Using a Poster and Survey Model to Reach New Heights at Library Orientation

Background : Although active learning techniques have the potential to enhance the learner’s experience, it can be difficult to efficiently and effectively incorporate them into unstructured events outside of the classroom such as an orientation fair. This presentation will show how we took a successful poster and survey activity used by academic medical librarians at a community career fair and then adapted it for graduate medical education orientation fairs. We designed a simple poster along with a short survey to help us actively connect with small groups of new medical residents while introducing them to library resources and services. Description : Since 2011, librarians have participated at an annual community career fair. Despite being creative with themes at the fair, our exhibit was largely overlooked by disinterested students due to its lecture-based format until its redesign as an active learning poster and a short survey activity. The poster’s information and graphics did all the “talking” while students were asked to “help” the librarians by reading and critiquing the poster information using a short survey. The success of the poster and survey in the community encouraged us to try the same model with new medical residents at their orientation fair. The redesign prompted more questions and interesting conversations among residents and librarians than in the past. Preliminary review of three years of survey data has revealed an 80% survey completion rate with 100% satisfaction with the poster as an active learning tool. Conclusion : Survey results suggest that the poster and survey model resulted in students retaining more information about the library resources and services while expressing greater satisfaction with this teaching format. Dana Medical librarians continue to use this active learning activity, to study its results, and to build on its success with other library presentations

Practices, policies, and problems in the management of learning data: A survey of libraries’ use of digital learning objects and the data they create

This study analyzed libraries’ management of the data generated by library digital learning objects (DLO’s) such as forms, surveys, quizzes, and tutorials. A substantial proportion of respondents reported having a policy relevant to learning data, typically a campus-level policy, but most did not. Other problems included a lack of access to library learning data, concerns about student privacy, inadequate granularity or standardization, and a lack of knowledge about colleagues’ practices. We propose more dialogue on learning data within libraries, between libraries and administrators, and across the library profession

From Passive to Active: A New Model for Library Orientation

Objectives This poster shares the experience of academic librarians turning a traditional, passive library orientation at a Graduate Medical Education Fair for new residents into an active learning activity. Methods Every summer, new residents enter postgraduate medical training programs at the medical center. In an effort to introduce the library early in their clinical careers, liaison librarians have participated at a Graduate Medical Education fair since 2012. In the past, the library’s orientation activity consisted of a table full of paper handouts, staffed by overzealous librarians. Feedback from the residents, however, revealed that they politely collected the paperwork but frequently used or understood little of its content. In 2016, the library orientation for new residents was completely redesigned and updated. The traditional library handouts were replaced by an active learning exercise centered around a poster that highlighted the essential resources and services provided by the library. Residents were asked to spend just 1 minute reading through the library poster, and then invited to complete a brief poster survey. Results Results of this new orientation format were quite revealing. Completed poster surveys were returned by more than 85% of the residents, showing that they liked the poster format and its effectiveness in introducing the library. The poster also prompted many questions and interesting conversations among residents and librarians right on the spot. The simple design of the survey questions encouraged residents to identify what they liked and wanted to learn more about the library. In addition, the survey fostered a perfect opportunity to ask questions about anything important that was included or missing from the poster. Conclusions Librarians plan to continue to use this poster driven learning activity, to study its results, to modify its content when appropriate, and to build on its success in other library presentations

How to Prevent Your Flip from Flopping: Five Key Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Flipped Classroom Model

Contrary to popular perception, successfully adopting the flipped (or inverted) classroom model requires more than just recording videos of lectures for students to watch outside of class. This poster will highlight five key mistakes that teachers sometimes make when adopting the flipped classroom model, and outlines effective strategies to avoid them

Meeting users where they are: Delivering dynamic content and services through a campus portal

Campus portals are one of the most visible and frequently used online spaces for students, offering one-stop access to key services for learning and academic self-management. This case study reports how instruction librarians at the University of Vermont collaborated with portal developers in the registrar’s office to develop high-impact, point-of-need content for a dedicated “Library” page. This content was then created in LibGuides and published using the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for LibGuides boxes. Initial usage data and analytics show that traffic to the libraries’ portal page has been substantially and consistently higher than expected. The next phase for the project will be the creation of customized library content that is responsive to the student’s user profile

Adapting a New Model for Library Orientation: the Clinical Case Presentation

Every summer, new pediatric residents enter postgraduate medical training at the University of Vermont Medical Center. An introduction to the Dana Medical Library has been a long-standing orientation activity for these new residents. In the past, this hour long orientation consisted of a lecture outlining library resources, services, and policies followed by a tour of the physical space. Observations of this traditional orientation, however, revealed bored-looking, unengaged residents, who even questioned the usefulness of this scheduled library session. After thoughtful consideration and discussion among librarians, we concluded that this was probably due to the passive nature of these activities, and the fact that residents were simultaneously being overwhelmed with new and more vital clinical and administrative responsibilities at the medical center. And, we also knew that something had to change about our approach to library orientation, or we were going to turn off a new generation of young physicians to the library. Internet resources like Google and point-of-care clinical tools like UpToDate have become strong competitors for residents’ precious time and limited level of expertise in using the literature. So, this year, the library orientation for new pediatric residents was completely redesigned. After drawing on her personal experience as a clinical librarian in medicine, the pediatrics liaison librarian explored the idea of adapting the Patient Case Presentation model to a library orientation. Clinical Case Presentation is a very familiar presentation format in residency programs. Its format offers a rapid and concise summary of the most essential patient information and is used primarily in clinical settings and at educational conferences. Since the style of case presentations may vary depending on the clinical setting, service, and time available, the pediatrics liaison librarian saw this as a perfect opportunity to orient new residents to the library using their own presentation format and terminology. The remodeled library orientation consisted of an interactive case presentation about a pediatric resident with a clinical information need, followed by a brief didactic session on library resources and services relevant to the specific information need. The case and teaching session were both presented by the liaison librarian with the assistance of the pediatric chief resident, serving as her scribe. Besides the specific questions that were “planted” among the residents and medical students, audience participation was strongly encouraged, especially during the review of information systems section of the presentation. With the unexpected success of this orientation activity, we hope to have the opportunity at the ACRL-NEC Conference to demonstrate and describe for a wider audience how we took an outdated library orientation activity and completely transformed it. Hopefully, our presentation will give other librarians the motivation and the encouragement to explore new teaching and learning formats in their own liaison areas and to adapt those models to library education and orientation activities, just as we did with the Case Presentation format in a pediatric residency program

Distributional Impacts of Country-of-Origin Labeling in the U.S. Meat Industry

Concerns about the negative effects of U.S. meat and livestock imports on domestic livestock prices have increased interest in country-of origin labeling (COOL) legislation. An equilibrium displacement model is used to estimate short-run and long-run changes in equilibrium prices and quantities of meat and livestock in the beef, pork, and poultry sectors resulting from the implementation of COOL. Retail beef and pork demand would have to experience a one-time, permanent increase of 4.05% and 4.45%, respectively, so that feeder cattle and hog producers do not lose producer surplus over a 10-year period.country-of-origin labeling, equilibrium displacement model, producer surplus, Agribusiness,

Together We Learn: Collaborating with Medical Students to Build an Online Anti-Racism Guide

In the summer of 2020, students from the medical school’s Social Justice Coalition asked if the library could support their project to build a digital collection of anti-racism resources. Specifically, they asked if the library could host the collection and purchase relevant materials when possible. The project presented interesting policy and technical issues related to LibGuides, the platform we eventually selected. It also provided educational opportunities for the medical students, staff, and the library. After six months of hard work, we launched the collection, titled “Together We Learn: Resources for Our Journeys in Justice & Inclusion” in December 2020. While, initially, it appeared that this would be a simple project to complete, we quickly discovered unique challenges. For example, LibGuides was chosen as the obvious technical platform to use, but there was consensus among the authors, students, and their advisor that the students should retain editorial control over the content. This ran counter to library practice and we had to argue our case and receive permission to move forward. The project team also worked closely on design. This involved educating the students and their advisor about how LibGuides operates, which impacted how content appeared. Finally, we had to develop new workflows to address issues like reviewing and updating guide content. This required another adjustment to established library policy. The final guide includes a rich mix of resources, such as books and videos, that cover a variety of crucial topics. The guide was launched in December 2020. The initial reception was enthusiastic and supportive with hundreds of views that month. Like many end-of-year projects, however, it was soon overshadowed by holidays, the January spike in COVID-19 infections, and events in Washington D.C. Our goal for the spring 2021 semester is to reintroduce the guide to the public. The medical students and their advisor are developing a plan to accomplish that goal. We also need to grow the guide and we have already started to receive suggestions via an embedded “Recommend a Resource” form. As a result, the guide remains an ongoing project and we are honored to continue working with our medical students on something they are so passionate about