Competency F

My students taught me an intriguing lesson. The students’ tables were parallel to the whiteboard, so half of students could see it throughout class, and the other half had to turn their bodies to see it. The whiteboard reflected lessons for three age groups at a time, so other class’ lessons remained on the board. To my amazement, the students who were facing the board throughout class incorporated the other age group’s lessons into their own work: The mere availability of the information changed the way those students conceptualized their work. For example, in a morning class, we practiced overlapping. I used colored paper to layer a Massai warrior over a paper giraffe over a paper banyan tree over a giant sun and taped it to the board. Later in a completely unrelated class for older students about three-point perspectives, the students who were facing the board overlapped their drawing subjects and the students who faced away, unanimously organized their subjects so that their edges did not touch, much less intersect. During the year, I experimented with this phenomenon. The environment never failed to influence the students’ work products. So it is with collection development, evaluation, organization and preservation of physical and digital information items: They are deeply influenced by environment; indeed, they may be determined by it.

Collections are water. Users are sponges: I try the recipes in the cookbooks at my library. I do not try the recipes that are not available there. For example, I just heard a story about a new cookbook called, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Cookbook (Dooley & Sherman, 2017), which features natural, wild plants. If my library had this book, I would be sipping cedar tea and eating maple glazed rabbit. Instead, I am making an industrial chicken with freeze dried, mass produced seasonings. Selection, evaluation and preservation matter. Someone selected the paleo cookbook I am using and marketed it to me. Similarly, my neighbors consume hours of Fox News per day. Their conversations with me are always regurgitations of company crafted sound bytes. My neighbors' information environment is limited to the perspective marketed to them. Selection and evaluation matter. Organization and preservation matter more today than ever before because the variety of information people can choose from is vast. Some information is designed to appeal to our previously held beliefs. Clickbait is crafted to elicit clicks; not inform the public. I understand my role as an information steward is to keep the big picture in mind and cultivate curiosity, variety and breadth. While theories and principles address how to achieve this, my experience tells me why.

LIBR 210; Reference and Information Services, provided experience evaluating information sources in print and digital formats. We learned how to identify user needs and apply those needs to the evaluation process. INFO 210 emphasized attention to the user’s ability; from computer aptitude to reading level, we attempted to assess information through users’ perspectives. The class introduced a wealth of information sources to help librarians recommend precise sources and to narrow results for users who feel overwhelmed by the breadth of information available to them. Moreover, Dr. Tunan taught me the interpersonal communication skills to negotiate questions with reluctant or hurried users.

The coursework included an annotated bibliography that reflected selection and evaluation lessons. I practiced the skills for creating a subject guide in several “mini-modules”. To observe reference lessons, I shadowed a reference desk librarian at a large public library and interviewed the philosophy subject librarian at a large university. We created a tutorial video and analyzed scripts of virtual reference transactions. I finished the class with a folder of new resources and the evidence I will share for this competency.

Similarly, INFO 221; Government Information Sources, emphasized selection of high quality resources with respect to the user’s ability: Legalese may not be appropriate for most users, but we learned to balance primary sources with interpretive resources. Because of government information’s fragmented publishing and communication systems, INFO 221 focused more on information organization. Government information is continuously divided into ever more specific branches; from special committees to local, state, regional, and national sources; Congress divides into the House and Senate: The information is sometimes communicated through segmented distribution schemes. One of the assignments required the analysis of a federal website’s organization. We were challenged to learn the current system then imagine, design and articulate a better one including a section about the barriers to implementing the system. This assignment began with creating a rubric specific to the government organization and articulating the criteria in the research paper. Dr. Shuler, who is also Associate Professor, Bibliographer for the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs; The Jane Addams College of Social Work, and Government Information/Documents Librarian at the University of Illinois, wrote detailed lectures and supported our learning with exemplary articles.

The purpose of INFO 284, Archives and Records Management, was to learn how to preserve digital and physical information items. While the course touched on the history of archives and records management, the bulk of the coursework emphasized the organization of metadata because metadata is the key to information security, management and preservation. The course required me to lead a discussion on records management in the news, research a case study and propose solutions for that business, and research software. It emphasized the role of records as evidence in legal cases. I learned about industry, national and international records management standards. The security training was particularly eye opening. I learned that information can leave one country, be stored in another, and stolen by a party in another country. Securing the path of information through its lifecycle is complex and vital. Originally, I took the course to learn about electronic records management systems, but gained much more valuable insight into the mechanics of data.

The evidence shows that I have studied, discussed and digested lessons about the selection, evaluation, organization and preservation of physical and digital items. They show consideration and synthesis of theories and principles of collection selection, evaluation and preservation. Moreover, the evidence shows that I value the big picture: positioning information for users’ notice and use.

The subject guide assignment for INFO 210 was designed to hone selection evaluation and organization skills. The guide could be for a real or hypothetical library. It needed to show consideration for user’s needs and abilities. It was graded on resource appropriateness and organization. Because I worked with adult career college students, I choose to assemble a financial health guide for students; lightheartedly named, “Mrs. Money’s Resource Guide”.

To guide my selection towards relevant resources, I listed actual questions and problems students brought to my reference desk. I used these to design my search vocabulary. I used that vocabulary to search for free resources and thereby increase my frame of reference about financial resources. The students’ questions indicated a narrow user scope that comprised a mostly poor but upwardly mobile, capable user group. The reading level of the students sometimes dipped below the National Center for Education Statistics based guideline of providing adults with text at a ninth-grade reading level (Jenkins, Jungeblut, Irwin & Kolstad, 2002). Keeping this in mind, I selected resources that addressed the question list and could be comprehended by most adult students. To avoid redundancy, I excluded existing resources such as our campus’ financial aid literature and local bank tools and literature.

Then I evaluated the sources for timeliness. For example, credit card and student debt information were more relevant to the user group than retirement planning and investing. I tested the links from different devices with different settings including a cell phone. At the time, websites were not ubiquitously designed for cell phone viewing. I used the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines to monitor visual accessibility. Most importantly, I evaluated the resources for sponsorship, author’s authority, reputation and lasting value. One of my objectives was to create a scam-free zone for students.

I built a website using the Weebly platform. It is as simple as possible. I imagined trying to use the resource while hurrying between classes and rushing to work. Because I assumed fatigued and occasionally hungry users, the font is large and simple. Resources are first organized by format: digital, physical or social. Within each page, information is organized by the following topics: Assessment, budgeting, saving more, reducing debt and earning more.

Assessment tools include interactive comparison data on household expenses by demographic, quizzes about spending habits, information about aggressive marketing and spending triggers. The budgeting section has budgeting calculators, sheets for printing and links to minimalist and debt reduction support groups. Then, the pages offer resources for saving money. This section focuses on lifestyle changes that emphasize quality experiences over material wealth as well as money saving tips for major life areas like food and clothing. The next section provides debt avoidance, relief and management resources. For example, the electronic resource section begins with the Federal Trade Commission’s website titled, “Coping with Debt”. The last section encourages users to increase their income by funneling them toward part time business blogs and forums, scholarship applications, entrepreneur assistance and job boards.

While the electronic and social tools were very relevant to the students’ ability, preference and behavior, the physical collection presented in the guide is superior in quality. The books represent a wealth of focused ideas on each topic, whereas the social and electronic tools are shallow but immediate and interactive. I would advocate using materials from all three categories.

The preservation of the resource guide is complicated by the number of sources. Sources range from you tube videos to government websites and hardcover books. Preservation is further convoluted by access. Some materials are only available through a state-wide interlibrary loan system. Others require a local library card. Others are electronic resources available through the state library guest login and some are links to websites, blogs and forums. In the case of the resource guide, its form of preservation would be to evolve: It should change as new resources come available. I would use evaluations to cull unused or irrelevant resources and replace them with resources that reflect new questions. I have saved the guide by e-mailing it (cloud), saving it on a flash drive and have saved it in a folder on my personal computer. The Weebly platform also maintains the site in its amendable form. While software for translating information between formats is becoming more widely available, I would manually transfer the file from one format to the next, ensuring that metadata match the new system’s schema.

The lasting impression the competency F skillset left on me was not explicitly to select, evaluate and preserve collections but to practice doing so from the user’s perspective. I learned to ask myself questions I may not have previously considered: Can I read this? Can my phone interpret this menu? How long will I save this link? Where? I began to think about being a bridge between the information and the user. Information exists, but irrelevant or misleading information can intercede, wasting users’ time and will.

Each of the courses that support this competency also left deep impressions. LIBR 210 and LIBR 221 taught me how to communicate about collections’ organization. The approach the professors advocated was balanced education: Teach a small lesson about the information creation, dissemination process or organization during the reference interview. I will use these lessons next semester during my internship with the Delaware library system’s online reference service. I will check for understanding and relevance. I will provide helpful tips on source quality and collection navigation. When I provide reference information I will specify its origin, qualifications, location and, when appropriate, its method of preservation. For example, when I worked at the University of Wyoming, some of the materials required cloth gloves. Some were on Microfiche and some were in a room we called, “the cage”. When I was there, at the turn of the century, the university was just beginning to incorporate electronic journals and switching from CD ROM based databases to internet-based subscriptions. Therefore, now I would be aware of the risk of losing information through access problems, deletion or server malfunctions. I would advocate saving information in three places: Online, on a hard drive and on an external storage device.

References

Barstow, S., Macaulay, D., & Tharp, S. (2015). How to build a high-quality library collection in a multi-format environment: Centralized selection at University of Wyoming Libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 1-20.

Dooley B., Sherman S. (2017). The Sioux chef’s indigenous cookbook. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved from http://sioux-chef.com/

Jenkins L., Jungeblut A., Irwin S.K., Kolstad A. (2002). Adult literacy in America: A fist look at the findings of the national adult literacy survey. National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf

Evidence

Link: http://mrsmoneyresourceguide.weebly.com/

Summary:

M5 Resource Guide Snow MarlonssonURL: http://mrsmoneyresourceguide.weebly.com/After experimenting with Springshare, Tumblr, Live Binders and Weebly, I decided to use the Weebly website builder because of its ease of use. This allowed me to spend more time assessing resources and less time formatting information. Unfortunately the search box, a key feature, did not publish without a paid account. I chose to create the financial literacy resource guide because my work experience as a librarian for junior college students revealed a need for this information. The students have well-defined needs stemming from their low reading skills and lack of patience. The majority of the resources needed to answer questions quickly and break large questions into smaller, isolated topics and action items. In many cases, the print resources are the lowest reading level. However, convincing the target audience to take the time to access them is less likely than using the electronic resources. Although the financial planning and financial literacy resource guide is primarily for young adults in their first two years of college in Colorado, many of the resources are not demographic-specific. The resources are millennial friendly, which means they are direct and easy to use. Resources that required three or more steps were generally not used (registration process not included). Upon review, I could have done a better job incorporating social media applications into the online and print resources. Instead, I separated the social media-based resources into their own tab. The technology platforms overlap. For example, I used the social media platform Pinterest to direct patrons to printable budget worksheets. Is this a paper resource or a social media resource? Interestingly, it’s a matter of when because the final product is paper, but the delivery was through an app. Generally, the reading level is graduated within each topic: The first resources are casual and the last resources are the most scholarly. The scholarly articles were limited by relevance, date and the amount of text. For example, full text articles were chosen; abstracts of articles were not. Books were used if they provided the first chapter or more. All of the information used is either open source or accessed through the public library’s subscriptions. Within the set of subscription databases, only the largest were consulted in order to give the users the best chance of reproducing the search from their own library wherever it may be. The summaries of the resources are not only short but subjective. Both of these attributes were selected as a way to engage the audience. I wanted to give the impression of a live person—a grandma giving real advice by suggesting resources. Opinions about the resources and suggestions for how to use them seemed appropriate. I included a small amount of access information so the reader would know if the resource was open sourced, from a library catalog, a library consortium or from a database. The summaries are very brief and designed to direct the use of the resource and help the user to decide which resources are most relevant. If the search function were purchased, it would filter the entries for relevance. The experience of evaluating subject-specific resources taught me that choosing online tools and articles is much more time consuming than selecting books because the tools need to be tested and the articles read. Books, however are evaluated by the publishers and cataloged by the libraries. Also,

the articles on the given topic vary widely, but the corresponding books have less variation, most likely because books have allocated enough space to address the full spectrum of the topic. Fewer books were included in the guide because including more books, covering the same material, would have been redundant and superfluous. Lastly, the lack of scholarly electronic articles in the “increase your income” section was not for lack of effort. I learned that peer-reviewed articles about personal finance focus more on broad policies and international comparisons than my target; financial advice for young adults.