Notes from the ACRL Undergraduate Librarians Discussion Group
ALA Midwinter, Monday, January 28, 2013, Seattle, WA
Pam MacKintosh, convener, welcomed the 35 attendees.
The ACRL Standards Committee did not have a quorum in attendance at Midwinter, so cancelled their
meeting. They will try to determine if they can discuss and vote on our revisions to the ACRL Guidelines
for University Library Services to Undergraduate Students.
No one had any open positions to announce.
Jill McKinstry of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library at the University of Washington announced that
Lauren Ray would be giving a tour of the University of Washington Library’s Research Commons at 2
p.m. Odegaard is current under renovation, but Jill and her staff would be happy to give tours to
anyone who wants to come to campus.
Several people indicated they planned to visit local museums and asked if others wanted to come.
The topics of discussion that were suggested were:
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Support for student digital media assignments
How to get the whole organization to think about information literacy
The process of establishing a credit-based information literacy class
Media Assignments (institution is listed, if speaker identified it):
University of Wisconsin - Media studio classes – for classes, not 1 person/computer. The classroom has
6 computers.
Design lab –like a writing lab for digital projects
Copyright for students doing digital media assignments
Digital Studies certificate program
Oregon State University - provide space in the library for digital media, but not library services
Learning Commons – media space run by campus IT recently taken over by library.
Media Center in library is where that happens - teach video composition
Greenview CC – first year comp class covers media literacy and how to be critical user of the media you
are exposed to
Under lying tensions with space in library with technology specialist and library. Cross training so people
know the jargon so they can have a conversation about technology without sounding like idiots.
British Columbia Institute of Technology – Media Works resides in library (but IT staff), try to be a part of
the library. If their staff is gone to a meeting, etc., though the library staff may not know they are
unavailable.
Partnering with IT people can be a problem if they have a different service ethic.
How to get buy in for Information Literacy organization-wide:
Valparaiso University – guerilla warfare – regular undergraduate course taught by faculty across campus.
ACRL standards are explicitly laid out in campus organizational plans.
University of Wisconsin – Can be a long, sustained effort, continue to show up and speak up. See if you
can point to higher education standards/reports (outside of the library world) that advocate for info
literacy. General education meetings, orientations, 1st year experience, etc.
OSU – Integrate with writing program. Academic Success Center – try to get library hours there
Ferris State University – Build on AACU, LAMP, etc. Relate to accreditation and US Dept. of Education on
information literacy. Try to integrate into the curriculum and portfolio classes.
University of Iowa – Service aspect - tell campus “we’re going to offer this”
Have librarians sit on curriculum review committees. If see an assignment at the reference desk, then
get back in touch with the prof to tweak the assignment to meet information literacy.
Use liaison librarians to help with partnership with departments
At University of Washington, the term information literacy is a non-starter, but if you say “I’m going to
help students with research skills in this way” such as expand libguides, help prof. with syllabus, more
videos on skills
Look at the subject discipline association outcomes for see if they have any that address information
literacy.
Gamification and literacy badges – in a class and students get it at the library.
Workshops for new faculty and other came and talk about working successfully with library.
Incentives and speaking their language – look at faculty criteria for raises – at College of Wooster,
professors get merit increase for innovative creative pedagogy – so if library can offer innovative
pedagogy you can get them to partner with you.
Get online tutorial for 1st level to free up librarians for higher level classes.
Undergraduate level research based classes
Office of Undergraduate Research under the provost
Faculty have the same concerns of students not having basic research skills.
How to get a credit based information literacy course approved/started:
One place tried this and dropped their face-to-face 1 credit class
University of Nebraska, Lincoln – 8 week, 1 credit course/ pass/fail, lessons online
Ohio University – went faculty to faculty to find a course to integrate with
Iowa – general library skills
Being Responsible Online
Assignment – create a blog
Washington – open course OCL
Target capstone courses
Round Robin of Updates
Syracuse University – information literacy course, renovation
Wisconsin – ACRL program: Hosting a Flipped Classroom Space
Dartmouth – Student Academic Services moving into library (30 people), Undergraduate Dean,
Academic Support Centers . LOEX program: Library Active Learning Instruction
Washington – got renovation money from the gov. for putting in 2 classrooms. Huge media screens,
three to a table, at night open to students, removed the central staircase to gain 12,000 square feet,
Data Diners/Data Books (Cozy Books), 400 computers in library, restricted gaming from 9-6pm, student
government complained and once the renovation is done they will lift the gaming restrictions
Valparaiso - highest enrollment – students asking for quiet, individual carrels, designating quiet parts,
print collection minimized
Art Institute of Portland – lost 1/3 space and lost all of her staff
Ohio University – push to change the role of subject librarians, push to publish, present at conferences,
etc. don’t have faculty status, have to make 12 new connections per year.
Pittsburg State University, Kansas - Got rid of orange walls, looking for ILS
Northwestern – non-stop assessment, user experience dept., space assessment, instruction assessment
Simmons grad student – RISE program
Oxford College of Emory Univ – library renovation, in temporary space
Ferris State Univ – General Education Task Force for University, open source tutorial
Lake WA Inst. Of Tech – a la carte menu of instruction, to help dialogue more with faculty, open branch
campus in Redman, library director resigned
Santa Clara Univ – new director gave everyone in public services an iPad so can go anywhere and use on
campus, do quick user surveys, instruction, check out ipads
Oklahoma State Univ. – high density storage facility, math learning lab moving to library, Writing
Outpost in library, going to First Year Experience Conf. in Feb.
British Columbia Inst. Of Tech – 24/7 lab in basement, lend iPads and laptops, got computerized booking
service, libguides about a year, orientation, labor strike (faculty union)
Rutgers Univ, Camden – renovation, put in group study rooms w/ technology, students have asked for
quiet area, librarians into resident halls
Syracuse – Opened new off site storage facility
College of Wooster – iPod touch scavenger hunt, learn about library in a fund way, will present at Online
NW on Choose Your Own Adventure screencast
Yale – opened 24/76 study space, new provost and president, MOOC – topic for another meeting
University of Iowa – 1st renovation in 50 years, learning commons 24/5, partnership with IT and Provost,
living learning communities
BES Community -
tech space
Univ. of Michigan – went 24/7 in the fall, got student research award winners to make videos to share
with donors and advertise to other students.
University of Washington – Jill shared floor plans for the Odegaard renovation.