ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ February 2004 / 67 news C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s The University o f Iowa Libraries’ experience by Marsha Forys N e w g ra d u a te s fro m sc h o o ls o f lib ra ry a n d in fo rm atio n science p o ssess a b asic k n o w l­ e d g e o f databases, classification, collection dev o p m en t, a n d reference. Historically, though, there h as b e e n a g a p in th e curriculum at m an y schools in t h e a r e a o f lib rary in stru ctio n , w h ic h m e a n s th at g rad u ates are entering th e job m arket u n p re ­ p a r e d fo r th e instru ctio n th e y m a y n e e d to p ro ­ v id e . O n e o f th e g o als o f th e ACRL In stitu te for In fo rm a tio n Literacy is to “p re p a re librarian s to b e c o m e effective teachers in inform ation literacy program s.”1 T he popularity o f th e Im m ersion p ro ­ g ra m a tte sts to lib ra ria n s’ d e sire to a c q u ire th e th e o r y a n d p ra c tic a l skills th a t th e y d id n o t re ­ ceive in library school. B eginning in February 2001, th e University o f I o w a (U I) L ibraries a n d U I’s S ch o o l o f L ibrary a n d In fo rm a tio n Science (SLIS) la u n c h e d a co l­ laborative program to give a small num ber o f gradu­ ate stu d en ts a stu d en t teaching-like ex p erien ce in th e a re a o f instructional services w h ile earn in g a salary as graduate assistants. Funding for th e quar­ ter-tim e p o sitio n salaries is ob tain ed b y SLIS, a n d th e UI Libraries provide the workplace. The gradu­ a te assista n ts w o r k n in e h o u rs a w e e k in th e li­ b raries’ Instructional Services D e p a rtm e n t u n d e r th e d ire c tio n o f th e co o rd in ato r for instructional services. T hey begin this program b y going through inten siv e training to le a m p u b lic sp e a k in g skills, lesson preparation, a n d classroom eq uipm ent use. T h e graduate students leam to prepare a n d present classes a n d th ey w o rk o n projects, su c h as h a n d ­ el­o u t a n d W eb p a g e d ev elo p m en t. T h ey m e e t as a g ro u p for o n e h o u r e a c h w e e k w ith a SLIS faculty m em b er to discuss theory a n d current issues in th e a re a o f library instruction.2 Since 2001, five g rad u ate stu d en ts in this p ro ­ g ram h a v e w o rk e d in th e UI Libraries. B e n e fits f o r th e s tu d e n ts T he library science graduate assistants benefit from this p ro g ra m in n u m e ro u s w ays: 1) th e y receive experience in curriculum developm ent, including h o w to w rite in s tru c tio n a l o b je c tiv e s, c r e a te a lesso n plan, a n d d esig n th e accom panying visual aids a n d han d o u ts; for ex am ple, th e g rad u ate as­ sistants w e re p a rt o f a g ro u p th a t d e v e lo p e d th e c u rric u lu m fo r th e lib rary c o m p o n e n t o f a n e w class called C ollege Transition; 2) th e y gain ex p e ­ rience in classroom teaching, n o t o n ly in th e Col­ le g e T ra n s itio n c la sse s b u t a ls o in a v a rie ty o f course-related instruction sessions b y first observ­ ing, th e n team -teach in g w ith e x p e rie n c e d librar­ ians, a n d finally te a c h in g o n th e ir o w n ; 3) th e y h a v e th e op p o rtu n ity to interact o n a professional level w ith practicing librarians a n d th e y b e c o m e a n im p o rta n t p a rt o f th e In stru c tio n a l S ervices D ep artm en t; so m e o f th e m h a d th e o p p o rtu n ity to m a k e a p re s e n ta tio n a b o u t th is co llab o rativ e project at a state library conference a n d to p resen t About the author M arsha Forys is c o o rd in a to r f o r in s tru c tio n a l services a t th e U niversity o f Io w a Libraries, e-m ail: m arsha-forys@ uiow a.edu © 2004 Marsha Forys The university library’s role in developing future librarian teachers mailto:marsha-forys@uiowa.edu 68 / C&RL News ■ February 2004 a p o ste r session at th e 2002 ALA A nnual C onfer­ ence; a n d 5) th ey receive experience in staff train­ ing because the coordinator has the graduate assis­ tants w h o h a v e b e e n in th e p ro g ram lo n g er h e lp h e r w ith th e train in g o f th e n e w g ra d u a te assis­ tants. C om m unication is a n im portant characteristic o f this program , a n d at every stage in th e process fe e d b a c k is p rovided. T h ro u g h o u t th e sem ester th e c o o rd in a to r m e e ts w ith th e g ra d u a te assis­ tants b o th individually a n d as a g ro u p to pro v id e guidance an d to see h o w their experience is going. T h e flex ib ility o f th is p ro g r a m a llo w s h e r to m o d ify th e ir activities b a s e d o n th e ir individual n e e d s a n d interests. T h e grad u ate assistants tu rn to th e co o rd in ato r for advice, a n d sh e tak es o n a m e n to rin g ro le in th e a re a s o f c a re e r d e v e lo p ­ m ent, résu m é creation, a n d job applications. In ad dition to providing th e m w ith a theoreti­ cal fra m e w o rk fo r in fo rm a tio n literacy a n d in ­ structional seivices, the w eekly seminar-style m eet­ in g s th a t th e g ra d u a te assistan ts h a v e w ith th e SUS faculty m e m b e r are im portant b ecau se tho se m eetings give th e m th e o p p o rtu n ity to step b ack a n d re flect o n th e w o r k th e y a re d o in g . It also p rovides th e m w ith an o th e r v e n u e in w hich they can discuss career options, the field of librarianship, a n d related topics. In reflecting o n h e r experience, th e program 's first g r a d u a te a ssistan t p o in ts o u t th a t “b e sid e s p ro v id in g ed u c a tio n a b o u t th e ro le o f librarians as teachers th rough Immersion, m y experience in th e p ro g ra m allow s m ean in g fu l interaction w ith university students a n d practicing librarians o n a professional le v e l.. .1 feel a g reater se n se o f c o n ­ n e ctio n w ith th e practice th a n th e LIS classroom perm its.”3 T his q u arter-tim e assistan tsh ip h a s practical benefits, as w ell. Students c a n afford to tak e a d ­ van tag e o f this o p p o rtu n ity b e c a u se th e y receive a salary, health insurance, vacation tim e a n d sick leave, a n d are classified as state resid en ts fo r tu ­ ition purposes during the semesteis they are gradu­ ate assistants. Tire library instruction ex p e rie n c e c o u ld h a v e b e e n s tru c tu re d as a p ra c tic u m fo r course credit, b u t 80 ho u rs w o u ld n o t have given th e lo n g -te rm e x p o s u r e to lib ra ry in s tru c tio n th e o r y a n d p ra c tic e th a t SLIS s tu d e n ts n e e d , a feeling o f b e in g p a rt o f th e Instructional Services D e p a rtm e n t, o r th e salary a n d be n e fits th e y re ­ ceive as graduate assistants. B e n e fits fo r th e in s titu tio n T h e benefits for th e g rad u ate assistants are clear, b u t w h a t m ay b e less o bvious are th e m a n y b e n ­ efits th e university library receives. First o f all th e p ro g ra m p ro v id es th e library w ith ad ditional in­ stru ctio n staff. This is especially h elp fu l fo r h a n ­ dling the multi-section undergraduate classes, like C ollege Transition, w h ich h a v e a library c o m p o ­ n e n t in th e ir c u rric u lu m . In fall 2002, th e tw o g ra d u a te assistan ts ta u g h t e ig h t o f th e tw e n ty - fo u r sectio n s o f th at class a n d se rv e d as b a c k u p presenters for sev en additional sessions. Also that se m e ste r th e y tau g h t all s e v e n sectio n s o f th e li­ brary co m p o n en t o f the Transition Seminar classes, w h ic h a re ta k e n b y n e w stu d e n t athletes. In fall 2003 C ollege T ransition g re w to 50 sections, a n d the graduate assistants provided m uch n eed ed staff­ ing for th o se classes a n d for th e eight sections o f a th le te s’ transition. Having graduate assistants teach som e o f those sections frees th e librarians to d o reference, col­ lection m anagem ent, a n d o th er w ork. T he gradu­ ate assistants enthusiastically seek to teach as m any sections as possible because it is a n e w experience fo r th e m a n d a n o p p o rtu n ity to g a in skills a n d raise th e ir com fort level in fro n t o f a class. T h ey have n o t taught num erous sections of those classes in previous years a n d d o n o t suffer from th e bu m - o u t th at can result from teaching this type o f class o v e r time. T h e p ro g r a m a ls o p ro v id e s tra in in g a n d m en to rin g oppo rtu n ities for library staff. T he co ­ o rd in a to r for instructional services d o e s m o st of d ie training a n d m entoring, w h ich sh e finds to b e rew arding a n d fulfilling activities. In ord er to give th e graduate assistants as b ro a d a range o f experi­ en ce as possible, sh e also seeks opportunities for th e m to w o rk u n d e r th e gu id an ce o f o th er librar­ ians. F or exam ple, o n e o f th e g rad u ate assistants w o rk e d w ith th e in struction librarian w h o c o o r­ dinates th e class sessions for d ie U p w ard B o u n d stu d en ts w h o c o m e to th e library e a c h sum m er. This g rad u ate assistant’s project w as to revise the su m m er 2003 curriculum a n d to p re se n t so m e o f tìiose classes. T h e librarians ha v e fo u n d d iat th e graduate assistants bring n e w ideas a n d n e w p e r­ spectives to long-standing program s a n d projects. H aving th e graduate assistants w o rk in d ie In­ structional Services D ep artm en t has e n a b le d d ie librarians to finish projects for w h ich there previ­ o usly h a d b e e n n o time. Each g ra d u a te assistant has o n e o r m o re out-of-the-classroom projects to w o r k o n . O n e e x a m p le o f th e ir p ro je c ts is th e creation o f th e “Evaluating Resources o n th e World W ide W eb” h a n d o u t.4 Since its creation, librarians have given this h an d o u t to students in their classes C&RL News ■ February 2004 / 69 a n d num erous peo p le take a copy from the h an d ­ o u t rack. T h e redesign o f the Instructional Services Pro­ g ram W eb site is an o th e r project th at a grad u ate assistant com pleted. After looking at th e instruc­ tion p ro g ram pages from p e e r institutions an d re­ po rtin g h e r findings back to th e coordinator, th e g ra d u a te assistant d e v e lo p e d a n e w site th at fo­ c u s e d o n a u d ie n c e ra th e r th a n ty p e o f service. A nother graduate assistant redesigned the Instruc­ tional Services Program publicity brochure. T h e h o s t lib rary b e n e fits in tw o a d d itio n a l ways. T he program helps build a stronger relation­ ship b e tw e e n the library an d the library school. In th e lo n g term , th e library also sta n d s to b e n e fit fro m n u rtu rin g th ese students’ interest in library instruction because applicant pools for public ser­ vice positions will b e stronger. Lessons le a rn e d T h e b ig g e s t fru stratio n for th e h o s t lib rary h as b e e n th at th e funding for this program is n o t p e r­ m an en t. Every y ear the SLIS faculty m e m b e r has to se e k m o n e y from the university for its continu­ ance. This m eans that the library cannot cou n t o n h aving extra staff to help handle its m ulti-section classes, to w o rk w ith U p w ard B o u n d , o r to d e ­ v e lo p o th e r projects. Additionally, th e provision o f tra in in g a n d m e n to rin g tak es a lo t o f library staff tim e, especially th at o f th e coordinator. Conclusion T h e benefits o f this collaborative p ro g ram to d e ­ v e lo p fu tu re librarian teachers far o u tw e ig h th e challenges. The graduate assistants have said it has b e e n a rew arding experience. They leave school w ith a theoretical fram ework, as w ell as practical ex p erien ce, in th e area o f library instruction, an d th ey leam firsthand w h at it will b e like to w o rk as a professional in a n academ ic library. This experi­ e n c e is s o m e th in g th e y c a n h ig h lig h t o n th e ir résum és w h e n applying for entry-level positions. T h e UI Libraries have benefited from their w ork, their ideas, a n d th e training an d m entoring op p o r­ tunities this program gives to staff. T he candidate p o o l for entry-level librarians has b e e n en rich ed a n d th e fu tu re em ployers o f th ese gra d u a te stu­ d en ts will benefit from their skills as w ell as their understanding o f b o th educational theory a n d the p la c e o f library instru ctio n a n d in fo rm atio n lit­ eracy in a n acad em ic library. T h e stu d en ts w h o will b e tau g h t in th e future by th e librarians w h o w e re o n c e g rad u ate assistants will be n e fit from (con tin u ed on page 73) C&RL News ■ February 2004 / 73 lishes the K now ledge and In n o v a tio n Jo u rn a l. T h e s ite p r o v i d e s lin k s to m em ber organizations, in­ cluding consu ltin g firms, ed u catio n concerns, soft­ w are an d services com pa­ nies, a n d others. T he site provides links to w hite p a p e rs a n d articles, affiliate W eb sites, discussion lists, w o rld KM new s, a n d th e KMCI new sletter. Access: w w w .km ci.org. • K M .g o v . This site is s u p p o rte d b y th e F ed­ eral C hief Inform ation Officer’s Council a n d cov­ ers th e activities o f th e U.S. G o v e rn m e n t’s KM W o rk in g G ro u p . It in clu d es in fo rm a tio n o n its v arious Special Interest G ro u p s (SIG), including th e C o m m u n ities o f Practice, C o n te n t M an ag e­ m e n t, KM E d u c a tio n , a n d P u b lic P o licy SIGs. T he site contains the docum ents p ro d u c e d b y the W orking G roup, as well as a collection o f linked- re s o u r c e s a s s o c ia te d w ith KM. Access: h t t p : / / w w w .km .gov. • K m P r o . This site is the h o m e o f th e K now l­ e d g e a n d In n o v atio n M anagem ent Professional Society. T his is a W ashington, D.C.-b a s e d n o n ­ p ro fit o rg an izatio n . T he o rg an izatio n serv es its professional m em bership th ro u g h training, co n ­ sulting, m entoring, partnerships, netw orking, an d publishing. T h e organization also su p ports a KM c e r tif ic a tio n p ro g ra m . A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w . kmpro.oig. M a g a z in e s , jo u rn a ls , and e-zines • D e s t in a tio n KM. This is the hom e o f Knowl­ edge M anagem entm agaAne, which existed in print fro m 1998 to 2001, after w h ic h it b e c a m e a n electronic resource. (An archive contains full-text o f articles from th e earlier printed volum es.) This site contains b o th n ew s a n d feature articles relat­ in g t o b o th KM re se a rc h a n d in d u stry p lay ers. T here is a free m onthly newsletter, a research cen­ ter, e v e n t calendar, reading list, a n d read er polls. Also o f interest is th e partn er publication Portals M a g a z in e . Access: h ttp ://w w w .d e s tin a tio n k m . com. • J o u r n a l o f K n o w l e d g e M a n a g e m e n t P r a c t i c e (J K M P ). T h e h o m e p a g e o f this e le c ­ tro n ic jo u rn a l states th a t it is th e “re b irth o f th e Joum alofSystem icK now ledgeM anagem entw âera n e w p u b lish e r.” Started in 1999 b y P e te r Smith, editor-in-chief, JKMP brings together b o th theory, a n d case studies relating to KM to serv e a multi­ disciplinary audience. T he journal’s editorial advi­ sory b o a rd draw s fro m th e U nited States a n d Eu­ ro p e a n academ icians a n d industry practitioners. Access: h ttp ://tla in c .c o m /jk m p .h tm . • K M W orld. This is th e online counterpart to th e KM W orld print publication. KMWorld is w ell k n o w n for its annual KMWorld a n d Intranets Con­ ference, as w ell as its industry-focused m agazine. T h e W eb site e x ­ tends the print p u b ­ lication w ith current new s, a n archive o f past publications, special online resources associ­ ate d w ith p rinted articles, a n d an n o u n cem en ts of s tr e a m in g a u d io W e b c a sts. A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w .km w orld.com . • K n o w M a p : T h e K n o w l e d g e M a n a g e ­ m e n t , A u d i t i n g a n d M a p p i n g M a g a z in e . This bim onthly W eb-based journal from Stanford S o lu tio n s Inc. is ta rg e te d a t KM p ra c titio n e rs. W hile n o t a free jo u rn a l, th e r e are plenty o f re­ s o u rc e s av ail­ a b le to a first­ tim e visitor. T h e jo u rn al c o n tain s co n trib u tio n s b y m an y o f KM’s leading authors a n d consultants. Access: h ttp ://w w w .k n o w m a p .c o m . ■ ( “The university library’s... ” continued from page 69) the skills they gained in class preparation a n d pre­ sentation. This is a p ro g ra m in w h ic h e v e ry o n e wins. Notes 1. See th e ACRE In stitu te fo r In fo rm a tio n Literacy’s w e lc o m e p a g e , w w w .acrl.o rg /in fo lit (click o n “In stitu te fo r In fo rm a tio n L iteracy”), accessed Jan u ary 2004. 2. O n e o f th e g r a d u a te assistan ts c re a te d a W eb site th a t d e s c r ib e s t h e p r o g r a m , s e e mingo.info-science.uiow a.edu/~law ler/Teachers/ teachers.htm l. 3. Jim E lm b o rg a n d E lizab eth Lawler, “F a d ­ ing Shades o f Green: Teaching Culture a n d the IS E x p e rie n c e ,” L O E X N ew s 29 (W inter 2002): 14. 4. See th e “Evaluating Resources o n th e World W ide W eb” h a n d o u t at w w w .lib .u io w a .e d u /in - stru c tio n /h a n d o u ts/IB 15 .p d f. 5. See th e Instructional Services Program Web site at w w w .lib .u io w a .e d u /in stiu c tio n /. ■ http://www.kmci.org KM.gov http://www.km.gov http://www.destinationkm http://tlainc.com/jkmp.htm http://www.kmworld.com http://www.knowmap.com http://www.acrl.org/infolit science.uiowa.edu/~lawler/Teachers/ http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/in-struction/handouts/IB http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/in-struction/handouts/IB http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/instiuction/