As the End of the Semester Draws Near

The last few weeks of the semester usually allow me time to tie up loose ends on larger projects, and this semester is no different. Here are four random things I’m tackling in my roles as Librarian and Department Chair:

Welcome to the Library Video. This has been on the back burner for some time now. Our college finally filled a long-vacant Educational Media Specialist position, and his first task was to help us bring our video to life. We’re in the final stages of production on our very basic video introducing students to the brick and mortar facility as well as to our electronic collections. I somehow ended up being the narrator and starring in the video. I originally wanted to go for edgy (having bleeped-out curse words or something) but settled for a more modest, plain tone and appearance. At least my hair wasn’t up in a bun.

Information Literacy Curriculum Map. Through participation in the Curriculum and Instruction Council, I worked on a visual document that mapped all college courses along a spectrum of Information Literacy—placing courses with little or no Information Literacy outcomes on the left side of the spectrum and courses with high/intense Information Literacy outcomes on the right. This will give more intentionality to our library instruction programming and allow the library department to scaffold instruction within certain programs and pathways. We also hope it spurs department-wide discussion about which Information Literacy skills our students need at certain points in their college career.

Professional Development Collection. As our college investigates ways to increase student success, retention, and persistence, conversations around campus are popping up about teaching and learning approaches and activities that foster student engagement, connections, community, and active learning. The librarians are busy networking with faculty to beef up our collections on pedagogy, teaching practices, motivation, online teaching and learning, assessment, and technology (to name a few). With summer break approaching, there’s no better time than now to promote such a collection!

Library Data/Outputs for College Master Planning Document. I’m pleased that, as the college administrators improve their Master Planning Documents, the library will be included under the umbrella of Student Engagement. Outputs like usage data, library attendance, library orientations, and online embedded librarian sessions will be used as data linking library use to student engagement with the college. This has always been reflected in Library planning documents, but now these inputs will be included in the Master Plan.

It feels good to be making progress on these larger tasks. When the bell rings on the last day of school, I’ll have cleared my plate for dessert: reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt!