Adventuring into a University Common Read Program

Background Each year a selection committee at a large urban university selects a book for all first year students. Books are sent out to students and then the title is used throughout many freshman level classes. Librarians are involved in the selection of the book, the creation of a resource guide with related information, and the creation of potential programs to support the themes and topics addressed in the book. The largest event is organized through the common read program and involves a lecture to the university community from the book author. For many years the book and common read program were largely overlooked on the health sciences campus. However, for the last five years efforts have been made to embrace themes addressed in the book and demonstrate their relevance to students in health sciences programs. Description This presentation will focus on a review of the common read program and its evolution at a large urban university with special emphasis on the adoption and use of the book on the health sciences campus. The presentation will discuss ways in which the health sciences library has provided information access points to related health information through resource guides and created educational programming that further address topics from the book for a health sciences audience. The presentation will include next steps and actions for libraries interested in participating in a common read program. Conclusions Based on general review of data and library staff engagement with the common read program, the library has found an entry point for programming that is relevant to the health sciences campus as well as a broader audience including hospital employees, undergraduate students, and in some cases members of the local community. Data from past events, resource guide use, and title selection will be shared

Healthy Heart Project

The Healthy Heart program has been offering fitness testing, cardiovascular and chronic disease testing and education, and clinical experience for students in the course KIN483: Exercise, Disease, and Aging for a number of years. The program offers an important service to the Missoula community by providing each participant with accurate health indicators and results, such as ECG (heart) rhythms, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and strength measures, body composition, and peripheral artery disease screening. The program gives students experience learning practical skills by performing a 2-hour exercise testing session, communicating with a community member, analyzing testing data, and compiling then discussing results. This project resulted in a packet of fitness assessment results, cardiovascular risk factors, and exercise prescriptions to improve and/or maintain health for the participant’s use and records. It is of critical importance to educate the public on their individual health risks and how to take practical measures through exercise and other evidence-based interventions to ameliorate those risks and live longer, healthier, happier lives

Social Media Best Practices in Academic Libraries (2016)

In order to understand current trends and use of social media in libraries, VCU Libraries created and conducted an online survey using SurveyMonkey. Our approach was informed by the study of social media and public relations practice conducted by Wright and Hinson (Wright, Donald K. and Michelle Drifka Hinson. 2015. “Examining Social and Emerging Media Use in Public Relations Practice: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Analysis.” Public Relations Journal 9). The VCU Libraries survey consisted of 22 multiple-choice, multiple-answer, and open ended questions. The survey was distributed to email discussion lists frequented by library professionals involved in management or communications. The data presented here in summary form includes responses from all 198 respondent

Forging a Liaison Team for the Future through Renewed Onboarding Practices

Welcoming new employees is one of the most important jobs of a manager, but it is not an easy one. Guidance from the literature specific to academic liaison librarian onboarding is minimal and fails to address current workforce and workplace realities. This poster will explore how a team of liaison librarian managers used reflective and informed feedback to build a strong onboarding process to successfully welcome eight liaisons in two years and detail how the managers recently renewed their onboarding process to account for new, hybrid work environments and prepare new liaisons for the future of work in academia

Social Media Best Practices in Academic Libraries 2015

While academic libraries worldwide have embraced social media as tools to inform and connect with users, behaviors and expectations are evolving and platforms are growing. In order to understand current trends and use of social media in libraries, VCU Libraries created and conducted an online survey using SurveyMonkey. Our approach was informed by the study of social media and public relations practice conducted by Wright and Hinson (Wright, Donald K. and Michelle Drifka Hinson. 2015. “Examining Social and Emerging Media Use in Public Relations Practice: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Analysis.” Public Relations Journal 9). The VCU Libraries survey consisted of 21 multiple-choice, multiple-answer, and open ended questions. The survey was distributed to email discussion lists frequented by library professionals involved in management or communications. The data presented here in summary form includes responses from all 240 respondents

Connecting Best Practices in Public Relations to Social Media Strategies for Academic Libraries

Academic libraries worldwide use social media to inform and connect with users. VCU Libraries is no different and must keep up with rapidly evolving platforms and user expectations. When our presence stretched across 22 channels, we needed to ensure social media efforts were managed in the most effective and efficient manner possible. To develop a research-based, unified vision for communication for new media, we scanned the literature in the library and public relations fields and then surveyed librarians to address identified gaps. Based on results, we offer recommendations focused on best management practices and strong content strategies

Mapping it Out: Developing a Library Internship Program

Background Newly graduated librarians often do not possess the knowledge and skills essential to practicing in a health sciences library. This mismatch in experience and expectations stems from a lack of exposure to health sciences librarianship and the typically general nature of graduate education in library and information science. This gap in skills and understanding stems from a lack of opportunities to develop in these areas. At the same time, many experienced health sciences librarians do not have the supervisory roles as a regular part of their work, resulting in fewer opportunities to build managerial skills and experience. In 2019 a health sciences library at an urban academic health sciences institution decided to develop an internship program to address both of these issues. Description This presentation will address the development of the internship program, including collaboration between the department head and librarians to develop the program. It will also address how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the program and continued evolution of the program. The presentation will also highlight lessons learned, challenges, and the next steps to ensure the program\u27s sustainability. Conclusions After hosting two interns over a three-year period, the internship program continues to evolve. This talk will focus on future areas for assessment and lessons learned including efforts made to balance program goals while also providing the intern with broad exposure to different aspects of health sciences librarianship while also addressing the intern\u27s personal development goals. Perspectives from librarian managers will also be discussed

Successes and Challenges of Being Interim Leaders During a Pandemic

Background Assuming an interim leadership role presents personal opportunities for professional growth and organizational challenges. These challenges may stem from the temporary nature of the position and a lack of clear direction or decision-making authority. External forces, in this case the COVID-19 pandemic, also contribute to interim leaders\u27 challenges. Library administration at a large public research university with multiple interim positions worked to identify potential challenges and possible solutions for those designated to interim leadership roles. Description This session will describe a plan created to facilitate the transition into and out of interim positions, set expectations for these roles, and ensure clear communication across interim positions at all levels of the organization. The session will be from the perspective of two librarians designated to co-lead a department over a period of 13 months. The department consisted of six librarians with liaison responsibilities, a staff member, a library intern (hourly staff), and a student worker . Emphasis will be placed on describing the challenges of supervising and motivating the department during a time of transition and uncertainty. There will also be a discussion on how continuing responsibilities were prioritized/balanced with interim leadership responsibilities. This was a critical consideration when creating the reporting and responsibility structure. Conclusions The plan related to interim leadership was a success and provided both interim department heads with an opportunity to grow professionally. As a result, both interim leaders transitioned smoothly back into their roles within the department while making a meaningful contribution to the department\u27s direction. During the period of interim leadership, there were two notable accomplishments. A five-year plan tool/program was created to mentor those in the department regarding their professional growth. In addition, a mission statement was created that gave the members of the department a clear idea of the purpose of the work of the department

Setting Off On a New Path: Reimaging a Library Department Annual Report

Background Academic libraries annually produce reports highlighting the previous year\u27s achievements while highlighting new resources, services, and programs. These are intended to communicate with different groups with different interests. The library in these reports must discuss what was done and how those activities provided value to the community of users. The librarians at a large public research university debated the effectiveness of the annual report produced within their department. An internship project was created to rethink the department’s annual report and develop a plan to determine its effectiveness. The project intended to allow the intern to learn more about how an academic library functions, while also helping the department rethink how to communicate the department\u27s activities to stakeholders. Description This poster will focus on the planning and suggested implementation of a new annual reporting cycle intended to streamline the process and make the report more effective and meaningful for the community of users. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of creating a report that addresses the needs of various stakeholders concurrently will also be addressed. Lastly, the poster will touch on the observations and lessons learned by the intern who headed up the project and the process\u27s next steps. Conclusions Overall, findings showed that user-centric research and design lead to higher-quality reporting outcomes. Additionally, making stakeholders part of the reporting process leads to greater transparency and stronger connections. Conclusions will focus on possible steps to take in the future for continuing reporting efforts

An Assessment of the Readability of Recommended Popular Consumer Health Titles: Implications for Collection Development

This study aims at measuring the readability level of selected recommended consumer health books. National literacy studies suggest that about half of the United States population has low functional literacy levels. Health literacy is a specialized aspect of literacy and is often complicated by technical language and barriers including psychological stress. Books for analysis were selected from Library Journal's "Best Consumer Health Books of 2006" list. The readability of text was tested using the Simple Measure Of Gobbledygook (SMOG) and Flesch-Kincaid (FK) formulas. Results found that no books tested below a SMOG grade level of ten, the average FK grade was also ten. The results correspond to high school level readability--higher than the average consumer's estimated reading level. The findings suggest that even recommended consumer health books are written at a level that is beyond the reading comprehension of about half of the population. Impacts on collection development are discussed