Georgia Library Association - Technical Services Interest Group

Published in Georgia Library Quarterl

Providing Access with Bookmobiles: A Chapter in the History of Georgia Libraries

Providing access to information is one mission of libraries and librarians. Programs and outreach are important aspects of accomplishing this mission. The implementation of the bookmobile program in the United States in the early 1900s provided access to those who couldn’t easily travel to a library. There are many people, then and now, who struggle to access libraries and the valuable resources libraries provide. Those people are the benefiters of the utilization of this innovative idea. Bookmobiles were valuable programs in the early 1900s and continue to be a useable and needed program today

Dismantling the Silos: Access Services and Technical Services Work Together to Support Student Assistants

This presentation will focus on a student assistant mentorship pilot program that will begin in the Fall semester of 2022 at Georgia Southern University Libraries. The mentorship program will focus on the student assistant’s whole self through multiple avenues of mentorship. Students will benefit from peer to peer and staff to student mentorship, where they will gain knowledge in working in a professional setting. They will also learn how to maintain a mentally and emotionally stable self through mindfulness practices utilizing the Georgia Southern University Libraries Brain Booth. The Brain Booth is an experiential space to learn about the mind body connection, reduce stress, and optimize learning. This program will occur within multiple departments and on two campuses. Access Services, Technical Services and the Brain Booth student assistants will participate in this program. Assessment will be built into the program. This will allow each department to determine the particular needs of their student assistants and adapt as needed. We will present the development of this program and the data available at the time of the conference, which will include initial results of learning outcomes of participating student assistant

Training Student Assistants on Diversity Literacy Through a Cross Departmental Mentorship Program

This presentation will focus on a unique collaboration between library departments to train student assistants with an emphasis on inclusive excellence literacy. As Georgia Southern University made Inclusive Excellence a central theme in the university’s strategic plan, the University Libraries wanted to ensure that student assistants also receive diversity literacy skills that directly translates to their current role at the library. The Access Services and Technical Services Departments joined forces to create a student assistant mentorship program that includes professional development workshops offered by the University Libraries Diversity Council. This program is focused on connecting diversity and inclusive excellence literacy to mentorship and training the whole person and not just a functional employee. In addition to workshops, and individual mentorship sessions, student assistants learn about work/life balance, diversity and inclusion and how these skills directly translate to their current role as a student assistant and how they will apply to their future careers. Students attended workshops on the use of pronouns and idioms as well as microaggressions and they are encouraged to use the Georgia Southern University Libraries Brain Booth, a space dedicated to mindfulness and stress reduction. This program itself is also viewed as a practice in inclusive excellence. In general, student assistants in libraries are seen more as periphery staff and not integral and valued members of the team. This program is meant to change that sentiment, and provide a sense of collegiality and teamwork with our student assistants

Georgia Library Association-Technical Services Interest Group

Published in Georgia Library Quarterl

OER Discovery: Where Have We Come From, and Where Are We Going?

Presentation given at GIL Users Group Meeting. Librarians and instructors across Georgia are collaborating to create a wealth of OER, but what about ensuring the discoverability of these resources? Absent clear standards and practices for sharing OER, how should we spend our effort making OER discoverable, both regionally and globally? Panelists from Georgia Southern University and Affordable Learning Georgia will raise these questions in the context of institutional and statewide OER initiatives, suggest some possible paths forward, then invite attendees to brainstorm how we can all work together to increase the visibility of these valuable resources

Georgia Librarians Returning to Work In-Person during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Georgia Southern faculty members Profs. Rebecca Hunnicutt and Jessica C. Garner contributed to this work