Book Review

I reviewed Dr Alison Jane Pickard's handbook, Research Methods in Information
(Facet Publishing, London, 2007).

Crossing Boundaries with Reading

The National Year of Reading is still going strong in Australia, and today I had the opportunity to volunteer at an event. Crossing Boundaries with Reading is a literacy program at a Queensland high school. Know what's super-exciting about this school? It has a manga club!


The program is funded by QUT with an Engagement Innovation Grant, and Logan City Libraries are partners of the program. The official site features a student-drawn logo and news on the program. Here's a snippet from the project's About page:

Drawing on the popularity of digital technologies and Manga in youth culture, the project will enable Year 8 and 9 students to cross boundaries with reading in various ways designed to engage their interest and learning. Boundaries will be understood as spaces of opportunity rather than limitation.

Digital literacy isn't something that "born digital" teens automatically have. Some students don't have equal access to technology at home or school, and many haven't learned how to use digital tools to create content. The project aims to promote reading, equip youth with digital literacy skills, and explore manga and digital storytelling as a way of "crossing boundaries" with reading.

The students split into five groups and cycled through the activities scheduled for the morning. I was originally scheduled to play video games in the library. Yes, QUT Library has a games lounge with a Wii, PS3, and an Xbox 360! Due to numbers, though, I switched to the Blender - a room where students worked collaboratively on TV-sized PC screens.

The Blender room was staffed by QUT lecturer and information literacy researcher Mandy Lupton and Dr Anna Lundh, a researcher and teacher at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science at the University of Borås (SSLIS). I've read some of Mandy Lupton's papers, and attended a workshop by Anna Lundh, so it was nice to work with them.

The PC screens were connected to the Internet, with different word games at each station. Students rotated between tables every ten minutes. Magnetic Poetry and Free Rice were the favourites, and there was some definite competition going on!  I thought the students would think vocabulary games were lame, but they really got into it. At least 2500 grains of rice were donated to the World Food Programme today, and the school will consider using Free Rice in the classroom.

There was also the option to draw with coloured pencils. Some of the students are really gifted - they just sat there quietly, and all of a sudden, they'd show you a piece of art. I took a stab at drawing my name with the "manga head" typeface - check it out!

The event concluded with a combined session and two short presentations. Dr Hilary Hughes of QUT spoke about manga, and Mimi Tsai shared examples of digital stories. It was a great day, and I hope to apply concepts I learned today in future digital literacy programs. Thanks to all the volunteers, librarians, and educators who made the event possible.

Report Writing at the WA State Library

I prepared two reports during my fortnight as a practicum student at the State Library of WA (November-December 2011).

Report for the client services team
The client services team was considering ways to provide online tutorials and reach more patrons. I was able to make use of a document I'd written for one of my classes (INN333, Information Programs) to jump-start an evaluation of screencasting tools. My studies at QUT have noted the following applications for screencasting in libraries:

• Distance learning
• Information Literacy
• Concrete instructional tutorials
• Self-directed learning
• Introduction to library tools
• Marketing

I chose two popular screencast programs, Jing and Screenr, and evaluated them based on cost, accessibility and ease of use, features, and tech requirements. The evaluation included a table that compared the free and paid versions of Screenr and Jing. Though the resulting report was not exhaustive, it gave the client services team a starting point, should they decide to invest time and effort in creating screencasts.

Report for the participation and learning team

On 20 September 2011 the State Library of Western Australia presented Keeping Up: engaging clients and developing readers.  Panelists discussed cultural institutions as learning spaces and places, social media as a learning space and place, and how the two converged. SLWA conducted a survey through SurveyMonkey to learn what the attendees thought of the library seminar.

I was tasked with collating the survey responses and writing a report to show whether it would be worthwhile to plan similar events in 2012. In addition to providing graphs with quantitative data, I pulled quotes from the attendees as qualitative data. Overall, the seminar was a success. The majority of negative responses concerned the venue, while comments concerning the speakers were positive.

I analysed the responses and comments to determine common themes and suggestions, which would enable SLWA to tailor future seminars to suit their expected audience. Marketing and financial matters were also included in the analysis. To round out the report, I made recommendations for the format, venue, and technical issues encountered on the day.

The manager of the participation and learning team was very pleased with the report I prepared, and e-mailed the following:
Thanks so much for this – it’s a far more comprehensive piece of work than I ever expected, particularly considering the scant information I was able to provide you with in the first place. I recall it went something along the lines of “Here’s the link to the Surveymonkey results, now please could you get on with it”. You’ve written a great report which will really benefit the organisation and provide us with an evidence base as to why we should continue with a third Library Seminar in 2012.

Print vs Pixel at SLWA

I was invited to share my Kindle experience at a "lunch box" session for staff at the State Library of WA. As a practicum student and guest of the SLWA, I was honoured to be asked. Print vs Pixel: How will you read tomorrow? was a panel session, designed to introduce a variety of e-readers. Following our presentations, there was a technology petting zoo.

Approximately 30 staff members gathered for the lunch hour information session. I was seated at the front of the room, with five others on the panel. We each represented a device - Kobo, Sony Reader, Kindle, iPad, Android and...gasp! a real book. We were treated to a reading of It's A Book by Lane Smith. If you don't know it, enjoy this YouTube version!


I love the flexibility of reading on my Kindle. It's lightweight, it fits in my purse, and I can bring more than one book with me at all times. Mine has wifi, which has been a godsend; once I was on vacation and finished the first book in a series, and I was able to download the next book in no time! Browsing the Amazon website allows me to discover new authors based on my purchasing habits. I find the e-ink screen easy to read, and the device itself is a breeze to use. It was nice to contribute to the session, and share my love of the Kindle.

On the Floor at the WA State Library

At the close of my first library conference, the New Librarians' Symposium (NLS5), I plucked up the courage to ask Steve McQuade if I could come back to WA and work with him at the State Library. Happily, he said yes, and in November/December 2011, I spent two weeks doing fieldwork in Perth.

Working with clients

When the children's section has a book totem and costumes, you know you're in for a seriously fun morning. I helped out at story time, where we read Hattie and the Fox - my first Mem Fox book. We sang songs as well, but some of the kids were more interested in playing dress-up or running around the play area. At the end of story time, we handed out stickers.

I really liked that The Place, as the children's area is called, is its own space. The parents don't have to worry that their child is being too noisy or disruptive, and everything is set up for kids to enjoy themselves - books, toys, child-sized chairs and bright colours.

Working with the team
Even though I was only at SLWA for two weeks, I joined up to its fledgling Yammer community. I liked the options for attaching files, links or people to posts. It baffled one of the older part-time librarians, who wanted to know what all this “activity” in her inbox meant.

When I explained that it was a daily digest and she could safely delete it and just read it on Yammer instead, she got even more confused. (Many Yammer postings were copied from emails in the first place, so there was a lot of overlap.) How was she supposed to keep up? How would she know what was important? Would it be compulsory? These are all valid questions, but I didn’t have any answers for her, aside from skimming the posts to see what was of interest. It will be interesting to see whether Yammer is used in my first position, and how another team might use it to communicate. Aside from email and Yammer, team meetings brought everyone up to speed.

The staff were fantastic: very welcoming, eager to help, and willing to answer my questions about working in the library. I didn't feel like a fifth wheel at all, and I was sorry to leave. There are so many great programs and events at SLWA, including exhibitions, the book cafe, story time and Better Beginnings.

Gluten Free: An Info Lit Presentation

Information Literacy was a challenging class for me. It took about six weeks before the readings, lectures, and concepts began to solidify. The group assignment for Info Lit was a great way to bring all the threads together at the end of the semester. I worked with Uti and Alisa to deliver an "educational event" (supposedly for young adults, at a public library) that would help the attendees learn the basics of gluten-free cooking.

We chose our topic because we had noticed an increasing number of people are coeliac, yet the ins and outs of cooking for someone with a gluten intolerance are not well-known. Presenting the basics of gluten-free cooking - selecting ingredients, choosing a recipe, and following a recipe - fit nicely into several aspects of information literacy.

From the report:

"Active learning strategies were guided by the theoretical framework made up of selected frames of information literacy (C. Bruce, 2008) and the GeST windows (M. Lupton, 2008), as well as faces of informed learning appropriate to the context and the content delivered. Faces of informed learning that were identified as relevant to the educational event included the sourcing of information (second face); processing of information (third face), and the wisdom, or seventh face."




As part of our "team effort" presentation, Alisa, Uti and I taught the class through a brief lecture, an activity, and a cooking demonstration. I had some help from Andrew (orange shirt) and Andre (green shirt) as I put together a gluten-free dish, Almond Asparagus Quinoa.

Following our presentation, several people told me they felt confident they could make the dish themselves, even those who hadn't eaten quinoa before that night. To me, this indicates that our information literacy session was a success. Additional feedback was very positive, and our audience was impressed by how much we were able to fit into our 30-minute teaching session.

The educational event was held on May 25, 2012.

Observation: Special Collections

As part of my practicum in November/December 2011, I shadowed the music librarian at the State Library of Western Australia. I have always been interested in becoming a subject specialist or a librarian who works with a special collection, and wanted to observe what skills and knowledge are required in that type of role.

I first viewed theThe WA State Library's music collection on a tour, as part of the 5th New Librarians Symposium. The collection is one of the largest in the country, with over 70,000 scores available for loan, and not all of it is on the shelves. In addition, there are books and recordings on vinyl and CD.

The music subject specialist, Allison Fyfe, was very patient as she showed me how to search the catalogue, locate items in the stacks, and check that all the parts of a score had been returned. It is not as simple as checking things off on a list. A background in music and the Romance languages is desirable,  as the scores are often titled and catalogued in other languages, with parts of music labeled klavier, not piano.

When a patron needed a score that wasn't on the shelves, Alison would put in a request for someone to pull it from the stacks. I was surprised that this process only took place twice an hour, and even more surprised that most people were content to wait. My customer service training balked at keeping someone waiting, but I'm sure it is more efficient for staff to perform retrievals at set times of the day.

Allison has come by her considerable knowledge through studying music throughout her life. I observed her responding to a patron's request by humming the answer. I can certainly appreciate the specialist knowledge and research skills needed to fill this position - you never know what a patron may ask.


Allison Fyfe has since retired.

Biennial: Discovering Words from the Dust

Day two of Biennial is all about the National Year of Reading, with sessions focused on reading and writing. Following the authors' panel and morning tea, I headed to the Grand Ballroom for a session called Words from the Dust. I had the chance to speak with Ros Dorsman and Jasmine Vidler prior to their presentation, and they were very engaging, and committed to the programs at Central West Libraries (NSW). The session was a story in itself, the story of a writers' centre that developed a writing program.

The Central West Writers' Centre, a function of Central West Libraries (NSW), was awarded a Positive Ageing grant from the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care. In a bid to "counteract isolation and provide a release from the impact of drought in rural communities" (ALIA Biennial 2012 condensed abstracts) a writing program for over-50s was developed. Six locations ran workshops for a total of 68 participants, and the response was very positive. Workshops included activities to help the creative process, often focused on memory and emotion.

One aim of the program was to encourage older people to share their stories - to give them a voice. A few were anxious at first about publishing their stories online, but once they saw them collected, they became excited to share with friends and family. An unexpected challenge was getting the workshopped stories from page to screen. Ros and Jasmine intended to give each participant a username and password so they could upload their own stories, but this did not go as planned. Internet access was not a given, and some of the writers couldn't type efficiently (or at all). The Central West administration team helped out with typing, and Jasmine added the stories to the Words From the Dust website.

 

I visited the QUT Information Studies Group booth and chatted with Helen Partridge, the course coordinator for my Library & Information Studies course, and associate lecturer Zaana Howard. They were handing out bubbles and brightly coloured buttons that read, 'Put us at the top of your LISt' and 'LISten Up.' My lanyard is getting a little heavy! ALIA pin, LIS buttons, #Discovery tweet badge...

Later this month, I will start my final semester at QUT. I'm so excited and nervous, and although I don't think I'm ready, I probably am. This is where I need to be - this profession, this fluid thing called a library, and this time in my life. Biennial has affirmed that I'm on the right track with my studies, and I can't wait to see what job opportunities are out there in 2013.

Biennial: Discovering Authors

Thursday morning, ALIA Biennial kicked off with an authors' panel, in celebration of the National Year of Reading and the 2012 Love2Read program. The panel included Richard Glover, Anita Heiss,  Melina Marchetta, P.M. (Pam) Newton, and Matthew Reilly. I have a lot of reading to catch up on before I'm well-versed in Australian writers.

 

The panellists spoke warmly about libraries, as several of them have spent countless hours there, writing. They all have very different methods for writing - or rather, for being productive while writing. Anita Heiss aims for a high word count in a short time, while Melina Marchetta uses the whole business day to write. Pam Newton is still finding her groove with her second book, but she likes to write longhand, and goes for walks to think. Matthew Reilly writes for two days and then plays golf, writes for two more days, and plays golf again. He says he's getting really good at golf.

Writing is a craft for people who find writing difficult. It should feel difficult; it should feel hard. - Richard Glover

Matthew risked glares from his fellow panellists when he admitted that writing is like eating chocolate ice cream for every meal. He'd write even if he wasn't getting paid, and gets lost in the state of flow when writing, with hours passing like minutes. He likes to plan his story with the hero's movements first, then jump into writing with an energy he hopes the reader can feel. Pam thinks research is the best bit, and finds library archives and databases invaluable for finding accurate historical details. Matthew said, "You have to still go to libraries because there is an illusion that everything is on the internet." Libraries may be occupied with the future of the book and reading, but Pam asks, what about the future of writing?

We grow older, we stop playing, and forget our stories. - Pam Newton

Bookable spaces are essential to make writers welcome in libraries. Anita's first book was written almost entirely in her public library, and she practically had a reserved desk there. Melina takes public transport to the library instead of having an office. When she writes at home she finds it difficult to be alone all day. That said, the life of a writer doesn't have to be anti-social; Anita connects online with other writers, and recommends joining a professional organisation.

A question from the floor steered the conversation to e-books. Uptake is greater in the US than Australia (66% of Matthew Reilly's sales in the US are e-books), and the panel agreed that availability of e-readers has influenced this trend. If Melina has enjoyed an e-book, she'll buy a physical copy. Anita (like myself) looks around on planes to see who is reading what, and whether they're reading e-books or tree books. Of course, the number of iPads and e-readers makes it harder to strike up a conversation that starts, "I've read that book..."

This Storify attempts to capture all tweets on the author panel session, if you'd like to see more.

Biennial: Discovery

Five hundred librarians and information professionals have descended on Sydney this week for the ALIA Biennial conference. It's ALIA's 75th anniversary this year, and it's also the National Year of Reading - so it's a pretty special event to be a part of. The majority of attendees are from the library, with some delegates from archives and the education sector. This year's theme is Discovery. We're talking about discovering partnerships, services, search, library spaces, information, storytelling, research, and books. There will likely be even more to discover by the end of our three days here.



Vendors and universities are well-represented in the exhibition halls on floors 3 and 4, so stop in and say hello! For a chance to win a prize, you can get your "discovery passport" stamped by the vendor booths you visit. An impressive lineup of speakers are on hand to challenge, inspire, and teach us. Today brought Dr Tom Chatfield, an author and speaker from the UK, and The Honorable Michael Kirby AC CMG, a "living Australian treasure" and former high court judge.

Dr Chatfield got us thinking about how we use digital tools. Do they rule us? Do we feed the email machine? He believes we have swallowed the idea that digital tools are casual and impersonal, but they can push us into doing more - more email, more tweets, more work. Technology can give us the illusion of acquiring knowledge. The screen is just a portal, and we enter it to have an experience - but not all experiences are good. How can we improve our experiences? If you want more from Tom, try his latest book, How to Thrive in the Digital Age.

 Robin and I attended the "Demystifying Research" panel session and picked up some tips for our studies, including:  be passionate and share your research! 

Justice Kirby commanded a lot of respect before he even began speaking. He was so engaging and well-spoken, yet relatable - even vulnerable - as he spoke of his history. (You can buy his book, A Private Life, which he cheekily spruiked mid-talk.) In Kirby's future, algorithms don't take over the librarian role, because a machine can't replace values or ethics. Several people tweeted that it took an outsider to see what we're missing, and give us back our purpose: "The will to provide neutral and highly respected information is not going to go away."

He remembered his first librarian, and noted that his success in law was largely due to librarians who nudged him in the right direction and gave him suggestions for what to read. Stripping away technology, various formats, and the march of time, our profession still comes down to this: Providing access to information in safety, and asking the extra question: "Have you thought about this?" Lastly, he reminded us to be kind to one another "on this little blue planet," regardless of our origins, sexuality, beliefs, or refugee status.

 Be involved. Be visible. Be discovered. - ALIA Biennial 2012

Unconference 2012

Over the past few months, I've been involved as a LibraryCamp Queensland "unorganiser." I was nominated as the marketing person, so I have been busy creating blog posts, flyers and advertisements, and sending tweets on behalf of @LibCampQLD. LibraryCamp is an unconference, so it's a fun, loosely planned and informal event - run by participants, for participants.

Other members of the committee have gathered sponsors, arranged catering, and invited panelists to speak on the day. It didn't take much more than word-of-mouth for all the spaces to be filled for this free event, which is happening at the State Library of Queensland this Saturday, March 17th.

Published: my InCite article on NLS5!

In addition to winning a complimentary ticket to NLS5 (the 5th New Librarians Symposium) in Perth this past September, I was published in ALIA's InCite! The January/February 2012 issue included my thoughts on NLS5, professional development, and emerging professionals.

You can read it here, in the Energise, Enthuse, Inspire column.

Lightning Talk at LibCampOz 2012

February 10th, more than 150 library students and librarians met up at the University of Melbourne to participate in an unconference. Participation is key in an unconference – you don’t come purely to listen, but to engage, respond, propose ideas and present possible solutions to current issues. It’s fast-paced, it’s informal, and it’s fun!

After a few members of my PLN (personal learning network – ie; Twitter contacts and fellow library students) mentioned that they’d like to hear more about my professional development over the last year, I decided to present a lightning talk. I called it shameless self promotion, because frankly, those who are new to the industry don’t necessarily have a network of people to sing their praises for them. Who’s going to hire you or contact you if they don’t know you or understand where your interests lie?

We as a profession don’t always self-promote. Maybe we’re too modest. Maybe we’re too busy. Maybe, in this industry full of perfectionists, we don’t think we’re all that special. Whatever the case, professional development isn’t just about upskilling or taking classes. You need to get yourself out there, be involved, and let people know you’re ready to take on challenges! In less than three minutes, I presented an unrehearsed account of what I’d been up to in library land, and I included some suggestions for others to try in the coming months.

Here are the essentials:

• Professional development? You can do it!
• Use your strengths – writing? speaking? researching?
• Use your network and your PLN Blog, tweet, take part in online communities 
• Go to events (professional AND social!) and library tours
• Submit to journals and InCite, enter contests, apply for funding – you never know!
• Keep track of what you do and what you learned, even if it’s just for yourself to see
• Find a mentor to get you on track and give you encouragement
• It’s all up to you! Be accountable for your own development.

Unconferences may seem like more fun than work, but they are definitely worthy of being included in your professional development. If you took the time and effort to come to Library Camp, you’re awesome! And if you presented, or shared something in a session, WOW! You are amazing!

I’m not saying you need to be conceited, but soon, you’ll be competing in the job market, and that’s no place to be modest about your skills and experiences. Start thinking about what makes you stand out, what you want to be known for, and what you can do to reach your personal and professional goals. And remember… it’s all up to you!

**originally blogged at Seeker. Finder. Reader.

I can hardly believe that I stood up in front of more than 100 people and spoke - enthusiastically, unrehearsed, with conviction - without backing down. After just one year in the LIS program, I've become more confident and self-assured. As an introvert, I've had to work at it, but it's been a very worthwhile journey. Now that I'm sure I'm on the right track professionally, it's becoming easier to put myself out there and give 100% to my new industry.

Adding to my bewilderment was the live-tweeting of my talk. If the tweets were any indication, self-promotion is a topic that new grads and library students are interested in, and I was inspiring them to consider investing in their own professional development. There was one naysayer who was following the tweets but wasn't present, and my tweeps immediately leapt to my defence, saying I was not "full of myself" but trying to present achievable tasks to shy students.

In the coming months, I'll continue to seek out opportunities to develop my public speaking skills. In particular, I'd like to grow more comfortable speaking to large groups, and also learn techniques for podcasting and video blogging. Attending a conference (or unconference) is ideal for networking, but it's not fiscally possible for everyone, so I hope the future of Australian conferences will include live-streaming. Getting involved in the conversation with Twitter is a great step forward, but if we're dreaming big, long-distance attendees should be able to see and hear the speakers in real time. I hope to present at a conference within a year of graduation, and the last thing I want to worry about is how I sound or look when I'm speaking.

VALA & why libraries are exciting

Hold onto your smartphones, VALA2012 is here! Librarians, library techs, and museum and gallery staff have descended on Melbourne for four days of 'eMpowering eFutures' - a conference that 'promotes the understanding and use of communication technology in libraries and the related museums, archives and galleries services' (VALA). With our client base becoming increasingly connected via mobile, social media, and emerging technologies, we need to embrace technological change in our organisations.

It's not just the after-conference drinks that are social - Twitter is being lit up with the hashtag #VALA2012 and each session has an additional hashtag. Even if you can't be here, you can follow the official account, @VALAlib, as well as #VALA2012. Delegates are already filling their twitter streams with helpful hints, valuable insights from sessions, social plans for the week, and conversation.

"VALA was established as the Victorian Association for Library Automation in 1978 in response to the emergence of automated library catalogues and other technologies that were revolutionising the industry at the time. In 2006 VALA's name was changed to VALA - Libraries, Technology and the Future. This was in recognition of dramatic changes in the information landscape which include the rise of eBooks and eJournals, the social web, cloud computing and mobile devices."
 - Wikipedia, 17 Jan 2012

Goodness, I'm excited about my future career in libraries! Why?

• The variety of books and media materials available
• Teaching people how to use library services
• Teaching people how to use technology
• Reaching patrons with relevant content & services
• Online and distance education resources
• Social media interaction with users
• Research communities
• Lifelong learning opportunities

VALA's 2012 theme is eM-powering eFutures - and, as Peter Drucker said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." *

*shamelessly stolen from Jason Griffey's keynote #VALA2012 #k1jg