Frontier Librarian's posterous

...wrangling information in desolate places

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Back when I was a waitress at a Chinese food restaurant, I found myself agreeing (finally, after several invitations) to have a lunch date with the young chef at his apartment. He was going to make me a special dish featuring duck. He was going to procure the best sake. Before I headed over, my mom gave me a warning. She said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". Young and invincible, I shrugged her off. 

I'm pretty sure the chef put something in my sake. I only had a small amount with my meal (the duck was delicious). I started feeling extremely woozy and I left. He was very concerned that I was going to drive. Somehow I made it home and all I could do was lay in my bed for hours, feeling drugged. 

I bring this up here because I'm a bit weary about some "Great News" from the Council of Chief Librarians of the California Community Colleges. Listen to this:
"CCL is birthing a statewide database purchase on behalf of all the colleges" (That means that whatever database vendor "wins" the bid, all California Community Colleges will get that package for free. I hope it is Ebsco because I believe their products are superior to Gale and Proquest. However, I won't really have a choice anymore, will I?)
"CCL is shepherding a State-level exploration of open-source library systems which could lead to a State-funded and managed approach" (Um, this has the potential to be pretty huge. I must admit I'm worried about the "state-funded and managed approach" bit.)

Why is the state wanting to kick in and pay for expensive database bundles at all community colleges? What is the true genesis of this decision? I have a feeling the end result could be the state telling California Community College libraries how to run and manage their electronic subscriptions. I have a feeling they'll want to go with the least expensive, "open source" models. Could this mean a reduction in quality? A reduction in librarians' control over collection development?

Am I looking a gift horse in the mouth?

Blog Revival: Defining myself and the library

I've had some personal stuff going on, keeping me from blogging regularly (regularly, for me, has been once per month). Not to say I haven't had a lot of thoughts about librarianship over the past few months.

I'm well into my 2nd year at Cerro Coso Community College and seem to be no clearer on my role and the library's role at the college. College libraries ride a fence, so to speak: are we part of the Instructional/Academic Affairs side of the fence? or are we more aligned with the Student Services side of things? I attend faculty chair meetings. I teach a library class that is part of certain programs. I provide library instruction to classes. I'm definitely an instructor. However, when I use the Academic Program template for completing my Annual Unit Plans and Program Review, I can't easily fill them out the way, say, the English chair would. In fact, the counseling department sent me their Program Review template to use and it fit the library much better. Aside from logistics, I see the library as a key student service. The problem is that it is not represented in the Student Services meetings. The result is that it gets left out key discussions. It is neglected.

I spoke with the Vice President of Student Services about this and we've decided that I should attend the Student Services meetings. I feel this is a step in the right direction. I hope to integrate the library into other campus service points like counseling, transfer, learning assistance.

Two other thoughts accompany what I just previously wrote and they both have to do with the fact that the college library (at least the one where I work) is murkily defined in the overall organizational scheme of things.

1. At my institution the LRC is a 2-story building with the library on the bottom floor and the Learning Assistance Center and Computer labs upstairs. All tutoring happens upstairs. I need to ask other college librarians how their LACs and Librarys work together. I'd like to see more integration between these 2 entities at my institution. Why? What is "left out" when the library and Learning Assistance services are completely separate? Well, for starters it seems like the Learning Assistance Center is void of resources. Do the tutors even KNOW about library resources? Do they use them to help students write papers? My guess is that most do not.

2. My college district recently participated in a nation wide student survey on student engagement at community colleges (http://www.ccsse.org/). I was really miffed after reading the results that there were NO questions that asked students about their use of their college library. One question asked students if they had to use outside sources on papers they wrote. That's all I could find even related to questions about library usage. There were plenty of questions asking students how often they used the Tutoring Center, etc. NONE about the library. Am I the only one who things this very odd? To me it points to the larger theme of my blog about college libraries being murkily defined, hence invisible.

Spring Semester 2011

Has it really been 4 months since my last post? Boy, am I a terrible blogger. I've been very busy so I'll just post an update of what I've been doing this spring 11 semester at Cerro Coso College.

  • Defining our Library Program Student Learning Outcomes: what information competency skills we want our students to "get" out of the library, in general. They should become familiar with library policies, services, programs; they should be able to recognize different formats of information and how to access and use that information. We want them to be able to apply critical thinking in evaluating information they find. The challenge is how to measure this learning. We've developed assessment tools for our "one-shots" (class library presentations) and a questionnaire for one-on-one reference interviews. However, how can you expect to teach a student all the necessary info competency skills in a typical reference interview? I'm thinking about a developing a better questionnaire. I'm also thinking about coming up with realistic outcomes.
  • Library staffing issues: we're losing a main staffmember to retirement this summer. Additionally we have a vacant position that we've been waiting to fill. We need to train new people. First we need to hire them. The person who would train the new person is leaving. Who will train the trainer?
  • Working on my first Library Program Review!
  • Working on my first Accreditation Self Study!
  • Dealing with the ambiguity of my job: who is directing the LRC? Why is this important? We don't have a director or Dean of Library. What is being neglected due to this? I already see some consequences of this ambiguity and lack of direction in terms of the Library and Learning Assistance Center (both in the same building, the LRC) not being a cohesive unit.
  • Sitting on a hiring committee: we're hiring a new Anthropology instructor and I got to be a part of that 4-person team. It is so important to provide a dynamic teaching demonstration, if that is part of the interview porcess!

In other news:

  • I'm pages away from finishing Stephen King's 7-volume Dark Tower series. The Gunslinger has the Dark Tower in his sights after a long, treacherous journey. I've never read any other King books. I've enjoyed this one despite some cheesy aspects.
  • I enjoyed reading a Jonathan Franzen article in the New Yorker about visiting a deserted island to read Robinson Crusoe while thinking about his recently deceased friend. Lots of interesting insights on depression, the quest for stimuli that never make one happy, and acceptance of the finite.
  • I got my first portable device: an Ipad2. I really like it, especially making music on Garage Band. I'm my own band, "The Organelles".

We Used to Wait

I'm a fan of the group Arcade Fire. Many of their new songs deal with feeling wistful in changing times. I learned to play "We Used to Wait" on my grandma's piano and have been contemplating my own feelings of wistfulness in regards to the future of print, the future of academic library buildings, and the changing nature of what it means to be "information literate".

Now are lives are changing fast. Hope that something pure can last.

My favorite library blog @ The Librarian's Commute really got me to thinking about the future of academic library buildings in a recent post. Right now I'm sitting at the circulation desk at Cerro Coso Community College's empty library and Nellum's words are ringing true. With digitization and access to online resources, what's the point of an academic library building?

I used to write. I used to write letters, I used to sign my name.

I'm trying to be skeptical about my wistful feelings about the incredibly fast paced move towards digital futures...but I honestly feel that something is in danger of being lost in the transfer.

Take research skills, for example: Might there be certain skills that can only be learned in a tangible library? In the stacks? In the physicality of the research journey? I'm interested in such studies--on knowledge building in an online versus tangible context.

I'm well aware of the emerging benefits of online research, don't get me wrong. I'm aware of the new potentials of sharing and interacting during the information retrieval and researching process using online resources and emerging technologies.

Still I wonder, in my wistfulness, if something might be lost in the move towards digitization--some type of skill building or knowledge transfer or even cultural values. Is the cutting down of trees to make paper a lesser evil than depending on synthetic plastics, corrosive chemicals, etc. to run our electronic information superhighways and devices? Is there something "purer" in the "old" way of things? What about the serendipity of finding an unexpected book while browsing the stacks?

And it might seem strange--how we used to wait for letters to arrive.

Is convenience a good thing? Is it a good thing to not have to visit your college library anymore? Does doing research using tangible resources promote the virtue of patience in a manner that online research does not?

I think these questions are worth considering.

The pictures below are of my latest trip to Deep Springs College--a place where time seems to stand still-- I've written about my experience working in their library here and here. I shelved some books and processed many more for the library collection. I came across the lower half of a mannequin propped up against the wall in the 500's--a leftover decoration from the Halloween dance in the library. Dancing in the stacks: such merriment to be had in a library building!

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Throwing an Event

Well...I'm 5 weeks into the semester and can sum up my new job in 1 word: Scattered. Scattered in the good way: lots and lots of fun library projects. I am in the process of hiring a new Library Tech II; finding ways to integrate library services and resources into all classes by coordinating with faculty; purchasing new equipment; evaluating my Adjunct Librarians; developing Student Learning Outcomes for the Library Program, which includes developing assessment tools to measure the outcomes. I give a hearty shout out to Jeri Resto at Cuyamaca College Library for posting examples of the SLOs and tools she developed! What a great resource.

I'm also thinking about doing what Olivia Nellums did with her proactive approach to developing a Text Reserve Collection. I think this would be extremely useful at Cerro Coso--and appreciate Olivia's posts detailing her progress, process, and lessons. Last week we threw a "Library Open House". We had refreshments, games, and an eye-catching "Banned Books" exhibit. 124 people wandered through during the event. Here are some things I learned in the process:

  • 4 Hours is a long time to host an Open House--2 hours would've been plenty!
  • If you invite the community to an Open House with free refreshments, you'll get some participants who shamelessly eat all your food.
  • Cheese is expensive.
  • Place the food table away from the entrance--this encourages visitors to wander into the library.
  • Having Games and an Exhibit was a wonderful idea. Sarah, the library tech, invented a game where you matched the banned book title to the reason it was banned.
  • Prizes for game winners is a good idea.
  • Enlist the help of volunteers to make cookies, refresh the refreshment table, and chat people up (thanks mom and dad!).

So: I'm keeping busy. I'm taking advantage of the campus fitness center, music room (with a very nice upright piano!), and sculpture garden. I was resting there when I witnessed a roadrunner sprint over and snag a little bird that landed on the grass. That same day, we found a baby red-racer snake in the library!

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Valleypic
I started my new job as Faculty Librarian and Chair of the Library department at Cerro Coso's Indian Wells Valley campus, located in the town of Ridgecrest, which sits at the Southern end of the Sierra Nevada range. This desert landscape is ~ 10 degrees hotter than Bishop. The thermometer last week was routinely at 107 when I got in my car at 5pm. I'm working on tasks I've never tackled before: Updating the Annual Unit Plan for the library department, managing the library budget, and supervising library staff.

The biggest challenge (as I see it now) will be to garner support for library functions. I intend to protect the library from being turned into another computer lab.

The Library Mission statement states that the library will "Provide an environment conducive to discovery and self-learning". I think the architects and planners did a wonderful job at creating a facility that does just that. I like to take in the views of the entire valley from the expansive North-facing windows. Having a nice view always tends to make me introspective and gain perspective.

Picture of the valley

Getting Physical

It has been HOT in Deep Springs Valley these past few weeks. High 90s.

We're working on a large book shifting project so lots of hefting books in the stacks. The dusty stacks. The air-conditioning is out. Books are heavy and want to topple over in large sections and clap dust in my face.

We're making space in the 700's for hundreds of donated Art & Architecture titles, which I've been busy processing (with the help of my visiting Library Assistant friend, Christine Banks). Hands On Books: Their velvety feel, their handsome spines and verso pages, their glossy illustrations, their heft. All this work has me thinking about the physicality of library collections and resources. So much of a librarian's focus these days seems to be on electronic collections and new ways of accessing both virtual and physical collections. Reaching patrons in new ways enhanced by emerging technologies. Library Futures. I wonder about the future of the Deep Spring Library collection. I must admit that I hope it will be a last stronghold of fine print book specimans after most libraries have given up shelf space in response to the need for more computers.

Something I like to do when I'm handling a Deep Springs Book:
Check if it still has the (pre 1990's ?) checkout card and see the list of names of past students who checked it out by year. Primary documents hinting at institutional histories....neat Deep Springs Library artifacts.

Something I like to do after working all day hefting books: swim in the upper reservoir! Some pictures: (l-r) Summer in the valley; Handsome book spines in the L.L. Nunn Collection; Glossy Page from a Vasarely Folio-sized book; Christine filing cat cards; sauna @ upper reservoir; getting ready for a dip!

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Summertime Rolls

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I've been a bit inactive on this blog lately. I'm on summer break from my Cerro Coso College Librarian gig. I start my new full-time position in mid-August so I'm trying to enjoy the summer by filling it up with trips and hiking and visiting friends/family. Oh, and reading. What am I reading? Alice Munro, Cary Tennis, a Pinter play, and library trade publications!

I went to NYC for the first time in early June (pic of me posing on steps of Columbia U. Library) and I just got back from a week in San Francisco, where I spent a lazy afternoon rowing a boat on Lake Chabot (pic) while sipping fine beer AND got work done on a creative project (more later).

I'm also spending time thinking about this whole blog thing and realizing that I've yet to find "my voice". I'm new to this public journaling, which is why I haven't publicized this blog via the obvious channels like on my Facebook Profile. In fact, I'm considering moving to a new platform, possibly WordPress. But first I feel I need to figure out what I'm doing. I'm sure I'll have much more to grapple with in my new job as (the sole) Librarian at a 5-campus community college, especially since I just learned we're going through Accreditation next year AND two Library Tech positions recently vacated are not going to be filled to capacity. Oh geez.

So: I plan on continuing to enjoy this summer as it rolls by and not feel too bad about not blogging up a storm. I'll have time for that later. I'll continue to spend 2 days/week up at lovely Deep Springs College through August, getting happily lost in the collection and hopefully taking time to fall into a sea of grass and disappear among the shady blades...

Deep Springs: Thoughts on Cataloging Random Shoes

Cataloging is something I don't have a lot of in-depth experience with as my library adventures have led me through years of interfacing with the public at a reference desk.

My work at Deep Springs entails some basic cataloging of incoming books: locating the Dewey # (usually online but sometimes I'm required to blow off the dust from the Dewey Classification volulmes and try to figure out how a certain book should be classified and labelled). I wish I had more training in cataloging work because I find it fascinating.

I got a chuckle out of reading a blog entry titled Why You Should Fall to Your Knees and Worship A Librarian: "Librarians can catalog anything from an onion to a dog’s ear. They could catalog you."

This made me think of the random shoes I see at Deep Springs College. The main building where the library is has a very "lived-in" feel to it, like an extension of the dorm. I encounter many lost cups, plates, sweaters, shoes and boots. When I think of Deep Springs, the image of a lonely shoe is what comes to mind.

A few photos of abandoned DS footwear.

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Feed Reader Favs

Regurgitations of a few latest and greatest blog entries from my Google Feed Reader:

Drum role, please.

  • Olivia Nellum's entry on "The Librarian's Commute"-- Exploring possible links between student retention and the role of the library in providing access to ALL (or as many as possible) course textbooks/resources in a library's Reserve Collection. Crucial!
  • Meredith Farkas's "Information Wants to be Free"-- Musing about her semester teaching an online graduate course on using WEB 2.0 tools and Social Software in Libraries. Great stuff about utilizing technologies and formats to make online classes highly interactive. She links to her class page that uses Drupal--I can definitely see how the format fosters connectivity among students and facilitator.
  • Sarah Houghton Jan's "Librarian in Black" blog--a VERY informative and compelling entry making the case against using Internet Filters in libraries. Complete with a data table on the Findings of Filtering Studies. Sarah is ON it!


I learn so much from reading blogs! Thanks to these inspiring librarians for their insights!!!

Oh! And for fun:

  • Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner's "Awful Library Books" is a hilarious ongoing weeding project. Pretty sweet finds...

 Photos of the Frontier (taken by R. Cornett)

l-r: moonrise in Bishop; desert outhouse

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