The virtues of a committed dilettante: Embracing nonexpert expertise

Many librarians are assigned liaison roles outside of their subject expertise. How can librarians still engage faculty and students in these disciplines? This article suggests strategies for how non-specialist librarians can serve their departments and promote the value of libraries

Portraits of Children of Alcoholics: Stories that Add Hope to Hope

This literary analysis examines the emergence of children of alcoholics narratives and their growth from resource texts to literary subgenre. While early texts offer useful information about parental alcoholism, they are also limited. Namely, they do not adequately mirror the diversity of children, families, and problems associated with parental alcoholism nor do they offer alternatives for children whose parents do not, or cannot, seek treatment for their addiction. Literature, on the other hand, in inviting what philosopher Martha Nussbaum refers to as narrative play, can help children learn to understand and empathize with others, nourish their inner curiosity, and, most importantly, tolerate ambiguity in the face of an imperfect world. Thus, this paper presents and examines three literary narratives about children of alcoholics: Gary Paulsen’s Harris and Me (1993), Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007), and Tom Robbins’ B is for Beer (2009). By providing characters and situations with which they can identify, these stories possess potential to validate the feelings that children of alcoholics often experience. At the same time, by offering models of strength and hope, these stories can also help broaden and awaken new perspectives so that children of alcoholics might envision a different life for themselves and reject the pattern of self-victimization and the cycle of alcoholism. Humor, a dominant feature throughout all three narratives, is identified as an especially effective means of discussing this topic with younger audiences. Teachers and librarians can draw on this examination to better guide their selection of texts for young readers, especially for those who are burdened by parental addiction and/or family dysfunction

Going "Slow:" Leading the Slow Books Movement at an Academic Library

In a March 23, 2012 blog post on The Atlantic website, author Maura Kelly argues for a new “slow” movement, the “Slow Books Movement.” Not unlike the Slow Foods’ call for a more healthful, substantive diet, the Slow Books Movement challenges readers to choose more substantive reading material—serious literature that encourages quiet contemplation and that broadens self-awareness. Slow Books is neither an alarmist reaction to technology nor a nostalgic longing for the past—meaningful works of literature exist whether in electronic or print formats. Rather, the point of slow reading is simply to challenge minds and stimulate reflection. Academic libraries, as repositories of the literary printed (and digital) word, are perfectly positioned to lead this movement. By embracing a reader’s advisory role, academic librarians can help create new readers, inspire existing readers, and build literary communities. This poster demonstrates how one academic librarian is engaging students through blogging, book clubs, and reader’s advisory in order to promote slow reading on campus. Outreach strategies and evaluation methods (including analytics, surveys, and user feedback) are explained step-by-step so that librarians can apply these findings and implement these programs and practices on their own campuses

The Role of Mentorship Programs in LIS Education and in Professional Development

Although mentoring is widely valued and encouraged within librarianship, it has been conceived mostly as a professional relationship that occurs after one has obtained a position. Thus, mentoring among LIS students is not customary – largely because internships and field experiences are not universally required. To address this problem, the investigators wanted to distinguish the kind of education a mentorship program provides. This study identifies the kinds of knowledge academic librarians and LIS students gained after participation in a semester-long mentorship program. Data was collected through two focus group interviews, which were transcribed, analyzed, and compared for inter-coder agreement. The mentees gained knowledge related to the work life of academic librarians, job seeking, and workplace expectations. The mentors valued the experience because it promoted currency in the field, self-awareness, and reflection on practice. This research supports the need to emphasize internships and mentoring within the LIS curriculum

2021 National Farm to Early Care and Education Survey: Farm to Early Care and Education Continues to Foster Bright Futures for Children and Communities - Brief Compilation

The resource documents collection highlights key findings from a national survey of ECE providers regarding the implementation of farm-to-ECE programs. Findings also include the challenges identified by ECE providers that are informative for the field in dissemination and advocacy. Providers can also use the information to support their efforts and seek funding

Farm to early care and education continues to foster bright futures for children and communities: 2021 National farm to early care and education factsheet

The resource documents highlight key findings from a national survey of ECE providers regarding the implementation of farm-to-ECE programs. Findings also include the challenges identified by ECE providers that are informative for the field in dissemination and advocacy. Providers can also use the information to support their efforts and seek funding

Topic Development with Concept Mapping Lesson

According to Project Information Literacy, defining and narrowing a topic is the most difficult step for beginning undergraduate researchers. This concept mapping lesson is designed to reinforce the idea that when students are writing academic papers or creating class projects they are engaging in a scholarly conversation