Menu
Log in
Log in

Pre-Conference, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024
OCLC Convention Center, Lakeside Building
6600 Kilgour Place, Dublin, OH

Conference, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024
OCLC Convention Center, Smith Building
6600 Kilgour Place, Dublin, OH

Conference Schedule

8:00-9:00 a.m.: Registration & Breakfast

8:45-9:00 a.m.: Business Meeting

9:00-9:50 a.m.: keynote Speaker, Dr. G. Michelle Collins-Sibley

10:00-10:50 a.m.: Concurrent Sessions 1

11:00-11:50 a.m.: Concurrent Sessions 2

12:00-1:00 p.m.: Lunch & Awards

1:00-2:00 p.m.: Exhibitors, Poster Sessions, and Interest Groups Session

1:30-4:30 p.m.: Afternoon Snack

2:10-3:00 p.m.: Concurrent Sessions 3

3:10-4:00 p.m.: Concurrent Sessions 4


Conference Program Grid (pdf version)

Concurrent Sessions 1

Going Rogue: Inserting the Library in Campus-Wide Student Success Initiatives

Rob Snyder & Maureen Barry (Bowling Green State University)
Going rogue: Inserting the library in campus-wide student success initiatives

ABSTRACT

Library workers are very familiar with the importance of and challenges with “telling our story”. Given the shift in campus organizational structures over time, what are some of the obvious, and not-so-obvious, partnerships that can lead to improved adoption of library services to increase student success? How can we use the language and terminology used by other campus entities to tell our story and make new connections? Using national student affairs trends, organizational changes at their own mid-size university, and student assessment data as context, a current and a former First Year Experience librarian will highlight the history, present, and future of partnerships on their campus. Presenters will facilitate an activity for ideating new ways of leveraging partnerships to increase library visibility in student success conversations. Participants will share their successes and/or ideas for connecting with student affairs functional areas on their own campuses.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

  • Consider organizational shifts in higher education in order to adapt outreach plans at their institutions.
  • Reflect on a broad range of library partnerships with student affairs professionals in order to identify opportunities to impact student success on their own campuses.
  • Ideate ways to adapt library advocacy/messaging in order to communicate the value of the library and its contributions to student academic success

An Information Literacy Taxonomy: A New Tool for Developing IL Learning Outcome

Katie Blocksidge (OSU at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College), Hanna Primeau (OSU), Amanda Folk (OSU), & Jane Hammons (OSU)
An Information Literacy Taxonomy: A New Tool for Developing IL Learning Outcomes

ABSTRACT

The ACRL Framework is a move towards a constructivist understanding of information literacy, but translating the Frames into actionable steps for working with faculty and students can be challenging. Using findings from our study exploring instructors’ perceptions of information literacy, we developed a new information literacy taxonomy. We believe the taxonomy will help librarians and instructional partners to intentionally develop information-literacy learning outcomes with clear expectations and scaffolding for learners. Based on Bloom’s taxonomy, our IL taxonomy allows for the information literacy-related expectations that instructors have for students to be placed on a familiar continuum from “remember” to “create.” By examining the expectations instructors build into their research assignments, we can identify the different levels of information literacy students are expected to demonstrate. Exploring this Taxonomy may also help instructors recognize where there might be misalignments between their stated outcomes and their expectations. In this session, participants will explore the five levels of the taxonomy, collaboratively classify where common research assignments fall on the taxonomy and use IL Blooms to develop learning outcomes for their information literacy instructional contexts.

Participants will:

  • Describe the five levels of the information literacy taxonomy.
  • Reflect on how different skills or ways of thinking or acting could be categorized in the taxonomy.

Making the Case for Investing in the Library – ROI Measurement Strategies

Scott Lloyd (Mount St. Joseph University ) & Tom Sens (BHDP Architecture)
Making the Case for Investing in the Library – ROI Measurement Strategies

ABSTRACT

This two-part session aims to equip librarians with the necessary tools to advocate for investments in their libraries by presenting a compelling success story: the renovation of a small, private university library constructed in the 1960s. Part one will present a comprehensive overview of the renovation, where attendees will gain insights into establishing goals, subsequent outcomes, and the diverse return on investments (ROIs) realized by students, library staff, and the university community. Leveraging metrics and outcomes from a post-renovation period spanning a full academic year, this session will highlight tangible benefits derived from the upgraded library facilities. Additionally, we will offer insights into forthcoming findings from a post-occupancy evaluation scheduled for the summer of 2024, promising additional insights and lessons learned. Attendees can expect to gain an understanding of how strategic investments in library infrastructure can yield significant dividends for institutions, bolstering their ability to serve the evolving needs of academic communities. Part two will involve an engaging, interactive group exercise where audience members can share their existing library space challenges. The presenters will facilitate a discussion for overcoming challenges such as accessibility, renovation scope on a limited budget, prioritization, phasing strategies, and leveraging the unique aspects of the library.

Participants will:

  • be able to make the case for investing in the library and gain institutional leadership support.
  • be able to define how strategic investments in library infrastructure can yield dividends that benefit students, faculty, and library staff and improve library services.
  • be able to establish goals for their own library improvement project and understand how to measure its ROI.

Linked data: the evolution of library metadata

Jeff Mixter (OCLC)
Linked data: the evolution of library metadata

ABSTRACT

As libraries continue to focus on new ways to facilitate the creation and sharing of knowledge, and as the volume and variety of information increases, metadata and metadata expertise is more important than ever. Evolving library data into linked data frees the knowledge in library collections and connects it to the knowledge streams that inform our everyday lives—on the web, through smart devices, and using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). In this session, you’ll learn how the move to linked data facilitates greater contextualization of information, makes resources more discoverable, provides opportunities to improve workflows, and supports easier integration of library data into other systems and services. Wherever you are in your personal understanding of linked data—and wherever your library is in terms of adoption and interest—this session aims to educate and engage attendees with actionable ways to participate and make advancements with linked data

Participants will:

  • Gained a better understanding of what linked data is and how libraries benefit
  • Observed recent advancements in linked data and their use cases
  • Learned practical and immediate ways to participate in the move to linked data

Creating a Welcoming Environment for New Library Employees

Rich Wisneski, Zac Grisham, & Megan Jaskowiak (Miami University)
Creating a Welcoming Environment for New Library Employees: Revising a Library’s Onboarding Process

ABSTRACT

Many potential new library employees may feel anxious about starting a new job or position in libraries due to workloads, new library systems and tools, along with, for some, the stressors of moving to a new place. Libraries benefit from having an onboarding program that provides a welcoming environment and provides an overview of the organization, campus community, and area at large. Effective onboarding programs also provide a series of events and training, and expectations for new hires to get acclimated to their new position, acquire new skills, and have year-long activities to keep new employees engaged and excited. We will discuss how we revamped our library’s onboarding guide, including sections addressing moving to a new community, library-specific acronyms and terminology for both newly hired librarians and newly hired staff, and what to expect prior to and through the first month of employment. We will also discuss piloting a voluntary year-long buddy program for new employees to acclimate both to the institution and the surrounding area

Participants will:

  • Provide a clear, concise Library Guide that addresses what to expect and how to acclimate to a new job and area in order to make new employees feel welcomed and comfortable.
  • Learn about a buddy program and ways to implement one
  • Learn how to build a level of transparency between the hiring supervisor and the new hire

NOTE: Hybrid Session

Keynote Discussion

Keynote Discussion, Dr. G. Michelle Collins-Sibley.
"Myth, Memory, or History: Finding a (New) Balance in an Age of Nostalgia"

Concurrent Sessions 2

Welcome Aboard! A Candidate-Centered Approach to Conducting Searches

Katy Mathuews (Ohio University) & Neil Romanosky (Michigan State University)
Welcome Aboard! A Candidate-Centered Approach to Conducting Searches

ABSTRACT

The process of applying for open positions, interviewing, and navigating the offer process can be an overwhelming and stressful experience for candidates. As libraries consider ways to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, the process to recruit, interview, hire, and retain valuable employees can be one avenue to enact meaningful change. Speaking from their experiences as both search candidates and library practitioners in human resources, the presenters will introduce strategies that libraries can incorporate into their hiring processes to create a candidate-centered experience. Topics will address strategies for conducting interviews that account for candidate comfort and well-being, respecting diverse needs, and ensuring the process provides ample information for candidate decision-making. The discussion will also address ways that a candidate-centered approach adds value to the library’s experience, including gathering meaningful information about the candidate’s ability to perform the role while fostering a positive and welcoming work culture. The presenters will engage the audience in conversation to share successful and challenging experiences as candidates and hiring managers.

Participants will:

  • understand a candidate-centered approach to hiring
  • learn strategies to create a candidate-centered approach in their search processes
  • develop an understanding of how a candidate-centered approach to hiring adds value to the library’s ability to recruit, interview, hire, and retain exceptional candidates.

Looking to the Future: Reimagining Librarian/Faculty Collaboration in a Changing Landscape

Anita J. Slack (Kent State University) & Katheryn Fernandez (Capital University)
Looking to the Future: Reimagining Librarian/Faculty Collaboration in a Changing Landscape

ABSTRACT

Throughout its history, library work has seen a multitude of changes. However, it could be argued that how subject librarians interact and collaborate with disciplinary faculty has remained largely the same. This session presents a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional partnership. We will share experiences and recommendations from a librarian and faculty viewpoint on initiating, developing, and maintaining collaborative practices that maximize the unique skills and knowledge of both professions to ensure student success. We will discuss collaboration within and outside of the classroom that has improved student outcomes in a nursing research course, the importance of establishing a cross-disciplinary common language, how partnership can present unique opportunities, benefits of interdisciplinary mentoring, and the value of librarians immersing themselves in the disciplines they serve. Current trends in higher education including but not limited to budgetary challenges and the emergence of competency-based education in Ohio point to a need for deeper, interdisciplinary partnerships shifting from being considered innovative to being essential for student success. While this example focuses on nursing, the techniques can be effectively applied to any discipline. Presenters will share the steps that have thus far resulted in the partnership garnering national and international attention at nursing conferences.

Participants will:

  • Reflect on their current practice in order to identify two collaborative strategies to incorporate.

Academic Libraries’ Role in Supporting Students in Poverty: Ohio Library Perspectives

Mandi Goodsett, Kathryn Fisher, & Kathryn Albright
Academic Libraries’ Role in Supporting Students in Poverty: Ohio Library Perspectives

ABSTRACT

There is a growing scholarship to show that college students face a range of negative experiences due to poverty, such as homelessness, food insecurity, and poor health outcomes. Exhaustion, lack of nutritious food, and the anxiety caused by these challenges make it difficult for students to achieve academic success and make good academic choices. In this session, librarians at Ohio libraries will discuss ways that academic libraries can contribute to solutions to this difficult problem, including by helping students find affordable course materials, offering free or low-cost toiletry items, and providing support for the campus food bank. Attendees will learn how libraries’ role in promoting academic success can and should extend to helping students experiencing poverty.

Participants will:

  • Articulate the role that academic librarians play in supporting low-income students as a way to promote student academic success
  • Devise a plan to integrate poverty-alleviating activities into their libraries’ services and activities

TS Open House: A passport for understanding and communicating your department’s work

Cara Calabrese, Alea Henle, Masha Stepanova, & Rich Wisneski (Miami University)
TS Open House: A passport for understanding and communicating your department’s work

ABSTRACT

Technical Services (TS) can seem like a mysterious place for those not involved in the day to day inner workings. While mystery can be alluring and fun, we prefer to be known for our expertise and helpful nature! Our department wanted to peel back the curtain on what and how we accomplish the tasks of making information available. Thus began the idea for an “Open House” event. We wanted to invite our library colleagues and administration into our home base to share our processes and how all of TS works in concert to make sure our patrons and librarians get access to what they need. For this 1st “Open House” we opted to follow the path of resources from request to access as this process would take attendees to each person in our department. In our presentation we will share where the “Open House” idea came from, how we decided programming as a team, and the outcome of our event. Come see if an “Open House” can help bring your department together and share your unique work and skills with your library.

Participants will:

  • Explore ways to gamify and market library services in general and core technical services in specific in order to improve understanding and appreciation for their value among other library and university staff.

Empowering Library Professionals through Mentoring Relationships

Jaclyn Spraetz (Miami Univ.), Ione T. Damasco (Univ. of Dayton), Ken Irwin (Miami Univ.), Krista McDonald (Miami Univ.-Hamilton), Mira Scarnecchia (Columbus State Community College), & Brea McQueen (Miami Univ.-Hamilton)
Empowering Library Professionals through Mentoring Relationships

ABSTRACT

Mentoring relationships can play a pivotal role in the professional and personal development of library professionals, offering invaluable benefits to mentees and mentors alike. For mentees, it nurtures essential skills, provides insights into navigating the complexities of the field, and expands professional networks. For mentors, it strengthens leadership abilities, reinvigorates career goals, and reignites passion for the profession.
In the context of libraries, mentoring is crucial for cultivating community and fostering a culture of continuous learning. This panel will dive into the unique challenges and opportunities for mentoring in the library field. Experienced mentors will share their perspectives on relationship-building strategies, supporting new or marginalized mentees, and developing training materials for successful mentorships. Additionally, the ALAO Mentoring Committee will provide an overview of their program, including their approach to effectively matching mentors and mentees.
Attendees are encouraged to engage in the discussion, share their own mentoring experiences, and explore opportunities to connect with potential mentors or mentees. Join us in exploring how mentorship can nurture the growth and talent of library professionals, shaping the future of our dynamic field.

Participants will:

  • By listening to the experiences of mentors and mentees, participants will be able to describe the value of mentoring relationships for both mentees and mentors in the library profession.
  • Reflect on their own abilities as mentors and mentees and envision how they can participate in informal and formal mentoring relationships of their own
  • Discover best practices for planning and developing mentoring programs and will be able to apply the resources, tools, and action steps discussed in the panel to their own mentoring efforts at their institutions.

NOTE: Hybrid Session

Lightning Talks

Lightning Talks

  • 11:00 - Bilingual Picture Books in the Curriculum Materials Center (CMC): Equipping Education Students for Multicultural Classrooms. Justin Kemp (Cedarville University)
  • 11:10 - Crafting Learning Opportunities across Colleges. Kellie Tilton, Catie Carlson, & Lauren Wahman (University of Cincinnati)
  • 11:20 - Critical Information Literacy in First Year English Composition. Lorien Anderson & Sarah Fouts (Columbus State Community College)
  • 11:40- Workshops Are Work (But They’re Worth It!): The Evolution of Workshops and their Formats, Uses, and Topics since 2020. Madeleine Gaiser (University of Cincinnati)

Concurrent Sessions 3

Many hands: Leveraging strategies of engagement to celebrate d/Deaf identities in the library

Katie Foran-Mulcahy, Rachel Hoople, & Juanita Hall (University of Cincinnati)
Many hands: Leveraging strategies of engagement to celebrate d/Deaf identities in the library

ABSTRACT

Libraries have a long tradition of celebrating identities and cultures, often collaborating with campus partners on special events, exhibits, or lectures. In recognition of National Deaf History Month, the library engaged in a year-long partnership with the university’s American Sign Language & Deaf Studies (ASLDS) department. The collaboration culminated in three exhibits, a materials selection framework, a student-selected library acquisitions project, and an ASL storytime. This presentation will detail the successful library-department partnership and highlight the project’s diverse contributors, ranging from faculty and a student organization to the Center for Inclusive Excellence and the university’s preschool. Inherent in the project’s structure and outcomes, too, is a strategic, all-hands approach to engagement beyond the confines of liaison librarianship. Presenters from the library and the ASLDS department faculty will discuss the project components, share strategy, and reflect on outcomes. Additionally, presenters will lead session participants through an interactive exercise to draft an outreach project engagement strategy.

Participants will:

  • outline a library outreach project engagement strategy in order to maximize the project impact and engage stakeholders

The good, the bad, and the questionable: How unauthorized and pirate websites are confusing researchers and the library’s role

Marilia Y. Antunez & Gregg Harris (University of Akron)
The good, the bad, and the questionable: How unauthorized and pirate websites are confusing researchers and the library’s role

ABSTRACT

We will discuss the frustration that library users experience when unable to locate the full text of research articles through the library’s databases. This frustration often leads users to questionable websites where they can find the full text that was needed, but not necessarily an authorized copy. In this changing landscape of online resources it is becoming less clear whether the certainty of “legitimacy” is important to users, or whether they are even aware of the pitfalls and ethical concerns of using an illegitimate copy. We will explore the growing use of academic social networking sites and other unauthorized scholarly sites, discuss why these sources should be avoided, and how we can determine if a copy of an article is legitimate. We will emphasize the promotion of ethical and legal strategies such as alternative ways to find a copy of an article including some steps that libraries can take to educate their users; and technical solutions to improve navigating and using the library’s resources for full text linking and ILL services. Scenarios will be used to help with making informed decisions about copyright principles and compliance practices. Only a lawyer can provide legal counsel on copyright law.

Participants will:

  • Define academic social networking sites (ASNs), pirate websites, and other unauthorized scholarly sites
  • Describe one ethical and legal issue, or other implications for using ASNs and pirate websites used to share and find research papers.
  • Explain why faculty/librarians should avoid these sources for instruction.

Intersections of Cataloging and Information Literacy

Rocki Strader (Ohio State University)
Intersections of Cataloging and Information Literacy

ABSTRACT

Cataloging practices can and should support information literacy practices. In this presentation, the six frames of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education are used as lenses to examine the five user tasks identified in the IFLA Library Reference Model. Two themes emerge from this examination: context matters, and catalogers must tailor bibliographic descriptions to meet users’ expectations and information needs. A matrix of questions will be presented outlining what catalogers need to ask to refine cataloging practices to remain current and viable. The presented will seek conversation with the audience; such conversations will enrich the catalog, so that it can reclaim its position as a necessary tool for research and learning.

Participants will:

  • become more aware of inclusive practices in cataloging and how they can support learning outcomes for information literacy. It is hoped that this can open up dialogue between practitioners in public services and those in technical services.

Librarians as Faculty Developers: A Future Role for Academic Librarians?

Jane Hammons (Ohio State University)
Librarians as Faculty Developers: A Future Role for Academic Librarians?

ABSTRACT

Faculty developers support faculty by offering workshops, courses, and other programs. Librarians also have a long history of collaborating with faculty and providing workshops, courses, and other programs for faculty. However, this work has not usually been described by librarians as being “faculty development.” This presentation will center around what it might mean for librarians if we were to more intentionally adopt the role of faculty developer as a strategy for supporting student learning. Key questions that will be considered include: How is faculty development distinct from the ways that librarians have traditionally collaborated with faculty? What would the intentional adoption of the faculty developer role mean for academic librarians going forward? In this session, the presenter will share her experience acting as a faculty developer, along with insights gained from two recent publications on librarians as faculty developers, to lead participants in an interactive discussion about the past, present, and future of librarians and faculty development. Participants will leave with an enhanced understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with faculty development as a present and future role for librarians as well as ideas for how they might increase their engagement with faculty development.

Participants will:

  • Define faculty development in order to consider faculty development as a role for librarians
  • Explore increased intentional engagement with faculty development in order to support student learning and success

Beyond Strategic Planning: Transferable Skills for Continued Success

Katy Mathuews (Ohio University) & Ryan Spellman (Northern Kentucky University)
Beyond Strategic Planning: Transferable Skills for Continued Success

ABSTRACT

A successful strategic plan is built on a foundation of carefully executed research techniques, exercises, and collaboration. When library staff are empowered to participate in strategic planning, they are introduced to a wide range of opportunities to grow and develop new skills. In fact, although strategic planning is commonly seen as a periodic endeavor, these valuable strategic planning skills and experiences can carry well beyond the successful implementation of the plan. Whether you apply a new technique to your daily work or utilize techniques to tackle major challenges, the knowledge gained during an inclusive strategic planning process can set you up for success. The presenters will discuss an array of skills they learned during their library’s staff-led strategic planning process and how those skills can be applied to work beyond the strategic plan. Topics covered include project management, research skills, accreditation exercises, and more.

Participants will:

  • Learn about skills that can be gained from participating in a strategic planning proces
  • Identify areas of academic library work that can benefit from such techniques by way of real-world examples from the presenters.

A DAZL-ing User Experience: Improving Accessibility and Usability in the Database A-Z List

Holly Talbott & Tammy J. Eschedor Voelker (Kent State University)
A DAZL-ing User Experience: Improving Accessibility and Usability in the Database A-Z List

ABSTRACT

The database A-Z list (DAZL) is a staple discovery tool for e-resources within academic libraries. As web accessibility and usability standards have evolved, librarians have worked to enact these standards in the online interfaces of their database A-Z lists. This session looks at one library’s efforts to improve accessibility and usability for their database A-Z list according to these best practices. The presenters will discuss the issues uncovered, solutions implemented, and plans to assess and make improvements in the future. Topics covered include: Best practices for web accessibility and usability, Conducting an interdepartmental clean-up project, Writing database descriptions in plain language, Effectively utilizing Springshare’s A-Z Database List features, including subjects, types, and tagging, and Upcoming features of Springshare’s new A-Z Database List interface (scheduled for release in June 2024)

Participants will:

  • Identify potential accessibility and usability issues in a Database A-Z List interface
  • Analyze, evaluate, and classify resource descriptions
  • Plan a successful working group for an interdisciplinary project

Lightning Talks

Lighting Talks

  • 2:10 - I Will Not Be Silent: An Autoethnography of Academic Librarianship with Tourette Syndrome. Nicole Clarkson (Case Western Reserve University)
  • 2:20 - In the Closet as a Neurodivergent: How We can Transform our Libraries to Become a Better Place to Work for Neurodivergent Staff. Rachel Littleton (University of Dayton)
  • 2:30 - Data Driven Insights into the world of Shared Print. Gibi George & Heather Carter (OCLC)
  • 2:40 - The Price of Information: Teaching Students About Cost, Access, and Information Privilege. Heidi Gauder & Elizabeth Grauel (University of Dayton)

NOTE: Hybrid Session

Concurrent Sessions 4

Beyond Books: Conventional & Unconventional Library Engagement on College Campuses

Brigitte Galauner (University of Akron)
Beyond Books: Conventional & Unconventional Library Engagement on College Campuses

ABSTRACT

As a welcoming space for patrons, academic libraries are always looking for ways to engage with their students, alumni, and campus community. Campus engagement is critical in keeping library usage high and maintaining the image of a positive and welcoming learning space. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, library usage and engagement have fluctuated, requiring academic libraries to reassess how to engage with their patrons. How can we keep students engaged with their library and stay on the “radar” of the campus community? This session will discuss how academic libraries can strengthen their presence on campus with cross-departmental collaborations, targeted programming, and unconventional outreach

Participants will:

  • Assess the engagement level of your institution and identify gaps or trends
  • Brainstorm or determine alternative and creative ways to increase or maintain engagement with your campus community

Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future: Transformative Strategies for Special Collections Oversight

Stephanie Shreffler, Mandy Shannon, & Kayla Harris (University of Dayton)
Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future: Transformative Strategies for Special Collections Oversight

ABSTRACT

Librarians at a mid-sized university library formed a task force to evaluate one of the library’s special collections. Founded in 1999, the collection was closely tied to the mission of one of the university’ academic departments, but it was not clear how well it was actually supporting the teaching and research needs of the department. Over the years, changes in the resources and staffing for the special collection had resulted in its original collecting scope and mission gradually changing. The task force sought to evaluate the special collections’ holdings, gain better intellectual and physical control over the collection, and understand what types of outreach would best suit the academic department. The task force revised the collection development policy of the special collection, with a special emphasis on increasing its inclusivity. They performed a basic inventory of the unprocessed archival collections, and began processing this backlog. They also surveyed the faculty and graduate students of the academic department to learn more about how the special collection could better meet their research and teaching needs. Additional strategies used by the task force will also be described during the presentation.

Participants will:

  • Identify the importance of identifying issues of control and strategic communication from the outset
  • evaluate tools and processes for cross-departmental collaboration to avoid project stagnation
  • offer recommendations for communicating with university audiences outside of the library

GenAI for Gen Z: Introducing GenAI to First-Year Undergraduates

Stephanie D. Founds and Michael Flierl (Ohio State University)
GenAI for Gen Z: Introducing GenAI to First-Year Undergraduates

ABSTRACT

First-year undergraduate students face increasingly important challenges with GenAI which has fundamentally altered the information landscape of higher education. Instructors can be vague about acceptable use of the emerging technology, it is unclear how much they will be expected to use it in the workplace after graduation, and there are myriad ethical, privacy, security, reliability, and accessibility concerns. First-year students should understand the fundamentals of GenAI, while also being given the opportunity to discuss and reflect on its implications. In this presentation the presenters will discuss the design and teaching of a co-curricular workshop for first-year undergraduate students on GenAI fundamentals, limitations, and benefits. In this workshop students interact with the Microsoft GenAI tool Copilot. This presentation will share information about resources and discussions which guided the creation and design of this workshop. The presenters will also share student responses to the session and reflect on the future of this workshop and educating first-year undergraduates on GenAI more generally.

Participants will:

  • Recognize unique challenges faced by first-year students regarding GenAI.
  • Explore instructional strategies to explain GenAI technology to first-year students
  • Modify or build upon provided materials to teach this topic in their own contexts.

Incorporating OA publications into user workflows: Library efforts and user experiences

Brittany Brannon (OCLC)
Incorporating OA publications into user workflows: Library efforts and user experiences

ABSTRACT

Open science policies and funding agency requirements have accelerated the transition to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access (OA) publications in many countries. It is often assumed that OA publications are easy for users to discover and access because there is no paywall. However, there may be a gap between being freely available and being discoverable. Libraries have invested heavily in the discovery, authentication, and access infrastructure for paywalled content they subscribe to. What can they do to improve the discoverability of OA publications for their user communities? Join me to hear how seven Dutch academic libraries are integrating OA publications into user workflows, and to learn what their users’ experiences are discovering scholarly, peer-reviewed publications and OA. Library efforts fell into four areas: Selecting and adding OA publications to library collections; Increasing OA awareness, knowledge, and engagement; Improving metadata to support OA discovery; and, Measuring the effects of library efforts. Users’ experiences generally confirm the value of these efforts and highlight opportunities for further work. This presentation will offer insights into library efforts and user behaviors that can help library staff around the world improve the discoverability of OA publications in the transition to open science.

Participants will:

  • identify strategies for incorporating OA publications into user workflows that can be implemented at their institution

Environmental scanning as an ongoing process in libraries

Meris Longmeier (Ohio State University)
Environmental scanning as an ongoing process in libraries: the art of learning from past approaches, understanding the current work, and planning for future workflows and services.

ABSTRACT

In academic libraries, environmental scanning is often associated with strategic planning processes. However, the skills and approaches can- and should- be applied to all areas of library work on a continual basis. Environmental scanning allows you to understand your audience and your campus, review what other libraries are doing, benchmark current approaches, and modify your services and workflows. This process is equally applicable for areas within public services and technical services because the framework is adaptable and provides a snapshot in time of both internal and external forces affecting ongoing work. Environmental scanning enables you to advocate for resources, provide targeted approaches for marketing services your users, and ensure the library remains relevant on campus. Whether you are learning a new liaison area, piloting a change of cataloging practices, assessing the diversity coverage of your collection, or deciding whether to start a new library service, environmental scanning can provide insight and direction. After this session, attendees will understand environmental scanning approaches in order to document existing practices, examine current trends at their own campus and in the field, and make recommendations for changes. This will be achieved through active learning using real-world cases from both public and technical services.

Participants will:

  • Attendees will be able to articulate the value of the environmental scanning process in order to understand their users and develop customized services and workflows.
  • Participants will learn how to develop a strategy for environmental scanning in the context of their own organization after working through case studies in order to advocate for resources or changes to services

Revolutionizing Resource Discovery: AI-Driven Innovations in OPACs

Marcela Gonzalez (OCLC)
Revolutionizing Resource Discovery: AI-Driven Innovations in OPACs

ABSTRACT

Resource discovery and Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) are the bridge between libraries and their users, but traditional systems often struggle to provide personalized and relevant search results. Particularly, the main issue is users are not adept at navigating the system. This presentation explores how AI-driven innovations are revolutionizing resource discovery in OPACs and will discuss the integration of recommender systems and other AI technologies. The presentation will focus on user challenges when navigating OPACs while also highlighting the importance of personalized discovery services. The presentation will also address examples of how recommender systems can transform OPACs with collaborative filtering and content-based filtering algorithms to enhance search relevance and user satisfaction. The presenter will address the ethical considerations of utilizing recommender systems and user privacy and algorithmic transparency will be addressed. Furthermore, the presenter will examine future trends and emerging technologies in AI-driven innovations for OPACs with an emphasis on user-design principles and meeting the evolving needs of library patrons.

Participants will:

  • Explore how recommender systems can be implemented in OPACs in order to recognize their potential to enhance search relevance and user experience
  • Discuss the importance of user privacy and algorithmic transparency in order to highlight the ethical considerations associated with AI-driven recommendations

Vanguard libraries: The journey to migration-choices, roadblock, and tips for your migration

TBD
Vanguard libraries: The journey to migration-choices, roadblock, and tips for your migration

ABSTRACT

Come hear from a panel of Vanguard libraries about their experiences and how the current migration from Sierra to Alma is going. Panelists with different expertise will share how the vanguard process went for them and how they are using that knowledge to make the main migration go more smoothly, both in their libraries and across OhioLINK. Panelists will answer questions and share tips from the trenches.

NOTE: Hybrid Session

Poster Sessions

Roll for Initiative! Building Community through Dungeons & Dragons

Roll for Initiative! Building Community through Dungeons & Dragons
James Gilmer & Matthew Early (Tiffin University)

How do we reach students who are struggling to find a place on campus? With retention and persistence constant concerns at every university campus, it is vital that librarians consider our role in helping students fit. We designed the program with ‘fit’ as a central goal: students should meet campus support staff playing the part of quest-giver in a cameo role – the assistant director of career services, the director of the writing center, etc. – in a friendly space and become comfortable with staff as individuals. We hope to see an increase in utilization of our campus partner’s services as a direct result of these cameos. We wanted to ensure that students gained life skills through programming. Dungeons & Dragons is a collaborative game that encourages players to work as a team to overcome obstacles. We encouraged students to design individualized character tokens using Heroforge, which they were then able to print and paint in the library’s Makerspace – encouraging both students and our student workers to learn how to use the new equipment.

A Multidisciplinary Graphic Medicine Collection for Undergraduates

A Multidisciplinary Graphic Medicine Collection for Undergraduates
Megan Jaskowiak, Stefanie Hilles, Abigail Morgan, & Jaclyn Spraetz (Miami University)

Graphic medicine is a genre that combines comics and healthcare, using personal stories to educate patients and improve communication about health issues. Graphic medicine works have been shown to increase empathy and cultural awareness and have been used to teach social justice and provide patient education. Many medical schools have graphic medicine collections and even offer graphic medicine courses. Also, a growing number of public libraries also have graphic medicine collections because they help connect patients with stories of people who had similar experiences, helping to reduce feelings of isolation. Graphic medicine can educate the general public to address misconceptions, promote public awareness, and enhance understanding. The authors, who represent multiple liaison areas across health sciences, art, education, disability studies, and student success, decided to start a collection at their library because they felt that the students would benefit from having access to graphic medicine resources. This new collection includes graphic novels, zines, and monographs that promote health literacy and highlight common and unique health issues and was started with a grant from our library. This poster will include information on select titles, resources used to develop the collection, and information about the marketing campaign to promote the collection.

Auditing Diversity in Leisure Reading

Auditing Diversity in Leisure Reading
Laura Birkenhauer (Miami University)

A librarian reflects on a small-scale project to audit 400+ items held in an academic library’s popular reading collection. Poster details the audit process, initial outcomes, and how — one year later — the audit has impacted collecting practices. Documentation includes relevant resources, as well as procedures for student employee audit participation.

Collaborating to Create Lifelong Learners

Collaborating to Create Lifelong Learners
Kristen Peters (Wittenberg University) & Allison Peck (Clark County Public Library)

This poster session will provide details of a partnership between an academic library and the nearby public library from idea to implementation. The initial idea was to bring a small collection of leisure books for college students, faculty and staff to a designated shelf in the academic library for patrons to borrow. The public library ended up piloting a book vending machine at the academic library, which eliminated the need to run two separate Library Management Systems at the circulation desk. This partnership aligns with both libraries' goals to create lifelong learners by introducing public library resources before students graduate from college.

Different Modalities, Singular Impact: Information Literacy Workshop Impact on Student Success Across Delivery Methods

Different Modalities, Singular Impact: Information Literacy Workshop Impact on Student Success Across Delivery Methods
Mandy Shannon (University of Dayton)

Over a ten-year period, a mid-sized public university has presented foundational information literacy workshops focusing on specific student challenge-centered topics. While these were initially delivered in traditional classroom sessions, they have transitioned over time to asynchronous online workshop modules. This poster will present the results of two separate ALAO RPC-funded projects, each of which examined the impact of these workshops on student success indicators. In both cases, students who completed at least one workshop had significantly higher GPAs, semester completion rates, and retention rates, regardless of delivery modality. The use of propensity score matching techniques, which has been used in other studies to isolate independent impact of library resource use on student achievement, is used here to understand the impact of information literacy instruction. The poster will include summary results of each study (face-to-face participant outcomes and online participant outcomes), and how those results can be used to make a case for the value of information literacy instruction.

DIY Digitization: How Library Support Staff Collaborated to Build a Digitization Tool on a Shoestring Budget

DIY Digitization: How Library Support Staff Collaborated to Build a Digitization Tool on a Shoestring Budget
Rachel Littleton (University of Dayton)

Digitization is an important initiative that enables greater access to historical artifacts, yet the high cost in both time and resources can deter many libraries from even approaching this trend. Instead of purchasing an expensive high-quality book scanner or contracting the services of a vendor, a small academic library explored ways to develop their own tool using their support staff’s expertise. The poster will detail how library support staff collaborated to design and then build an open-face book cradle that fit their collection’s specific needs at a low cost, before moving on to describe how this tool enabled high-quality scans for various projects. The benefits and challenges of this approach will be compared against other alternatives so that attendees may consider how this tool may fit into their own institution’s digitization initiatives.

Enhancing Belonging in the Library Instruction Classroom through an Inclusive Pedagogy Teacher Training Program

Enhancing Belonging in the Library Instruction Classroom through an Inclusive Pedagogy Teacher Training Program
Christine Mueller (Xavier University)

As campuses continue to evolve teaching practices that foster a sense of belonging among students, this poster session will show how a librarian training program was developed to enhance instructional design with the incorporation of inclusive pedagogical principles. Attendees will be shown tools and resources that help develop best practices for library instruction sessions by incorporating multiple inclusive pedagogies including culturally responsive teaching, universal design for learning and critical information literacy. The presenter will illustrate how inclusive pedagogical principles work in tandem with backwards instructional design and active learning strategies, as well as demonstrate how best practices applied to student learning outcomes foster engagement and a sense of belonging in the classroom. Attendees will learn how to strengthen their own instructional design practices, reflect on their own teaching persona based on personal cultural viewpoints and learn how to develop their own library instruction training program to include inclusive pedagogies in order to foster engagement and belonging in the classroom.

Enriching a Historical Dietary Guidance Digital Collection: Legacy Metadata, Subject Term Analysis, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Considerations

Enriching a Historical Dietary Guidance Digital Collection: Legacy Metadata, Subject Term Analysis, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Considerations
Charlotte Houghton (University of Maryland)

This poster shares takeaways from a graduate fellowship that focused on improving metadata to better represent diverse, inclusive, and/or culturally-aware topics in a historical digital collection within a national library. The project investigates whether current subject terms accurately reflect a range of inclusive concepts in the collection’s items, and highlights areas for improvement. The research is part of a larger project which aims to increase the visibility of diversity, representation, and inclusion throughout the collection. Other aspects of this project will focus on developing best practices to incorporate reparative descriptive workflows; updating the institution’s thesaurus to include concepts of diversity within nutritional and dietary science; and creating collection development and assessment policies that center items which reflect diverse and inclusive dietary guidance, practices, and science. The current work is a foundational step necessary to address these goals and immediately increases the discoverability of diverse items, an important improvement for users. This project has implications not just for digital curation and metadata librarianship, but extends into the realm of public health, with the collection’s focus on the history and current state of dietary guidance.

From Training to Action: Insights from Two OER Training Programs

From Training to Action: Insights from Two OER Training Programs
Katie Maxfield (Wittenberg University)

The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) is an increasingly popular avenue for academic libraries to help support affordable learning. Yet institutions without existing OER initiatives may wonder what is realistically feasible with minimal funds to incentivize OER creation and adoption among their faculty. In this poster session, the presenter will share their experience exploring strategies for a new OER initiative in a small liberal arts college setting. Drawing from firsthand experiences in two distinct OER training programs – the AAC&U's Institute on Open Educational Resources and the Open Education Network's certificate in Open Education Librarianship – the presenter will reflect on the lessons learned and challenges faced while transitioning from learning about OER to implementing a new OER initiative on a tight budget.

Grasping Research Data Needs: surveying faculty in order to provide library support and services

Grasping Research Data Needs: surveying faculty in order to provide library support and services
Hector Escobar (University of Dayton)

In Spring 2024, a survey was administered to teaching faculty in the hopes of gaining better insight for both individual research and curricular data needs. Research data was defined as data that was either created or used for a research project or for a grant submission. It was also defined as data that could be used with one’s curricular design. For example, GIS data for a class project. This poster hopes to illustrate the survey process used in order to provide possible survey approaches at one’s own institution. The poster also will share results gathered from 120 faculty responses from various disciplines. For example, survey results indicated that nearly 70% of faculty do not know that an institution repository can be used to host and store final data sets. The results will ultimately be used to identify services and resources the library can offer or highlight to its faculty in terms of research data support.

In-person, online, or hybrid? Shaping future information literacy sessions within the first-year seminar through examination of a two-year pilot study

In-person, online, or hybrid? Shaping future information literacy sessions within the first-year seminar through examination of a two-year pilot study
Jessica Mahoney (Franklin College) & Erin Gabrielson (Franklin College)

Which type of learning experience best nurtures the growth of students' information literacy skills: in-person, online, or hybrid? How might librarians best cultivate this academic development among first-year students? This session presents the results of our two-year information literacy pilot examining the impact of in-person, online, and hybrid teaching models within first-year seminar courses. The two-year study, spanning the 2022 and 2023 academic years, gained the support of more than 10 faculty members, assessed three learning outcomes through a pre-and post-test, scaffolded instruction sessions across two months, and resulted in the gathering of evidence for academic affairs and HLC reporting purposes. Information, such as foundational literature, research methodology, and results will be shared, and attendees will be invited to discuss steps for shaping future information literacy instruction sessions within the first year and across the curriculum by examining the present and the past.

Lessons learned: Connecting with part-time faculty and their students through university committee service

Lessons learned: Connecting with part-time faculty and their students through university committee service
Marilia Y. Antunez (University of Akron)

Serving in a standing committee whose charge is to advocate for part-time faculty (PTF) in a Midwestern university provided opportunities for a faculty librarian to communicate the value of the library to the committee members, who are all faculty from a range of academic departments. PTF are becoming the majority of teaching faculty in many institutions, but the librarian/PTF faculty engagement is limited since PTF may not reach out to the library due to unique limitations (e.g., time on campus) and librarians often lack information to reach out to them. The literature on librarian-faculty engagement in shared governance is scarce. Since 2018, the author has been working closely with the PTF Committee to address PTF concerns and questions including working with human resources and other relevant units. She served as committee chair and coordinated two webinars each semester to inform and provide updates, resources, and key issues (e.g., Workday training for Part-Time Faculty, meeting with the new university president/provost). Results: The number of interactions she received from PTF (e.g., requests for narrated library videos, instruction) increased as well as her understanding of PTF’s challenges. Serving in the committee helped to make the library more visible and improved communication with PTF.

Mixed Methods Strategies for Determining Resource Needs

Mixed Methods Strategies for Determining Resource Needs
Amy F. Fyn & Kathie Mason (Eastern Michigan University)

Faculty are the greatest driver of student use of library collections through assigned readings and research projects. Knowing what types of resources faculty are using in their curricula is an ongoing challenge, and usage reports do not provide sufficient insight to determine what is beneficial or what is missing from the collection. How can librarians engage with faculty to increase our understanding of students’ curricular and research activities and their resource needs? To learn more about which materials faculty currently require or recommend students use to be successful in their courses, a public services librarian and a collections librarian conducted resource needs assessments for several departments. This poster shares our process, what we learned, and how the results will inform future practice. For additional interaction, attendees will be invited to add sticky notes sharing how they determine resource needs.

Moving library instruction from the past and into the present: Increasing active learning with Google Slides

Moving library instruction from the past and into the present: Increasing active learning with Google Slides
Paul C. Campbell (Kent State University)

This poster showcases how a social science librarian successfully combines active learning with educational technology to incorporate the Framework for Information Literacy in library instruction. The presenter saw an opportunity to evolve his instruction beyond the traditional, passive point-and-click library database demonstrations using canned search examples. To move beyond ineffective past instructional practices, this poster outlines how Google Slides can be used to serve as both the lecture material and to create interactive digital worksheets. Combined they can dramatically transform library instruction by increasing active learning and facilitating meaningful conversations with students on the different facets of the Framework for Information Literacy. These digital worksheets have students explore elements of the Framework in context of their own research topic while challenging them to apply these concepts to their own research process. This innovative approach to library instruction enriches the learning experience and empowers students to take a more proactive role in their research process. Using digital worksheets in library instruction has led to students leaving an instruction session having discovered existing literature on their topic, explored relevant databases, identified keywords and related concepts to their topic, and at times, better refined research topics.

Teaching Information Literacy Using Wikipedia: 3 Paths to Success

Teaching Information Literacy Using Wikipedia: 3 Paths to Success
Mandi Goodsett (Cleveland State University)

Wikipedia has long gone from a source of disdain for teachers to an important tool that researchers, students, and teachers alike find useful. But can Wikipedia be used to teach information literacy concepts? In this poster, a librarian will demonstrate some of the many ways that Wikipedia can assist with information literacy instruction, from helping students edit Wikipedia in open pedagogy projects, to making fact-checking and lateral reading easier by consulting Wikipedia, to considering Wikipedia’s uses for research. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for incorporating Wikipedia into their own teaching.

Reshaping the Thesis Collection: A learning Experience for a New librarian

Reshaping the Thesis Collection: A learning Experience for a New librarian
Catherine King (Case Western Reserve University Health Sciences Library)

This project began out of the need to combine collection from two different location and while not eating up space. Previously, the collection was in two separate collection and shelved by the department. The collection had thesis from the 1920s up until 2016, when theses eventually were only published online. We had two copies of most thesis, one that could circulate, and the other was for library use only. Eventually, it was decided that both copies could be circulated. Some of the thesis were very popular and rarely stayed on the shelf. In addition, it was decided anything before 1930, would be in the rare collection. After those decisions, next came the logistic of the move: the who, what, and who came next. I thought this was going to be simple and easy. With that mindset, my planning was simple. However, once I stared the moving, unpacking and organizing, I had a lot of “Oh boy” moments. I better assessment of space, the number of items, people needed. Lesson learned is discussed

Copyright  Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO)

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software