Using a World Café to facilitate discussion on frontline service provision

Guest post by Laura Connaughton, Assistant Librarian, Maynooth University Library

I was privileged to have the opportunity to facilitate a mini World Café at the recent Academic and Special Libraries Conference.  I'm really interested in different ways to engage people around a topic and the World Café method - with its emphasis on structured dialogue around a question that is important to all participants - works well I think.

My first experience of it was running an ANLTC World Café here at Maynooth University Library for 61 participants from across CONUL libraries.  Part of this day included some short presentations on frontline services in each of the participating libraries which set the context for the World Café questions which we asked the group.  The question was “Frontline services present challenges and opportunities.  What are they?  What do we need to do to ensure a consistently high quality customer service?”  The World Café gave all 61 participants the opportunity to speak to their peers and debate the question we put to them.  It was a rigorous discussion!  Each table had a pre-selected “Table Host” and we held three rounds of conversation.  At the end of each round a bell sounded and the participants moved to different tables.  The table hosts remained at the table when others left and welcomed people from other tables for the next round of conversation.  The table hosts briefly shared key insights from the prior conversation so others could link and build using ideas from their respective tables.

Table hosts gently encouraged people at each table to jot down key connections, ideas, discoveries, and deeper questions as they emerged.  They could write, draw etc.  They used the table cloths and post-its.   At the end of these rounds of discussions, the table host reported back to the overall group in a “Townhall Feedback” style.  After the event I collated all the responses and opinions and send this to all participants.   All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon for the participants to get together and discuss frontline services.      

An added bonus of organising the World Café was the opportunity to publish an article, Using a World Café to Explore New Spaces and New Models for Front Line Services: A Case Study from the Irish University Library Sector, with my colleague Helen Fallon, on the MU Library experience.  The article is available on open access at http://bit.ly/2n6b4Ne.

 

I think World Café is a really useful method to facilitate discussion around issues of common concern.  Hopefully the article will give you enough information to judge whether it might be useful in your context.

Laura Connaughton

Call for chapters -- Library Services in Support of International Students

The call for chapter proposals is now open for Library Services in Support of International Students and English as a Second Language (ESL) Learners (working title). It will be edited by Leila Rod-Welch and Kendra Skellen.

The focus of the book is to inform librarians about the challenges that international and ESL learners face in using academic libraries in the U.S. and to provide librarians the tools they need to help retain these learners, bring more diversity into libraries, introduce various outreach programs, learn how to collaborate with campus partners, and build international and ESL collections within the library. 

We are seeking proposals for the topics described below, though other, relevant, topics will be considered:   

• Growth of international students in America 
• Introduction on who are our international students and what are their needs 
• Outreach initiatives to international students 
• Outreach initiatives to ESL learners 
• Collaborating with campus partners 
• Building a library collection for ESL learners   
• Best library instruction practices 
• Library resources for instructors of International Students  
• Lesson plans 
• Scavenger hunts 
• Event planning 

Please submit chapter proposals of up to 500 words, a short author(s)’ statement, a writing sample, and a list of previous publications if applicable to ILSSISESL-L@listserv.emory.edu. Final manuscripts should be approximately 1,500 to 5,000 words.

If you are proposing new, uncompleted research, please provide a tentative timeline that includes a date for completion, evidence of institutional approval, if appropriate, as well as any additional dates you think are relevant.  

The closing date for submissions is the 30th April 2017. 

For further information contact the editors, Leila Rod-Welch and Kendra Skellen.

Call for contributions - Journal of New Librarianship Innovation Column

The call for papers for the Innovation Column in the Journal of New Librarianship is now open. The column is edited by Cinthya Ippoliti and Matt Upson.

Potential topics include:

• Fostering a culture of innovation
• Design thinking applications
• Change management
• Disruptive innovation
• Succession planning
• Communication in the multi-generational workforce
• Diversity fellowships
• Appreciative inquiry

Submissions should be 500-1000 words. To propose an idea, fill in the submission form here by the 1st May 2017. Responses will be sent out by the week of the 22nd May 2017.

Call for papers - Digital Library Perspectives

The call for papers is now open for a special issue of Digital Library Perspectives on the digital library interface and its intersections with partners both internal and external. DLP is a peer-reviewed journal - published by Emerald - formally known as OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives.

Proposals and titles should be sent to the editor, Brad Eden, by the 31st March 2017.

Examples could include the wider organizational information technology (IT) environment such as intellectual property and governance, security and privacy, collection storage, and preservation, as well as issues and challenges that concern digital content creators and providers.  Articles can be of any length, and figures and screen shots are encouraged. 

Further queries can be directed to the editor.

Call for papers - Workshop on Bibliometric-enhanced IR and NLP for Digital Libraries

The call for papers is open for the 2nd Joint Workshop on Bibliometric-enhanced IR and NLP for Digital Libraries (BIRNDL). The workshop will take place as part of the 40th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval on the 11th August 2017 in Tokyo, Japan.

The closing date for submissions is the 23rd May 2017.

More information.

Books on writing for academic publication - a short listing

Below are books on academic writing that I have found useful in different ways. The first list is general.  The second gives titles in library and information science.  If you have a title you would like to recommend, please let me know.  

Books/General

Belcher, R. (2009) Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Black, D., Brown, S., Day, A. and Race, P. (1998). 500 Tips for Getting Published: A Guide for Educators, Researchers and Professionals. London: Kogan Page.
Carter, D.V. (2006). Becoming an Author: advice for Academics and Other Professionals. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Crawford, W. (2003). First Have Something to Say: Writing for the Library Profession. Chicago: American Library Association.
Day, A. (2007). How to Get Research Published in Journals. 2nd ed., Burlington, VT.: Ashgate.
Goodson, P. (2016) Becoming an academic writer: 50 exercises for paced, productive, and powerful writing. 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks: Sage
Hartley, J. (2008). Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook. New York: Routledge.
Henson, K.T. (2005). Writing for Publication: Road to Academic Advancement. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Kitchin, R. (2005). The Academic’s Guide to Publishing. London: Sage.
Luey, B. (2009). Handbook for Academic Authors. 5th ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maimon, E.P., Peritz, J.H. and Yancey, K. (2009). A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research. 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill.
Murray, R. (2013). Writing for Academic Journals. 3rd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press/ McGraw-Hill Education.
Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2007). The Handbook of Academic Writing: A fresh approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Murray, R. (2006). “Writing Articles, Books and Presentations”. In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: a guide to key skills (Gilbert, N., ed.). London: Sage.Rankin, E. (2001). The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Rocco, T. and Hatcher, T. (2011) The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Silvia, P.J. (2007). How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. Washington: American Psychological Association.Sword, H. (2011) Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Thomson, P.  and Kamler, B. (2013) Writing for Peer Reviewed Journals: Strategies for Getting Published.  Abingdon: Routledge.

Books/Library & Information ScienceGordon, R.S. (2004). The Librarian’s Guide to Writing for Publication. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
Hollister, C.W. (2013) Handbook of Academic Writing for Librarians. Chicago: ACRL
Langley, A. and Wallace J.D. (2010). A Practical Writing Guide for Librarians: Keeping it Short and Sweet. Oxford: Chandos.
Smallwood, C. (2010). Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook. Chicago: American Library Association.

Call for papers -- Code4Lib Journal

The call for papers is now open for the 37th publication of the Code4Lib Journal (C4LJ), to be published mid July 2017.

The closing date for submissions for this publication is the 14th April 2017.

More information. 

Call for papers -- EDULEARN17 Conference

The call for papers and posters is open for EDULEARN17 Conference. The conference will take place from the 3rd - 5th July 2017 in Barcelona, Spain.

The submission deadlines is the 30th March 2017.

More information.

Call for papers -- Fast Forward: Women in Photography

The call for papers is now open for Fast Forward: Women in Photography which will take place from the 3rd - 4th November 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania. 

The closing date for submissions is the 8th April 2017. 

More information.

Call for papers -- Why Remember? Photography and the Archive Research Centre

The call for papers is now open for Why Remember? 
Memory and Forgetting in Times of War and Its Aftermath which will take place from the 30th June - 2nd July 2017 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

The closing date for submissions is the 17th March 2017. 

More information.

Call for presentations -- Library 2.017: Expertise, Competencies and Careers

The call for presentations is open for Library 2.017: Expertise, Competencies and Careers, an online and participatory conference.

The closing date for submissions is the 17th March 2017.

More information, including how to submit proposals, is available here.

A time in Sierra Leone

I enjoyed Philomena Obasi's guest post where she reflected on the collection of fellow Nigerian Ken Saro-Wiwa at Maynooth University Library.  Philomena now lives in Ireland and her strong feelings about the issues Ken Saro-Wiwa stood for come through in the post.
I lived for two years in Sierra Leone and have my own archive of letters my students sent me - blue aerograms in a white Ikea box in my attic.  I left in 1991 when - what was to be a long and bloody civil war -  has started.  A while ago I reread the letter which relate to a unique time in Sierra Leone's history and wrote a blog post using extracts. I enjoyed the process, which - to echo Philomena - brought me back to a place where the sun shone most days!

Call for papers -- Celtic Knot - Wikipedia Language Conference

The call for ideas is now open for the first ‘Celtic Knot’ – Wikipedia Language Conference. It will take place on the 5th and 6th July 2017 at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Wikimedia UK.

This Wikimedia event will focus on showcasing innovative approaches to open education, open knowledge and open data that support and grow Celtic and Indigenous language communities.

Submissions for presentations/workshops should be 100-200 words and:

• Be relevant to Wikimedia
• Address interests in-keeping with Wikimedia’s mission
• Be of interest to Wikimedians specifically

To assist with seeing areas of commonality and links with the Wikimedia projects you can click here. Proposals indicating the session type, the conference theme, and how it meets the criteria should be emailed to Ewan McAndrew by the 17th March 2017.

Call for papers - Discovering Collections Discovering Communities

The call for papers is now open for the Discovering Collections Discovering Communities Conference which will take place on from the 27th-29th November 2017 at the Lowry, Salford, Greater Manchester.

Submissions are open for presentations, panels, workshops, and roundtable sessions. Applications should be sent to Melanie Chung or Laura Tompkins by the 30th April 2017.

More information.

Academic Writing Blogs

Nice to see a review of Academic Writing Librarian in this article in Technical Services Quarterly, 10 March 2017

Three library calls for papers sites: A Library

Writer's Blog, Academic Writing Librarians Blog,

and Dolores' List of CFP

Thanks,
Helen Fallon

A Reflection to mark Africa Day at Maynooth University Library

In a land flowing with Milk and Honey
Guest post by Philomena Obasi
I’m undertaking a course with Leixlip Further Education and Training Centre and as part of this I work one day per week in Maynooth University Library. On the 8th of March we celebrated Africa Day in the Library. The Maynooth Africa Society works with the Library to plan this annual event and to identify the best day in the university calendar for this. As part of Africa Day 2017, there was a visit to view the Ken Saro-Wiwa Collection in the Special Collections area of the Library. This held particular meaning for me as I grew up in Nigeria and was very aware of the struggles of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people as events unfolded.

Growing up in my lovely country, Nigeria, where we experience summer (compared to the Irish weather), 365 days in a year, was with great expectations. My youth was sabotaged by various incidents and events, when as a young focused lady, all my hopes were deflated liked a pricked balloon. 

I believed so much in our Heroes past and had a couple of them worthy of emulation. This increased my interest and passion for history as a subject in school. My father noticed I had great passion for politics and encouraged me by buying lots of newspapers. 

One of my heroes was Ken Saro-Wiwa, a symbol of environmental protection and human rights. I noticed a man, a leader, an activist, far away in Ogoni land, brewing up a very disturbing subject, pollution of his homeland. I was captivated by this and wanted to get to the end of the story and find out the best solution the then Nigerian Military Government would come out with. That was how I got engulfed in the story that ended up in shock and disbelief. That day he was hanged, I cried silently and painfully… for a man that never knew of my existence, a man I had hoped to meet someday to let him know he was an inspiration to me and many others, a man that was a source of hope to his people and environ, a husband, a father, a fellow Nigerian. 

All Ken Saro-Wiwa ever wanted was  an unpolluted environment free from surface water which contained/contains about 900 times acceptable levels of cancer-causing benzene, jobs for the young people and a fair share of oil profit generated from in Ogoni.

Ogoni is a land in Southern Nigeria, sitting on one of the world’s richest deposits of oil and gas where the major occupations of the locals are fishing and farming. These terrible pollution episodes were the effect of unstandardized oil extraction by Shell Oil Company, from this peaceful blessed land with abundant natural resources, enough for local consumption and export. Their oil reserve, which is meant to increase their affluence, instead, increased their poverty and disease. 

More than two decades later, even if the cause for their struggles has been vindicated, they are yet to be updated by significant changes they seriously yearned for. I believe Ogoni will get there someday. There have been spontaneous responses from various bodies like the United Nations, Commonwealth Nations and some World Leaders, all condemning the brutal killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine others. Maynooth University Library, Ireland, and Sister Majella McCarron (OLA), have been involved in preserving his legacy and also, through the Ken Saro-Wiwa Award, assisting a PhD student research the relationships between governments, the oil companies, the environment and people of African countries with oil reserves.
The importance of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s work and legacy is recognised by Maynooth University. A large range of resources relating to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Struggle are now freely available online and that resource was also launched on Africa Day. 

This only motivates us to stand up for what we know is wrong and put more effort into trying to make a change/difference no matter the consequences. We have been assured by this singular act that we will never go UNSUNG. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in Africa Day 2017 and to view the archives of my fellow countryman Ken Saro-Wiwa. 

Thank you.
Philomena Obasi

Africa Day Writing Competition

Africa Day Writing Competition announced. See details

Call for chapters -- Library Services for Online Patrons

The call for chapters is now open for Library Services for Online Patrons: A Manual for Facilitating Access, Learning, and Engagement. It will be edited by Joelle Pitts, Laura Bonella, and Jason Coleman and published in 2018 by ABC-CLIO/Libraries Unlimited.

The book will serve as a manual for anyone involved in serving or providing access to patrons outside of the physical library. The emphasis is on “practical application” and the tone will be closer to management/training manuals than heavy scholarly writing.

We seek proposals for short case studies, descriptions, best practices, testimonials and other examples of distance education services and resources. These will be used to augment each chapter with practical applications of the topic. The following areas would be of particular interest:

• Taking Stock of your Library
• Take stock (What services/resources are provided? How is your library communicating these? What relationships already exist?)
• Perform an access test
• Survey distance faculty
• Perform a market scan of similarly sized and populated institutions
• Collection Analysis

• Setting Goals
• User-centeredness
• Value of evidence-based decision making
• Guidance for setting long-term and short-term goals
• Mission - what do we want to see
• Needs analysis

• Universal Design
• How it works for distance/online patrons
• Mobile access and service
• How universal do you go? Drawing the line

• Reference for Online Patrons
• Models for point-of-need reference
• Models for appointment-based reference
• Examples of well-designed reference services for online learners

• Instruction for Online Patrons
• Synchronous instruction for online patrons
• Technology considerations
• Pedagogical considerations
• Asynchronous, self-paced instruction
• Chunking
• Embedding
• Customization

• Embedded Librarianship
• Models of embedded librarianship
• Time commitment
• Impact on student learning

• Relationship building
• Gatekeepers and portals
• Building relationships directly with online patron

• Marketing your Services and Resources
• Push vs pull marketing techniques
• Surveys as educational tools
• More marketing means more business - are you ready?
• Assess your marketing

• Advocating for Access
• Tech Services
• Library and campus IT
• Access for those overseas, behind firewalls, military bases, etc.
• Authentication. Is the authentication method problematic for online patrons?
• Licensing
• Interlibrary Loan
• Mailing physical items, who pays, how do they get them back, etc.
• Models for document delivery services
• Special Collections, reserves, reference, current periodicals, etc. – materials with special rules that limit access

Please fill out the CFP form by the 31st March 2017 with your information and a brief explanation of what you would like to contribute. 
Acceptance notifications will be sent by 15th April 2017. 
Final submissions of no more than 800 words will be due by 15th June 2017. 

Please feel free to contact Joelle Pitts with any questions about suitability of proposal ideas and the scope of the publication.

Call for chapters -- The Future Academic Librarian's Toolkit

The call for chapters is now open for The Future Academic Librarian’s Toolkit: Finding Success on the Job Hunt and in Your First Job. The book will be edited by Megan Hodge and published by ACRL Press. The book will collect practical strategies on landing a first academic librarian position and building and enhancing one’s professional reputation.

Proposals are sought for two types of chapters:1. Practical, prescriptive strategies for the following topics (6,000-10,000 words):

• Making yourself marketable before and during the job search: obtaining relevant experience, publishing, and getting involved professionally as a student or other non-professional
• Troubleshooting the job search: overcoming barriers such as geographic immobility; transitioning from paraprofessional, non-library, or non-academic work; and learning from rejections
• Advocating for your ideas: wielding influence in positions without authority and gaining administrative buy-in for ideas
• Networking and conferences: saving money on conference attendance, networking as an introvert, and talking to vendors
• Getting started in scholarship: identifying gaps in the literature and motivational strategies for overcoming writer’s block, finding CFPs, and turning presentations into publications

2. Overviews of positions in the following areas, including necessary skills/credentials and day-in-the-life scenarios (1000-2000 words):

• Scholarly communications
• Special collections/archives
• Preservation
• Research data management
• Resource delivery/interlibrary loan

Submission ProcedureProposals should be submitted as a single email attachment to futureacademiclib@gmail.com. No previously published or simultaneously submitted material, please. Proposals should include:Author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), job title(s)Author(s)’ previous writing and publishing historyWriting sample (optional)Outline of proposed chapter Important dates:Proposals due: 15th April 2017Authors notified and sent chapter guidelines: 30th May 2017 Full chapters due: 30th August 2017 Final revised chapters due: 30th December 2017

For additional information, contact the editor, Megan Hodge.

Call for column contributors - Journal of Academic Librarianship

The Journal of Academic Librarianship is seeking contributions for its Managing Technology column. 

The column’s scope is broad; previous columns have featured thought/opinion pieces as well as essays on approaches to addressing specific, technology-related issues.

Topic proposals, along with a writing sample, should be submitted to Bethany Latham as soon as possible. The submission date for the finished manuscript is 1st May 2017. 

Later submission dates are available for columns which will appear later in the volume year. 

Word count is approximately 1800-2200, and examples of previous columns can be found in JAL issues:

•             JAL 42.3 (2016) 284-285.

•             JAL 42.2 (2016): 181-183.

•             JAL 41.6 (2015): 847-849.

For further information or queries contact Bethany Latham.

Call for papers - Collection Building

The call for papers is open for the journal Collection Building.

Submissions are ongoing and further information can be found here.

Call for Case Studies - Libraries and Nonprofits: Collaboration for the Public Good

The call for case studies has been extended for Libraries and Nonprofits: Collaboration for the Public Good. It will be published by Library Juice Press.

The new deadline for submissions is 20th March 2017.

More information.

Call for papers -- SCOLMA (UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa) Annual Conference

The call for papers is now open for the SCOLMA (UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa) Annual Conference. The title of this year's conference is Document to Digital: How does Digitisation Aid African Research? It will take place on the 11th September 2017 at The National Library of Scotland.

The conference will explore digitised archives relating to Africa and how they are being used. Papers would be welcomed which relate to archives across a range of media including documents and manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, historical printed collections, audio-visual material, historical artefacts and born-digital material.

Subjects might include:

• How digitised archives are used in research and teaching
• How should the next generation of researchers be trained as technology advances?
• What is hidden by digitisation?
• What forms of research are improved by using digitised archives?
• What is the impact on original archives after digitisation?
• What are the effects of the digitisation of collections on libraries and archives in Africa and elsewhere?
• Which formats work best for digitisation and which are not suitable.
• Technical enhancement through digitisation and innovative approaches to research.

Researchers, archivists and librarians are invited to submit abstracts for consideration for this conference. Papers with a strong connection to Scotland will be favourably considered.

Abstracts of up to 500 words may be sent to Sarah Rhodes. The closing date is the 25th April 2017.

Call for chapters -- Informed Learning Applications: Insights from Research and Practice

The call for chapters is now open for the Emerald Group Advances in Librarianship publication Informed Learning Applications: Insights from Research and Practice. It will be edited by Kim Ranger.

Chapters may be authored singly or co-authored, and may be informed by collaboration between librarians and classroom instructors about applying informed learning or information experience theory. Chapter length: 5000-6250 words plus references.

The closing date for chapter proposals is the 15th April 2017. Notification of acceptance will be by the 30th April 2017. Chapters ready for peer review may be sent from the 1st May to the 30th August 2017. Submissions should be made here.

More information.

Call for chapter proposals - Credit bearing information literacy courses

The call for chapter proposals has been extended for Credit-bearing Information Literacy Courses: Critical Approachers. It will be edited by Angela Pashia and Jessica Critten and published by ACRL Press.

The new submission deadline is 13th March 2017.

More information.