Collaboration in Maine at the Margaret Chase Smith Library

Richards, David. “The Margaret Chase Smith Library: A Unique Collection Fostered by a History of Collaboration.” Maine Policy Review 22.1 (2013) : 62 -64, http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol22/iss1/13.

Maine is a small state with a long history of scarce resources, of “making do,” and of “helping your neighbor.” The state’s libraries are a prime example what can be achieved to maximize resources through partnerships and collaboration. David Richards discusses the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine, which he terms “a unique collection fostered by a history of collaboration.” Richards describes the vital role collaborations with multiple kinds of partners have played in helping the library fulfill its four functions: archives, museum, education, and public policy.

Higher education collaboration and digital humanities

The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new article.

“Cultivating Partnerships in the Digital Humanities: What teaching colleges and research universities have to gain from collaboration.”

…I want to argue that teaching-focused institutions have much to gain from partnerships with research universities on the digital humanities, and vice versa.

Beyond liberal-arts training, the 21st-century workplace increasingly demands that graduates demonstrate technological competence and entrepreneurial ability. Instead of engaging in escalating, unsustainable, and destructive competition, colleges and universities could develop mutually supportive relationships, combining our complementary strengths to benefit the overlapping and distinct communities that we serve.

Another good article from Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice

Here is another article from the same issue of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice.

“Using Social Media to Promote International Collaboration” by Hua Sun and Mark Douglas Puterbaugh

This paper explores the use of social media or Web 2.0 services for an international collaborative project. Participants in this collaboration used free and inexpensive social media tools to communicate and work together. This case study presents a model for using inexpensive social media tools to forge new partnerships among academic libraries. Academic libraries can now tap the expertise of fellow librarians in other countries and explore new cultures to improve and extend their services without the huge financial cost once attributed to international collaboration.

Public library and community college collaboration

This article was recently published in Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice.

“A Win-Win Collaboration” by Mary Beth Parkinson

This brief article reports on a collaborative book-borrowing policy between The Brendlinger Library of Montgomery County Community College and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library (WVPL), both located in Blue Bell, PA.  Beginning in January 2013, WVPL will donate books periodically to the Brendlinger Library in support of the students enrolled in Reading classes.  Circulation statistics will be reported to WVPL, and the books will be returned to WVPL for sale in the WVPL Friends of the Library book sale.

A report on collaboration from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences Calls for Reorganization of the U.S. Scientific Enterprise to Meet 21st Century Challenges

The report, ARISE II: Unleashing America’s Research & innovation Enterprise, highlights the need for greater synergy between government, university, and industry research. It advocates for greater integration of theories, concepts, and applications from multiple scientific disciplines – biology, physics, medicine, engineering, and computer science – to solve the complex problems of the 21st century.

“Scientific and technological innovation has been vital to the economic prosperity and security of the United States,” said Leslie Berlowitz, President of the American Academy, “yet there is growing concern that the nation risks losing its position of global technological leadership. ARISE II examines the factors affecting America’s productivity in science and technology and suggests steps to encourage transdisciplinary and trans-sector research collaborations.”

I found this through Inside Higher Ed.

The PDF can be found here.

Collaborative Learning Center at East Carolina University

Robert Michael James. 2013. Culture War in the Collaborative Learning Center. Journal of Learning Spaces 2(1)

The transformation of the first floor of Joyner Library into a Collaborative Learning Center produced significant changes to collection and user spaces. Collaboration, in this context, includes students working together in groups and external (non-library) services relocating to the library. A Culture War emerged when faculty, displeased with these changes and the loss of the traditional library ethos, voiced their concerns about the future of the library at East Carolina University. This study is an analysis of the implementation of a commons in an academic research library with a focus on faculty criticism and lessons learned from the experience.

An interview with Bethany Nowviskie of the University of Virginia

The Chronicle of Higher Education published this article today.

Devising New Roles for Scholars Who Can Code

THE INNOVATOR: Bethany Nowviskie, U. of Virginia
THE BIG IDEA: Collaborative, technology-enabled projects can enliven the digital humanities.

“It was pretty easy to see we were on the brink of a massive transformation of our collective archive, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Ms. Nowviskie recalls. For her, the most exciting thing about graduate school was the chance to create “concrete manifestations of the learning we were doing,” and to do that in a collaborative environment where people wanted to build tools as well as study texts. She calls this “translational” work—bridging the gaps between scholars, technology experts, and so-called alternative-academic workers whose jobs don’t follow traditional university trajectories—and it drives much of what Ms. Nowviskie does.

Now director of digital research and scholarship at the University of Virginia Library, Ms. Nowviskie has become a driving force in digital humanities. At the library-based Scholars Lab, she brings together teams of researchers and programmers to work on collaborative, tech-enabled scholarly projects.

Teaching 21st century digital students

Lara Karpenko and Lauri Dietzb recently wrote “The 21st Century Digital Student: Google Books As A Tool In Promoting Undergraduate Research In The Humanities” for the Journal of Effective Teaching.  Within the article, they discuss training issues:

2. Collaborate with Librarians.

Whether in a training course or in other training venues, such as orientations and inservices, bring in librarians to train writing fellows in how to locate primary sources in databases such as Google Books. I have found that these types of one-time trainings can be particularly helpful if a portion is focused on trouble-shooting. What are strategies that experienced researchers use when they face challenges or barriers to their research? What are the best practices for performing successful searches?

Librarians are also key allies for writing fellows to stay in communication with throughout the process because they typically have discipline-specific knowledge that writing fellows, who are often generalist tutors, do not.

Here is the citation to the article. Karpenko, L., & Dietz, L. (2013). The 21st Century Digital Student: Google Books As A Tool In Promoting Undergraduate Research In The Humanities. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 13(1), 89-106.

Surprise–a 21st Century Librarian needs to have collaboration skills

How To Become a 21st Century Librarian by Meredith Schwartz in Library Journal.

Before deciding librarianship is right for you, make sure you understand what today’s librarians do all day. If you want quiet and lots of time to read, think again. Today’s libraries are full of collegial, and sometimes even downright noisy, collaboration, creation, and community activities, and are as much about technology as print on paper.

Three new documents and reports from some repositories

Here are three new reports that came in under my radar.

“‘Seeing’ the elephant: Assessing the impact of library-composition program collaboration on first-year student learning” by Erin E. Rinto, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Poster paper presented at the 32nd Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience.

Though university libraries and composition programs have historically collaborative relationships, these partnerships can take a variety of formats, including single course period library sessions, teaching-the-teachers, and librarian-driven assignment models. A hybrid of these collaborative approaches was implemented Fall 2012 at UNLV in an effort to provide first-year composition students with a more systematic information literacy experience in the required ENG 102 course. A two-pronged assessment method was used to evaluate the impact of the collaboration for both first-year student learning as well as to implement programmatic change.

“Libraries as co-working spaces : understanding user motivations and perceived barriers to social learning” by Mark Bilandzic and Marcus Foth (2013) Library Hi Tech, 31(2). (In Press).  This manuscript is hidden in the repository until March 15, 2013.  One can still request the article from the author or get it from the publisher.

This paper aims to inform design strategies for smart space technology to enhance libraries as environments for co-working and informal social learning. The focus is on understanding user motivations, behaviour, and activities in the library when there is no programmed agenda. The study analyses gathered data over five months of ethnographic research at ‘The Edge’ – a ‘bookless’ library space at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, that is explicitly dedicated to co-working, social learning, peer collaboration, and creativity around digital culture and technology. The results present five personas that embody people’s main usage patterns as well as motivations, attitudes, and perceived barriers to social learning. It appears that most users work individually or within pre-organised groups, but usually do not make new connections with co-present, unacquainted users. Based on the personas, four hybrid design dimensions are suggested to improve the library as a social interface for shared learning encounters across physical and digital spaces. The findings in this paper offer actionable knowledge for managers, decision makers, and designers of technology-enhanced library spaces and similar collaboration and co-working spaces.

“Learning beyond books: Strategies for ambient media to improve libraries and collaboration spaces as interfaces for social learning” by Mark Bilandzic and Marcus Foth (2013) Multimedia Tools and Applications. (In Press) The manuscript is hidden until December 2013.  One can still request the article from the author or get it from the publisher.

With the advent of digital media and online information resources, public libraries as physical destinations for information access are being increasingly challenged. As a response, many libraries follow the trend of removing bookshelves in order to provide more floorspace for social interaction and collaboration. Such spaces follow a Commons 2.0 model: they are designed to support collaborative work and social learning. The acquisition of skills and knowledge is facilitated as a result of being surrounded by and interacting with a community of likeminded others.