An evaluation on the effectiveness of Web 2.0 Startpages (Netvibes & Pageflakes) within NHS libraries.

Carol McCormick was Learning Resources Advisor in the library at James Cook University Hospital, South Teesside when she completed her BSc (Hons) Librarianship (Work Based Learning) degree at Northumbria University. She gained a 1st Class Honours and is now Learning Resources Librarian. Carol’s dissertation formed part of a wider action research project into the provision of current awareness services at James Cook University Hospital. This article reports on the evaluation which was conducted after a Web 2.0 Startpage, or portal, had been introduced to improve access to current awareness information for all staff within the Trust. It is the second article in the Dissertations into practice series to examine the use of web-based tools to improve access to information for NHS staff

Our Transition Mission: Reaching Out to the High School Community

For the past three years, librarians at Kent State University have worked with Ohio library media specialists and teachers to better understand how information literacy is incorporated into the K-12 curriculum. The outreach was undertaken with two objectives: 1) to more effectively work with high school students, and 2) to increase communication with high school educators so they can better prepare their students for college research. The presenters believe that collaborative initiatives launched by our Institute for Library Information Literacy Education (ILILE) and through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant can serve as both models and resources for the 12-13 transitioning programming efforts of others. One of the projects is a student-focused web site, Transitioning to College: Helping You Succeed, featuring streaming videos, teaching tools, and a glossary of academic terms. ILILE also supported the construction of an instructional classroom designed for visits by high school students who get their feet wet through exposure to an academic library. This classroom serves as the centerpiece of Informed Transitions, Kent State University\u27s outreach program to local high schools. TRAILS, a real-time web-based resource for assessing information literacy skills of high school students has also been developed and is currently being piloted. In addition to highlighting these initiatives, this session will engage participants in discussion about their own experiences with high school to college transitions, and will provide them with a checklist of ideas that can be used to lay the foundation for conversations with the K-12 community in their states

Library Orientation with Accountability: Using WebCT Quizzing for a Library Tour Program for Freshmen

This poster will highlight a recent project to provide an online option for library tours at Kent State University. Librarians created a self-paced, online library tour using Adobe Captivate, a Flash-authoring tool, and created a corresponding quiz in WebCT Vista. Students were asked to complete a library tour experience (either online or in-person) and then receive credit by passing the quiz in WebCT Vista, which reported grades directly to their instructors through the WebCT grade book

Instructional Outreach to High Schools: Should You Be Doing It?

Academic librarians have recognized the need for and the benefits of instructional outreach to high schools, but faced with budgetary challenges, increasing workloads, and other pressures, librarians sometimes struggle to determine if and how they can work with high schools. This paper will seek to provide practical direction in considering these questions. Using the library high school outreach program at Kent State University Informed Transitions as a sample case, this paper will share observations, discuss practical considerations, and offer recommendations that will serve to guide academic librarians in determining what role they can play in providing instructional outreach to local high schools