Syracuse University

The week done

The group assignment for IST 511 was presented this afternoon as a poster session. My group's poster was discussing the arguments for policies in public libraries that either restrict the use of their public meeting space or do not have any restrictions. The topics needed to be those in which there is not a consensus among librarians, and judging by the wide-ranging policies we found in public libraries across the nation, there is no one standard in use. Although libraries may want to provide equal access to space, there are practical considerations that often result in policies that place restrictions on who or how or why. Our poster explored these issues.

It's been a long week. I'm glad to have been able to devote my whole week, morning, noon and night, to this endeavor. There are several classmates who went home at night to be mommy or daddy or dish-washer or dog-walker, and I can't imagine trying to integrate the week into my home life. However, I *AM* glad that I didn't stay on campus. Driving Rte. 20 each day through the beautiful apple orchards and up and down the rolling hills was a good way to prepare for the day and then unwind again. I miss living in Central NY, and it was a soul-restorative to drive in from Skaneateles to S.U.

The downward slope

One more day left of Library School Bootcamp, and although tired, I have held up pretty well. (Which is more than I can say for my car, which died in Skaneateles this morning, but is hale and hearty again... $229 later.)

I am getting a much better grasp of the multifaceted world of Librarianship, and don't feel nearly as overwhelmed at the prospect of changing careers as I did a week ago at this time. I don't know that a residency is necessary to achieve this introduction to LibraryWorld, but I suppose there has to be some way to verify that we distance students actually exist.

We talked about unrestricted access a lot this week, and especially today. I have trouble accepting the professional ethics that place access above parental authority and common sense (which I have blogged about previously, I believe). Maybe 99% of the time, librarians should provide unfettered, unmediated access to information resources. But to push that "ideal" too far is no service to our patrons.

Wiki as life ring

I am new to Librarianship. I love finding out all about this new professional cuture with its ways and means. I love the patron-centered organization of information. I am enjoying hearing from librarians of different stripes about their career paths and job responsibilities and joys. It is, however, a bit disconcerting to have to guess at the meanings of library terms and acronyms and references to professional software systems while digesting the actual point of a lecture as well. In an effort to be a part of adjusting the learning curve, I posted the following in a class discussion board. I am hoping to start a public discussion that encourages and promotes all of our class experiences.

In speaking with some other classmates who don't already have library experience, I've been thinking of ways to ease the transition for newbies into the world of Library acronyms and library-speak. Perhaps a solution for this is a remedial session on iLMS or a wiki with a glossary of sorts. It would be useful to include the names of all these library systems as well (Polaris, etc). The more basic, the better. This way, those with library experience don't wade through an explanation of every term in class, but those of us new to LibraryWorld aren't at sea and struggling to just figure out the terms.

Anyone else have input on this idea?

Day Two

Day two of IST 511

I love the federated searching of the new SU library site. I'm glad to know that searching technology is headed in this direction. I also learned a term called "pearl-growing" for cultivating the citations in a resource to find further resources. I've been doing that for years, and am glad to know it's an actual research technique!

Two representatives from Razorfish spoke to the class after the regular session was over. I was curious about the concept of librarians helping guide user-centered web development, but discovered that the culture and goals of this and similar companies don't really appeal to me.

IST 511

Today was the first day of IST 511, the week-long introduction to LibraryWorld. The guest speakers today were really good. I am considering Public Librarianship and so the overview of contemporary issues and insights into that world were very helpful to me as I consider my own future in libraries. I was especially struck by Kate McCaffrey's advice to get outside the library building and into your community to keep a finger on the pulse of the community. I also noted Bev Cholcto-Devlin's statement that the "roots of the public library should not be left behind" in our quest to evelope technology in our services to patrons.

I also had not considered prison librarianship, but McCaffrey worked in a minimum security prison and spoke highly of her experiences there. Considering the concentration of corrections facilities in my home area, it's a distinct possibility as a short-term career choice for me.

Our group is meeting up online tonight to choose our poster topic.

Gateway Course

Distance students need to complete an i-School gateway course as an introduction to the school, and I've just completed this requirement. I must say that it was not necessarily what I had expected. I was pleased at the practical application of the group project PowerPoint presentation (despite the obvious difficulties that group projects can present) and the topic of innovation was very thought-provoking. I look forward to applying the lessons on innovation to my future career. I was also pleasantly surprised at the way in which working with students from the other two degree programs provided additional perspectives and enriched our group discussions.

Tomorrow we begin the week-long Intro to LibraryWorld class and I have the distinct feeling that, after acquiring a good night's sleep, I may even enjoy myself.

Reader's Response

This assignment was to locate a scholarly reading about social networking and libraries and post a "reader's response." The article I chose was:
Farr, Greg. (2009) "Mad Magazine to Facebook: What Have We Learned?" Teacher Librarian, 36(5), 30-32.

The very first sentence – uppercase and larger font for emphasis – of Farr’s article boldly states his counterintuitive premise: that he believes “all schools should allow students access to all forms of technology and their educationally beneficial applications.” (Farr, 2009. p.30) This seemingly reckless statement is not simply a misleading teaser headline, but rather previews a well-reasoned argument in favor of taking education out of its ‘time-warp’ and embracing the technology that student are already using outside the school walls. While his article doesn’t exclusively address the expanded use of Web 2.0 by libraries, his premise relates directly to the school librarian, who often feels or meets resistance to the integration of the less easily controlled technologies with information access. Farr’s argument in this article, while unsettling in the extreme at first, has some merit.

The obvious desire of students for the integration of technology and education is illustrated in a YouTube video the author references within the article: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5D_1mNASgs). One can imagine these students from Texas as anywhere in the nation. The potential problem of students in the library logging onto Facebook or MySpace and meeting up with friends for non-educational chatting during school hours while they should be conducting research are acknowledged by Farr, but characterized as ‘distorted misconceptions rather than demonstrated truths.” (Farr, 2009. p.32) Perhaps the fear is greater than the reality, but it is a fact that students (like most adults) will try to get away with as much as they can, and while many Teacher-Librarians and classroom teachers are alert and in control of their classrooms, there are still those who are lax or oblivious. A demonstrated educational benefit needs to be weighed against the responsibility to limit access accordingly. Apparently, my feelings are closer to the established view and less radical than the author’s.

Alternately, however, the argument in favor of using technologies such as Facebook or cell phone texting or Twittering for educational purposes in school libraries and classrooms does invite further exploration. The author acknowledges, but doesn’t explore, the challenges of implementation – which are where my thoughts immediately go. Balancing safeguards with effective use seems to be a nearly insurmountable obstacle to me. The article has certainly stretched my understanding on the subject, though, and I will probably be more open to the use of social networking and other technologies within the school library setting as a result.

Reflections on Portable MLIS Chapter 15

Chapter 15, aptly titled "Research," overviews the various types of research applicable to the LIS field. The rather dry discussion in the first portion of the chapter opens up to a good section on rationale.

I have been involved in qualitative research this year as a part of a Trasition Task Force in a not-for-profit organization (albeit not a library), and we've made use of surveys and focus groups to date as our means of gathering input from the organization members. We're continuously analyzing the data, even as we prepare to solicit further information through an interview with the organization leader and a further survey to the membership. The Task Force is currently discussing the best means to report the findings to all the stakeholders. Because of this recent personal experience (in addition to my academic research experiences), this chapter is actually fairly interesting to me. I have been translating my experiences outside the library setting to situations that I can anticipate arising within my future career as a librarian and am intrigued at the thought of doing library research. I especially noted the author's specific emphasis on reporting the research results and suggestions of "publication in a library newsletter, professional association bulletin, or an electrionic discussion list."

The most surprising outcome of my reading of this chapter is that I have begun to consider the possibility of pursuing a PhD at a future date. The idea of researching the feasibility of new systems and changes to existing modes of operation is beginning to excite me and concern me a little, as well, as I had not previously considered doing extensive research in the field of LIS.


Powell, Ron. (2008). "Research." In Ken Haycock & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights From the Experts (168-78). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Reflections on Portable MLIS Chapter 14

Mary Chelton's chapter (14) is about Readers Advisory Services, a topic I was previously unacquainted with. The overview of RA was valuable only inasmuch as it taught me that these services are a part of librarianship. The good stuff in this article, as far as I am concerned, lies in the discussion of displays and 'merchandising.' The author has the prescient comment:

"Libraries are ideal browsing sites for many readers... Unfortunately, many libraries are still organized as if everyone knew exactly what they wanted as soon as they came in the door... This is an uninformed view of our users' actual behavior because it does not take into account that being in the library itself might change someone's idea of what they wanted when they came in."

I find this to be my own experience in public libraries and hadn't articulated this minor frustration even to myself.

I was disappointed in the brief treatment given by Chelton to the use of technology in RA. Either she is not very interested in it herself, or there are shockingly few Web 2.0 RA-like opportunities. It seems like a natural fit, and I will probably have to do my own simple research to see whether there's more out there, or if the author's short shrift is actually representational.


Chelton, Mary K., (2008). Chapter 14, Reader Advisory Services: How to Help Users Find a "Good Book." In Ken Haycock & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights From the Experts (159-67). West Port Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Reflections on Portable MLIS Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is about designing and evaluating information retrieval systems, including internet search engines and library e-catalogs. I found useful Weedman's discussions of design, search strategies and evaluation, especially since they're not issues I think of in terms of librarian input. When I think search engines at all, I attribute most of the decision-making to "IT." But she makes clear that this is part of the profession. Weedman describes this discipline within the LIS field as one of creating systems to explore information needs. (p.125)

When using internet search engines and e-catalogs I often lament the limitations of the design/use. The author succinctly states that

"retrieval depends on two things: the ability of the searcher to construct an incisive query and the ability of the designer to incorporate features that will result in the query retrieving documents with the desired attributes." (p.125)

She also discusses controlled vocabulary and the need to fit your search to the database -- which leads me to wonder why more e-catalogs, databases and search engines don't have a format guide or style guide easily accessible to the user.

As a note of interest, Weedman's discussion of the representation of information for location and retrieval (p. 116) brought me a little thrill. Apparently I have the soul of a registrar. Seriously though, it is obvious to me that this organization of information is necessary in the tangible arena of a print library. It is equally obvious, upon reading Weedman's chapter (although not, I am embarrased to say, before) that this is equally integral to a virtual organization of information.


Weedman, Judith., (2008) Chapter 11, Information Retrieval: Designing, Querying, and Evaluating Information Systems. In Ken Haycock & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights From the Experts (112-26). West Port Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Reflections on Portable MLIS Chapter 9

Chapter 9 is an exceptionally useful primer on the concept and practice of collection development. This is not an area which I would regard as naturally apparent by common sense or experience, and many issues which I had not yet considered are discussed here.

The author provides bulleted points to emphasize important points when considering collection development, which I found quite helpful, and stated his theme succinctly as:

"Having the right items, at the right time, in the right format is the essence of a valued collection."

Collection development appeals to me, and although my self-imposed geographical limitations preclude this, I find myself thinking about what a career in this area would be like. The idea of matching resources to users and cultivating new users with suitable resources seems to me to strike at the heart of librarianship. I hadn't previously thought about the need to "scan" the community and keep abreast of demographic changes and trends in terms of collection development, only as it relates to programs and services. But, the author makes a compelling argument for anticipating changes in patron needs and even in the demographics of the community the library serves.

I also like the thorough discussion of varied formats. The author gives very good advice in his section on What to Collect and advocates effectively for being open to alternative information sources, even when it occasionally means miscalculating the long-term usefulness of a medium.

"Dynamic, highly regarded information services build their collections around what information formats best meet the needs and interests of their service communities."

I have also taken to heart his suggestion of "understanding the nature of organizational change" as a useful career skill.


Evans, Edward G., (2008). Chapter 9, Reflections on Creating Information Service Collections. In Ken Haycock & Brooke E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights From the Experts (87-97). West Port Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Reflections on Portable MLIS Chapter 1

Chapter 1 in The Portable MLIS reviews some historic examples of libraries and presents a brief overview of the author's view of librianship. I enjoyed the brief tour of ancient libraries and the discussion of the roots of modern American public libraries and found it to be useful background information. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to absorb the author's instructional points on librarianship as I was often distracted by the style and viewpoint in which they were framed.

The author's statement about libraries and the maturation of a society was succinct and illuminating:

"To some extent, libraries represent a cultural exclamation point: evidence that the society has matured beyond subsistence and social simplicity. They establish a standard signifying a society's development."

This mirrors some of my own thoughts recently on the nature and purpose of libraries and information accessibility, and I was pleased to see such an eloquent statement similar to my own ideas.

However, I have several problems with the author's take on librarianship and a belief in intellectual freedom. He indicates that the librarian should, in an effort to serve all patrons equally, disavow herself of strongly held beliefs -- other than the acceptable one of a commitment to intellectual freedom. The author even seems to have a disdain for declarative sentences in his (ironic) assertion that "it is arrogant to assume that one can know the 'truth' about many matters of importance in this world." In his zeal to ensure that librarians assist patrons of all stripes with equal objectivity, he in fact insults and condescends. As another example, this zeal also seeks to place intellectual freedom above the rights of parental authority and common sense, and ignores his own later arguments for the greater good. While I realize that the thorny topics of intellectual freedom and restriction to information access are much more complex than this author's treatment of them, and much more nuanced than my own reflection here, I cannot agree with the author's ham-fisted dismissal of more moderate understandings on the subject.


Rubin, R. (2008). Stepping Back and Looking Forward: Reflections on the Foundations of Libraries and Librarianship. In K. Haycock and B. Sheldon (Ed.), The Portable MLIS: Insights From the Experts (pp. 3-14). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

MSLIS

This is just an introductory post to say "Welcome!" to my blog chronicling my studies at SU. I hope to use this space to discuss my experience and reflections on course assignments.