Archive for November, 2012

Interns are amazing, and other true stories

Published November 28, 2012 the profession , work 7 Comments
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They impress you with their diligence and energy for a year or two and then they go on to do marvelous things. I’ve been lucky to work with some outstanding young librarians and I realized today that I’ve never written a post on the program or our interns. So tonight, I gush.

UNCG Reference and Instructional Services has had an internship program for LIS graduate students for at least 10 years (maybe 15), and the program has steadily grown into a competitive training ground for new librarians. While most of our interns are interested in academic libraries and almost all have been interested in reference or instruction, we have had a few interns who were focused on public libraries or school media centers. Certainly every one of them has made their marks on our program and the library world.

I’ve been working as a co-coordinator of the program since, oh let’s say, 2009 when my colleague Amy Harris and I took over from Steve Cramer. Steve had done an excellent job giving the program a more professional flavor. The interns primarily staff our reference desk (in-person, phone, and chat) and Steve added a weekly training program so they could learn about common subjects for desk work. The sessions cover numeric data, law, business research, nursing and much more.

Amy and I added a “Interns Teach!” week to the program that was required of all interns. The first semester interns give a short, 10-minute presentation on a particular topic (this was former intern Dawn Bish’s excellent idea). The second semester interns do a 20-minute partial instruction session or something similar.

This was our Interns Teach! week at UNCG and they did a fabulous job. The first semester interns always have a tougher time because they have to figure out how much you can actually cover in 10 minutes (basically one concept!). They did very well and learned a lot from each other.

The second semester interns presented tonight and they both blew me away. The ladies both did a fabulous job and were poised and prepared. Jewel talked about social media profile management for your professional life and covered various tools to use. I had never heard of About.me, a site you can use to aggregate your social networking profiles. Definitely something to check out!

Jewel teaches!

Amanda did a demonstration of Pixlr.com (my new favorite tool evah!). I embarrassingly never knew how to insert pictures into other pictures. The other day I wanted to create an image of Uncle Sam wearing a Santa Claus hat and couldn’t do it. Now thanks to my intern, I know how!

Amanda teaches!

I’ve learned so much!

This semester Jenny, our First-Year Instruction Coordinator, replaced Amy as co-coordinator and created an apprenticeship program for interns to get experience observing and team-teaching in the first-year classroom. She did a (let’s call it) pilot program last year and it was very successful. Because it is so hard to get good teaching experience in graduate school, I’m hoping that our students will come out even more competitive than in previous years.

Which leads me to the gushing part. Our interns are definitely doing amazing things. I can’t list them all, but I want to give a shout out to:

  • Amanda Click, a doctoral student at UNC who worked at The American University in Cairo for several years.
  • Claire Walker, Reference librarian at Belmont University, Tennessee
  • Lauren Wallis, Reference librarian at the University of Montevallo, Alabama
  • Kathy Shields, Head of Reference at High Point University, North Carolina
  • Tim Williams, Instruction Librarian at Peninsula College, Washington
  • Leatha Miles-Edmonson, Librarian for Outreach Services at Savannah State University, Georgia
  • Jennifer Whicker, Reference librarian at Radford University, Virginia
  • Mendy Ozan, Librarian at Cone Hospital, NC

These are just a few of the wonderful former interns who are making their mark in libraryland. Now, we have several more who are graduating this year, two of whom I saw present tonight and, man, are they on fire! So, if you have a job opening and you want an excellent candidate, allow me to introduce you to Jewel (interested in digital media) and Amanda (public libraries? yes, please). They are truly spectacular and ready to rock your library world.

Jewel and Amanda

New Help! webinar coming your way just in time for the Holidays!

Published November 27, 2012 outreach Leave a Comment
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It’s a big Christmas gift wrapped up in virtual continuing education goodness! Yummy.

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … British and Commonwealth legal materials, December 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern)

The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.

Working with legal materials can be daunting for undergraduate students. Working with legal materials from a foreign jurisdiction adds an additional level of complexity and unfamiliarity. However, interdisciplinary approaches within advanced undergraduate classes may require students to find and evaluate sources of law from outside of U.S. jurisdictions.

This webinar considers two such examples drawn from upperclass level classes recently taught at Valdosta State University: a history class requiring the use of historical English capital statutes, and a communications class focusing upon comparative media law. The webinar will discuss sources of law for the purposes of these classes, in addition to strategies for effective information literacy instruction that were attempted.

Presenter Howard S. Carrier, graduated with an M.S.L.S. degree from UNC Chapel Hill in May 2009. He is currently employed as a Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor in the Odum Library at Valdosta State University. Prior to becoming a librarian, Howard completed a law degree and a subsequent Master’s degree in Human Rights Law at the University of Leicester (United Kingdom), thereafter working as a Research Associate in the Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies at the University of Nottingham, and as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Sunderland.

We will meet together for Session #21, online on December 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by December 12 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session21

Books! Dude needs a new fairy godmother stat #cbr4

Published November 22, 2012 reading 1 Comment
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I’m not going to finish my full Cannonball Run, but I think I’ve done pretty well for the first time. I’ve read 38 books this year, which is the highest number I’ve read since I was like 12. I’ve only done 23 reviews so far, but I will try to push out some over the break, maybe. Next year I might be more strategic in the types of books I read. I tend toward the long and dense. More YA might need to be in my future.

My parents introduced me to the Dresden Novels by Jim Butcher about a year ago. I was looking for easy and fun novels to read during the summer vacation. They had just finished reading the entire series together (AW! Yes, it is sickly sweet, but the family that reads together!)  and thought I would enjoy it. So, I’ve been making my way through the novels since then. I definitely wouldn’t be able to read these one after another like the rents. They are, let’s say, too similar in style from one to the next for me to read them all in a row. I would seriously get bored. However, if you are looking for a quick and fun fantasy series these fit the bill nicely.

The Summer Knight is the fourth in the series. To give you a bit of background, Dresden is a perpetually down on his luck wizard turned detective who fights a bunch of fantasy realm characters on the mean streets of Chicago. But these aren’t your childhood fantasy characters, of course. There are some mean baddies. He is so down on his luck that even the people who supposedly like him, seem to, well, not really like him. And he gets beat up A LOT. I wonder sometimes if Jim Butcher takes sadistic delight in imagining his main character demoralized, tossed about, and mostly ineffective (until the end at least). Anyway, I digress.

This installment finds Dresden dealing with an emotional breakdown after the third novel (I’ll save you specifics) and trying to keep himself alive after his world has started falling apart (mostly his fault). He is hired by a queen of the Winter Faeries to figure out who killed off the Summer Knight. It is too much to explain, but basically there are Winter Faeries and Summer Faeries and they trade off control of the year. They have knights and when one gets killed there is a disturbance in the force. And all hell breaks loose. Or at least Dresden must figure out what the heck is going on.

Like I said, the Dresden novels are fun, but repetitive. I’ve love Jim Butcher’s imagination and he sets a solid scene for the reader. I don’t like how much of the novel is focused on Dresden being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting the crap beat out of him until finally he doesn’t anymore. I know the purpose is to create suspense, but I find it hard to believe half the time that this loser will accomplish anything. I’ve started skimming the middle a bit just to get to the final scene where, yes, Dresden’s awesome powers shine through, and yes, Dresden makes it all (or, well, mostly) right.

The good thing about these novels is that the main character doesn’t always set everything to right. Someone always gets killed or turned into a vampire. But again we are reading about a down on his luck wizard.

Great vacation reading. Even I can finish them in two or three days (I’m a SLOOOOW reader). Solid fantasy detective stories with a bit of the pulp.

Evernote 5: Third time’s a charm, fifth time’s magic?

Published November 17, 2012 work 3 Comments
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I am without a doubt a huge Evernote fan. I’ve been a member since 2008 and have paid for Premium access since 2009. While I don’t really need the upload capacity offered by Premium, I started paying because it is product I want to see succeed and stick around. Because I like gadgets I’ve seen different iterations of the product too, from the earliest Android releases to the current Evernote 5 for Mac. I even tried to use the web interface on my old pink Palm Centro. Crazy.

So, what about the new release? The iOS versions for iPad and iPhone came out last week and the Mac version came out (for me) last night. This is a major change for Evernote not so much in the functionality of the notes, but in the presentation of your notebooks. I’m not a technology reviewer but I can give you a few of my impressions on both products. I’m sure there are tons of reviews available out there.

iOS version (mostly for iPhone)

Evernote iOS

1) The iOS version seems to be a LOT faster than previous versions. I had started using SimpleNote on my iPhone for quick notes because it took so long for Evernote to load. It just wasn’t functional for quick note-taking. With the new release they seem to have sped things up a bit. Even navigating between folders and searching is faster than in the old versions.

2) They’ve  prominently displayed buttons for quick note-taking and image-capturing. Yet another reason I am more likely now to use the iPhone version for on-the-go captures. The page camera is the third icon. It is for taking images of pieces of paper as it has a cropping function. I honestly don’t use this feature within Evernote because I’d prefer my documents be in PDF rather than images. I use CamScanner and then import into Evenote and that works fine. Do you have a work around for this that you like?

3) They’ve added the Places tab which allows you to see your notes on a “beautiful map” (their words). While that may be fabulous for people who travel a lot, I really don’t know that I see the point. I would love to hear how others use the mapping aspect.

Even with several features I’m less inclined to use, overall it is a nice interface and seems much more accessible. Both the iPhone and iPad versions work great.

Mac version

I just downloaded the Mac version last night, so I am still getting to know it. These are my general impressions.

1) I think the shortcuts section might be the game changer for me. This is a great feature. It allows you to drag and drop your most used notes into a prominently displayed area. I had been using my Inbox notebook that way, but I had to change the notebook associated with individual notes to do that. With the shortcuts box, I can keep those notes in the right notebook and then just make a shortcut to it.

I wish the mobile versions had this feature. The iOS has the favorites star but I can’t really figure out how best to then access my “favorites”. I would love some help on that guys!

2) The one thing I’m going to have to relearn is how to deal without my notebooks on the left navigation. Because that was the Evenote model for so long it will take some adjustment to get used them being a click away. BUT! You can put notebooks in the Shortcuts area. And tags! Really the Shortcuts feature is getting the two thumbs up.

Evernote for Mac

3) I love the new display of notebooks. Maybe more so in the iOS, but they seem to be playing off that Moleskine partnership with the look. Having the ability to collapse the nested notebooks is very nice. I like anything that keeps my workspace clean, so kudos Evernote.

Beyond those main features everything else seems about the same. I’m still not sure about the mapping feature, but maybe if I take more conference notes in Evernote this year I’ll change my tune.

Have you tried the new releases? Thoughts? Usage ideas? Did Evernote forget to add a particular feature?

Librarianship’s red swingline stapler

Published November 16, 2012 the profession 2 Comments
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Red Swingline Stapler

First, two disclaimers:

  1. I have a red swingline stapler. My friend and I found them buried in our office supply closet a few years ago. They were commemorative “Office Space” staplers and they are truly red. I truly love it.
  2. “Office Space” is probably my “Mrs. Robinson”. It came out after I started graduate school (the first time) and completely reaffirmed the soul sucking “career opportunities” available in the late 90s. And so, I went into academia. Sometimes I wonder about that choice, but I haven’t seen an equivalent film on the university…yet. (Ignorance is bliss).

With that out of the way, what is librarianship’s red swingline? What is our totem that we cling to without reason? What would inspire us to burn down buildings? (Watch the movie). Lately I’ve been thinking that our red swingline is our tendency to become obsessed with familiar interfaces.

I have two examples.

Example 1: LexisNexis had a product called Congressional for, you guessed it, Congressional research. It had a good solid interface (for the most part) that hadn’t changed in a while. Last year ProQuest bought Congressional  and merged its content into the PQ interface. There are some quirks and bugs as always, but overall it isn’t hellish. It just takes some finessing.

The other day I was deleting old listserv messages and discovered a string decrying the new interface and begging for PQ to bring back the old. Never mind that 1) ProQuest can’t go back to the LexisNexis interface and 2) the old interface wasn’t really that great. But the hostility in a couple of the messages was striking.

Example 2: Our library’s catalog is a legacy product with a name I don’t remember (and don’t care to). Whatever it is called, it is as antiquated as my Palm Zire. Over this next year we are switching to OCLC’s WMS and WorldCat Local. There have been some glitches and we have requested some changes, but (it seems that) OCLC is responsive and willing to listen. However, it matters not a bit if I hate WMS because we must have a new catalog. In addition, the students (those who didn’t care one way or the other about the old one) LOVE IT. As much as we may cringe when it doesn’t do this or that, the users I’ve seen seem to find it easy to use. Not perfect, granted, and not as razor precise as a librarian, but it works for them.

So my point. Librarians sometimes seem to get SO attached to the old way of searching or using an interface that we can bring ourselves to the edge of sanity wishing it could be like it was. I too was miffed that I had to learn a new Congressional interface two weeks into the fall semester (ProQuest fail), but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Now I’m NOT arguing that the vendors get it right. ProQuest’s interface has needed improvements. We must hold vendors accountable and let them know how our users think and do research. But we also need to remember that our users don’t think and do research like librarians. We need to isolate our tendency to cling to the familiar and remember that the old ways may not have been intuitive to all. How do we do that? We do it by both adapting our approaches and working to improve the products. We do it by listening to the users. Not speaking for them.

But in the end sending angry emails demanding an old interface back or complaining to our patrons about the good old days aren’t ways to solve anything. It just makes us sound like Milton saying “I believe you have my stapler” over and over again.

Help! is getting the love

Published November 14, 2012 outreach Leave a Comment
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The NCLA Government Resources Section

The North Carolina Library Association’s Government Resources Section has been crazy busy with our webinar series. We just finished our 20th on UNdata and it was a hit! Our Vice-President also was featured at the Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference in October. He talked about the success of Help! and how you can start your own webinar series.

Great times! Get help!

Books! Making of a President 1960 #cbr4

Published November 13, 2012 reading , Uncategorized 1 Comment
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“For the President of the United States is not only the many men listed in the official catalogue of his powers–he is also the nation’s chief educator, the nation’s chief persuader, the nation’s master politician. Where he leads, his party, his instruments, above all his relectant people, must be persuaded to follow.”

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Published in 1961, Theodore H. White’s The Making of the President 1960 is the seminal work on the 1960 campaign and election season. While White certainly expresses his overwhelming enthusiasm for Kennedy, he does a wonderful job highlighting the internal workings of both campaigns and the changing demographics of American society. This is a rich and extremely well-written work, so I can only highlight a few aspects.

First, reading this work with the hindsight of the 21st century is heartbreaking, especially when White projects into the future with statements like, “unless he does this, so portend the election results of 1960, he will be dramatically vulnerable to Republican counterattack in 1964.”

Second, it is amazing to see how dramatically the demographics of the American electorate have shifted since 1960. White lists the Southern states that went for Kennedy (Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, etc) versus the states that were solidly Nixon (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio). It makes you realize how much has changed both in America and in our two major parties.

In my favorite chapter White describes at length the sea-change in American demographics discovered in the 1960 Census (primarily with the emergence of the suburb and the death of the cities). Just one fun fact is that in 1950 11% of Americans owned a television whereas in 1960 88% owned one. He uses these statistics to highlight how critical the televised debates were to the election. And yes, he discusses those pesky debates!

Finally, I found fascinating his descriptions of the party conventions and how they served as sites of contestation rather than the crownings they now seem to be. I can’t think of a single convention in my voting life where we didn’t already know the name of the heir-apparent. Part of this is decided by the primary system, which was much more limited back then, but it made me long for a convention process that is actually contested, heated, and full of real debate. Heck, maybe I would actually watch them then.

This is a fantastic work to read in light of our recent election and perfect for anyone interested in the Kennedy-Nixon election as well as the continuing drama of American Presidential politics.

Books! The emperor’s new wife #cbr4

Published November 3, 2012 reading 1 Comment
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I loved Michelle Moran’s Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution, which I believe was her first book. The main character was believable and not overwrought, and the story held true to the events of the French Revolution without excruciating detail. I also enjoyed her Heretic Queen. Her latest novel, The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon’s Court, was on my anticipated releases list, but definitely not my favorite.

The story follows the adventures of Napoleon after he has become conqueror to the time of his fall. Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria becomes Napoleon’s second wife after he divorces Josephine (well, technically before he divorces, but whatever). She is forced into the marriage and oh so unhappy, but makes do. The chapters alternate between three perspectives: Marie Louise, Pauline, Napoleon’s selfish nymphomaniac sister, and Paul, Pauline’s Haitian courtier.

To be honest, I hate this, let’s call it, Phillipa Gregory “technique” that pervades so much historical fiction.  The alternating chapters never give you enough time with any one character. They feel like coverups for underdeveloped characters and laziness in storytelling. Michelle Moran has done much better so I was disappointed to see the book laid out that way.

While the novel is called the Second Empress, the only character with any real depth or development is Paul, the courtier. I wish Moran had stayed with him and written a different novel. Overall not my favorite, no Madame Tussaud, but a quick read (even I finished this one in four days).

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