MINUTES
Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group (CJARL)
Mercer County Community College
West Windsor, NJ
Friday, December 4, 2009
10:00am – 12:00pm
Members present:
1. Pamela Price, Mercer County College
2. Martin Crabtree, Mercer County College
3. Dan Calandro, Mercer County College
4. Connie Paul, CJRLC
5. Valerie Bonilla, Brookdale Community College
6. Jeanne Vloyanetes , Brookdale Community College
7. Caitlyn Cook, Ocean County College
8. Gary Schmidt, Ocean County College
9. Olivia Nellums, Camden County College
10. Dave Peterson, Burlington County College
11. Lisa Coats, Monmouth University
Many thanks to the Mercer County Community College Library for hosting us. Their newly renovated Library looks wonderful. Let’s hope things settle down sooner rather than later; I’m sure everyone could benefit from a sense of normalcy after such a long period of transition.
We were also very happy to be joined by Connie Paul, Executive Director of the Central New Jersey Regional Library Cooperative. Connie’s experience and wisdom offers a priceless perspective on where we’re headed. In fact, Connie comments to the Committee offered a preview of what was in store for the upcoming CJRLC Fall Membership meeting the following week.
We also had the opportunity to discuss the process by which Librarian Faculty members are evaluated for tenure and promotion. It appears that each Institution addresses this process differently. Some schools use a more narrative model while others would prefer a more quantifiable method such as the one according to which teaching faculty have been traditionally assessed.
Our morning concluded with a very tour of the newly remodeled library. Pamela Price and Martin Crabtree provided extensive—and very entertaining—commentary.
Next meeting: Either February 12 or February 19. I’ll e-mail everyone for feedback.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Lessons Learned
The iSchool at the University of Washington has recently published, "Lessons Learned: How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age" as part of its "Project Information Literacy." It's a very intriguing report. The .pdf is available here.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
EBSCOhost Mobile
EBSCOhost Mobile is official—and has been for a while. So now I’m curious to know how many of us (or our users, for that matter) are taking full advantage of it.
For more information about EBSCOhost Mobile, I’ll turn you over to the very capable hands of Gary Price at Resource Shelf who has explained it much more intelligently than I ever could.
So, let’s hear from you…. Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Makes sense? Will your students use it or would they simply never dream of using their smart phone/app phone/whatever for educational purposes.
For more information about EBSCOhost Mobile, I’ll turn you over to the very capable hands of Gary Price at Resource Shelf who has explained it much more intelligently than I ever could.
So, let’s hear from you…. Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Makes sense? Will your students use it or would they simply never dream of using their smart phone/app phone/whatever for educational purposes.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
NEXT MEETING - Friday, December 4, 2009
HOLD THE DATE
The next CJARL meeting will be held on Friday, December 4, 2009 from 10:00am-12:00pm at Mercer County Community College Library.
We'll be meeting in room LB106. It's located in the back of the library. Keep to the right and go all the way to the back of the library.
Mercer County Community College Library recently completed a very extensive renovation. For many of us, this will be out first chance to see it.
Driving directions to MCCC are available here.
The next CJARL meeting will be held on Friday, December 4, 2009 from 10:00am-12:00pm at Mercer County Community College Library.
We'll be meeting in room LB106. It's located in the back of the library. Keep to the right and go all the way to the back of the library.
Mercer County Community College Library recently completed a very extensive renovation. For many of us, this will be out first chance to see it.
Driving directions to MCCC are available here.
Monday, October 26, 2009
CJRLC - Fall Membership Meeting
HOLD THE DATE!
CJRLC is having its Fall membership meeting on Tuesday, December 8th at the Battleground Country Club (3:00-5:30pm).
The event is free, but you have to register in advance at: http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCFall09
Or you can also call the CJRLC office on (732) 409-6484.
The Keynote speaker is going to be Andrew Sanderbeck on "Doing More with Less."
This is a great chance to network, have some great food, and to hear updates on what's going on in the region and around the state.
CJRLC is having its Fall membership meeting on Tuesday, December 8th at the Battleground Country Club (3:00-5:30pm).
The event is free, but you have to register in advance at: http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCFall09
Or you can also call the CJRLC office on (732) 409-6484.
The Keynote speaker is going to be Andrew Sanderbeck on "Doing More with Less."
This is a great chance to network, have some great food, and to hear updates on what's going on in the region and around the state.
Scientific American: Is it pricing itself out of the market?
The publisher of Scientific American (Nature Publishing Group) has decided to raise the print subscription from $40 to $300. Online access is also increasing. That seems like quite a jump!
This article in The Chronicle details the reaction among Library Directors to the recent increase.
This article in The Chronicle details the reaction among Library Directors to the recent increase.
As Mentioned at Friday's Meeting...
Here's "Manual Labor," Barbara Fister's post on ACRLog last week about citation style madness. Enjoy!
Friday, October 23, 2009
CJARL Meeting Notes – 10/23/2009
Location: Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ.
In attendance:
1. Gary Schmidt Ocean County College
2. Pamela Dong Ocean County College
3. David Peterson Burlington County College
4. Valerie Bonilla Brookdale Community College
5. Amy Clark Brookdale Community College
6. Martin Crabtree Mercer County Community College
Our first meeting of the 2009-10 academic year began a few minutes after 10:00am with our usual announcements of upcoming events and programs. Of particular note is the upcoming CJRLC Fall membership Meeting on Tuesday, December 8 at the Battleground Country Club from 3:00pm - 5:30pm. The keynote speaker will be Andrew Sanderbeck who will speak on "Doing more with less.” Everyone is invited. To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCFall09 or call The CJRLC offices at 732-409-6484.
Also of interest is the upcoming CJRLC Tech Group online meeting: Virtual Reference with Marie Radford on Tuesday, November 17 from 3:00pm-4:30pm. The program is free but you are required to register in advance at http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCvirtualtechgroupmtg.
Our discussion surrounding various events in the region and beyond quickly gave way to one about dwindling travel budgets. Most of those in attendance reported that they are not unique in so far as they too have had to reduce the number of events they attend as a result.
With budgets maintaining or reducing—rather than increasing—with each fiscal year given the current economic slowdown, it is natural to wonder how database providers will be able to sustain their current practice of charging 5%+ subscription increases each year.
Amy Clark of Brookdale Community College asked the group if anyone is currently subscribed to The Gale Group’s Academic ASAP. Brookdale has been waging an internal debate over whether they should cease its subscription to Academic ASAP and spend that money elsewhere. Although Amy likes how the database introduces novice searchers to the scholarly research experience, she questions the currency of some of the items the database normally retrieves. None of the attendees reported that their libraries subscribe to this particular Gale product.
During the course of the conversation about databases, the Chair was very interested to gauge reaction from attendees regarding the automatic citation generation functionality that many database providers have begun appending to their products over the past couple of years. The inability of the vendors to deliver a software tool that produces consistently accurate—and current –bibliographic citations is troublesome give our repeated message to students that subscription databases are synonymous with content authority. Everyone agrees that when the citation tool is demonstrated we are professionally obligated to do so with a caveat that the citation may not be accurate and that it serves primarily as a starting point.
This engendered a larger conversation regarding the role of the information professional in teaching citation styles. Given our familiarity to multiple citation styles, students commonly ask Librarians how to properly cite an information source. In most instances, however, our best practice is always to either (1) refer the student to an online or print resource that will address their need or (2) refer them to the writing center on campus. It is a narrow divide between providing a high level of customer service and trespassing on the professional obligation of teaching faculty.
The Chair also updated the group on the preparations underway at Ocean County College to begin offering a credit-bearing (3 credits) Information Literacy class in the Spring semester 2010. The Librarians at OCC are also considering the SAILS assessment instrument as a corresponding test out option. I am very grateful to Martin Crabtree for sharing his experience and familiarity with both the SAILS and TRAILS products.
I am also very excited to report that Mr. Crabtree has invited CJARL to the newly-renovated Mercer County Community College Library sometime during this academic year. Currently, we would like to schedule the next meeting for Friday, December 11, 2009. Confirmation will follow at a later date. In the meantime, however, HOLD THE DATE.
Meeting adjourned at 12:25pm.
Respectfully submitted on Friday, October 23, 2009,
Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ
In attendance:
1. Gary Schmidt Ocean County College
2. Pamela Dong Ocean County College
3. David Peterson Burlington County College
4. Valerie Bonilla Brookdale Community College
5. Amy Clark Brookdale Community College
6. Martin Crabtree Mercer County Community College
Our first meeting of the 2009-10 academic year began a few minutes after 10:00am with our usual announcements of upcoming events and programs. Of particular note is the upcoming CJRLC Fall membership Meeting on Tuesday, December 8 at the Battleground Country Club from 3:00pm - 5:30pm. The keynote speaker will be Andrew Sanderbeck who will speak on "Doing more with less.” Everyone is invited. To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCFall09 or call The CJRLC offices at 732-409-6484.
Also of interest is the upcoming CJRLC Tech Group online meeting: Virtual Reference with Marie Radford on Tuesday, November 17 from 3:00pm-4:30pm. The program is free but you are required to register in advance at http://tinyurl.com/CJRLCvirtualtechgroupmtg.
Our discussion surrounding various events in the region and beyond quickly gave way to one about dwindling travel budgets. Most of those in attendance reported that they are not unique in so far as they too have had to reduce the number of events they attend as a result.
With budgets maintaining or reducing—rather than increasing—with each fiscal year given the current economic slowdown, it is natural to wonder how database providers will be able to sustain their current practice of charging 5%+ subscription increases each year.
Amy Clark of Brookdale Community College asked the group if anyone is currently subscribed to The Gale Group’s Academic ASAP. Brookdale has been waging an internal debate over whether they should cease its subscription to Academic ASAP and spend that money elsewhere. Although Amy likes how the database introduces novice searchers to the scholarly research experience, she questions the currency of some of the items the database normally retrieves. None of the attendees reported that their libraries subscribe to this particular Gale product.
During the course of the conversation about databases, the Chair was very interested to gauge reaction from attendees regarding the automatic citation generation functionality that many database providers have begun appending to their products over the past couple of years. The inability of the vendors to deliver a software tool that produces consistently accurate—and current –bibliographic citations is troublesome give our repeated message to students that subscription databases are synonymous with content authority. Everyone agrees that when the citation tool is demonstrated we are professionally obligated to do so with a caveat that the citation may not be accurate and that it serves primarily as a starting point.
This engendered a larger conversation regarding the role of the information professional in teaching citation styles. Given our familiarity to multiple citation styles, students commonly ask Librarians how to properly cite an information source. In most instances, however, our best practice is always to either (1) refer the student to an online or print resource that will address their need or (2) refer them to the writing center on campus. It is a narrow divide between providing a high level of customer service and trespassing on the professional obligation of teaching faculty.
The Chair also updated the group on the preparations underway at Ocean County College to begin offering a credit-bearing (3 credits) Information Literacy class in the Spring semester 2010. The Librarians at OCC are also considering the SAILS assessment instrument as a corresponding test out option. I am very grateful to Martin Crabtree for sharing his experience and familiarity with both the SAILS and TRAILS products.
I am also very excited to report that Mr. Crabtree has invited CJARL to the newly-renovated Mercer County Community College Library sometime during this academic year. Currently, we would like to schedule the next meeting for Friday, December 11, 2009. Confirmation will follow at a later date. In the meantime, however, HOLD THE DATE.
Meeting adjourned at 12:25pm.
Respectfully submitted on Friday, October 23, 2009,
Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ooops... Mistakes in the style manual
Inside Higher Ed is reporting that the recently-released 6th edition of the APA Style Guide was published with more than a few errors.
[read more here]
The article reports that, "A second printing, with corrections made, is already available at bookstores and online."
[read more here]
The article reports that, "A second printing, with corrections made, is already available at bookstores and online."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Next Meeting: October 23, 2009
The next meeting of the Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group (CJARL) will be held at Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ on October 23, 2009 from 10:00am - 12:00pm in the Library's conference room # L101D.
Light refreshments will be served.
Agenda items include:
- Progression Standards Task Force project update
- Evaluation standards for Librarian Faculty
- Electronic reserves
- New, 3-credit IL class at OCC
If you have an item that you would like to add to the agenda, please e-mail it to: gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu
Directions to Ocean County College's Toms River campus can be found here.
Light refreshments will be served.
Agenda items include:
- Progression Standards Task Force project update
- Evaluation standards for Librarian Faculty
- Electronic reserves
- New, 3-credit IL class at OCC
If you have an item that you would like to add to the agenda, please e-mail it to: gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu
Directions to Ocean County College's Toms River campus can be found here.
5 Major Research Universities Endorse Open-Access Journals
September 14, 2009. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that five institutions have signed an agreement to set up mechanisms for providing financial support for the free journals.
Read the full article [here].
Read the full article [here].
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
CJARL Meeting Notes – 5/29/2009
Location: CJRLC Offices in Freehold, NJ.
In attendance:
1. Amy Kearns Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative
2. David Peterson Burlington County College
3. Gary Schmidt Ocean County College
4. Caitlyn Cook Ocean County College
5. Steve Chudnick Brookdale Community College
6. Amy Clark Brookdale Community College
Our second meeting of the 2009 Spring Semester began a few minutes after 10:00am with our usual announcements of upcoming events and programs. Amy Kearns informed the group about a very interesting program called, “Pres4Lib: A Camp for Library Speakers and Trainers.” More information is available at their wiki page: http://pres4lib.pbworks.com/.
Amy Clark asked the group if anyone is using “Library a la Carte” (see: http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/home) to create their pathfinders/subject guides. It’s an open source software out of Oregon State. Gary mentioned that OCC has been using Delicious for web guides as a template for our print guides. Brookdale has also been considering LibGuides (see: http://demo.libguides.com/).
The group’s conversation also benefited from a wonderful presentation at the CJRLC Membership Meeting at Monroe Township Library the day before. The presentation was a discussion about the future of LIS education by Claire McInerney, PhD (Rutgers, SCILS - see: http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~clairemc/) and Joseph Lucia, University Librarian at the Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova (http://www.library.villanova.edu/About/Director). The presentation was wonderful. If you ever have the chance to hear Mr. Lucia speak, do not miss it.
We also turned our attention to the Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force Draft Document that was presented at the NJLA Conference in April, 2009. I wanted to use part of our meeting time to more deeply examine some of the questions that the Task Force addressed with the attendees at NJLA. The feedback was great and I will share it with Jacqui DaCosta and Eleonora Dubicki.
Respectfully submitted on Tuesday, June 2, 2009,
Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ
NEXT MEETING: October 23, 2009 10:00am-12:00pm at Ocean County College (Room L101D). Directions available at www.ocean.edu. Agenda to follow at a later date.
In attendance:
1. Amy Kearns Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative
2. David Peterson Burlington County College
3. Gary Schmidt Ocean County College
4. Caitlyn Cook Ocean County College
5. Steve Chudnick Brookdale Community College
6. Amy Clark Brookdale Community College
Our second meeting of the 2009 Spring Semester began a few minutes after 10:00am with our usual announcements of upcoming events and programs. Amy Kearns informed the group about a very interesting program called, “Pres4Lib: A Camp for Library Speakers and Trainers.” More information is available at their wiki page: http://pres4lib.pbworks.com/.
Amy Clark asked the group if anyone is using “Library a la Carte” (see: http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/home) to create their pathfinders/subject guides. It’s an open source software out of Oregon State. Gary mentioned that OCC has been using Delicious for web guides as a template for our print guides. Brookdale has also been considering LibGuides (see: http://demo.libguides.com/).
The group’s conversation also benefited from a wonderful presentation at the CJRLC Membership Meeting at Monroe Township Library the day before. The presentation was a discussion about the future of LIS education by Claire McInerney, PhD (Rutgers, SCILS - see: http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~clairemc/) and Joseph Lucia, University Librarian at the Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova (http://www.library.villanova.edu/About/Director). The presentation was wonderful. If you ever have the chance to hear Mr. Lucia speak, do not miss it.
We also turned our attention to the Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force Draft Document that was presented at the NJLA Conference in April, 2009. I wanted to use part of our meeting time to more deeply examine some of the questions that the Task Force addressed with the attendees at NJLA. The feedback was great and I will share it with Jacqui DaCosta and Eleonora Dubicki.
Respectfully submitted on Tuesday, June 2, 2009,
Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ
NEXT MEETING: October 23, 2009 10:00am-12:00pm at Ocean County College (Room L101D). Directions available at www.ocean.edu. Agenda to follow at a later date.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
CJARL Meeting this Friday (May 29)
The Spring meeting of the Central Jersey Academic Reference Librarians (CJARL) group will take place this Friday (May 29) from 10:00am-12:00pm at the CJRLC offices in Freehold, NJ.
Directions to CJRLC can be found here.
We've got a great agenda planned, including a discussion on the Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force draft document that was presented at the annual NJLA conference last month.
Hope to see you there.
Directions to CJRLC can be found here.
We've got a great agenda planned, including a discussion on the Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force draft document that was presented at the annual NJLA conference last month.
Hope to see you there.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Spring 2009 Meeting
Our Spring 2009 meeting will take place on Friday, May 29, 2009 from 10:00am - 12:00pm at the CJRLC offices in Freehold, NJ.
Directions to CJRLC offices in Freehold can be found here: http://catsatwork.net/joomla/directions#CJRLC
Feel free to e-mail agenda items to me at gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu.
-Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Directions to CJRLC offices in Freehold can be found here: http://catsatwork.net/joomla/directions#CJRLC
Feel free to e-mail agenda items to me at gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu.
-Gary Schmidt
Chair, CJARL
Friday, April 24, 2009
NJLA Conference Program - Information Literacy Progression Standards
Are you interested in information literacy?
Are you planning to attend the NJLA Conference on Wednesday April 29?
If so, please arrive early so that you can come to the 9:00 a.m. Discussion Forum in Atlantic IV.
Over recent months, a Task Force of NJ librarians has been working on a set of progression standards for students in two and four year colleges. We would very much like to receive your feedback on the document, which can be found (until May 1) at: http://senduit.com/f16062
If you cannot attend the session, but would still like to contribute feedback, please email me with your comments by May 8.
Hope to see you at the NJLA Conference.
Jacqui DaCosta
Eleonora Dubicki
Gary Schmidt
Are you planning to attend the NJLA Conference on Wednesday April 29?
If so, please arrive early so that you can come to the 9:00 a.m. Discussion Forum in Atlantic IV.
Over recent months, a Task Force of NJ librarians has been working on a set of progression standards for students in two and four year colleges. We would very much like to receive your feedback on the document, which can be found (until May 1) at: http://senduit.com/f16062
If you cannot attend the session, but would still like to contribute feedback, please email me with your comments by May 8.
Hope to see you at the NJLA Conference.
Jacqui DaCosta
Eleonora Dubicki
Gary Schmidt
Monday, April 20, 2009
Crowd Forms Against an Algorithm
This weekend, the New York Times published a small article by Motoko Rich on another of amazon.com's algorithmic blunders.
I've always been interested in how our indexing and cataloging practices censor information--unintentional or not. What's really interesting in this example, however, is the extent to which the twittersphere allowed for the digital panic police to let this story burn like wild fire across the wooded plains of the interwebs.
Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/weekinreview/19rich.html
link
I've always been interested in how our indexing and cataloging practices censor information--unintentional or not. What's really interesting in this example, however, is the extent to which the twittersphere allowed for the digital panic police to let this story burn like wild fire across the wooded plains of the interwebs.
Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/weekinreview/19rich.html
link
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Agenda for our Meeting on Friday, February 13th (10am-12pm)
Location: Ocean County College Library, Toms River, NJ (Room L101D)
Date & Time: Friday, February 13, 2009 (10am-12pm)
Light refreshments will be served.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Date & Time: Friday, February 13, 2009 (10am-12pm)
- Welcome & Introductions.
- Events & Programs Announcements.
- Update on Progression Standards joint project with VALE_SIL and NJACRL_UE.
- What I learned at VALE: VALE Users' Conference Reactions.
- Shrinking economy and growing enrollment.
- Reader's Advisory: Read any good books lately?
- 2009/10 CJARL Chairperson.
- Electronic Reserves.
- Database news.
- Update on new projects and innovative thinking at your library.
- April/May meeting.
Light refreshments will be served.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Academic Library Research: Perspectives and Current Trends
Marie Radford, PhD (Rutgers University) has a new book out called, Academic Library Research: Perspectives and Current Trends (2008). Co-edited with Pamela Snelson (Franklin & Marshall). In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former student of Dr. Radford's. For those of us who know her, this book is sure to be a very worthwhile read. I'm looking forward to getting my copy. For more information, go to: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=2515
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