Eight Basic Literacies for Librarians: A New Normal Agenda for Librarianship Education

Proposal Abstract: A New Normal Agenda in a COVID-Affected World During the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries became a vital community support hub for information and broadband access. In March 2020 as K-12 schools and universities shifted to all-online classes, librarians taught people to use technologies, provided wireless hubs for classes and homework to those lacking home broadband digital access, and offered distance education test proctoring as well as online books, articles and databases. People sought information about sewing masks and making homemade hand sanitizer, and some library makerspaces 3-D printed face shields. Libraries partnered in health efforts to distribute free masks, lunches for kids, and even seed libraries giving free vegetable seeds to families to grow their own food. These examples and others such as librarians teaching job search for the unemployed, providing cooling or warming centers in weather emergencies, and helping people access state, federal and local government services show libraries increasingly playing larger roles in communities. Beyond reading literacy, libraries have expanded to health, emergency preparedness, technology, science, civics, teaching, and community cultural heritage. This paper therefore proposes eight new literacies for LIS education to better support future generations of librarians. Eight Basic Literacies for Librarians: A New Normal Agenda for Librarianship Education Here are the eight new basic literacies this paper proposes for LIS education to better prepare librarians for a COVID-affected world: 1. Basic health literacy - all librarians should be educated in health and medical literacy, to better understand health information for themselves, their families, and their community. 2. Basic technology literacy - as COVID-19 lockdowns demonstrated, technology expertise is essential. Computer conferencing, web and social media, and even 3D printers became game changers in a world of sudden scarcity. 3. Basic science literacy - During the pandemic, lives were endangered by misinformation and disinformation presented as science. Science literacy would help librarians design assessments, support STEM education, and teach the public to better understand science. 4. Basic civics literacy - civics basics would help librarians teach the public about elections, voting rights, running for office, legislative processes, courts, agencies, the Census and representation -- issues greatly impacting libraries, communities, states, and the nation. 5. Basic teaching literacy - many librarians have had little training in teaching. Basic teaching literacy would help librarians design and deliver effective classes, workshops, programs, and educational videos. 6. Basic cultural heritage literacy - every community has a local history. Cultural heritage literacy would help librarians conduct photographic and digital oral history efforts to preserve the legacies, names, culture and voices of people who might otherwise vanish from the historical record. 7. Basic financial literacy – librarians often learn on the job to manage budgets and negotiate vendor contracts. Financial literacy training would help librarians in grant-writing, advocacy, and managing budgets for libraries. 8. Basic emergency services literacy - many librarians must face emergencies including wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and pandemics. Emergency services literacy would help librarians be better prepared for climate changes, and better able to safeguard the library and community

Examination of the Internet Public Library as dynamic, collaborative teaching laboratory

The Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) is a collaborative online learning environment that involves LIS faculty and students as well as working librarians around the world. Over the past twelve years, the IPL has become more collaborative with the introduction of new technologies and cultural changes. The IPL team consists of a variety of people from around the world: LIS faculty, IPL staff librarians, masters and doctoral students, working librarians, and technology specialists. Through the IPL, library and information professionals are being prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital environment: the dynamic nature of information technology, changing social and cultural norms, and an abundance of freely available content are presented in the digital reference environment. Extensive training material has been prepared by the IPL staff and feedback is provided to students by IPL staff, faculty and volunteers. In addition to the learning environment, the IPL also offers a test bed for research related to collaborative online learning environments. For examples, questions such as the role of Web 2.0 resources such as Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace and other social computing sites will be explored

Remote Reference in U.S. Public Library Practice and LIS Education

This article submitted to IUPUI ScholarWorks as part of the OASIS Project. Article reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission granted through posted policies on copyright owner’s website or through direct contact with copyright owner.The state of remote reference services in the United States was assessed by surveying remote reference availability at 100 U.S. public libraries, examining remote reference in the syllabi of American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library and information science (LIS) courses in the U.S., and analyzing national competencies and guidelines. Findings indicated that the telephone was the most common medium in use for remote reference services at public libraries, followed by e-mail and chat. In teaching, however, syllabi at LIS programs addressed digital remote reference media far more often than the telephone. Reference standards and guidelines primarily focused on general practices applicable to both remote and face-to-face reference work, rather than on specifics relevant to differing remote reference media types. Included in this study are recommendations to address this apparent disconnect among reference practices, teaching, and professional guidelines

No more Lone Rangers: Setting the research and education agenda for collaborative information work in virtual environments

In this Wild Card session, a team of facilitators will lead an open forum to formulate research and teaching agendas around the concern of collaborative information work

Twitter and the Virtual Branch: the Public Library in Social Space

This poster presents a study that examines online profiles of 300 U.S. public libraries on Twitter to analyze how public libraries are constructing online identity and creating a visibility and voice in social space through photographs, images, biographical text on profiles, and public postings. The study also examines library activity levels, followers, Peerindex scores and other metrics in exploring the influence and impact of public library presence within social space, and the impression management and information sharing activities of influential public libraries on Twitter to better understand how libraries can integrate information services into new and emerging online social spaces.publishedye