Annotated Bibliography
ACRL Value of Academic Libraries. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.acrl.ala.org/value/
The ACRL Value of Academic Libraries blog was created to continue the conversation started by the publication of Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report in 2010. ACRL is the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. This report was a call to action for academic libraries to demonstrate their value to their institutions. We can no longer take it for granted that administrators will support us because we think we’re doing a good job. Libraries must actually demonstrate their value. The report provides a starting place and the blog is used to share new developments. It also provides a place for libraries to share their work on this important issue.
EDUCAUSE. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association that focuses on technology in higher education. Membership primarily consists of higher education institutions in the United States. St. Cloud State University is a member. I primariliy use this site to access research reports on technology and college students as well as their excellent 7 Things You Should Know About series including 7 Things You Should Know About Infographic Creation Tools. The entries in this series are two pages long. A scenario is described and then the tool is described including implications for teaching and learning.
Flickr Creative Commons. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I use the Flickr Creative Commons site when I prepare for presentations. The photos on this subset of the main Flickr site have all been tagged with the Creative Commons license. Many of the photographs can be used as long as you include an attribution. Instead of this site possessing credibility, it give me credibility. Educators must model appropriate copyright behavior and using sites like this help. I’ve also used photos from the Wikimedia Commons for the same reason. The information presented is kept up to date as Flickr users continually add images.
Harvard Business Review. (2014). Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
I use the Harvard Business Review site to keep up-to-date on leadership issues. In my previous life I was a manager in a retail store and my undergraduate degree is in management. I’m also serve on my library’s Dean’s Council, the equivalent of a leadership council. We’re in the midst of developing a new strategic plan and I’ve used resources from the HBR site to help with the process. While the site is cleared targeted toward a business audience, the articles and blog posts on strategic planning, technology planning, working with data, and storytelling are helpful to leaders in any organization including non-profit organizations. I do recommend following HBR on Twitter. It’s the best way to stay current with the information they share. They mix blog posts of 3-4 pages in length with short posts with three tips on a topic. In order to prepare our graduates for the workforce, we must understand the latest thinking in the corporate world. Harvard Business Review is a trusted source. The site is regularly updated with new content. Some of the features on the site are not available for free while some that are free can only be accessed once you sign up for an account.
Inside Higher Ed. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com
Inside Higher Edprovides news, commentary, and employment updates for higher education in the United States. I start off each morning with an email update from this site. Many of the articles on the site have sparked discussion on my campus. An article about protests against commencement speakers, The Substitutes Speak Out, generated a lively discussion about how commencement speakers are chosen. Inside Higher Ed also provides career services for educators including job postings and advice.
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/
The Internet & American Life Project conducts extensive surveys on Internet use by Americans. Of particular interest to me is the research on usage of social media and Web 2.0 by teens. Today’s high school seniors are the freshmen that I’ll work with in the fall. One report from last, Teens, Social Media, and Privacy, describes how teenagers are actually quite savvy about online privacy contrary to public perception. The survey methods use appropriate methodology.
Piktochart. (2014). Retrieved from http://piktochart.com/
Piktochart is an infographic creation tool. Like many tools nowadays, there is a free version and a paid version. An infographic is an image that is way to display data, statistics, and a variety of facts in an eye-catchy graphic. Infographics are intended to be used on the internet. See the list Piktochart compiled the Top 10 Best Infographics of 2013 for examples. We have developed a couple of infographics to communicate the value of using our interlibrary loan service. We’ve finished the infographic aimed at students and it can be viewed at https://magic.piktochart.com/output/1376787-ill-article-new. Another tool for infographics is visual.ly. One of my colleagues had her students create infographics as part of their final project. Infographics are currently a hot topic but they may fade away quickly as QR codes did.
Project Information Literacy. (2014). Retrieved from http://projectinfolit.org/
Project Information Literacy is a national research project that examines the information literacy skills and habits of traditional-age college students. The project began in 2008 at the iSchool at the University of Washington. As with the K-12 sector, higher education has been tasked to demonstrate its worth. We must do better with our graduates. Academic libraries play a role in this. Project Information Literacy provides the research data to support the inclusion of information literacy in the college curriculum. One report in particular, How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace, provides great information on the skills graduates need to possess when entering the workforce. The researchers for this project are credible authors. The material on the site is updated as new reports are completed.
ProfHacker. (2014). Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/
ProfHacker is a blog from the Chronicle of Higher Education. As the tagline says, this blog focuses on teaching, technology, teaching with technology, and using technology to increase personal productivity. I learned about Evernote and Dropbox on this site. The various bloggers don’t just mention a technology resource, they reveal how the tool has improved some aspect of their work life or personal life. The writers at ProfHacker are faculty members at various schools around the country.
RubiStar. (2008). Retrieved from http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
RubiStar is a site that helps educators create rubrics for assignments and projects. The site receives grant funding from the national Department of Education. The site provides customizable rubrics for a variety of topics and projects. Rubric construction is a painstaking and iterative projects. RubiStar helps teachers by decreasing time spent on rubric construction. I have not yet used this site but as we develop student learning outcomes for the library, we will likely use rubrics in some capacity and RubiStar can help us jumpstart the creation process. RubiStar is part of ALTEC, a group that focuses on integrating technology into teaching and learning.