ACRL MD New Opportunities for Academic Libraries: Student Success and the Student Employee
Start Date: 1/19/2023 10:15 AM EST End Date: 1/19/2023 12:30 PM EST
Online Via Zoom
Student academic success, engagement, and career readiness are high priorities for colleges and universities. Academic libraries often work to support these priorities through resources, services, and spaces for student users, but fewer libraries consider the impact that student employment and other student contributions in the library can have in these areas. Carissa Tomlinson, Director of Student Experience, Learning, & Outreach at the University of Minnesota Libraries will present recent research in this area along with case studies highlighting creative opportunities for academic libraries to support students in new ways. Participants will then hear from a panel of library workers, who work closely with student staff in a variety of ways and share practical ideas and approaches.
ACRL MD will host a program on January 19th entitled, “New Opportunities for Academic Libraries: Student Success and the Student Employee”. Our scheduled keynote is Carissa Tomlinson, the Director of Student Experience, Learning, & Outreach at the University of Minnesota. This program will also feature a panel discussion highlighting what is happening in local academic libraries related to success and the student employee. We are looking for library workers open to sharing their experience on this topic. Panel participants will be asked to give a 5-7 minute “lightning talk” on their subject and stay to answer questions from the group. Topics should be related to the theme of student library employees at any level – volunteer, undergraduate and graduate. Some suggested topics may include, but are not limited to:
Culturally responsive outreach & events
Student worker training & autonomy
Addressing student needs or involvement in collection development
Evolving library spaces & places
Methods to encourage student connection & mentorship
Student-led work in library & archives
Supporting student researchers
Leadership development
Participants should be available to attend the virtual program on Thursday, January 19th from 10:15am – 12:30pm EST. More information about registration for the event is forthcoming. To express interest in participating as a lightning panelist, contact ACRL MD President Bria Sinnott (bsinnott@towson.edu) by December 2nd. You do not need to be a current ACRL or MLA member to participate as a panelist or attendee.
We had so much fun learning from LIS students and new grads last year, and we want more! ACRL MD welcomes current LIS students and recent graduates to share what is happening now in the world of library science. Present a new idea, project or professional interest that excites you and could inspire your peers a bit farther removed from current graduate studies. In return for this generous peer sharing, presenters can build local connections, identify collaborators and bolster CV’s in a collegial online environment.
Who: YOU! Current students and new grads (18 mos. post graduation)
What: A low-key 10 minute presentation on a topic you are excited about
Possible topics could include:
Discussing your research or a recent project
Emerging LIS ideas that resonate with you
New considerations for instruction, access or collection development
Innovative IT for every user
The awesome archives of tomorrow
Your vision of the future of librarianship -Truly, ANYTHING that has your attention is worth sharing!
When: During our virtual monthly meeting held the third Friday of each month at 11am EST
Why: Because you’re brilliant, that’s why!
How: Submit your interest and availability on this form.
We accept your ideas on a rolling basis all year long. Questions? email Bria Sinnott at bsinnott@towson.edu
There is still time to submit an ACRL MD sponsored program! The conference will be held May 4-6, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Maryland. We are seeking proposals for programs ranging from ten minute ignite sessions to full-day pre-conference sessions. This is a fantastic opportunity to share your innovative projects, services, or research with your colleagues from across the state. Please note a call for poster sessions will be shared in the fall. Librarians at any stage of their career are encouraged to apply.
Planning is underway for the 2022 Maryland Library Association/Delaware Library Association joint conference, and there are many ways for YOU to get involved!
The MLA/DLA conference will take place May 4-6, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, MD.
Present!
ACRL MD is excited to invite proposals for our division to sponsor. We are seeking proposals for programs ranging from ten-minute ignite sessions to full-day pre-conference sessions. This is a fantastic opportunity to share your innovative projects, services, or research with your colleagues from across the state. A call for poster sessions will be shared later this fall.
Submit your proposal using this form and be sure to select ACRL MD as the division group when prompted. Proposals are due by 11:59pm on October 15th and will undergo a double blind peer-review.
Volunteer!
We are seeking librarians at any career stage to assist with the blind-review process for submission. Volunteers will be asked to review proposal submissions in mid-October. Reach out to Bria Sinnott at bsinnott@towson.edu if you are interested or have any questions.
MLA’s Social Committee is also looking for volunteers and at-large members. They meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 1-2pm. Contact Jenee Johnson at jejohnson@bcpl.net if you are interested.
By Allison Fischbach, Research and Archives Associate, Towson University / MLIS Candidate, University of Maryland / SAA Web Archiving Steering Committee Student Member (2020-2021)
Think about the last time you saw an archive in a movie. (The scene that always comes to my mind is the one where Gandalf descends into a vault of antiquated books and finds a single, aged drawing of the One Ring. A classic.)
But no matter what scene you’re thinking of, I can guess a few things that you saw. Probably a lot of old books and stacks of dusty paper. This reflects a very traditional view of what an archive is and does; mainly, store information on paper – newsletters, memos, minuets, correspondence, fliers, announcements, and more.
Over the past 30 years the digital revolution has changed the way we connect, send messages, and manage work. When we think of how all that important information is shared today is it largely through emails. Digital newsletters, e-invites, email correspondence, event announcements and more come into our email inbox, supplanting the need for so much paper. But where do the emails go from there?
In the past, many paper-based records benefitted from a practice called “benign neglect.” This means that even if you took a letter and stuck away in a drawer or a shoebox, you could still pull it out and read it 10, or 20, or 100 years later.
The same cannot be said for digital records like emails. Besides becoming lost on different desktops, shared folders, and email servers, they can also become inaccessible. The rapid change in digital technologies means file types and programs quickly become outdated. This is called “digital obsolescence” and means even files that are only a decade old might no longer be accessible or readable on modern machines.
The email material we create and receive has historical value, but we can’t be passive about collecting it.
No more waiting 30 years and then sending a box of valuable papers to the archives. Without direct and constant interventions, there are simply no emails available to donate after 30 years. We can see that email archiving is important, but it must be an ongoing, active practice.
There are many reasons why you might setup an email archiving practice. Maybe you want to preserve records of an important project or historic event, keep materials for annual reviews or updating your CV, or ensure you don’t lose personal records and correspondence. Whatever your reason, the best thing you can do is integrate archiving into your normal workflow.
Tips for Email Archiving:
Create a dedicated “Archived Emails” folder in your inbox.
The good news is many of the most popular email programs, like Gmail and Outlook, already have built-in archive functions. You can use these functions to automatically back up and save valuable emails.
The easiest way to do this is create a dedicated “Archived Emails” folder in your inbox. Using the built-in archiving function, you can set this folder to save backups to your desktop or a remote server as often as you’d like. This way, any email you move into this folder will be automatically saved as either an .mbox or .pst file. These file types also store metadata about the sender, recipient, date, links, and attachments.
2. Develop a schedule to sort and save emails.
Part of creating an email archiving practice is establishing a workflow that works for you. Best practice is to sort and move emails into your archive folder on a regular schedule, so that emails aren’t lost to the depths of your inbox.
You might want to sort and backup emails each month, each semester, or at the end of each year. Saving emails after the end of big projects or during regular office clean-outs are also good ideas. There is no hard and fast rule about how often you should save materials, but setting up a schedule that coincides with other regular activities will help you remember.
3. Reach out to your college or university archive.
Email archiving is not yet an established practice in most college and university archives, but it is gaining popularity as institutions begin to understand the need to keep these valuable records. Touch base with the repository you want to receive your emails to ensure the information you’re saving is valuable to their collections. Some archives may also have specific types of emails in mind, certain file formats, or workflows for donating that can inform your archiving schedule.
The good news is you can help save historical records starting today! Creating archived files is the first step in making sure archives of the future have valuable information about today.
Many digital archivist groups are working on the next step in email archiving by developing open-source management programs that store archived emails, make them searchable, and provide user access. None of these programs are ready for widespread use, but they show a promising future for storing and accessing email information.
Allison presented on this topic at the April 2021 ACRL MD Meeting. Her slides and the notes from that meeting can be found in our minutes archive here. If you are a current library school student or graduate interested in presenting during our Back to Library School series, submit your interest here!
The ACRL MD meeting scheduled for May 21st is unconventional.
To celebrate the end of the academic year, this month’s meeting will be held outside*. In lieu of gathering on Zoom, use this hour to; take a walk around the block, sit near a window and birdwatch, call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while, etc. *In other words, the May ACRL MD meeting is canceled. You’re invited to hold this hour and contemplate what you would like to see from ACRL MD in the upcoming year or take a break from thinking about library work completely.
We will convene again on June 18 at 11 am on Zoom.
ACRL 2021 Conference Proceedings are posted here. Several presenters have made their materials publicly available online and many of these have been complied in this crowdsourced Google Doc. A few of the most popular sessions, including the opening/closing keynotes are also available on ACRL”s YouTube page.
ACRL MD Virtual Business meetings are open to all. This includes new/returning ACRL MD members, non-members with interest in joining ACRL MD, library and information science students and people with zero interest in joining ACRL MD who would like to connect with colleagues.
This month’s ACRL MD meeting will be held on Zoom. Full access information can be found below. Our Back to (Library) School presenter this month is Allison Fischbach. Allison is the Research & Archives Associate at Towson University and a current MLIS candidate at UMD. She will discuss the importance of email archiving, how it can benefit institutions, and some guidance for setting up your own email archiving practice.
Agenda:
Introductions
Presidents Report
Vice President/ Conference Report – Explore the program and register for MLA/DLA Con here!
Back to School Presenter and discussion: Allison Fischbach – Email Archiving
image of a full email inbox, just to stress you out.
If you are a current library school student or graduate interested in presenting during our Back to Library School series, submit your interest here!
ACRL MD Virtual Business meetings are open to all. This includes new/returning ACRL MD members, non-members with interest in joining ACRL MD, library and information science students and people with zero interest in joining ACRL MD who would like to connect with colleagues.
Meeting ID: 991 2298 8738 Passcode: 801133 One tap mobile +13017158592,,99122988738# US (Washington DC) 13126266799,,99122988738# +US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 991 2298 8738 Find your local number: https://ubalt.zoom.us/u/acvfFDyzG
Dr. Lucy Holman will discuss what advocacy can look like in an academic library and participants will hear from library peers how crafting a supported and concise message can help you push for change, find funding and advocate for students, faculty and projects meaningful to you.
ACRL 2021 features a mix of more than 300 semi-live and on-demand programs, interactive discussion groups, eye-popping posters, social wall, fun connections, prizes, and content access for 30 days. Several Maryland libraries are represented this year.
Friday, April 16th: Back 2 Library School Presentation
11am-12pm
Allison Fischbach is the Research & Archives Associate at Towson University and a current MLIS candidate at UMD and will discuss the importance of email archiving, how it can benefit institutions, and some basic tools/steps for setting up your own email archiving practice. We’re still accepting presenters for 2021, submit you interest here.
Academic library personnel routinely need to advocate for the library as an essential contributor to their college or university’s mission; however, advocating for your academic library really means advocating for a broad range of individuals – library staff, students, professors, and other campus community members – and doing so to a variety of stakeholders with diverse priorities. This program will explore what advocacy means for academic libraries and introduce best practices for instigating change at any level.
Dr. Lucy Holman, University Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and former Dean of Libraries at the University of Baltimore, will share an administrator’s perspective on current advocacy issues and methods. After a Q&A with Dr. Holman, participants can dig deeper into an advocacy issue of their choosing in facilitated breakout discussion groups. Attendees will also be introduced to tools available to help craft their own advocacy messaging and solicit peer feedback.
Themed discussions include:
Driving Change in the Academic Library
Advocating Past Failure
Academic Library Fundraising
Advocating to and for students
Registration is $12.50 for MLA members/$18.50 for non-members/$6.25 for students
ACRL, Maryland Chapter 