tips help as you create your slide presentations.
Warning
Dr. L will reject your slides if they have more than 20 words on the slide. Add an illustration to each slide. This way, your audience will listen to you rather than trying to read the slide. They cannot pay attention to two things at once. There is no such thing as true multitasking.