Library Gazette

A year ago, Steve Cramer initiated a get together of UNCG and WFU library staff to talk about reference technology. We had a great time visiting our colleagues, talking about common issues, and brainstorming about the future of our distinct part of the field.

Yesterday, we met for a second time. A similar group from UNCG came to visit, and we broadened the group to include NCSU. It was a great time! We met in Starbucks from 10-12:30, had lunch at Shorty’s, and gave the NCSU folks a short tour before they went on their way.

Roz, Giz, Sarah, Mary, Kaeley, Bobbie, Kevin, and I participated from ZSR, and we had nine visitors from the other schools. We talked a bit about how our different institutions are organized, discussed current tools that have potential for instructional work, talked about current projects, and where our work was headed. If you’re interested in seeing the links we discussed, you can find them here.

It’s really energizing to connect with others doing similar things and to see how we’re approaching the same issues from our different institutional perspectives. NCSU was interested in hosting a get together in the fall, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again!

It occured to me that with the passing of spring break we’ve crossed the halfway point with our Teaching Teaching class! For those who are interested in what we’ve been doing, you can read up on it with our blog. If you’re interested in coming, feel free to drop in any Friday at 9:00 in 476. You can attend as many or as few as you’d like, and we try to make it relevant to everyone, even if they’ve missed prior classes.

Here’s some of what we’ve covered:

Let Roz or me know if you have any questions!

Today was the first Teaching Teaching class. (For those who are curious, Roz and I had a Google Doc that was punnily named “teaching teaching” since that’s what we were planning… the name stuck.)

Over the course of the spring semester Roz and I are planning to give a one hour “course” on teaching. I’m really excited about this for a number of reasons, one of which is that it is open to all WFU librarians. Today we had two guests, which was really nice. The course is made to be modular, so you can miss some or attend based on topic. There are no readings, assignments, homework, or quizzing. We’re hoping that the “course” is long enough to allow us to present with some depth, without requiring too much time commitment from attendees.

Here is the presentation from today:

& you can find more in the blog. If you’re interested in the individual class sessions, you can see the calendar here. If you’re interested in the topic or the class, feel free to talk with Roz or me, or just sign up for the class!