McMullen, Susan

English

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Connections, Fall, 2002; Issue Two

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUConnections University Libraries10-1-2002Connections, Fall, 2002; Issue TwoSusan McMullensmcmullen@rwu.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://docs.rwu.edu/libnewsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Libraries at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Connectionsby an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationMcMullen, Susan, "Connections, Fall, 2002; Issue Two" (2002). Connections. Paper 8.http://docs.rwu.edu/libnews/8C O N N E C T I O N Sroger williams university LibrariesOCTOBER, 2002           ISSUE TWOInformation Literacy at Roger Williams UniversityThe information universe has landed squarely on our desktops viathe web. The abundance of virtual information often results in “infor-mation overload” and “information anxiety,” expressions that definethe dizzying state of trying to keep pace with the explosive growthof information. Students are faced with a complex array of informa-tion resources and don’t know where, or even how, to begin theirresearch. Faced with papers, projects, deadlines and distractions,they often turn to the web to solve their information problems. Therethey are confronted with selecting and evaluating information ap-propriate to their academic endeavors. Google returns 12,000 hitsin .6 seconds; they use the first five, and hope for the best.Information Literacy is the set of skills that enables one to clearlydefine an information need, identify the sources to inform that need,evaluate the sources for relevancy and authority, and use informa-tion resources effectively and ethically. Mastering these skills allevi-ates the anxiety many students feel when confronted with universitylevel research, as they become competent and discriminating infor-mation users. Information Literacy also addresses the ethical issuesinherent in the use of information technology, including plagiarism,copyright, intellectual property, privacy and the socioeconomic con-cerns of the information age.The instruction team at Roger Williams is eager to consult with class-room faculty to integrate and design information literacy competen-cies into their curriculum.  This type of course-integrated instructionincludes collaboration with faculty to develop the research compo-nent for the course, and scheduled meetings throughout the semes-ter to focus on strategies. We design subject and course-specificguides to information resources, and provide a variety of instructionoptions, including classes on research strategies, concept-mapping,instruction in bibliographic tools, and advanced information literacyconcepts for upper division students.The information age requires competencies that can be met by infor-mation literacy instruction. Our library instruction team invites faculty,staff and students to collaborate with us to further information com-petency on our campus.  For more information, visit the library’s website: http://library.rwu.edu/about/infolit.html--- Barbara Kenney      The University Library takes pride in being a member of Rhode Island’s academic library consortium,HELIN, and is pleased to introduce to the University community HELIN’s latest initiative, the InRhode LibraryCatalog.  InRhode combines the library resources of nine academic institutions into a single unified database,formally including HELIN’s newest member, the Brown University libraries.  InRhode provides access to over4.1 million volumes, combining the resources of Brown University’s library database,  Josiah, with those of theHELIN Consortium’s library database, HELIN.  The user-friendly InRhode software overlays both catalogdatabases, enabling students, faculty, and staff of all HELIN institutions to place online requests for circulatingbooks and other materials held by libraries within the consortium. Statewide delivery, through a system main-tained by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services, will facilitate the interlibrary transfer ofrequested titles within two or three days. I invite readers to learn more about the features and use of InRhodefrom the designated entry on our website.      Teaching and service are equally important aspects of the Library’s mission. A recent and important advance-ment in our libraries has been the formation of our information literacy program (an instructional partnershipbetween librarians and faculty).  Barbara Kenney discusses the information literacy concept and program indetail below.From the Dean’s DeskThe Friends have initiated an Academic Lecture series, beginning inSpring 2003.  On the first Wednesday evening of each month (Feb-ruary, March, April) the series will feature a faculty member from adifferent academic discipline.  The Spring series will include: JimTackach, Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences, Christopher Men-ton, School of Justice Studies, and Kathleen Micken, Gabelli Schoolof Business.  More information about these lectures will appear inthe next issue of this newsletter.Collection Development: Collaboration is the KeyThe teaching faculty plays a key role in building the book collec-tions here at the Roger Williams University Libraries.  This collabora-tion is considered to be the cornerstone in the development of avibrant collection that meets the information needs of the RWU fac-ulty and students and serves as a dynamic resource for critical think-ing and research.The primary selection tool provided to the faculty by the library is theChoice Card service.  Each month the library receives Choice Cards,published by the College & Research Libraries Division of the Ameri-can Library Association, which are delivered to representative fac-ulty members in each of the disciplines.  The Choice Cards includeover six thousand reviews of significant current books in a wide vari-ety of disciplines in higher education.In some disciplines the Choice Card service is insufficient to meetthe resource needs of the curriculum.  In these areas New Title An-nouncement Slips are sent in addition to the Choice Cards.  Theseslips, generated by the libraryís primary book vendor, Blackwell NorthAmerica, are based on a profile designed to address the subjectsrelevant to the RWU curriculum.  The New Title Announcement Slipsdo not contain book reviews, but do serve as a useful current aware-ness tool.Choice Cards and New Title Announcement Slips annotated by thefaculty are returned to the Acquisitions Department and reviewed bythe Collection Development Librarian.  Decisions for purchase arebased on the quality of the title, faculty interest, collection needs,Meet our New Information Literacy LibrarianWe are pleased to introduce Barbara Ferrer Kenney, who joinedthe library faculty this summer as Information Literacy Librarian inorder to expand the library’s outreach to the RWU community.  Whileat the URI Libraries, where she worked as Assistant Research Profes-sor, Reference and Instruction, Barbara was awarded a scholarshipto participate in the Association of College and Research Library’s(ACRL) Information Literacy Immersion ’01.  This experience led toher teaching a 3-credit course at URI, Introduction to InformationLiteracy, which provided a strong foundation for integrating the con-cepts of Information Literacy into the RWU curriculum.Barbara has been a whirling dervish since her arrival, already hav-ing taught more than thirty classes in the Library Classroom.  Alongwith the other librarians, she offers general information literacy classesas well as course-specific classes and meets with faculty membersto plan course-integrated instruction. Her sparkling wit, direct man-ner, and collaborative spirit are winning over students and facultyalike in support of the library’s mission --- educating all RWU students,faculty and staff in the effective retrieval and use of information.Friends of the LibraryHorror and Mystery in Rhode Island: The Literary Connections ofPoe and Lovecraft begins the Friends Fall 2002 program.  Literarycritic and lecturer, Felicity Hoffecker, will discuss the Rhode Islandassociations of these two celebrated authors on Friday, October25 (5:00 p.m.).  Through the generosity of the Friends and the RogerWilliams Family Association an additional Fall program (October18) featured Mary Lee Settle, the author of I, Roger Williams.Edgar Allan Poe H.P. Lovecraftcurricular demand and available funds.  New titles added to theRWU Libraries are highlighted monthly on New Books List publishedon the RWU Libraries Home Page.  An online request form is alsoavailable so that faculty may conveniently request new books thatthey feel would enhance the library collection.  Further informationregarding collection development is available on the library homepage, including the RWU Collection Development Policy.The goal behind this collaborative arrangement in building the li-brary collections is the integration of library resources with the cur-riculum and enhanced access to information for our students.  Fac-ulty with questions regarding book requests or the library collec-tions should contact Christine Fagan, Collection Development/Ac-quisitions Librarian or the Library Liaison associated with their disci-pline. --- Christine FaganConnecting from HomeConnecting to the Library’s subscription databases is now easierthan ever before.  This past summer, HELIN developed a new proxyservice. The proxy now works much like HELIN Request and Elec-tronic Reserves. To search a database from an off-campus location,click on the title of the database.  At the next screen, type your nameand your library barcode number (no spaces). Then click on the Goto Database button. For a complete listing of RWU subscriptiondatabases see the  Alphabetical list of Databases found at http://library.rwu.edu/articles/database.html.  You will need an activatedlibrary barcode to use this service.Archive NewsTo help preserve the “collective knowledge’ of the university, anArchive Task Force has been established.  As facilitator of this taskforce, the Library’s archivist, Mary Wu, hopes to:      Investigate the records and documents currently      kept in the Archives.      Analyze the organizational structure created by the      previous Archivist.      Plan and conduct an archival records survey that covers      all constituencies of the University.      Establish a mission statement for University Archives, and create      policies and procedures for collection development, records      preservation and retention, and archival services.      Establish a long-term strategic plan for the future development      of the Archives, including the creation of web based      finding aids, digital initiatives and archival personnel training.Please forward your ideas and suggestions to Mary Wu at exten-sion 3053 or mwu@rwu.edu.  Your help will be very much appreci-ated.Can’t find the answer on the World Wide Web?  Can’t locatesources for your research paper?  Need a librarian in a hurry?AskHELIN is your answer.AskHELIN is a new virtual reference service pilot project offered bythe HELIN Library Consortium.  Building on HELIN’s long tradition ofcollaboration and resource sharing, librarians at eight of the HELINlibraries are offering to the Rhode Island academic community real-time, online, reference assistance.  Faculty, students, and staff at anyof the HELIN universities and colleges may ask questions via theInternet and a librarian will be available to answer instantly.  Tolearn more about this new service, please see the frequently askedquestions on the following page.Log on to this virtual reference by clicking on the Ask HELIN iconlocated on the library web site and following the instructions.Forget Jeeves!  Ask a HELIN Librarian!Learning to Bridge the World?Q.  What happens if I lose my connection with the librarian?A. If you should get disconnected, please log on again to AskHELINto reconnect.  Just go to the library home page and click on the iconfor the log on screen.Q. What should I do if it looks like a Web page has completelytaken over my screen and I can no longer see my chat session withthe librarian?A. If at any time during the chat session a Web page takes overyour screen, just click on the back button twice to return to the chat.Q.  What types of questions will you answer?A.  We will identify appropriate resources and databases for yourresearch need and guide you in their use; help you use HELIN;provide guidance on researching a topic; and answer quick factualquestions.Q. How long does a reference chat session last?A. Session lengths vary depending on your information needs.  Mostquestions can be answered in less than 15 minutes.  If your questionis complex, a librarian may need to follow-up via email.  There maybe times when a virtual reference librarian may refer you to a sub-ject specialist.Q. How can I remember the resources that the librarian has shownme during our virtual reference session?A.  If you provide your email address, we will send you a transcriptof the session. It includes the complete conversation between youand the librarian as well as a list of web sites visited during thesession.Q.. What if I have questions or comments about this service?A.  We encourage you to contact us at: askhelin@etal.uri.eduSince this is a pilot program, we encourage you to fill in the exitsurvey, so we can determine the value of this service at the end ofthe pilot project.FAQ’s about Ask HELINQ. What is AskHELIN?A. AskHELIN is a chat-based service where a HELIN librarian willhelp you online in real time.  Ask us a question and then followalong (co-browse) as reference librarians use special software toguide you with your research or help you locate quick factual infor-mation.Q.  What does co-browse mean?A.  It means that you and the librarian can collaboratively browseweb sites and web-accessible databases in real-time.  Both you andthe librarian will be able to view the same web sites and can searcha database jointly.Q. When is AskHELIN available?A. Hours of service are Sunday through Thursday,3:00 - 10:00 p.m. (EST)Q. Who can use AskHELIN?A. AskHELIN is available to all students, faculty, staff, and alumniof HELIN member institutions:  Bryant, CCRI, JWU, PC, RIC, RWU,Salve, & URI.Q. How does it work?A. Once you connect to the service by clicking on the CONNECTbutton at the bottom of the form, a reference librarian will join you.Please be patient - there may be a time delay between clicking onthe CONNECT button and the librarian receiving your message.Q. Do I need special software to use this service?A. No, no special software is required.  Simply log on to the serviceusing your web browser.  Netscape or Internet Explorer 4.0 andabove.  Mac users should use Internet Explorer 5.0Q. What type of Internet connection do I need?A. Any connection will work, but a dial-up connection will result inslower sessions.  A network or cable connection will be faster.One Old Ferry RoadBristol, RI 02809-2921401-254-3375 or 401-254-3031Email: libret@rwu.eduwww.rwu.edu

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Connections, Fall, 2002; Issue Two

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