Tag Archives: Research

Check it Out:, Tech

AASL Top Digital Tools 2021: Britannica School

AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

This week we’re looking at Britannica School. This database “offers thousands of curated and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended websites, and three unique, but  connected, databases to meet every reading level. Students can use Britannica School to browse by subject, media type, or weekly rotating content. They can access the world’s knowledge with accurate, nonfiction, cross-curricular multimedia content that’s aligned to the next generation science, common core, and state curriculum standards.”

Grades: K-12

School Library Journal calls the resource “a highly recommended database” in this descriptive review. This review from Tech Learning examines Britannica School’s quality and effectiveness, ease of use, creative use of technology, and use in a school environment. And this overview from EdSurge includes feedback from teachers using Britannica School in the classroom.

This three minute video gives an overview of the program:

https://youtu.be/lewzppyt_rc
Podcast

Episode 314: Research and Writing

Fountain pen writing (literacy)

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Introduction

Welcome back to Season Three of Linking Our Libraries! We are Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we are here to share information with all types of libraries, archives, and other nonprofits working to build their skills. This season, we are working on building a toolbox of leadership skills and ideas. By the end of this season, you will have fifteen specific skills that will make you a stronger leader and manager in your organization.

This week we discuss Research and Writing. Joining us is Guest Host Rhonda Huisman, Dean of the Library at St. Cloud State University.

The Basics

Talking about research and writing is not typical for management development; but sharing your experience is an important part of being a good library leader. Remember that you are not “just” a manager in your Reference department, or of your hospital library, or working in your grade school; you are also part of a profession. That means you get some great benefits in being part of a large group; and you have some responsibilities back to that group. Carrying out research, and communicating the good and bad experiences you have in the profession, are ways to fulfill that responsibility.

This is a surprisingly tough sell for many library people. They worry they are not doing things that are important enough to share, or that they are not good writers, or that they just do not know where to start.

Fortunately, these problems are easily overcome. In our profession we have a lot of people who are active in publishing their work – in journals, in blogs, in newspapers, in podcasts, or other venues. You can find all sorts of resources on good writing and on publishing to help you get started. And it does not matter at all how big or how small they are – every single library we have ever visited is doing something interesting and unique. Never worry that you have nothing of value to say.

In libraries and archives, research is all about finding ways we can help our organizations to function better, and do more to reach out to our communities. Just like everything else we do, it is about solving problems and connecting people with the right information. As a manager, you want to be actively involved in solving problems and finding answers to different issues that will arise in your organization. Understanding some basics on research will let you do this.
Continue reading Episode 314: Research and Writing →

Research, Services

Future of Libraries Fellowship

The American Library Association’s Center for the Future of Libraries provides a fellowship for an individual or group interested in exploring the future of libraries.
The fellowship offers a stipend of $10,000 to advance new ideas and perspectives for the future of libraries through the creation of a public product – report, white paper, video, resource, tool – that will help library professionals envision the future of library collections, services, spaces, technologies, or partnerships.
Selected fellow(s) have access to the Center’s staff and Advisory Group to help advise and respond to their work as requested by the fellow(s).
Projects may build on existing work, research, or initiatives of the Association, its Offices, Divisions, and Round Tables, or explore new directions and interests.

Who Should Apply

The fellowship is available to individuals or groups in the library profession as well as those from other disciplines with a demonstrated interest in libraries and their futures.
This is an intentionally broad call for applicants. Faculty and researchers, practitioners, students, advocates, and allies are encouraged to apply. 
Individuals should be prepared to conduct and complete their project within six months of selection, managing the project with existing employment or any other work responsibilities.
The fellowship does not include a residency requirement. International colleagues are encouraged to apply.
The fellowship will be ideal for individuals with:
  • A passion for and commitment to the value of libraries and library professionals
  • A unique point of view or vision for the future of libraries or desire to provoke thought around the future of libraries
  • The skills and abilities to explore the future of libraries
  • Strong analytical, communication, and writing skills and an ability to independently manage a project and delivery timeline
The fellowship may be used to advance an individual’s existing work or research, but is not intended as support for the completion of a degree, thesis, or dissertation.

How to Apply

Interested individuals are invited to submit an application of no more than three pages outlining their project, making sure to:
  • Describe the proposed project and resulting report, white paper, resource, or other final product
  • Explain how the project would advance and support library professionals’ consideration of the future of libraries
  • Summarize any research, experience, or skills and abilities that qualify the individual for the proposed project
  • Connect the project to existing work, research, or initiatives happening within the American Library Association or the larger library profession
  • Provide a timeline for the project and their plan to complete the project in no more than six months
Additionally, individuals should submit a resume or curriculum vitae (including name and primary contact information) as part of the application.
Materials may be submitted as attachments and emailed to mfigueroa@ala.org.

How will applications be evaluated?

Applications will be evaluated by members of the Center’s Advisory Group.
The advisory group will evaluate applications based on:
  • The effective design of the project, including its uniqueness and the innovation in its approach to the future of libraries
  • The potential value, reach, and usefulness of the final product
  • The demonstrated knowledge, ability, and qualification for the individuals to complete and manage the project
The proposals from 2017 that received the highest scores tended to fall into three categories:
  • Projects that advanced innovation, design, or creativity among library professionals
  • Projects that explored the next stage or application of current library trends (makerspaces, open education resources, collective impact) in new and important directions
  • Projects that surveyed and documented potential library futures and communicated them in interesting ways to the public or new audiences
While this is a broad call for proposals, individuals are encouraged to think in terms of projects that will have an impact beyond a single library or circumstance. Those interested in discussing their proposals may contact Miguel Figueroa at mfigueroa@ala.org.

What is the timeline?

The availability of the next fellowship will be announced by March 2018 with a deadline of May 15, 2018.
Selected individual(s) will be notified and will work with the Center for the Future of Libraries to finalize a schedule of completion, not to extend beyond six months from the date of agreement.
Selected fellow(s) will receive a one-time stipend of $10,000 to support their work. Funds should not be used to provide overhead costs or administrative fees.
Resulting reports, white papers, resources, or other products will be made available through the Center for the Future of Libraries at the conclusion of the fellowship.
Fellow(s) will be invited to present on their project at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference or Midwinter Meeting, with support for their travel and participation provided by the Center for the Future of Libraries.
Resources

Librarians of the 21st: The Ultimate Superheroes of Research

Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice - Wonder WomanFrom LitHub, by Stefanie Maclin-Hurd

“An MS in Library and Information Science is, at its core, a research degree. In studying library science, you learn how to investigate primary sources, how to find materials, and how to search catalogs. In certain specializations, you may also learn how to identify and describe items, or how to preserve items. In my own MLIS program, I studied skills like cataloging, photograph preservation, and art documentation. Whether we are helping a patron to find a book, or investigating the historical significance of a particular item, we must research. Both queries use the same MLIS, but in different ways.

Unsurprisingly, working in an academic library, I taught students how to research. I taught them how to dig into databases and primary sources. We talked about how Wikipedia was not always the best source, despite its convenience, in part because it was editable by anyone. Even while the articles required primary sources and research to be written, once written, anyone could go in to make changes and those changes were not always vetted. We talked about how to cite sources, and how to determine if the articles were scholarly and/or peer-reviewed. We discussed finding news articles online, and checking one’s source materials to ensure what was being cited was accurate. Continue reading Librarians of the 21st: The Ultimate Superheroes of Research →

Academic, Books

Primary Research Group Inc. has published the International Survey of Research University Leadership: Evaluation of the Academic Library

“Primary Research Group Inc. has published the International Survey of Research University Leadership: Evaluation of the Academic Library, ISBN 978-157440-453-1

The 125-page study presents the findings from a survey of 314 deans,  department chairmen, provosts, registrars, trustees, chancellors, vice presidents, administrative department directors and other upper level administration and management from more than 50 research universities in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia.  Data is broken out by title and also by department or work role, such as for fundraising and marketing, technology transfer, student services, educational administration and other
categories.  Data is also broken out by country, for public and private
universities and by other variables such as level of compensation and gender, among others.

We asked these higher education leaders what they thought of the overall performance of their library, of the performance of the library in meeting the needs of their particular departments, and of library performance in a range of areas: cost control, information literacy, collection breadth, supplier of bibliometrics, and other areas.  Those sampled also give their opinion on which items the library should be spending more, or less, or about the same, with specific data on books, eBooks, journals, workstations and other content, practices and items.

Just a few of the study’s many findings are that:

•       Younger administrators were more pro-library than older administrators; nearly 69% of those aged 31-39 awarded an “A” grade to their library while only 47.25% of administrators 60 or older did the same.

•       The best paid administrators, those earning more than US $250,000 per year, were also less enthusiastic than others at lower pay grades about increasing the library budget: only 20.83% of them wanted to increase library spending.

•       Support for increased spending on library workstations was strongest from those in positions in university business and finance, where 41.18% wanted to spend more and 5.88%, much more, and in student services, where 47.06% wanted to spend more, and 2.94% much more.

•       Administrators in North America were particularly disillusioned about their library’s performance in information literacy and positive performance assessment fell off considerably from the highest to the lowest ranked universities.

For further information view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.”