So, like, it’s been a while, huh? Well, after all that exciting budget stuff -and the creation of LibraryLinkNJ- the CJRLC blog and meetings are back! So if you’ve been checking the blog and haven’t found anything exciting for a while well now, hopefully, you’ll find some exciting stuff. A couple of quick notes.
1. There will be a CJRLC meeting on Wednesday August 10th from 10am to noon. The meeting will be held at Mercer County Community College. Directions and parking information located here. If you’d like to come please RSVP to me. Our topic will be reference collection development and guides to selecting references resources.
2. The meeting minutes will still get posted here so if you miss a meeting you can read all about it here.
3. I’d like to update this blog semi-regularly with relevant articles, topics and “guest” posts about anything relating to academic reference. So, if you’ve got any ideas, know of an interesting article or want to write a post please feel free to contact me.
Also I’d like to thank Gary Schmidt of Ocean County Community College for helping with CJRLC and allowing me to take over the Chair. I look forward to meeting everyone hope we can really take off.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, November 1, 2010
Meeting Outcome(s):
I hesitate to refer to this blog posting as the minutes from our last meeting. That sounds entirely too formal—and, frankly, not particularly accurate either. I’d rather refer to what follows as, “The Meeting Outcome(s).” They’ll serve more as a brief synopsis of what was discussed and, more importantly, an outline from which we can evolve and grow our conversation.
Now with that out of the way, I’m very happy to report that CJARL convened last week for the first meeting of the Fall semester. Even though we get together right before Halloween almost every year, there was something special about this meeting because it was the first one to occur in a “post-CJRLC” world. In other words, it serves to signify our intent to continue our tradition, leverage our core principles, and grow our ranks.
Our agenda was, er, ambitious, as always. But we’re a discussion group, after all. One of our greatest assets is our ability to foster open and honest discussion, right?
The item on the agenda that was afforded the greatest amount of time and focus pertained to the future of CJARL. Two important items came from that portion of the conversation. First, the meetings should begin incorporating regular opportunities for resource sharing. Bring your toolbox and share what you’re learned and the resources you’ve developed to assist your students and patrons. Also, if you’re preparing a presentation or an article for publication or even if you just want to explore the boundaries of a research question, put it on the table for some good old fashioned peer review. In short, let’s leverage our collective experience. Secondly, the group should begin encouraging attendance from among the ranks of Librarians at 4-year institutions. Over the years, numbers of regular attendees from 4-yerars schools has decreased. It’s vital to keep them engaged in the conversation.
I’ve agreed to continue to serve as Chair until such time that some brave soul chooses to take my place. This will be my third year as Chair, so if anyone has any interest in taking on the duties of Chair, please don’t be shy.
Our next meeting will be in December. The exact date has not yet been set, but it will most likely be on a Friday from 10am-12pm.
Until then....
Now with that out of the way, I’m very happy to report that CJARL convened last week for the first meeting of the Fall semester. Even though we get together right before Halloween almost every year, there was something special about this meeting because it was the first one to occur in a “post-CJRLC” world. In other words, it serves to signify our intent to continue our tradition, leverage our core principles, and grow our ranks.
Our agenda was, er, ambitious, as always. But we’re a discussion group, after all. One of our greatest assets is our ability to foster open and honest discussion, right?
The item on the agenda that was afforded the greatest amount of time and focus pertained to the future of CJARL. Two important items came from that portion of the conversation. First, the meetings should begin incorporating regular opportunities for resource sharing. Bring your toolbox and share what you’re learned and the resources you’ve developed to assist your students and patrons. Also, if you’re preparing a presentation or an article for publication or even if you just want to explore the boundaries of a research question, put it on the table for some good old fashioned peer review. In short, let’s leverage our collective experience. Secondly, the group should begin encouraging attendance from among the ranks of Librarians at 4-year institutions. Over the years, numbers of regular attendees from 4-yerars schools has decreased. It’s vital to keep them engaged in the conversation.
I’ve agreed to continue to serve as Chair until such time that some brave soul chooses to take my place. This will be my third year as Chair, so if anyone has any interest in taking on the duties of Chair, please don’t be shy.
Our next meeting will be in December. The exact date has not yet been set, but it will most likely be on a Friday from 10am-12pm.
Until then....
Friday, October 29, 2010
NJEDge Conference 7.0: Aligning the Ubiquitous Campus
November 17 – 19, 2010
Register for attending this year’s NJEDge annual conference: http://njedge.net/conference/2010/
On Wednesday, Nov 17th, at 1:30pm we open with Google "From the Clouds: Google Digital Books and Education Apps in Large Classes" with Chris Palm, Manager of Strategic Partnerships for Google Books, Google Scholar, Google News Archive Search, and Google Magazines. This is a good opportunity to find out how Google’s digital books and research sources affect an institutional library. This session is for 1hr and 15mins for the purpose of allowing more Q&A.
Following the Google talk will be breakout session on Abilene Christina University’s initiative on "iPadin Every Student Hand...." Kevin Roberts who heads the program that seems destined for campuses adoption will talk ACU’s successful pilot program. In discussion will be issues that will affect you, the library, students and school policies.
Our keynote speaker on Thursday is Dr. Peter Smith, a renowned academic whose recent book "Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning" brings up issues regarding digital libraries.
At the first breakout session on Thursday, 10:30, Cathy Kelley (FDU) and Mary Jane Clerkin (Berkley) will present on "E-readers & e-books: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Both schools have pilot programs, using Kindle, Sony Reader and iPad Touch this year. This session shows some of the advantages and shortcomings of e-texts and e-readers.
At 11:45, Ken Ronkowitz from Passaic County Community College weighs in on open text books. "It’s anOpen Book: Adopting Open Textbooks" is treatise on why this option is good for learning, good for teaching, and good for the pocket book.
The afternoon has a talk by Perry Samson, "Surprise! Laptops INCREASE Student Engagement in Large Classes." Be sure to stay for Sujay Daniel’s reveal of NJVid.Net.
President Crabill of Raritan Valley Community College will talk about the community college’s Big Idea Initiative.
Taras Pavlovsky, Dean of the Library at The College of New Jersey, and John Brennan, Digital Projects Coordinator for Rutgers University Libraries collaborate on Friday for their poster session on “Partnering Today to Manage Tomorrow’s Libraries.” Here’s your chance to talk directly to them about The VALE OLE Initiative, which brings together leading academic libraries within New Jersey in partnership to employ the Kuali OLE open source library management software.
The conference ends with fireworks! David Pogue of The New York Times will be speaking about "Web2.0, Social Media, and Other Buzzwards."
Register for attending this year’s NJEDge annual conference: http://njedge.net/conference/2010/
On Wednesday, Nov 17th, at 1:30pm we open with Google "From the Clouds: Google Digital Books and Education Apps in Large Classes" with Chris Palm, Manager of Strategic Partnerships for Google Books, Google Scholar, Google News Archive Search, and Google Magazines. This is a good opportunity to find out how Google’s digital books and research sources affect an institutional library. This session is for 1hr and 15mins for the purpose of allowing more Q&A.
Following the Google talk will be breakout session on Abilene Christina University’s initiative on "iPadin Every Student Hand...." Kevin Roberts who heads the program that seems destined for campuses adoption will talk ACU’s successful pilot program. In discussion will be issues that will affect you, the library, students and school policies.
Our keynote speaker on Thursday is Dr. Peter Smith, a renowned academic whose recent book "Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning" brings up issues regarding digital libraries.
At the first breakout session on Thursday, 10:30, Cathy Kelley (FDU) and Mary Jane Clerkin (Berkley) will present on "E-readers & e-books: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Both schools have pilot programs, using Kindle, Sony Reader and iPad Touch this year. This session shows some of the advantages and shortcomings of e-texts and e-readers.
At 11:45, Ken Ronkowitz from Passaic County Community College weighs in on open text books. "It’s anOpen Book: Adopting Open Textbooks" is treatise on why this option is good for learning, good for teaching, and good for the pocket book.
The afternoon has a talk by Perry Samson, "Surprise! Laptops INCREASE Student Engagement in Large Classes." Be sure to stay for Sujay Daniel’s reveal of NJVid.Net.
President Crabill of Raritan Valley Community College will talk about the community college’s Big Idea Initiative.
Taras Pavlovsky, Dean of the Library at The College of New Jersey, and John Brennan, Digital Projects Coordinator for Rutgers University Libraries collaborate on Friday for their poster session on “Partnering Today to Manage Tomorrow’s Libraries.” Here’s your chance to talk directly to them about The VALE OLE Initiative, which brings together leading academic libraries within New Jersey in partnership to employ the Kuali OLE open source library management software.
The conference ends with fireworks! David Pogue of The New York Times will be speaking about "Web2.0, Social Media, and Other Buzzwards."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Meeting Agenda
WHERE: Ocean County College Library (Room L101D) / Toms River, NJ
WHEN: Friday, October 29, 2010 / 10:00am – 12:00pm
Driving directions and campus map available here.
*optional lunch to follow the meeting at a local restaurant*
INTRODUCTION
I. Welcome & introductions
II. Upcoming event & program announcements
III. Update: Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force
A. Recent “road show” presentations and endorsements
B. Next phase(s) in the project
PRIMARY TOPICS
I. The future of CJARL given the demise of CJRLC
A. What should the future of CJARL look like?
B. What is our most valuable asset?
C. What could we do better?
II. New models for reference desk coverage
A. “On Call”
B. “The Roaming / Mobile Librarian”
III. Evaluating Librarian faculty
IV. Update on credit bearing (3 credits) Information Literacy class at OCC
V. Front-end revisions to discovery software
A. EbscoHost
B. JSTOR
C. Likes? Dislikes? Quirks? Problems?
CONCLUSION
I. Reader's advisory for reference Librarians
II. Nominations for a new CJARL Chairperson
WHEN: Friday, October 29, 2010 / 10:00am – 12:00pm
Driving directions and campus map available here.
*optional lunch to follow the meeting at a local restaurant*
INTRODUCTION
I. Welcome & introductions
II. Upcoming event & program announcements
III. Update: Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force
A. Recent “road show” presentations and endorsements
B. Next phase(s) in the project
PRIMARY TOPICS
I. The future of CJARL given the demise of CJRLC
A. What should the future of CJARL look like?
B. What is our most valuable asset?
C. What could we do better?
II. New models for reference desk coverage
A. “On Call”
B. “The Roaming / Mobile Librarian”
III. Evaluating Librarian faculty
IV. Update on credit bearing (3 credits) Information Literacy class at OCC
V. Front-end revisions to discovery software
A. EbscoHost
B. JSTOR
C. Likes? Dislikes? Quirks? Problems?
CONCLUSION
I. Reader's advisory for reference Librarians
II. Nominations for a new CJARL Chairperson
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
New Meeting Date Announced
Save the date!
The next meeting of the Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group will be held on Friday, October October 29, 2010 (10AM - 12PM) at Ocean County College Library in Toms River, NJ.
We have a lot to discuss--due in large part to the drastic changes that have occurred across the New Jersey Library landscape over the past 6 months. Among them was the dissolution of our parenting agent, the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative.
I'll post a detailed agenda at this blog in the coming weeks. Of course, if you have an item that you would like to add, please send me an e-mail and I will include it on the agenda.
NB: If your schedule allows, a post-meeting lunch at a local restaurant is always a welcome idea.
If you plan on attending, please RSVP to gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the 29th.
The next meeting of the Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group will be held on Friday, October October 29, 2010 (10AM - 12PM) at Ocean County College Library in Toms River, NJ.
We have a lot to discuss--due in large part to the drastic changes that have occurred across the New Jersey Library landscape over the past 6 months. Among them was the dissolution of our parenting agent, the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative.
I'll post a detailed agenda at this blog in the coming weeks. Of course, if you have an item that you would like to add, please send me an e-mail and I will include it on the agenda.
NB: If your schedule allows, a post-meeting lunch at a local restaurant is always a welcome idea.
If you plan on attending, please RSVP to gschmidt [at] ocean [dot] edu. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the 29th.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Changes at JSTOR don't look good.
I'm not sure if everyone has seen the changes to JSTOR's interface yet but if not its worth pointing them out. Basically the default setting will now searches JSTOR's entire collection whether you want it to or not. You have to use the advanced search to limit to just the things your library subscribes to.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, this blog post does a good job discussing what's at issue: http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2010/08/24/whats-the-deal-jstor/
Rather than reinventing the wheel, this blog post does a good job discussing what's at issue: http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2010/08/24/whats-the-deal-jstor/
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
And Now For Something Completely Different....
...and by that I mean: good news!
The news lately has been more than just a little depressing. But my Director just informed his Librarians that, "Norma Blake of the State Library announced yesterday at the VALE Members Council that the state will underwrite the costs of state-wide access to ASP for FY11."
Academic Search Premier is an essential--and equally expensive--database. I can tell you that our budget would have taken a huge hit if we had to pay for the subscription ourselves.
The news lately has been more than just a little depressing. But my Director just informed his Librarians that, "Norma Blake of the State Library announced yesterday at the VALE Members Council that the state will underwrite the costs of state-wide access to ASP for FY11."
Academic Search Premier is an essential--and equally expensive--database. I can tell you that our budget would have taken a huge hit if we had to pay for the subscription ourselves.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
2/26/10 Meeting Canceled
Due to anticipated inclement weather on Friday, February 26, 2010, the next meeting of the Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group (CJARL) has been canceled.
The date for our Spring meeting will be determined shortly.
The date for our Spring meeting will be determined shortly.
Monday, February 22, 2010
AGENDA - 2/26/2010 Meeting
CJRLC Headquarters
Freehold, NJ
Friday, February 26, 2010
10:00am – 12:00pm
• Welcome & introductions
• Upcoming event & program announcements
• Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force update
• Reactions to VALE Users’ Conference
• Christie Administration’s F.Y. 2010 budget reductions
• Increasing demand for information literacy instruction
• Reader's advisory for reference librarians
• Updates on new projects and innovative thinking at your library
• Nominations for new CJARL Chairperson
• Lunch at a local restaurant in Freehold following the meeting (optional)
Freehold, NJ
Friday, February 26, 2010
10:00am – 12:00pm
• Welcome & introductions
• Upcoming event & program announcements
• Information Literacy Progression Standards Task Force update
• Reactions to VALE Users’ Conference
• Christie Administration’s F.Y. 2010 budget reductions
• Increasing demand for information literacy instruction
• Reader's advisory for reference librarians
• Updates on new projects and innovative thinking at your library
• Nominations for new CJARL Chairperson
• Lunch at a local restaurant in Freehold following the meeting (optional)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Christie Proposes $721,000 Reduction to Library Programs
This just in from Pat Tumulty, Executive Director of NJLA:
[begins]
To the members of the library community,
On Thursday Governor Christie announced he was “freezing” the current state budget. This will have an impact on the library community. Unfortunately, he is proposing a total of $ 721,000 in reductions to library programs. The reductions are in the following areas: NJ Library Network Aid $373,000; Knowledge Initiative $231,000; and Virtual Library Aid $117,000.
The New Jersey State Library is reviewing the implications of these cuts on current programs and will be sending further information to the library community.
NJLA is preparing a press release on these budget reductions and will testify at a budget hearing on Wednesday.
[ends]
[begins]
To the members of the library community,
On Thursday Governor Christie announced he was “freezing” the current state budget. This will have an impact on the library community. Unfortunately, he is proposing a total of $ 721,000 in reductions to library programs. The reductions are in the following areas: NJ Library Network Aid $373,000; Knowledge Initiative $231,000; and Virtual Library Aid $117,000.
The New Jersey State Library is reviewing the implications of these cuts on current programs and will be sending further information to the library community.
NJLA is preparing a press release on these budget reductions and will testify at a budget hearing on Wednesday.
[ends]
Monday, January 11, 2010
A Webinar on Zotero: A Next Generation Research / Citation Tool for Firefox
WHEN: January 13, 10-Noon
COST: $10.00
(CE Available)
ONLINE REGISTRATION
Library research tools have moved not only onto the web, but into the browser software itself.
Zotero (http://www.zotero.org) is a free Firefox add-on that allows students and researchers to save citations and create bibliographies.
It is as easy to learn and use as iTunes and more powerful than commercial competitors like EndNote and RefWorks. New features such as online storage and shared libraries help researchers collaborate online.
Open source browser plug-ins like Zotero can help library users at every stage of the research cycle, from search and discovery to writing and citation. By using free, open source tools, libraries can offer assistance and resources with little cost and foster skills that patrons can use throughout life.
Participants will learn to:
1) identify some of the advantages of using open-source software tools in library research
2) install the Zotero plugin for Firefox
3) save citations and build a personal citation library
4) synchronize your Zotero library and access it from any computer running Firefox
5) automatically generate bibliographies
6) share references and collaborate using Zotero's new groups feature
Intended Audience:
Library staff who assist researchers, students and anyone else needing to save citations and create bibliographies.
About the Presenter:
Jason Puckett is Librarian for Communication and Educational Technologies at Georgia State University Library. He blogs at http://jasonpuckett.net and is co-producer of the Adventures in Library Instruction podcast (http://adlibinstruction.blogspot.com).
NOTE: This Webinar is being hosted on CJRLC's iLinc Webinar Platform Please follow this link for instructions on setting up your PC prior to the webinar.)
COST: $10.00
(CE Available)
ONLINE REGISTRATION
Library research tools have moved not only onto the web, but into the browser software itself.
Zotero (http://www.zotero.org) is a free Firefox add-on that allows students and researchers to save citations and create bibliographies.
It is as easy to learn and use as iTunes and more powerful than commercial competitors like EndNote and RefWorks. New features such as online storage and shared libraries help researchers collaborate online.
Open source browser plug-ins like Zotero can help library users at every stage of the research cycle, from search and discovery to writing and citation. By using free, open source tools, libraries can offer assistance and resources with little cost and foster skills that patrons can use throughout life.
Participants will learn to:
1) identify some of the advantages of using open-source software tools in library research
2) install the Zotero plugin for Firefox
3) save citations and build a personal citation library
4) synchronize your Zotero library and access it from any computer running Firefox
5) automatically generate bibliographies
6) share references and collaborate using Zotero's new groups feature
Intended Audience:
Library staff who assist researchers, students and anyone else needing to save citations and create bibliographies.
About the Presenter:
Jason Puckett is Librarian for Communication and Educational Technologies at Georgia State University Library. He blogs at http://jasonpuckett.net and is co-producer of the Adventures in Library Instruction podcast (http://adlibinstruction.blogspot.com).
NOTE: This Webinar is being hosted on CJRLC's iLinc Webinar Platform Please follow this link for instructions on setting up your PC prior to the webinar.)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
February Meeting - Save the date!
The next meeting of the Central New Jersey Academic Reference Librarians Group will be held on Friday, February 26, 2010 (10AM - 12PM) at Central New Jersey Regional Library HQ in Freehold, NJ.
Directions to the Freehold office can be found here.
If you have an item that you would like to add to our discussion, please just send me an e-mail and I will add it to our agenda.
NB: Following our last meeting, many of us reconvened at a local restaurant for lunch. The event proved very popular and the suggestion to continue this practice was made by more than one participant. Certainly, the post-meeting lunch is obligatory, but all are welcome to join us.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Directions to the Freehold office can be found here.
If you have an item that you would like to add to our discussion, please just send me an e-mail and I will add it to our agenda.
NB: Following our last meeting, many of us reconvened at a local restaurant for lunch. The event proved very popular and the suggestion to continue this practice was made by more than one participant. Certainly, the post-meeting lunch is obligatory, but all are welcome to join us.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Minutes from 12/4/2009 Meeting
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.
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.
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
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