Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Public Library-Based Social Work Field Placements: Guidance For Public Libraries Planning To Become A Social Work Practicum Site, Elizabeth A. Wahler, Jacob D. Ressler, Sarah C. Johnson, Colleen Rortvedt, Tasha Saecker, John Helling, Michael A. Williams, Danielle Hoover

Publications and Research

Public libraries are increasingly faced with patron psychosocial needs, including mental health problems, substance use, homelessness, or poverty-related needs. Since library staff are often not trained to address these needs, many are choosing to host on-site social work practicum students to provide information and referrals for patrons presenting with psychosocial needs. However, little existing guidance is available about initiating a social work practicum placement, which can leave libraries unprepared and often “reinventing the wheel”. This manuscript provides guidance on the steps that should be considered by libraries intending to host their first social work practicum student.

Getting Your Bearings: Understanding Organizational Culture, Linda Miles, Susanne Markgren

Publications and Research

What do you know about your institution’s organizational culture? How do individuals, collaborative partners, and teams get work done? How are decisions really made? How is change introduced and implemented? How do you know when to go with the flow and when and how to resist or stand your ground? Every workplace is different, but awareness of some common challenges, a set of questions to help librarians interpret what they observe around them and profiles of organizational dynamics in action will support those working to cultivate a professional practice in often complex library environments.

Digital Collaborations: A Survey Analysis Of Digital Humanities Partnerships Between Librarians And Other Academics, Jessica Wagner Webster

Publications and Research

The present study will investigate the perceptions of information professionals about their role in the work of digital humanities scholars, as well as the perceptions of digital humanities scholars on the role of information professionals in their research. While other scholarly literature has considered collaborations between these groups via surveys or interviews with small project teams, the present study will provide a large-scale analysis of collaborations using survey responses from more than 500 scholars, librarians, and archivists. Questions sought to determine the extent to which these groups collaborate with one another on project teams; how these collaborations unfold and who …

Anecdotes, Barriers, Cooperation: The Abc's Of A Library/It Collaboration, Lee Ann Fullington, Mariana Regalado, Jane Cramer

Publications and Research

Aim Our library’s three main computing areas are the primary computer labs on campus, with two of them managed by librarians. Our staff mediated sign-in system made for long lines, delays, and more than a few misplaced student ID cards. After several semesters of monitoring issues and securing funding, the library implemented a new sign-in system for computers in the library’s labs. This presentation discusses the types of evidence we collected and used over several stages of this transition to launch and continually improve the self sign-in process.

Methods After selecting and deploying the new self sign-in software, library staff …

Listening To What Students Are Asking: The Role Of An Academic Library In Institution-Wide Knowledge Management, Elizabeth Jardine

Publications and Research

Students at our public, urban community college were experiencing difficulties finding correct, consistent answers to their questions about navigating college processes, information students needed to succeed in school. These difficulties were fueled not only by our students’ backgrounds—they are often the first generation in their family to attend college, may require additional academic preparation, or lack support for their higher education dreams—but also by the siloed information environment prevalent in academia. When our college president realized the extent of student challenges in this area, she looked to the college’s librarians, campus experts in knowledge organization and provision, for direction with …

Building Bridges: Fostering Dynamic Partnerships Between The Library Department And Office Of Student Disability Services In Higher Education, Nilda Alexandra Sanchez-Rodriguez, Joseph Logiudice

Publications and Research

Building effective communication and interdepartmental partnerships are essential components of strengthening services, policies, and procedures to meet the individual information needs of students, faculty, and the college community. Despite major advancements in library services for users with disabilities, there are ongoing challenges, which need to be addressed. It is essential to develop inclusion and accessibility frameworks that serve mutual departmental interests to share and document lessons learned along the way.

This article explores the evolving shared leadership between an Architecture Librarian/Liaison to the AccessAbility Center; and the Director of Student Disability Services at the City College of New York to …

The Library Leading: Knowledge Management Supporting Community College Institutional Strategy, Elizabeth Jardine

Publications and Research

This case study demonstrates how librarians at LaGuardia Community College led a college-wide knowledge management project to implement Ask LaGuardia, an online knowledge base where users can find answers to common questions on navigating this large, urban college. Students had been experiencing difficulty receiving clear, correct, and consistent answers to their questions while staff had been challenged by information silos. LaGuardia’s president chose the Library for a leadership role in this initiative supporting a broader strategy of better alignment between Academic and Student Affairs. The Library’s positive reputation and knowledge organization expertise made it a natural fit. Four years in, …

Embedded In Technology Ecosystems: Graduate Students, Mobile Devices, And Academic Workflows, Lee Ann Fullington, Frans Albarillo

Publications and Research

This qualitative study uncovers how graduate students use multiple devices to support their academic pursuits, including coursework, group projects, and conducting research. Students often own several devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers and use these devices in complementary ways to manage workflows, collaborate with colleagues, and support their academic pursuits.

Stronger Together: Increasing Connections Between Academic And Public Libraries, Maureen Richards

Publications and Research

Much has been written about collaborations between public and academic libraries. These collaborations generally take the form of joint libraries, special programs or consortia. They are motivated by the desire to do public outreach or community building or to provide better facilities, services or library resources to users from both library systems or, in the case of consortia, by economics.

Since the library website is now the most common entry point to an academic library, this paper explores the opportunities for building connections between an academic and public library’s resources by hyperlinking to public library resources. Deepening these connections supports …

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

Painless Portal Partnerships: Collaboration And Its Challenges For Small Organizations, Christine Mcevilly

Publications and Research

This article addresses challenges inherent in collaborative archival projects involving both large institutions and small historical societies. It identifies these unique problems and outlines potential solutions to overcome these issues. Examples are drawn from the Portal to American Jewish History project and contextualized within the professional literature on ethnic or community archives and archival collaboration. This project collected metadata from a wide range of Jewish history archives and aggregated the records in a single searchable website.

Egalitarian Teams In Action: Organizing For Library Initiatives, Linda Miles, Miriam Laskin, Kate Lyons

Urban Library Journal

In 2006 Peter Senge, who coined the term the learning organization, wrote, “As the world becomes more interconnected and business becomes more complex and dynamic, work must become more ‘learningful’... It’s just not possible any longer to to figure it out from the top, and have everyone else following the orders of the ‘grand strategist’” (p. 4). Senge documented the need for professions and organizations that can change, that can quickly adapt, be nimble, learn, and find new opportunities in the changing information landscape. Libraries are not immune from this kind of pressure. In this case study, first presented at …

Open Cuny: 24 Colleges, 5 Boroughs, 1 Repository, Megan Wacha

Publications and Research

In March 2015, CUNY Libraries launched an open access institutional repository, CUNY Academic Works, to collect and provide public access to the intellectual output of the students, faculty, and staff at the City University of New York. This presentation details a collaborative model in which the Office of Library Services at the Central Office partners with libraries at each of CUNY’s campuses to adopt more open practices.

Towards Collaboration Between Lawyers And Social Workers: A Content Analysis Of Joint Degree Programs, Ifem E. Orji

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Collaboration is a central issue in the interdisciplinary education of social work and law students. Joint JD/MSW degrees have the potential to promote collaboration between practitioners of law and social work in areas where their practices converge. The 1969 recommendations by the National Conference of Lawyers and Social Workers (NCLSW) to establish these joint degree programs assumed that collaborative learning would occur within them. However, prior research has not investigated whether or not this occurs. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether evidence of the intent to promote collaboration was present in written materials associated with joint degree …

Collaboration Between The Library And Office Of Student Disability Services: Document Accessibility In Higher Education, Rebecca Arzola

Publications and Research

Purpose – The paper aims to discuss the relationship between interdepartmental stakeholders in higher education and the information identified as a result of collaborations. It proposes that collaborations can help clarify issues to then advocate for them.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for a naturalistic case study design, gathering direct and participant observation of interdepartmental collaborations including 1 Student Share, 12 one-hour collaborative sessions and 1 Accessibility Conference.

Findings – The paper provides observed insight about student needs to have documents that are accessible for assistive technologies to recognize and read how change is brought about during internal brand building. …

Moving Students To The Center Through Collaborative Documents In The Classroom, Maura A. Smale, Stephen Francoeur

Publications and Research

Collaborative document creation allows groups of people to create and edit text in a shared space, and educators across all subject areas have embraced these tools in their classes. Library instructors are no exception—the authors have used collaborative documents with students in multiple instructional settings. We believe that collaborative documents can embody critical pedagogy in the library classroom. Creating and editing collaborative documents can acknowledge students’ prior experiences with research and the library and de-center the library instructor as the sole research expert in the room.

Apps And Technology Share - A Student Disability Services And Library Collaboration, Rebecca Arzola

Publications and Research

The Library and Office of Student Disability Services at Lehman College provide a collaborative presentation on engaging students in sharing apps and technology they use in higher education to support their educational needs for a successful academic career. Presented at the 6th Annual CUNY Accessibility Conference, Student Success in the Digital Age, May 1st, 2015, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City.

The Flipped Classroom As A Tool For Engaging Discipline Faculty In Collaboration—A Case Study In Library-Business Collaboration, Madeline Cohen

Publications and Research

This case study focuses on an innovative approach to the flipped classroom as a tool for productive library-discipline faculty collaboration on information literacy instruction. The argument is presented that the flipped classroom can be a pathway into the disciplines that can be used in overcoming the disadvantages of the one-shot, and other barriers to collaboration. The case-study will outline the reasons for a successful collaboration on integrating information literacy into this undergraduate business course, and for its extension to five additional business courses. Practical examples of learning outcomes, in-class activities, and assessment are provided.

Situating Information Literacy In The Disciplines: A Practical And Systematic Approach For Academic Librarians, Robert Farrell, William Badke

Publications and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to consider the current barriers to situating in the disciplines and to offer a possible strategy for so doing.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews current challenges facing librarians who seek to situate information literacy in the disciplines and offers and practical model for those wishing to do so. Phenomenographic evidence from disciplinary faculty focus groups is presented in the context of the model put forward.

Findings – Disciplinary faculty do not have generic conceptions of information literacy but rather understand information-related behaviors as part of embodied disciplinary practice.

Practical implications – Librarians …

Flipping The Lehman College Classroom A Library – Business Department Collaboration, Madeline Cohen, Jennifer Poggiali, Deborah Sanders

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Developing Sustainable International Library Exchange Programs: The Cuny-Shanghai Library Faculty Exchange Model, Sheau-Yueh Janey Chao, Beth Evans, Ryan Phillps, Mark Aaron Polger, Beth Posner, Ellen Sexton

Publications and Research

This article describes the City University of New York ( CUNY)-Shanghai Librarian Faculty Exchange Program. By observing and working in academic library services at CUNY, Shanghai University (SU), and Shanghai Normal University (SNU), participants were able to teach and learn from their colleagues, bringing their experiences back to further share with their home library patrons, colleagues, and colleges.

Information Is Social: Information Literacy In Context, Jen Hoyer

Publications and Research

This paper aims to discuss traditional conceptions of information literacy as created within an academic context to address information needs within this context. It seeks to present alternative realities of information use outside the academic sector, and to suggest that information literacy instruction within academia does not go far enough in preparing students for the information society beyond university. The aim is then to follow this by discussion of appropriate information literacy models to prepare young people for information use in a variety of workplace environments.

Other People’S Money: Adapting Entrepreneurial Techniques To Build Capital In Challenging Economic Times, Robert Farrell

Publications and Research

Drawing on the “predator” model of entrepreneurship put forward by Villette and Vuillermot in their 2009 book “From Predators to Icons,” this article argues that challenging economic times reveal that self-funded, collaborative information literacy models have in many cases unsustainably overstretched staff and budgets. In such circumstances, it is necessary for librarians to shift to an entrepreneurial approach that seeks profitable opportunities funded by parties other than the library in order to build capital for current and future instructional services. Following Villette and Vuillermot, the article seeks to refute a cultural myth that sees the entrepreneur as someone who is …

The Viability Of Google Wave As An Online Collaboration Tool, Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

The article looks at the Google Wave service, which combined shared-editing and communication features to create a hybrid collaboration platform. The author examines the applications for the service and the need for it, or its features.