New Frontier in Research Methodology Instruction for Latin Americanists

Winner of the Professional Teaching Award at the North Central Council of Latin Americanists 2005 for an effort in the field of teaching Latin American Studies. This effort can entail the development of audio-visual materials, curriculum materials, theoretical or practical papers, or any other project designed to improve the teaching of Latin American Studies. Projects may be directed towards the primary, secondary or university level, or for the education of the general publicRecent surveys have shown that with new advances in technology students find library research more and more complicated. The result has been poorly researched term papers, theses and dissertations frustrating both students and professors. The University of Kansas has developed a comprehensive program of information literacy that targets Latin American Studies. One facet of this program is the development of a three-credit graduate seminar focusing on research methodology for Latin America. The course is a prerequisite for a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies and one of the few courses of its type in the U.S. It is intended to help student develop and refine research skills in Latin American studies and provides and an overview of the principal research methodologies and resources necessary for the study of Latin America. The course covers the development of research techniques and use of resources such as primary documents, statistical sources, archival and manuscript collections, television news, official publications, and bibliographic and other electronic databases. Students also learn to evaluate critically various types of information on Latin America. The course uses a series of case study scenarios designed to reinforce various research techniques. Case study formats vary widely from creating a business prospectus or television documentary to a mock trial or debate format. Each case study is set up to encourage technology integration including film, audio, internet resources and online tutorials. An assessment tool administered during the first week has also been developed. A second facet of the program centers on the redesign of a 300-level Spanish composition and grammar course, a required for students majoring in Spanish. The redesign of this course grew out of dissatisfaction with its current instructional strategies and a desire to include integrated technology components. Part of the retooling required the creation of a curricular library component. Two library modules were designed that consist of online tutorials, library assignments, and large lecture sessions which integrated Personal Response Systems. The modules introduce the student to basic library resources in Spanish and the use of the online library catalog and databases. The information literacy programs designed to target Latin Americanists have been highly successful and received praise from librarians and teaching faculty alike. Exit interviews with graduate students receiving Master’s Degrees in Latin American studies have shown that the graduate seminar on research methodology was far and away the most useful and popular course of the curriculum. Likewise student surveys and comments have shown that students felt their confidence and research skills were greatly enhanced by the 300-level library components

A collaborative digital oral history collection: Building a digital collection of student scholarship documenting Latino Americans in southeast North Carolina

A collaborative oral history project was recently completed at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) by students enrolled in a Spanish seminar course and library faculty and staff members at the University. The course, ‘Hispanics in N.C.: Service Learning and Research,’ was created and offered as one component of a public programming grant awarded to UNCW by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association through these institutions’ initiative called ‘Latino Americans: 500 Years of History.’ The course provided students with an opportunity to interview individuals in the southeastern North Carolina Latino community about their experiences in the United States. Students captured an audio recording of the interview which they later transcribed and provided a photograph of the interviewee. Library faculty and staff members were tasked with creating a digital collection to highlight the oral histories. Working within a limited time frame and with no funding for the project, the planning and implementation for the digital collection was completed by librarians in the library’s Information Technology and Systems, Special Collections, and Technical Services departments. Utilizing technology, systems, and skill sets that were already in place at Randall Library, a final product titled, ‘Somos NC: Voices from North Carolina’s Latino Community,’ was created. This article seeks to provide a practical discussion of the oral history project, outlining the Library’s processes and project workflows as well as assessment and reflections. Synthesizing knowledge gained through the experience, the intent is to provide an example of how, through collaboration and innovation, small to midsized libraries can accomplish similar projects

U.S. Radio in the 21st Century: Staying the Course in Unknown Territory

This essay examines the development of the radio industry in the United States as it makes its way into the 21st century. Issues of regulation, technology, commerce, and culture are addressed

Research Report - October 2009. Elaboration of the Module: Definition of the Programme

Alternative innovative didactic methodology is needed to reduce premature school drop out,particularly of young people at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, ethnic groups and children/teenagers from difficult socio-economic background). The key point is to modify the way to deliver learning. Cultural enrichment through young interestas such as music and art, use of technologies, social competencies, problem-solving skills incomputer science, autonomy and sense of purpose may help childhood and adolescence to achieve an improved engagement in school and a sense of educational accomplishmen

The Changing Nature of School Library Collections

published or submitted for publicatio

Digital Radio Strategies in the United States: A Tale of Two Systems

This essay analyzes how, despite early interest in the Digital Audio Broadcasting standard (DAB) in the United States, an alternative in-band system (HD Radio) was developed as the approved digital radio standard

Robust audio indexing for Dutch spoken-word collections

Abstract—Whereas the growth of storage capacity is in accordance with widely acknowledged predictions, the possibilities to index and access the archives created is lagging behind. This is especially the case in the oral history domain and much of the rich content in these collections runs the risk to remain inaccessible for lack of robust search technologies. This paper addresses the history and development of robust audio indexing technology for searching Dutch spoken-word collections and compares Dutch audio indexing in the well-studied broadcast news domain with an oral-history case-study. It is concluded that despite significant advances in Dutch audio indexing technology and demonstrated applicability in several domains, further research is indispensable for successful automatic disclosure of spoken-word collections

The Right Place at the Right Time: Creative Spaces in Libraries

Purpose This essay explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is owed to a confluence of factors that happen to be finding their expression together in recent years. This essay examines the history of these spaces and explores the factors that gave rise to them and will fuel them moving forward. Design/Methodology/Approach A viewpoint piece, this essay combines historical research and historical/comparative analyses to examine the ways by which libraries have supported creative work in the past and how they may continue to do so into the 21st century. Findings The key threads brought together include a societal recognition of the value of creativity and related skills and attributes; the philosophies, values, and missions of libraries in both their longstanding forms and in recent evolutions; the rise of participatory culture as a result of inexpensive technologies; improved means to build community and share results of efforts; and library experience and historical practice in matters related to creativity. The chapter concludes with advice for those interested in the establishment of such spaces, grounding those reflections in the author’s experiences in developing a new creative space at Virginia Commonwealth University. Originality/value While a number of pieces have been written that discuss the practicalities of developing certain kinds of creative spaces, very little has been written that situates these spaces in larger social and library professional contexts; this essay begins to fill that gap