No Magic in the Evening Hours: Academic Library INFO LIT Workshops

Tracking usage is something all libraries need to do to ensure they are meeting patron/student demand for resources and services.  We attempt to track everything we possibly can, and I can't imagine any library that doesn't attempt to do the same.  Although we have had numbers decline in areas such as circulation and other predictable areas (in recent years), our foot traffic and building usage has increased quite a bit.  Our library, which services around 1200 liberal arts students, is the social and academic center in the evening hours on this primarily residential campus.  Over the past few years we have noticed that our busiest hour, in terms of library building traffic, (calculated by headcounts and gate counter) lies somewhere between 7:30pm and 9pm, Mon-Thurs.

Logan Library Schreiner University

Having offered drop-in lunchtime workshops in the past that were mildly successful, we thought that we would offer a series of "information literacy" or library workshops throughout the spring term that would span in focus from the very basic (finding a book on the shelf, navigating databases, etc.) to more focused sessions (Searching CINAHL for Nursing students, or How to be a Research Pro) in the peak evening hours.  Our thinking was that if sweetened the pot with popcorn and a chance to win an iPad 3, that we would have some students interested in taking a break from their studies and friends to perhaps learn a thing or two on research or how to use the library.  We were largely wrong.

Four librarians with three different workshops each (12 in total), spread out over the semester was the master plan.  The first librarian to teach her session reported the morning after that no students had showed up- she had even tried wrangling some before the session was set to begin, but no dice.  I was up next and was determined not to strike out.  I had decided to take along with me a budding librarian undergraduate student who was to handle the OPAC/Find a Book on the Shelf portion of my session.  I thought that having a peer might work to my advantage in getting students to come to my workshop.  I also enlisted a Work Study student that was stationed at the circulation desk, to start advertising the session to every student that walked through the door.

As the budding undergraduate librarian and I sat near the front entrance waiting for our session to start, we talked about the time and whether or not students would be interested in receiving some library instruction.  The student informed me that almost everyone he knew was at a Anime club meeting on campus, and also added that students had been in class all day and maybe didn't feel like attending any more instruction sessions in the evening.  That last part resonated the most with me, and I vowed to make the session quick and informative as possible.  After all, this was their time. 

I ended up with three students in total for that first session and it went great.  The last part of the session consisted of students retrieving a book from the stacks by themselves, which they performed flawlessly.  I love to see the look in students' eyes when they "get it"- it is empowering for the student to realize they now have the power to use a library, and of course it is rewarding for the librarian as well.

Sadly, my first session was my most successful.  The other librarians didn't have much luck either in the evening with the rest of their sessions despite the prizes and marketing efforts- and that was really that.

We did however host a table in which students had to retrieve a book or an article for a chance to win a iPad during an afternoon fair.  This event was in coordination with Dept. of Student Success (held in the library) and we managed to run 80+ students through our mini assignment (highly successful).

In the case of the Student Success fair, there were tables offering food, LinkedIn Photos, and other student services that attracted many types of students over to the library at one time.  We are now planning more of these types of events during the day hours, and of course trying to figure out how to offer some library instruction at the same time.

*Information contained within these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Schreiner University.

Makerbot 3D Printer Gains Traction on College Campus

I received our academic library Makerbot Replicator (the first generation model with dual extrusion) in the summer of 2012.  I spent a good deal of time tinkering with it during the summer, but still didn't have great success implementing it in the fall until I met a freshmen design student in a graphic design class I was visiting. Read more about my first experience with 3D Printing.

So, before I explain how the printer has "taken off" with some needed help, I have to back up a bit and explain what I tried to do to launch a 3D printer on a small private liberal arts college campus.

First, I created a step by step how-to guide on how to get started with 3D Printing.  This guide was meant to "flip the classroom" or give students on campus all of the resources and training they needed (in one place) up until they were ready to load their creation on the actual 3D printer (hardware).  Then I dropped links on the library's home page and sprinkled invitations to get involved with the printer on the library's and university's social media sites.  I got some initial attention and emails from students wanting to know how to get involved even before the school year started. This 3D Printer will be easy to get off the ground - I thought.

However, the undergrad students that did contact me either quickly found out that there was some actual work that went into designing and printing in 3D or were swept away with the beginning of the school year's coursework and social engagements (probably the latter). I also had some students come into my office with drawings days before the semester ended looking to print out a prototype or project for a class.  I had to turn those students away since they had nothing in terms of actual designs nor had spent any time trying to even learn about what a 3D printer was capable of.  So, my next bet was on the faculty.

I got invited to visit a 3D design class in the Art department after some self (and printer) promotion- and thought it was a great chance for these students to put the first student designs through the Makerbot. I showed up to the class and gave a demo of SketchUp, explained the workflow of file types up until you get to Replicator G, passed around a few sample prints, and left the link to my online Getting Started guide.  I instructed students to make their initial designs small or at most something that was 2" tall and 2" wide.

Fox with Hat from Makerbot (painted)

One student in particular responded quickly with her Fox with Hat design (left)- the first student to put a design through.  While it was a little rough going with the brim of the hat  falling off due to the lack of support, it showed a lot of promise.  I had even heard from the instructor that this particular student was helping her classmates navigate the software and the overall process. 

So, I did the smartest thing I could do and hired the student as the Makerbot 3D Printer Work Study for the Spring semester.  Since coming on the library payroll, she has made great strides in being the library liaison for the 3D Printer.  The student has made a video of the printer in action, gave a workshop to a spring 3D design class, printed out her peers' projects from the fall 3D design class, and was recently featured on the front page of the local newspaper. Most importantly, the student is printing student work and orchestrating everything (workshops, software, promotion) with interested professors and students.  

Our next venture will be to feature the Makerbot in action at an upcoming Student Achievement Showcase in the spring, where we will have a chance to take down more names of interested students.  The excitement and interest over the printer did not happen right at the start, but thankfully did finally happen.  While securing the grant to buy the Makerbot and the job of implementing it on campus was mine and mine alone, I always knew that these types of projects and technology belong in the hands of students.  Hopefully in 6-9 months I will post again and have much more to say about how our Makerbot is being used on campus.

*Information contained within these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Schreiner University.

 

Video Games in Academic Libraries

The Microfiche Reading Room

A few months ago I wrote a blog post on converting a microfiche reading room into a video game research space for a small liberal arts university library.  Since then, the microfiche cabinets have been moved to the basement, the copier has been moved to the front of the library, and network drops and power have been installed and connected to the room.

It is slowly coming together - well, it is back to being an empty room - a clean slate if you will. 





The future Video Game Research Room at the half-way point.

I have a brand new Xbox 360 with Kinect in my office, a 50 inch LCD that is still in the box, the mount for the TV is mounted on the wall, and I am looking to get some of the Art students over to do a mural in the room (I am picturing the crew from Mass Effect with a dark planet background, but we will see what happens.)

My plans (down the road) also include installing a powerful workstation that can run modern PC games and usability testing software, maybe a two-way mirror so that research students can observe their subject, improved lighting (still have the fluorescent panels in there), and perhaps some sound proofing.  I don't have the funds to go all out, so I am trying my best to evolve the room step by step.

Since I started this project I have been looking around to see what other academic institutions are doing with video game spaces, after all video games in the library is not a new idea really, but few academic libraries out there are really promoting their video game prowess to the world.  Public libraries were out front on video games, but for a different reason. Academic libraries strive to connect resources that will support and enhance scholarly activity. 

My idea is to make the room a very usable space for not only undergraduate video game research but also a place to potentially record podcasts and give small lectures.

Below are some interesting internet finds for the academic librarian looking to take on video games in your library.  Pay attention to some of the comments located at the bottom of these articles, as they will likely surprise you both for the Pro and Con arguments of the still controversial topic of video games in academic libraries.

Video Game Academic Library Links

U of C creates video game library space

Hosting a Library Game Night Guide for Small Academic

Rethinking Video Games in the Academic Library

Videogame Night in the Academic Library: Video Games as Educational

University To Have Video Game Library

Librarians Explain: Why Video Games At the Library

Circulating Video Game Collections in the Academic Library (report by Oregon State University)

Video-Game Rooms Become the Newest Library Space Invaders (The Chronicle)

Pledge of Allegiance to Video Game Studies (HASTAC)

The Global Game Jam

Video Game Collection Development

Gaming Night at Elmhurst College


Conferences

The University of Wisconsin - Madison is excited to announce the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Conference 8.0 to be held June 13 - 15, 2012 at the Memorial Union on campus.

*Information contained within these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Schreiner University

Microfiche Reading Room to Research Arcade: Library Transformation

Currently we have an entire room dedicated to microfiche in our library, it is a small room approximately 15ft X 20ft.  The room also houses typewriters, microfiche readers, and a copy machine.  While I have only been here a short time, I have never had a student ask for assistance with microfiche (I am sure you are all falling out of your chairs).

I have been informed however, that there are unique items in the microfiche collection, which will be moved to an accessible location (just not the prime local it is currently residing in).

The to-be transformed microfiche reading room.

My idea is to transform the microfiche reading room into a digital commons, a technology lab, or a research arcade.  Ok, so I have not pinned down the name for the space, but I do know what I want to put in there.  I want the small room to be multi-functional, sound proofed, and filled with consumer gaming consoles (namely Nintendo Wii, Xbox's Kinect, and Sony's Move).

The space should have improved lighting,  as it now has standard office florescent fixtures.  I am even considering padded gymnastic mats to cover the main "action zone" in front of the monitor to protect research participants from injury.   I also want the space to give students a quiet place to record pod casts, voice-overs, and other audio production projects (as currently there is no place on campus to produce these types of projects). 

I am currently researching "green" (read: free or low cost) soundproofing materials to cover the walls with, which will not only buffer the noise inside for an ideal recording atmosphere but also protect those patrons that are studying outside of the room from noise.  I recently watched a documentary on Link TV that followed a rock band in Libya that used discarded egg packaging on the walls of their jam room to conceal their music from government authorities.

While a few colleagues have made good natured jokes about playing Atari in the library, I have had a lot of interest and support from faculty and departments.  The truth is that while the gaming systems listed above are designed primarily for recreation, they are dramatically changing the way we are interacting with information both mechanically and physically.  Within our own campus and academic departments I can envision undergraduate research projects utilizing the space from areas such as Education, Art, Psychology, Philosophy, and Exercise Science.

I plan to update this blog as the project progresses, for now I just wanted to state my purpose and gather any input offered by the community "at large".

If anyone has taken on a similar project, I would appreciate any input or suggestions.- Thanks

*Information contained within these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Schreiner University.