AACRL Program Coordinators: Beth Ashmore, Samford University

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

1:00-1:55pm
Overgrown Undergrads or Baby Faculty? Strategies for Providing Effective Library Services to Doctoral Students
Rachel Fleming-May, Doctoral Candidate, College of Communication & Information Sciences, University of Alabama
Lisa Yuro, Reference Librarian/Subject Liaison, University of Alabama Libraries

In spite of an abundance of research on the information seeking behavior of academic library users, surprisingly little has been published focusing specifically on doctoral students. Consequently, doctoral students can be a difficult user group for academic libraries to target for specialized services, particularly instruction and research assistance. The best practices presented in this program are informed by findings from three focus groups with social sciences doctoral students at the University of Alabama. We asked the students about their information seeking processes, the affective dimensions of their research, and the nature of the research mentoring provided by their faculty advisors. In addition to sharing our participants’ (often surprising) responses and comments, we will provide subject specialists, selectors and instruction librarians, especially those with responsibilities in the social sciences and humanities, with specific strategies for improving services to this group.
Powerpoint Presentation (Powerpoint file)

2:00-2:55pm
Similes for Understanding and Explaining Library 2.0 Services and ToolsSteven L. MacCall, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of Alabama

It has been said that similes are like pictures that are worth a thousand words. Because of their descriptive power, similes can serve as a basis both for gaining personal understanding and for explaining new concepts to others. The presenter will describe a series of similes developed for courses at UA SLIS that provide a conceptual basis for understanding and explaining Library 2.0 services and tools. Services (RSS and tagging) will be presented as Web 2.0 infrastructure, and tools (blogs, wikis, and podcasts) will be presented as a unified whole of basic Web 2.0 content creation.
Presentation (PDF File)

3:00-3:55pm
Turn On, Tune In and Podcast: An Instruction Librarian’s Adventures Behind the Microphone
Adrienne R. McPhaul, Information Services Librarian, Cook Library, University of Southern Mississippi

In the summer of 2007, the University of Southern Mississippi Learning Enhancement Center selected 12 faculty members to participate in the Podcasting Pilot Project (www.usm.edu/lec/podcasting.) This presentation focuses on one librarian’s experiences with the pilot project, including coming up with a focus, learning the technology, and actually creating and assessing the podcasts.
PowerPoint Presentation (PowerPoint File)
Presentation Handout (PDF file)
Adrienne’s Blog

Thursday, April 24, 2008

1:00-1:55pm
More than Just a Shelter from the Rain: The Library as a Student Comfort Zone
Nancy Noe, Instruction Coordinator, Auburn University Libraries
Cayce Van Horn, Instruction Support Specialist, Auburn University Libraries

Have you grown weary of leading your students around on the same staid library tour over and over again? Wish your students were engaged in library orientation activities instead of surfing the ‘Net while you talk? Auburn University Libraries is collaborating with the University’s Academic Success unit to create meaningful library orientation sessions for the Freshmen Year Experience. Come learn how to leave those old-fashioned instruction sessions behind and actively involve your students as they learn about the library and its resources.
PowerPoint Presentation (PowerPoint File)
24/5 Handout (Word file)
Exploratory Tour Handout (Word File)