From Laboratory to Library: The History of Wayne State University\u27s Education Library

The Education Library at Wayne State University has a long and storied history. From its beginning at the Detroit Normal School to its final merger with the general library, the Education Library has been at the heart of not only Wayne State University, but also in the development of the College of Education. This paper chronicles the history of the library, and the people who created it, from its very beginning to its final place among the volumes of the Purdy/Kresge Library

No Passport Needed: Border Crossings in the Academic Library

For most of their development as disciplines, the social sciences were fragmented, often contested subjects in academia. Their fields of concern – humanity, society, and human relationships with the environment – placed them in both the humanities and natural sciences camps of the academic world. Indeed, specializations in the broader field of the social sciences did not occur until the Twentieth century, causing a splinter of subject areas that refused to have anything to do with one another. However, this era of retrenchment has ended, and the traditional boundaries between the social sciences has once again become indistinct. But there is one concern that all social sciences share: the need for cohesive and manageable information. How do librarians accomplish such a feat when the metaphorical sand is constantly shifting beneath their feet? Emerging technologies such as Web 2.0, social networking software, social tagging, and wikis allow librarians and data gatherers to manage the growing body of knowledge and data while also reaching an ever-changing and increasingly technologically savvy clientele. By using these emerging technologies, libraries can create “one-stop shops” that allow scholars and students to acquire and deposit information related to the social sciences as well as communicate with each other to further global scholarship

Roadmap to Success: Scholarly Communications at Wayne State University

Despite the role of libraries in the open access movement, many librarians still need education on differing viewpoints, the vocabulary, and initiatives surrounding the movement. Recently, Wayne State University Librarians formed a Scholarly Communications team to introduce open access and scholarly communication reform. This team took a leadership role in educating liaison librarians, providing campus-wide workshops on research dissemination, and creating special open access week programming. How this was accomplished, the positive outcomes and future opportunities generated by these collective efforts will be discussed

There\u27s No I in Team: Collaborative Development of Online Instructional Modules

Providing meaningful Information Literacy instruction to thousands of freshmen each year is a daunting challenge facing university libraries. After the demise of a university required 1-credit library skills course, the Wayne State University Libraries tried to target instruction at Courses meeting freshman level General Education requirements. Unfortunately these courses tend to be composed of either numerous 25-30 person sections or very large lecture sections. To provide hands-on, in person instruction to students in all of the sections of even one of these courses can require 75-100 librarian hours in a single week. Servicing multiple courses would drain staff time and energy from all other necessary work or projects. To address this issue for one particular course, “BA1010—Critical Thinking for Consumer Decisions”, at WSU, a team was formed to develop a series of compact online modules that would replicate the essential information provided in the hands-on instruction sessions provided in previous years. If successful, it was hoped that this would form the model for the creation of additional modules for other required courses. This paper will explore the workings of the team, the development & implementation of the modules, and the overall effectiveness of the team approach to this process

What\u27s so Special about Special Collections?

Presentation given to Wayne State University faculty on how they can integrate special collections material in their classrooms - either physically or online. Accompanying website available at http://www.culturalportrayals.weebly.co