Professional Development

This month, I was asked to select the journal article for our reading group. Since I’ve been in the midst of researching embedded librarianship, I chose a very current article about the topic, by one of the big names on topic, David Shumaker. The article Who Let the Librarians Out? Embedded Librarianship and the Library Manager gives a good introduction on the subject and then talks about ideas and considerations for initiating and sustaining an embedded library service. Mary Scanlon, David Stewart, Sarah Jeong, Charles Bombeld and Megan Mulder joined in the discussion. David talked about their services over at CCCL where the three reference librarians are serving in clinical librarian roles for three departments. Megan told about her embedded experience in Miriam Jacobson’s seminar class, Renaissance Poetry and Materiality. Mary talked about her recent embedded time with the Cherokee summer program, CCAT. We discussed the possibilities for embeddedness in a business center and how it could scale and be sustainable with limited human resources. I explained about the South embedded model. We also discussed ways to integrate virtual embedment in our current environment. Everyone agreed it’s a fascinating subject; one that warrants more thorough investigation as to how a workable model for ZSR embedment services at WFU might be possible on a program level.

Last summer, ZSR Library staff started up a Journal Reading group and today was the final gathering of the fall semester. The idea was modeled along the lines of a book club, but with professional journal articles instead of books. Each month, a preselected article (chosen by a staff member) is read and then discussed and analyzed by all who attend the session. The group is open to all ZSR Library staff (librarian, exempt and non-exempt), and we hope to extend the invitation to the other WFU Libraries.

Each month, one of the group picks out the article for the next meeting. Everyone who attends that session reads the article and then spends an hour discussing the information and ideas presented in the article. Subjects covered during the first several months include:

• The Information Age and the Printing Press
• Academic Librarianship and the Digital Revolution
• Librarians and the Faculty in Discussion
• Why Professor Johnny Can’t Read: Understanding the Next Generation’s Texts
• Critical Thinking and Library Anxiety
• Library digitization Projects, Issues and Guidelines

There is a loyal group of “regulars” who make it a priority to attend each month to discuss issues important to our profession. As we head toward the new world of library faculty status, we know it is important to be conversant in the important issues of today’s academic library and higher education. This forum provides an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and become acquainted with trends and areas outside one’s area of expertise.

We would love to have a higher level of participation, beyond the core of 5-8 staff who now attend. This semeter, the session was scheduled on Thursdays at 11:00 to have it held at a time where there were no class conflicts. We would love to receive feedback from others on staff about when might be a time that more staff would be able to regularly attend. We would also love feedback from those who don’t attend on how we can adapt the program so that more of the staff might find it a “must do” in their monthly schedule. Send your comments to Susan, Erik or Giz and we will work to adjust the program to make it more vital to a larger number of our staff. We know all of us have intriguing interests in our profession that would be documented in the literature, and believe that sharing and discussing these ideas would benefit us all.

There was a lively discussion in the journal reading group this morning related to the article Why Professor Johny Can’t Read. The conversation varied far and wide and included an admission by Erik that he had not read the article prior to the meeting, and more insightful discussion on the place of vertical/horizaontal information consumption techniques.

The article discussed the reading/research/information consumption habits of “Net Gen” students and there was an interesting debate around whether or not these new learning habits were something new or just a new twist on the long held approaches to Constructivist learning and information seeking.

Kaeley stepped up to pick an article for the next reading group (On November 6) so come on out & talk in the ITC screening room - Perhaps we can all discuss our information seeking habits on election day!