Virtual Help Desk
Staffed: 12:00pm - 5:00pm
Conference Planning Committee members are available to answer your questions.
ALAO Membership Meeting
Academic Library Association of Ohio's annual membership meeting.
Renewal: Promoting Civility and Self-Care in (Academic) Libraries
The Renewal Seminar offers a pathway for individuals to increase their awareness of the associated frameworks, development, outcomes, and emerging countermeasures of low morale, which is defined as repeated and protracted exposure to workplace abuse and neglect (Kendrick, 2017). Learning more about these concerns can help promote authentic civility and collegiality in North American libraries and reduce the factors that can cause employee mistreatment and misconduct in library workplaces.
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick Researcher | Facilitator | Leader, Renewals
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick earned her MSLS from the historic Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies. Her research interests include professionalism, ethics, racial and ethnic diversity in the LIS field, and the role of communities of practice in practical academic librarianship. She is co-editor of The Small and Rural Academic Library: Leveraging Resources and Overcoming Limitations (ACRL 2016) and author of two annotated bibliographies. In addition to her research and writing, Kendrick also leads professional development opportunities and organizational dialogues designed to energize employee morale and promote empathetic leadership in North American libraries. In her daily and long-term work, Kendrick has transformed library programs, services, and culture via creativity, leadership, and advocacy. In 2019, Kendrick was named the Association of College and Research Libraries' Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. Learn more about Kaetrena's mission and activities.
From Being To Doing: Anti-racism as Action at Work
Over the past few years, the conversation around equity in libraries has focused on thinking of the word ally as a verb, rather than as an identity. With recent events highlighting specific issues around race, the conversation has now shifted to many people wanting to be anti-racist. In this session, we will focus on anti-racism as action, rather than using the word anti-racist as identity. In particular, we will examine our notions of professionalism in libraries. Can changing how we define professionalism in library workplaces be an example of anti-racist action? We will take a critical look at how certain hallmarks of white supremacist culture inform our notions of professionalism and acceptable workplace culture. These commonly accepted traits can actually contribute to low morale, the prevalence of microaggressions, retention issues, etc. Together, we will explore ways to transform our workplace cultures by looking at specific actions that resist these hallmarks in order to create equitable workplaces.
Ione Damasco Director, Division of Information Acquisition & Organization, University of Dayton
Ione T. Damasco, M.L.I.S., is a Professor and Director of Information Acquisition & Organization at the University of Dayton, where she provides leadership, guidance, and support for technical services work in the University Libraries. She is also the Chair of the University Libraries Diversity & Inclusion Team, which serves as a resource around diversity, equity, and inclusion endeavors across all areas and for every unit of the Libraries. Along with several faculty and staff from around campus, she is part of the Dialogue Zone Steering Committee, which is dedicated to programming and other initiatives around different forms of dialogue that take place in a new library space called the Dialogue Zone. Her most recent research has centered on race and diversity issues in librarianship, and potential uses of intergroup dialogue as a form of experiential learning focused on social justice outcomes in libraries. Learn more about her work and research.
Making the Most of your ALAO Membership
Whether you are considering joining ALAO, you joined recently or are looking for ways to get involved, this is the session for you! The program will start at 7 p.m. with a brief overview of the structure of ALAO with particular attention paid to how to get involved. There will also be time for questions and a chance to connect informally with other new members.
Virtual Help Desk
Staffed: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Conference Planning Committee members are available to answer your questions.
Sustainable Thinking for Building Community Resilience
Our future depends on citizens who are able to work together with empathy, respect, and understanding to adapt to the many challenges facing society. We will explore the importance of infusing the new core value of sustainability into everything we do, and demonstrate how libraries that lead into the future using 'sustainable thinking' fulfill our mission as libraries in new and innovative ways. 'Sustainable Thinking' is a concept that aligns the core values of libraries with the 'Triple Bottom Line' definition of sustainability (i.e. the intersection of economic feasibility, environmental stewardship and social equity) to inspire investment and build support for your library in the future.
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich is the executive director of the Mid-Hudson Library System, a cooperative public library system with 66 members. Rebekkah is the co-founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative of the New York Library Association, co-chair of the American Library Association's Sustainability Task Force and a board member of the ALA Center for the Future of Libraries. Rebekkah is the author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensure Your Library's Future in Uncertain Times and Resilience, part of The Futures Series from ALA Editions, and is a frequent international speaker on the topic of the future of libraries.
Health Science Librarians' Engagement in Work-Related Reflection: A Qualitative Exploration of why they Invest in Reflective Practice: Preliminary Findings and Application to Academic Libraries
While reflective practice is often recommended in the library literature within the context of information literacy, there is minimal research on the use of reflective practice by librarians. A 2020 qualitative study analyzed transcripts from interviews of health science librarians about how they use intentional reflection to improve their performance at work. Examples of reflective writing, when available, were also analyzed. Preliminary results suggest that these librarians rarely use detailed reflective models, utilizing instead simple models or freeform reflection. The most common work areas in which reflection is used are information literacy education (teaching improvement) and assessment of annual performance/goal setting. Because reflective practice is a tool that can be used by any library employee in any department in any type of library, the results of this study have application to employees in general academic libraries. In addition to reporting the results of the research, the session will also include practical advice, experience, and tools that attendees can use in their work.
Jolene Miller Director of the Mulford Health Science Library and Assistant Professor of Library Administration, University of Toledo
Jolene Miller is Director of the Mulford Health Science Library and an Assistant Professor of Library Administration at the University of Toledo. The complex realities of library administration forced her to look for new ways to manage her workload and develop the knowledge and skills needed for success. Reflective practice was a natural extension of her life-long experience keeping a personal journal. It provided the time and space needed to develop as an administrator. She is interested in how health science librarians use reflective practice and how they can learn to apply reflective practice in their positions.
Speaking to Diversity through Information Literacy
Based on the presenter's experience teaching both a credit bearing information literacy class and one-shot library instruction for the departments of Anthropology and Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies, this presentation will explore the ways that information literacy can be used to support higher education's mission to foster and support diversity. It will include class-tested examples of how to speak to students about diversity while also imparting important information literacy skills. These examples are grounded in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy and have been used in classroom instruction for over a year.
Jennifer Joe Undergraduate Engagement Librarian and Assistant Professor, University of Toledo
Jennifer Joe is an Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Engagement Librarian at the University of Toledo. Previously, she worked at Western Kentucky University as the Owensboro Campus Librarian. Her degrees are from Indiana University (Master of Library Science, 2010) and Western Kentucky University (Master of Arts in Sociology, 2011) and her research interests include emotional labor in librarianship, information literacy, and social media.
Business Research Skills for Non-Business Librarians
Business reference questions are often viewed as intimidating by subject librarians in other disciplines. These questions, however, arise across nearly all disciplines, from history, to engineering, to health sciences, especially in entrepreneurial contexts. Having a basic understanding of some of the foundational research areas unique to business may help subject librarians to answer some of these interdisciplinary questions on their own, or give them the ability to judge which questions are more or less likely to be definitively answered, even with the assistance of a business librarian. Some questions that tend to arise in other disciplinary areas involve traditional business research areas, particularly company and industry research. Many other questions arise from a growing trend, both in academia and society at large, towards entrepreneurship and/or an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’, wherein patrons might be considering more nuanced questions predominantly related to market research. Attendees at this presentation will learn some of the more common cross-discipline business research foundations, tips and tricks.
Ash Faulkner Business Librarian, The Ohio State University
Ash E. Faulkner is the Business Librarian at The Ohio State University Library. She graduated from Kent State University with her MBA as well as her MLIS and her professional work, and research interests, have focused on the intersection of the business and librarianship fields. Her research has focused specifically on library services and resources for entrepreneurs and on financial literacy, both in academic and public library contexts.
Identity, Harm, and Hate in Special Collections
LIS studies of diversity, equity, and inclusion frequently separate workplace interpersonal issues from collections issues, divorcing organizational culture from organizational collections, especially in special collections. Weeding harmful or hateful materials from circulating collections can lead to their transfer to special collections, where library and archives workers as well as their users can be impacted. This presentation addresses assumptions of an unmarginalized, neutral, and impervious arbiter in special collections and suggests solutions to give special collections workers and users agency and accommodation in the types of materials they are asked to handle, based in scholarship from BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled library workers on resistance, self-preservation, and accommodation.
Henry Handley Collections Librarian, University of Dayton
Henry Handley is a collections librarian stewarding a special collection in an academic library in Ohio, where he considers equity, diversity, and inclusion in collection development, collection management, instruction, and reference. He also faces questions about how to deal with library users and collection materials that oppose his queer and trans identity due to the collection’s institutional milieu.
How do I use statistics to help my library? Let me count the ways.
Gathering data and statistics about a library can be extremely intimidating. Many staff members think they need advanced degrees or a lot of experience with math, marketing, and statistics to understand how to use the data. These perceptions often influence a library to ignore the wealth of data available to them, which can ultimately hurt them! One common misunderstanding is that libraries must invest a lot of time and money to create elaborate surveys to acquire statistics and data. However, libraries usually have access to existing data that they are not using. Additionally, many statistics can be kept in house with a minimal amount of time. Data and statistics can provide multiple benefits to a library including -Validating expenditures -Increasing patron satisfaction -Garnering support from administration/board
Sharon Holderman Coordinator of Public Services, Tennessee Tech University
Sharon Holderman is the Coordinator of Public Services at Tennessee Tech University, which includes reference, instruction, tutoring, testing, circulation, collection development, and marketing. Previously she worked as a library director at a small branch campus, and prior to her library life, she was an academic advisor. She has an MA in journalism and an MLIS from Kent State University and an MS in leadership from Creighton University.
Did it help?: Assessing how a change in streaming video access impacted expenditures and staff
Streaming video has become an important format in classrooms. Patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) emerged as a popular model for higher education. Our institution set up PDA streaming in 2014. Our community eagerly adopted its use. By 2018, the demand, and costs, became unsustainable. We explored methods to control costs, narrowing subject and publisher scopes, or turning the PDA off when the budget was reached. Each had varying levels of long-term feasibility and success. We ultimately chose a more substantial change, moving to a title-by-title, user request and selector approval in July 2019. We wanted to continue delivering high value content, but increase control of expenditures and focus on video that is actively supporting curricular needs. We will discuss the transition to the mediated model and data from our first year. We will present our experience as a quantitative and qualitative cost-benefit analysis, with comparisons between the new method and previous years under the old model. We will examine the new model’s sustainability, are cost savings truly being realized, and discuss to what extent are cost savings are offset by increased time required to process title-by-title requests and leases, as well as the “soft costs” of the decreased convenience of user experience.
Cara Calabrese Acquisitions and Access Librarian, Miami University
Cara Calabrese is the Acquisitions & Access Librarian at Miami University Libraries. She received her MLIS from Florida State University in 2015 and began her librarian career as a Resident Librarian in Technical Services. She has worked in various areas of Technical Services, but has recently focused on acquisitions and electronic resources. She is a Past Co-chair of ALAO’s TEDSIG and currently serves on ALCTS Budget and Finance Committee and as the Programs & Proposals’ Team leader for ACRL’s Residency Interest Group.
Katie Gibson Humanities Librarian, Miami Univeristy
Katie Gibson is a Humanities Librarian at Miami University Libraries. She received her MLS from Indiana University in 2006. Research interests include library services to diverse student populations (including international and first generation students), information literacy instruction, and digital humanities. She is active in the European Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Kevin Messner Head of Advise and Instruct, Miami University
Kevin Messner is the Head of Advise & Instruct at Miami University Libraries. He received an MS in Library and Information Sciences and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois in 2002. He previously worked as a science librarian and a branch libraries manager at Miami and at the University of Minnesota.
Building New Networks: Outreach, Campus Partnerships, and Student Employment in a Pandemic
By working separately at home this year, two librarians from a small campus built on and developed new relationships both 'on' and 'off' campus. New partnerships with campus development and outreach brought forth opportunities for the library to serve its campus and virtual communities, resulting in art videos, read-alouds, discussions with high school seniors about the transition to college, and the creation of a new workshop about campus history. Librarians learned how to assist the development office in identifying grants, and student employees took advantage of a new opportunity to continue working online to advance an ongoing research project. Attendees of this presentation will come away with ideas of how best to partner with and build on relationships with other offices at their institutions and take away multiple plans for demonstrating the value of the library in a purely online environment.
Tina Schneider Professor and Library Director, The Ohio State University
Tina Schneider is a Professor with Ohio State University Libraries and the director of the Lima Campus Library.
Zach Walton Reference and Instruction Librarian, The Ohio State University
Zach Walton is the Reference and Instruction Librarian at The Ohio State University at Lima.
Analysis and Assessment of the 'Get it Now' Service, Five Years after Implementation - is it Fulfilling its Purpose Sustainably?
The 'Get it Now' service, from the Copyright Clearance Center, is a rapid document delivery program for journal articles which we implemented in 2014. With five years of data, our analysis addressed questions including: patterns and changes in usage, cost, and cost per use over time; average delivery period; frequency of repeat users – including any with an excessive number of requests; how usage is divided by publisher and by discipline based on classifying journal titles. Our analysis of the service’s use is informing our overall assessment of the service, addressing in particular growth of the service and sustainability over time. The assessment also explores whether the service’s original mission of providing expedient access to particular articles for faculty and graduate students is being fulfilled, or if actual use indicates movement away from this purpose. Is 'Get It Now' fulfilling a role as critical service for campus researchers? Finally, a special look at the service during the recent public health crisis and remote instruction and research period -- when other methods of access to material not held locally, such as interlibrary loan, were unavailable -- will be discussed.
Kristen Adams Science and Engineering Librarian, Miami University
Kristen Adams is the science and engineering librarian in the Advise and Instruct department at the Miami University Libraries. Adams has served at Miami since 2019 and worked previously at a public library. Her research interests are historical data rescue and collection development strategies.
Kevin Messner Head of Advise and Instruct, Miami University
Kevin Messner is the Head of Advise & Instruct at Miami University Libraries. He received an MS in Library and Information Sciences and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois in 2002. He previously worked as a science librarian and a branch libraries manager at Miami and at the University of Minnesota.
Supporting Information Literacy Learning in Developmental Writing Courses: A Model for Library and Writing Center Collaboration
This presentation will share findings from an ACRL Library Impact Research Grant that examined a collaboration between a writing instructor/writing center director and two librarians at a small university. A range of interventions were made to improve student outcomes in a developmental writing course, including the addition of library instruction sessions, an embedded writing center tutor, consultations with personal librarians, self-assessments, peer feedback sessions, and required writing center usage. Using data from students’ coursework, interviews, and surveys, this presentation will demonstrate how coordinating and embedding support impacted students’ information literacy skills, awareness of support services, resilience, and retention. In exploring the effects of this collaborative model, this study builds on research examining library and writing center collaborations. Few studies have analyzed individual student outcomes; consequently, this presentation not only offers a method for collaboration, but also a method for assessing its effectiveness with a goal of helping audience members pursue similar collaborations at their institutions. To engage with the audience, presenters will share a Google Doc on which attendees can post experiences with, ideas for, and questions or concerns about collaborating with other units on campus. Presenters will incorporate material from this document into the live Q&A session.
Kathleen Baril Director, Ohio Northern University
Kathleen Baril is the Director of Heterick Memorial Library at Ohio Northern University. She has a M.A. in Library Information Science from University of Iowa, a M.A. in Elementary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in English/French from Grinnell College.
Matthew Morgan , Ohio Northern University
Matthew Morgan is a senior undergraduate Psychology student with a minor in Statistics. He works part time at the Ohio Northern University Writing Center at Heterick Memorial Library.
Carah Porter , Ohio Northern University
Carah Porter is a senior undergraduate psychology student at Ohio Northern University. She works part time at the Ohio Northern University Writing Center.
Justine Post Writing Center Director and Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition, Ohio Northern University
Justine Post is the Writing Center Director and an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Ohio Northern University. She received a Ph.D. in English and Education from the University of Michigan.
Bethany Spieth Instruction and Access Services Librarian, Ohio Northern University
Bethany Spieth is the Instruction & Access Services Librarian at Heterick Memorial Library at Ohio Northern University. She has an M.L.I.S from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Flexible, Scalable, and Sustainable Data Literacy Instruction: Remote Learning and Collaboration for the Future
Data literacy (DL) is an important topic that is not typically covered in-depth as part of undergraduate curricula, yet is often a skillset that faculty expect new graduate students to have. In spring 2020, librarians partnered with a STEM department to transform its in-person DL workshops. Online modules were created to cover four main DL subjects: data management, data curation, data analysis, and data visualization. The modules were designed to either be standalone or taken together as a microcredential, and to be applicable to a wide range of disciplines. Over the summer, several graduate students, faculty, and librarians were recruited to test and provide feedback on the modules, with the goal of a full rollout in fall 2020. Many faculty have already expressed interest in incorporating one or more of these modules into their online courses. Future developments will strengthen the library’s remote instruction offerings to face challenges posed by uncertain times and ensure students are able to cultivate these skills. This presentation will cover the development of these modules, including outreach and marketing efforts, and will provide a platform for attendees to identify, discuss, and plan how they might incorporate data literacy instruction at their institutions.
Kristen Adams Science and Engineering Librarian, Miami University
Kristen Adams is the science and engineering librarian in the Advise and Instruct department at the Miami University Libraries. Adams has served at Miami since 2019 and worked previously at a public library. Her research interests are historical data rescue and collection development strategies.
Ginny Boehme Science Librarian, Miami University
Ginny Boehme is a science librarian in the Advise & Instruct department at Miami University Libraries, with liaison responsibilities for several departments in the life sciences. Her primary responsibilities are instruction and reference, and her passion lies in helping her students ultimately become informed, engaged, and active citizens.
Making Changes: Sustaining Innovative Services During a Pandemic
Many libraries across the country are faced with the challenge of re-opening our doors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some might encounter budget cuts, while at the same time the pressure to meet our universities’ new needs, including developing new services that support online learning. Makerspaces and other experiential learning spaces are tackling the unique challenge of devising online experiences and learning opportunities that capture the collaborative, hands-on spirit of in-person maker activities. In this presentation, managers of an academic library makerspace discuss their strategies for reaching patrons while working with administration to continue to invest in innovative services in a time where funding is limited. We will cover ways to justify new or existing emerging technologies in libraries, despite pressure to cut costs. We will also explore various strategies to create online learning and event experiences for students that replicate the casual collaboration of a makerspace environment.
Lori Chapin Manager of Innovative Spaces, Miami University
Lori Chapin is currently serving as the Manager of Innovative Spaces, she supports the University Libraries’ classrooms. Lori has a strong interest in experiential learning and her research interests include maker literacies and user experience.
Sarah Nagle Creation and Innovation Services Librarian, Miami University
As Creation and Innovation Services Librarian, Sarah Nagle supports maker learning and innovation topics. Her research interests include maker/creative spaces in academic libraries and maker-centered learning in higher education.
People-First Promotion: Rallying Library Workers during COVID-19
COVID-19 forced us all to face realities of closed buildings, precarious employment situations, and challenges to our well-being. This presentation will showcase how our resilience depended on people, not buildings. A team of librarians and communicators will share three pandemic-era strategies developed to put people at the forefront of initiatives and messaging. A revamped marketing strategy for our research appointment service puts faces to the work and student support, instead of listing the menu of what people can get out of it. Reporting numbers and stories to the provost prompted us to center the focus on how the workers made it possible, despite the unpredictable circumstances. The cancellation announcement of a beloved annual event centered on how the event takes months of planning by employees — some of whom were affected by university furloughs and layoffs. By intentionally bringing attention to the human component of library work, we were able to share our commitment to service while also setting boundaries, sharing our limitations and tempering our need, as author/librarian Fobazi Ettarh would say, to satisfy our vocational awe. Presenters will prompt you to consider how you frame what library workers do, versus what an inanimate building offers.
Christina Beis Assistant Professor and Discovery Services Librarian, University of Dayton
Christina 'Tina' Beis is assistant professor and discovery services librarian at the University of Dayton Libraries. She manages the life cycle of electronic resources, which includes access, discovery, assessment, and problem resolution. She also provides reference support, participates in library instruction and serves as liaison to the Criminal Justice Studies Program and the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work.
Katy Kelly Coordinator of Marketing and Engagement and Associate Professor, University of Dayton
Katy Kelly is associate professor and coordinator of marketing and engagement at University of Dayton Libraries. She promotes library services and resources by planning, developing, and assessing programs, activities, and publications for the university community. She also provides reference support, participates in library instruction and serves as liaison to the Department of Communication.
Maureen Schlangen E-scholarship and communications manager, University of Dayton
Maureen Schlangen manages the university’s open-access institutional repository and contributes to the Libraries’ marketing and communications efforts.
Ann Zlotnik Communications Coordinator and Graphic Designer, University of Dayton
Ann Zlotnik is the communications coordinator for the Marian Library and the graphic designer for University of Dayton Libraries. She manages websites, the blog and oversees social media for the Marian Library, designs exhibits and spaces and serves on the Libraries’ marketing and outreach team.
Cloud-based Video Editing as a Circulating Library Resource: Deploying and Supporting a Web-based Creative Tool for Face-to-Face and Remote Instruction and Community Engagement
This panel describes the aims, challenges, and opportunities associated with establishing at an academic library a system for circulating licenses to a cloud-based video editing platform. Video compositions are an increasingly important mode of communication in academic, commercial, and civic contexts, and higher education is increasingly committed to assessing multimodal arguments, presentations, and reports that incorporate video elements. However, video-based assignments often present challenges, due to the multiplicity of available video editors and formats, and the various computing devices to which students have access. Video assignments are often collaborative projects, where such incompatibilities are especially hindering. This panel describes and considers the development of practices for the temporary lending of access to a cloud-based video editor at [name] University, which aimed to overcome the software and hardware compatibility associated with video editing and production. The panel also describes librarian support for the use of this resource in instruction, service learning and community activism. Introduced at [name] just a semester prior to the Covid-19 campus closures, this cloud-based editing platform is also considered as an instrument for sustaining student community and engagement under conditions of sudden social distancing.
Mike Bomholt Technology Development Manager, Miami University
Mike Bomholt is a Technology Development Manager. He specializes in Endpoint device and software management.
Mark Dahlquist Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian, Miami University
Mark Dahlquist (Miami University) is a Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian. His research interests include digital humanities, information creativity and literacy, and early modern literary studies.
Jody Perkins Digital Scholarship Librarian, Miami University
Jody Perkins is a Digital Scholarship Librarian. Her research interests include Digital Libraries, Linked Open Data and Digital Humanities Pedagogy.
Beyond the Checklist: Introducing the SIFT Strategy to a Campus
In 2004, Meola’s article 'Chucking the Checklist' ushered in the call for a new approach to teaching evaluation. As the information landscape continues to evolve, tools such as CRAAP—rooted in print selection criteria—lack the content engagement required for adequate evaluation. How can librarians begin to influence a shift in strategy on our campuses from binary checklists to build more sophisticated skills in our students, so they can successfully navigate an increasingly complex information landscape? This presentation will focus on the building of such a strategy on our public university campus. Using Michael Caulfield’s SIFT model, we will present a tiered and multi-platform approach to presenting the SIFT strategy to students and faculty. We will focus on design strategies for presenting SIFT using a variety of learning options: PowToon, LibGuides, LibWizard and a self-enroll Canvas course. We will examine what worked in these various production strategies and how media and images can be used to convey complex content. This presentation will illustrate how librarians can strategically introduce new web and information literacy strategies such as SIFT on their own campuses, to encourage independent learning, and support faculty adoption in their own teaching.
Veronica Bielat Student Success Librarian, Wayne State University
Veronica Bielat is the Student Success Librarian and English Subject Specialist in Wayne State University’s Library System. She strives to connect with students so they can forge independent critical paths through our complex information ecosystem. She has presented and published on her passionate pursuits of course integrated information literacy instruction, integrating technology into teaching and instructional design and faculty/librarian collaboration. When she’s not doing that, she likes to spend quality time in her garden, and sharing what’s happening on @vbielat
Troy Walker Graduate Student Assistant, Wayne State University
Troy Walker is a Graduate Student Assistant in Wayne State University’s Library System and is about to enter the second semester of his MLIS in the School of Information Sciences. He also works as a Circulation Clerk at the Orion Township Public Library. He is passionate about literature, the pursuit of knowledge, and helping people and their communities. Over the course of his library career, he hopes to utilize his skills to promote lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, and social justice. In his free time, you’ll find him reading a novel or caring for his three unruly cats.
Connecting Communities and Building Collections: Archiving a Community’s Resilience during a Pandemic
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Miami University created the project 'Documenting Life During COVID-19,' that established an archival collection centered around those in the local and institutional community. Participants were invited to create their record in any medium they could to express their feelings and experiences throughout the pandemic. While developing the project, the organizers faced various obstacles. Preservation planning became a daunting task, given the variety of physical and digital objects submitted to the collection that could be closed for up to fifty years. Through support from multiple stakeholders, the project was allowed to continue, resulting in a collection born completely through volunteers representing the resilience of the community in a time of global crisis. This presentation will explore the opportunities and challenges presented by actively building a crowdsourced collection, and how the speakers minimized risks in its creation and preservation. Though the presentation will be framed around the experiences of a single institution, attendees will leave equipped with the knowledge to develop a community-born archival collection. Attendees will also learn how to address preservation challenges working with archival collections that will be sealed for a significant amount of time.
Kim Hoffman Preservation Librarian, Miami University
Kim Hoffman is the Preservation Librarian at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she is responsible for maintaining both the circulating and special collections as well as the digital preservation program. She received her MS in Library and Information Science and her MA in Museum Studies in 2019 from Syracuse University in New York, where she also earned a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Cultural Heritage Preservation. At Syracuse University, she worked as a preservation assistant from 2016 to 2019. Before turning to library work, Kim was a technical writer for various software products.
Jacky Johnson University Archivist, Miami University
Johnson is the University Archivist at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. She earned her bachelor's degree from Limestone College and master’s from the University of South Carolina. Johnson is the author of Finding Freedom: Memorializing the Voices of Freedom Summer and Western College. Her chapter on “Edgar Stillman Kelley, Dean of American Composers” was published in the book Celebrating the Oxford, Ohio Bicentennial 1810-2010. Her published works also appear in Ohio History, Archival Outlook and The Journal of Afro-American History and Genealogical Society. Her research focuses on the history of Miami University, Western College for Women, and Oxford College.
Rachel Makarowski Special Collections Librarian, Miami University
Rachel Makarowski is the Special Collections Librarian at Miami University. She graduated from IU Bloomington with an MLS, specializing in Rare Book and Manuscript Librarianship, and worked at the Lilly Library in Public Services during her time there. She earned her BA in Classics and Medieval Studies from the University of Virginia, during which time she worked at Rare Book School. While she loves all parts of special collections, she is most interested in researching and discussing instruction with primary sources.
Carla Myers Coordinator of Scholarly Communications and Assistant Professor, Miami University
Carla Myers serves as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Scholarly Communications for the Miami University Libraries. Her professional presentations and publications focus on copyright and scholarly communications issues.
Teaching the Faculty to Teach Information Literacy: Examples and Considerations
Academic librarians are always seeking scalable and sustainable ways to support students’ information literacy. One potential pathway is faculty development. By teaching disciplinary faculty to teach information literacy, librarians can reach more students without creating an overwhelming instructional burden. Implementing such programming has the potential to raise the visibility of the library on campus and can lead to increased opportunities for collaboration with other campus units. In this session, the presenter will provide an overview of several different information literacy faculty development initiatives that she has implemented at her institution over the past two years. These have included a series of live virtual workshops, a series of self-guided virtual workshops, and a fully online course in Canvas. In addition, the presenter will provide a brief review of other initiatives that have been developed by librarians at different institutions. The presenter will also provide a consideration of the benefits, concerns, and challenges that come with taking this approach, and will share insights from a recently completed literature review of library-led faculty development initiatives. Participants will be provided with resources they can use if they are interested in using faculty development to support the integration of information literacy into the curriculum.
Jane Hammons Teaching and Learning Engagement Librarian and Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University
Jane Hammons is the Teaching and Learning Engagement Librarian and an assistant professor at The Ohio State University. As part of the Teaching and Learning department within the University Libraries, her role is to provide programming and resources to support instructor development within the Libraries and across the University.
Anchoring Change: Using the Kotter Change Management Framework to Analyze and Facilitate Change in Academic Libraries
Changes in the higher education landscape are happening more rapidly than ever and require academic libraries to engage with users in new and different ways. Libraries participate in digital scholarship, lead textbook affordability and OER initiatives, create makerspaces, and more. These new and different expectations require library leaders, managers and employees at every level to facilitate change in a variety of situations that range in complexity and are almost always messy. Learn about trends across a collection of twenty change stories in academic library settings, including two- and four-year institutions in the United States and Canada. At the same time, explore Kotter’s (1996, 2012) Eight-Stage Process of Creating Major Change as outlined in his book, Leading Change. This will serve as the framework to examine changes that involve technology, strategic planning, culture shifts, reorganizations, and adapting to new roles. This session will utilize a case study approach to examine change at the programmatic level and organizational level. Whether you are a library administrator, a middle manager or an active participant in the daily work of a library, this session will provide a deep dive into a change framework to use before, during or after a change initiative at your institution.
Colleen Boff Head of Curriculum Resource Center, Bowling Green State University
Dr. Colleen Boff is the Head of the Curriculum Resource Center at Bowling Green State University.
Catherine Cardwell Regional Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Catherine Cardwell is the Regional Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at the University of South Florida Saint Petersburg (USFSP). She provides leadership for the library, online learning, instructional technology services, and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. A librarian for more than twenty years, Cardwell has served in various leadership positions for twenty-one of those years from library instruction coordinator to library dean. Her research interests include library leadership, integrating information literacy and digital scholarship into the curriculum, creating dynamic and contemporary user-centered teaching and learning spaces, and improving discovery and usability of library resources and services.
Microaggressions in a Time of Trauma: Engaging Empathy with Colleagues as a Form of Antiracism
Current events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, as well as work from home situations have increased the stress levels of many people. This is especially true for BIPOC in libraries. The increase in baseline stress, or shared trauma, means that we need to be proactive in our empathy and support for colleagues. Acting to support colleagues who experience microaggressions can be one way to begin that journey. This session will use a variation of the Liberating Structures activity, Nine Questions, to engage empathy around how microaggressions can affect colleagues in the workplace. Using these questions to examine assumptions around microaggressions can help us understand their increased impact. Reflective questions will be posed for participant to respond individually or to the online document of examples. The session will also discuss the five Core Social Motives that can underly microaggressions. Participants will use the Nine Questions to reflect and respond individually or asynchronously in order to encourage empathy in responding to microaggressions. Building professional as well as necessary responses when challenged in the workplace will help participants build resilience to seek community accountability around such behaviors. This accountability can be an avenue for antiracism in our organizations.
Chris Robinson-Nkongola Reference and Instruction Librarian, Bowling Green State University
Chris is a graduate of Indiana State University (English) and Drexel University (MLIS) and has worked in academic libraries for seven years. Currently, she is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Bowling Green State University. She has presented on microaggressions at several state and national conferences. She has co-authored the article,” Dropped in Without a Parachute: Library Managers' Supervision Experiences” published in the Journal of Library Administration, which analyzes the microaggressions that library managers experience.
Edith Scarletto Reference and Instruction Librarian, Bowling Green State University
Edith is a graduate of Wittenberg University (Sociology) and Kent State University (MLIS) and has been an academic librarian for 18 years. She has worked in several state university libraries and is currently a Reference & Instruction Librarian for the Sciences at Bowling Green State University. Her scholarly interests include hiring and recruitment practices for DEI in libraries and has presented at state and national conferences JCLC, IDEAL and ALAO Diversity Workshop.
Equity Diversity and Inclusion as Action: Designing a collective EDI strategy with library staff
The EDI @ OSUL pilot, is an employee led initiative that facilitates equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) conversations for library units and departments through a workshop model. The initiative’s curriculum and design assist the organization to transition from discussing values to embedding them in organizational systems with strategic action. The workshop is designed to be inclusive, applicable, and accessible to participants with varying levels of cultural fluency. Unlike traditional EDI employee trainings, the workshops create a forum where library personnel can reflect and discuss with each other topics such as: EDI as a value; EDI definitions; existing EDI practices and gaps; and EDI organizational priorities. The goal of the workshops is to convey the message that EDI work can be advanced by all members of a LIS organization and not solely the work of people of color, EDI leaders, or a committee. This presentation will discuss the design and methodology used to create the initiative, training, and implementation as well as discuss the workshop outcome and its effectiveness in developing strategic EDI actions for the organization. The presentation will also provide a method from which to cultivate in-house EDI leaders who can lead from where they are.
Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros Latin American Studies Librarian and Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University
Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros is an Assistant Professor and Latin American Area Studies Librarian at The Ohio State University (OSU). As a bilingual/bicultural information professional, she has supported international research initiatives, developed award-winning educational curriculum, and served as senior project manager in corporate, private, and higher education settings. Espinosa de los Monteros is the recipient of a Fulbright Garcia Robles Binational Business Fellowship, University Libraries’ Teaching Award, and Ohio State’s Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award. Her most current project is as a co-principal investigator for the K’acha Willaykuna Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Arts and Humanities Collaborative.
Sandra Enimil Copyright Librarian and Contracting Specialist, Yale University Library
Sandra Aya Enimil is the Copyright Librarian and Contracting Specialist at Yale University Library. Prior to this role, she was the Copyright Services Librarian at the Ohio State University Libraries. She has also given numerous presentations on various aspects of copyright at several institutions. Sandra was previously the Archives/Copyright Manager of the Chicago Defender Newspaper. Sandra earned her Law and Masters of Library and Information Science degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sandra has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Ghana
Lunch
Awards 👏
The Awards sessions will announce the awardees who for ALAO's service awards and grant recipients. See the Awards page for information about the awards. Award winners will be posted on the page after they are announced.
Virtual Help Desk
Staffed: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Conference Planning Committee members are available to answer your questions.
Resiliency and Other Myths: Keeping It Real in 2020
In the best of times, librarianship is a career filled with a myriad of challenges and rewards. Librarianship in the time of a pandemic has amplified those challenges and shone a spotlight on some of the inequities inherent in our field and in our services. I’m going to use some old school inspiration to share my ideas for keeping it real and keeping things moving during these challenging times.
Nancy Kirkpatrick Executive Director/CEO, OhioNET
Nancy S. Kirkpatrick is the Executive Director and CEO of OhioNET, a multi-type library consortium based in Columbus, OH and she also runs her own consulting business. She previously served as the Associate Director of the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services and was the Director of Library Services at Marian University. Nancy practiced non-profit law before entering librarianship. An ALA Spectrum Scholar, Nancy enjoys serving the ALA membership through appointments to the Committee on Professional Ethics (2020-2022) and the Spectrum Advisory Board (2020-2022). She is interested in change management and leadership models, especially as examined through an appreciative inquiry (AI) lens. Nancy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Drake University, a Juris Doctor from the TC Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.'
Lunch
Tuesday Night Social 🎉
Grab a beverage, close your books, and open your minds. It’s trivia night!
Categories are: Entertainment, Arts & Literature, Geography, and Current Events.
Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG)
How are you being more sustainable at your library during the pandemic?
Join the Sustainability Interest Group for an opportunity to ask questions, share experiences, and discuss the role of sustainability in academic libraries. We will explore ways in which our libraries have been more sustainable during the pandemic, and what we can do as academic librarians to contribute to sustainability efforts going forward.
STEM Interest Group (STEMIG)
STEM Librarianship During the Pandemic
Librarians supporting STEM research and education face unique challenges (and maybe opportunities) in the post-COVID-19 world. Join STEMIG to discuss how the pandemic has changed the way we work.
Instruction Interest Group (IIG)
Keeping Students Engaged: Information Literacy Instruction in a Virtual Environment
Join the Instruction Interest Group’s lunchtime roundtable to discuss instruction techniques that keep students engaged in both synchronous and asynchronous virtual learning environments.
Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAIG)
Special Collections, Archives, and Extraordinary Circumstances
Discussion on how the fall is progressing for special collections and archives professionals in the time of COVID-19: what was planned, what’s changed, and other new challenges and successes.