Portfolio 2008-09

Cynthia Akers

Information Literacy and Outreach Coordinator

ESU Libraries and Archives

ULA Faculty Meeting, April 20, 2009

Teaching/PerformanceInstruction/Assessment:Wrote a proposal to offer sections of UL100, “Information Literacy and Technology”, as a pilot project for the Spring 2009 semester (April 2008) With Dr. Anthony Ambrosio, ESU Assessment Director, coordinated and administered Project SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) as a post-test in Composition II courses and a random sample of seniors taking the CAAP exam to establish baseline data (May 2008)Taught a training session for LibGuides for ULA faculty (February 12, 2009) Created online research guides via LibGuides for “Composition II Resources”, “Library and Information Management Resources”, and “Literature Resources” (Spring 2009; my LibGuides profile also features my individual instant messaging window via Meebo) Taught one section of UL100C, “Information Literacy and Technology” as a two-hour-credit course via face-to-face and Blackboard (Spring 2009) Revised and updated “Library Instruction Statistics Form” to reflect a summative assessment of instructional sessions and teaching; transferred the form to Google Docs for more accurate reporting of statistics (Spring 2009) Created a formative assessment on Google Docs for Composition II students to learn more about their previous library instruction experiences in order to refine our instructional and teaching activities (Spring 2009)

OutreachCreated a blog, “Library Lines Online”, for updates on University Libraries and Archives services, resources, and activities (Fall 2008): http://librarylinesonline.blogspot.com Organized and coordinated a University-wide Open House for the remodeled 1st floor of William Allen White Library (September 3, 2008)

Organized and presented, with ESULA members and WAW Children’s Book Awards Committee members, a display for the William Allen White Children’s Book Awards, Kansas City Literary Festival, Kansas City, MO Plaza (May 17, 2008) Organized and presented, with ESULA members and WAW Children’s Book Awards Committee members, a display for the William Allen White Children’s Book Awards, River City Reading Festival, Lawrence, KS (September 27, 2008)

 Chair, ULA Publicity/Outreach Committee (Fall 2008-Spring 2009); contributed articles to “Library Lines”, print and online newsletter of University Libraries and Archives Continued collaboration with Kim Holcomb, ESU Writing Center Director, to host “Writing Center Night in the Library” on Tuesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Fall 2008-Spring 2009) Coordinated the Libraries and Archives’ recognized student organization, ESULA (Empowered Students for University Libraries and Archives), serving as faculty adviser for the 2008-09 academic year.

ResearchWith ESULA members, presented a panel discussion titled “ESULA: Changing Perceptions of the Academic Library through Student Activism”, Kansas Library Conference, Wichita, KS (April 9, 2008) Wrote and submitted a presentation proposal, “What Do They Know, and How Do We Find Out?  Practical Adventures in Information Literacy Assessment”, for the 37 th Annual LOEX Conference (November 21, 2008; the proposal was not accepted but will be a good basis for a future journal article.) Presenter, “Maybe They Know, and Maybe They Don’t! Practical Academic Adventures in Information Literacy Assessment”, Kansas Library Association/Mountain Plains Library Association Joint Conference, Wichita, KS (April 3, 2009)

Applied and accepted to the American Library Association – Association for College and Research Libraries Institute for Information Literacy Assessment Immersion Track, Nashville, TN (December 4-7, 2008; 40 out of 120 applicants were accepted to this program)

Learning More about Assessment: The IIL Assessment Program

• Sponsored by ACRL; outgrowth of the long-standing Institute for Information Literacy Immersion Programs for Teacher Track, Program Track, and Intentional Teacher Track

• Assessment Track was offered for the first time December 4-7, 2008, Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville, TN

• Application process took place in June 2008• 40 people accepted out of approximately 120

applications• Next application process should be available this spring:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/infolit/professactivity/iil/immersion/Immersion_09_Invitat.cfm

When They Say “Immersion”…Take It Seriously!

Schedule started at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, December 4

All day (and evening!) Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6

All morning until 2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 7

What Did We Learn?

NOTE: Much information from the Immersion Programs is proprietary.

In general, though, we covered:• Vocabulary and Philosophy of Assessment• How to write student learning outcomes

using the IOT formula (in order to)• How to write rubrics and criteria for

assessments of assignments, courses, programs

• How to develop an institutional plan for information literacy assessment

• And finally for every assessment: Start with the Outcomes!!

Application of Learning:Spring 2009 and Beyond

Classroom AssessmentComposition II:Assessment of prior library instruction before any Comp. II library instruction takes place

UL100, Information Literacy and TechnologyPre-test of existing information literacy competenciesPlanning a post-test at the end of Spring 2009 semesterWrote a rubric for UL100 course assessment (to be implemented Fall 2009)

Revised student library instruction evaluation forms

Programmatic AssessmentRevised library instruction statistics reporting forms to reflect more accurately the disciplines we are and are NOT currently reaching

Institutional AssessmentWorking with ESU Assessment Director for future implementation of Project SAILS as pre-test and post-test of ESU freshmen and seniors

ServiceMember, ESU Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs search committee (Spring 2008)

With Terri Summey, taught a Resources for Living course, “Wikis and Blogs, Oh My!” This course is part of an ongoing cooperative series of free courses sponsored by ESU Libraries and Archives, the Emporia Public Library, Flint Hills Technical College, Emporia School District, ESU School of Library and Information Management, and the State Library of Kansas (July 9, 2008)  Appointed to a one-year term as Kansas Library Association Past President (July 2008-June 2009). Responsibilities in this position include:

Service on the Kansas Library Association Executive Board and the Kansas Library Association CouncilChair, Kansas Library Association Nominating CommitteeChair, Kansas Library Association Presidential Awards Committee 2nd Vice President, Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section (elected Spring 2009) 

ServiceRepresentative to the ESU Vice President for Academic Affairs Advisory Committee (Fall 2008-Spring 2009; I represent the Libraries and Archives and the School of Library and Information Management) Member, Environment Implementation Team, ESU Strategic Planning Task Force (Spring 2009) ESU Libraries and Archives representative, 2008 Kansas Notable Books Selection Committee (sponsored by the Kansas Center for the Book, State Library of Kansas, June 2007-July 2008) Judge for poster sessions, ESU Research and Creativity Forum (April 10, 2008) Judge for poster sessions, ESU Assessment Forum (February 20, 2009) Member, ESU Teaching-Learning-Assessment Committee (Fall 2008-Spring 2009) Book reviewer, Emporia Public Library “On the Shelf” column, Emporia Gazette

Outcomes, 2009-10OVERALL OUTCOMES• Delegate more activities to the Instruction Team and the Publicity/Outreach

Committee, serving more as a coordinator for general oversight of instruction and outreach

• Seek opportunities for professional development seminars addressing time management and communication skills. I am already signed up to attend a CareerTrack seminar, “Communicating with Tact and Professionalism”, May 20-21, 2009

• Work with the Collection Development Committee and the ULA Administrative Team in Spring 2009 to identify an internal candidate for the Collection Development Coordinator position, and mentor that candidate during Summer 2009

         

Outcomes, 2009-10TEACHING/PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY DUTIES OUTCOMES (70%) Instruction/Assessment:• Coordinate overall structure and assessment of UL100, “Information

Literacy and Outreach”, beginning in Fall 2009• With Instruction Team, create rubrics for measuring general information

literacy learning outcomes in UL100• With Instruction Team, create rubrics for measuring upper-level information

literacy learning outcomes in subject-specific undergraduate and graduate level research courses

• Investigate software options to create interactive tutorials for databases, virtual library tours, and videos for distance education

• Continue work with ESU’s Assessment and Teaching Enhancement Center to identify reliable assessment methods for ULA services and resources

• Revisit LibQUAL+, an assessment of library service quality by patrons, for potential implementation in 2009-10 academic year

         Outreach:Continue to seek opportunities to market and promote ULA resources and services across the ESU campus and the Emporia communityCollaborate with entities such as the International Student Office and the Center for Campus Involvement to learn more about students’ actual vs. perceived needs for library services and resourcesEstablish more effective relationships with the Bulletin, ESU Marketing Office, and ESU Public Relations Office to promote ULA as a “place” and a “space” Other:Continue to build relationships with faculty for collection development activities in my assigned academic departmentsEvaluate for potential weeding/deselection and updates of the print Reference collection and the print circulating collections in my assigned Collection Development subject areas  RESEARCH (20%)Seek opportunities to attend and present at state, regional, and national conferences related to instruction, outreach, and assessmentWrite an article for submission to a peer-reviewed library journal based upon my experiences with the ILI Assessment Immersion Track and information literacy assessment plans for our program SERVICE (10%)Seek opportunities for professional service in Kansas related to instruction, assessment, and outreach 

Outcomes, 2009-10Outreach:• Continue to seek opportunities to market and promote ULA resources and

services across the ESU campus and the Emporia community• Collaborate with entities such as the International Student Office and the

Center for Campus Involvement to learn more about students’ actual vs. perceived needs for library services and resources

• Establish more effective relationships with the Bulletin, ESU Marketing Office, and ESU Public Relations Office to promote ULA as a “place” and a “space”

 Other:• Continue to build relationships with faculty for collection development

activities in my assigned academic departments• Evaluate for potential weeding/deselection and updates of the print

Reference collection and the print circulating collections in my assigned Collection Development subject areas

 

Outcomes, 2009-10RESEARCH (20%)• Seek opportunities to attend and present at state, regional, and national

conferences related to instruction, outreach, and assessment• Write an article for submission to a peer-reviewed library journal based

upon my experiences with the ILI Assessment Immersion Track and information literacy assessment plans for our program

 SERVICE (10%)• Seek opportunities for professional service in Kansas related to instruction,

assessment, and outreach