I read about This Week in Libraries in an older issue of American Libraries (I'm always so behind on reading those), and I would highly recommend checking it out.
This Week in Libraries is a periodic series of video interviews with library-related folks from around the world. The video interviews are conducted by two Dutch librarians: Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Greer.
They aren't airing any new episodes just yet (they're supposed to start up again sometime this month), but there are 62 older episodes to watch. I've watched four so far, and while some are less relevant to me than others, they all have some interesting tidbits. Plus, they are the perfect length to watch during my lunch break.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Get Rid of the Traditional Research Paper in the first years
Barbara Fister has a very interesting article on the Inside Higher Ed's Library Babel Fish blog called Why the "Research Paper" Isn't Working. She argues that the first year of college isn't the time to hammer in the nitty gritties of citation styles. Nor is it time to have students write the traditional research paper.
I heartily agree. Citation styles are ridiculously specific. I find myself telling students all the time that most professors aren't going to give them a hard time about how they cited a website (or other challenging source to site) - in most cases, the professor has no idea how to do it either (nor do I, for that matter - or at least, no idea on how to make it close to perfect).
The traditional research paper is also very hard for intro students. It's hard to go out and research the literature of an unfamiliar field, combine all that data, and produce a coherent paper. Especially when faculty are demanding peer-reviewed articles. I'm always surprised at the number of students in intro courses who come into the library saying they need peer-reviewed articles. I can't even read the peer-reviewed science stuff - why are they asking students to? I understand that becoming familiar with peer-reviewed research is key, but wait until students are beyond the intro courses and have a knowledge base on which to build.
A very interesting article - well-worth a read.
I heartily agree. Citation styles are ridiculously specific. I find myself telling students all the time that most professors aren't going to give them a hard time about how they cited a website (or other challenging source to site) - in most cases, the professor has no idea how to do it either (nor do I, for that matter - or at least, no idea on how to make it close to perfect).
The traditional research paper is also very hard for intro students. It's hard to go out and research the literature of an unfamiliar field, combine all that data, and produce a coherent paper. Especially when faculty are demanding peer-reviewed articles. I'm always surprised at the number of students in intro courses who come into the library saying they need peer-reviewed articles. I can't even read the peer-reviewed science stuff - why are they asking students to? I understand that becoming familiar with peer-reviewed research is key, but wait until students are beyond the intro courses and have a knowledge base on which to build.
A very interesting article - well-worth a read.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It could have been me?
An adjunct librarian shot and killed a librarian at Northeast Lakeview College near San Antonio, Texas. Read the story here and here.
The crazy part?
1. I applied for a job at this college in Fall 2007.
2. I had a phone interview.
3. The interviewer said they were VERY interested in me - I fit the position perfectly.
4. My boyfriend decided to take a job in Pittsburgh instead of Texas, so I turned down the in-person interview.
5. The murdered librarian was the one who was hired for that very same job.
Yikes.
Based on the comments on a blog they set up in his memory, he was a fantastic librarian with a great passion for helping students. What a terrible tragedy and such a loss for that college, everyone who knew him, and the library community.
The crazy part?
1. I applied for a job at this college in Fall 2007.
2. I had a phone interview.
3. The interviewer said they were VERY interested in me - I fit the position perfectly.
4. My boyfriend decided to take a job in Pittsburgh instead of Texas, so I turned down the in-person interview.
5. The murdered librarian was the one who was hired for that very same job.
Yikes.
Based on the comments on a blog they set up in his memory, he was a fantastic librarian with a great passion for helping students. What a terrible tragedy and such a loss for that college, everyone who knew him, and the library community.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
News in 100 words or less
About a week ago, someone sent an email about Brijit to a listserv I am on.
What Brijit does: Every time a new article is published in certain magazines or newspapers, it's offered up for summarization. The number of summarizers is fixed - to about 3. These summarizers then read the article and write a long description of the article that is 100 words or less. Only one summary is chosen for inclusion on Brijit. The writer of the chosen summary receives $5.
So basically, you can pop over to Brijit and get the news in a lot less time. No longer do you have to read lengthy articles. Brijit provides the short summaries for you.
An interesting concept. Read more about it in this National Post article.
What Brijit does: Every time a new article is published in certain magazines or newspapers, it's offered up for summarization. The number of summarizers is fixed - to about 3. These summarizers then read the article and write a long description of the article that is 100 words or less. Only one summary is chosen for inclusion on Brijit. The writer of the chosen summary receives $5.
So basically, you can pop over to Brijit and get the news in a lot less time. No longer do you have to read lengthy articles. Brijit provides the short summaries for you.
An interesting concept. Read more about it in this National Post article.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Library + Hotel = Good idea?
I am not sure what to think about this, other than, why not? The NYT ran an article detailing plans of the Donnell branch of the New York Public Library to sell their current space to a hotel company for oodles of money - with the stipulation that the library gets the first floor and two floors below ground.
They need money, their branch needs remodeled desperately, why not take the $59 million? Plus, being in a hotel might increase traffic, although I wonder what sorts of issues will come up with regards to travelers wanting to borrow books. Of course, "The two operations will have separate entrances and be divided by a wall."
They need money, their branch needs remodeled desperately, why not take the $59 million? Plus, being in a hotel might increase traffic, although I wonder what sorts of issues will come up with regards to travelers wanting to borrow books. Of course, "The two operations will have separate entrances and be divided by a wall."
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