RUShing @ Wits

RUSh: Read, Understand, Share: Wits Libraries Journal Club

Janie Johnson, Wits University, Architecture Librarian

16 Nov 2010, Gaelic Marketing Fair

Background: Continuous professional learning

Looking at ways to cope with professional learning in the workplace

• Regular ECR training sessions, • Communities of Practice (COP’s)• Mentoring• Workshops, seminars, conferences• Establishing a Journal Club: A formal or informal group that

meets professionally to discuss recently published scholarly journal articles on topics related to an academic discipline or profession. Journal clubs are common in the sciences and medicine, serving as vehicle for continuing education. Applied to academic librarianship, see "A Librarians Journal Club: A Forum for Sharing Ideas and Experiences" by Theodore Hickman and Lisa Allen in the October 2005 of C&RL News.

The Journal Club in practiceHealth Sciences • Old established practice in academic circles, started in the sciences. • 1st reported journal club in 1835 at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. • 1st recorded medical journal club was in 1875 at McGill University, Montreal Canada,

known for its award-winning research on international level. (Afifi,Y et al. The Journal club: a modern model for better service and training. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, 2006;8:186-189) Author defines the strategy of the journal club: “to foster deep and life-long learning so that evidence can be usefully employed, along with experience and patients’ preferences.’

• This practice was started for students due to large quantities of published Health Science research articles relevant to medical studies.

Library Journal Clubs• The origin of journal clubs in academic librarianship is unclear but its usefulness has been

demonstrated in US University Libraries such as British Columbia, Florida , Minnesota (Science & Engineering Librarians Jnls Club); in UK university libraries such as the Oxfordshire Librarians Club ... and lately at SA universities UCT & Wits.

• During a 2009 visit to A&M University, Texas US, it was clear to me that librarianship in the US is much more of a ‘profession’ than in SA.

A profession?• An occupation with its core element: ‘work based upon the mastery of a

complex body of knowledge and skills’. • A vocation in which a body of scientific knowledge is used in the service of

others. • Members of a profession are governed by codes of ethics and profess a

commitment to competence, integrity and morality, altruism, and the promotion of the public good within their domain.

• Such commitments form the basis of a social contract between a profession and society, which in return grants the profession a monopoly over the use of its knowledge base, the right to considerable autonomy in practice and the privilege of self-regulation.

• Professions and their members are accountable to those served and to society. Cruess,SR; Johnston,S; Cruess, RL “Profession": A Working Definition for

Medical Educators . Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2004:16:1 January, pg74 - 76

Why a journal club?• Many advantages in sharing new knowledge and ideas.• Library professionals do not have enough time/opportunities to discuss issues

arising from the professional literature, yet these issues impact on day-to-day activities.

• A&M University in its 2020 Vision recognizes ‘that the technology related to the storage, access and distribution of knowledge resources has changed as much in the last decade, as in all 550 years since the invention of movable type’.

• A&M also recognizes that the processes by which scholars communicate and by which the research activity is reviewed, archived and disseminated have changed. The library has to facilitate this.

• Librarians are on the forefront of managing such resources & processes in this ever changing environment. Professionals have to stay abreast of such new developments.

• For library professionals it is crucial to learn about new developments & practices.... and to learn fast!

Looking at examples of Library Journal Clubs in practice

Oxfordshire Librarians’ Journal Club aims to:• Develop critical appraisal skills• Increase awareness of library-related research• Assist in the application of research to library

practicehttp://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/medicine/oxfordshire_librarians_journal_club

Although strongly Medical Library related, view a list of published articles on Critically Appraised Topic’s (CAT’s) by members of this journal club

The Rohrbach Librarian’s Journal Club at Kutztown

A forum• where peripheral innovative ideas, not part of a current service, can be

disseminated for discussion• for sharing of opinions and experiences• for rigorous or robust communication• for engagement in critiques of the literature and learning from the insights• The Librarian’s Journal Club is a collective current awareness tool with

great merit in a library setting• NPR show: ”Making science personal through journal clubs”• The Rohrbach Librarian’s Journal Club mission: ‘to gather, to share, to

discuss, to problem solve, to learn and grow professionally.’• The bonus: new ideas from a journal article in library literature may indeed

lead to new projects, to allow even more user-focus in the service offeringsA librarians journal club: A forum for sharing ideas and experiences by: T. Hickman, L. AllenCollege & Research Libraries News, Vol. 66, No. 9. (October 2005), pp. 642-644. http://www.citeulike.org/user/Blisspix/article/892430

Library Journal Club Challenges & Benefits

• At Rohrbach’s, meetings are generally well attended although it has decreased since the initial meeting. Members report too busy schedules

• More librarian participation means a wider range of topics, each has an own individual set of skills, professional background & unique perspectives on librarianship, it benefits the library as a whole. The Journal Club structure & schedule therefore needs to be re-evaluated from time to time

• A Library Journal Club gathers professional staff for discourse above, and moves beyond day-to-day duties, leading to a broadening understanding of issues.

• New Librarians experience the Journal Club as a non-threatening venue to exercise a voice

• Sharing in such an open environment builds respect and understanding• To foster further interest Rohrbach Library Journal Club considers opening the

club to all library staff, however such an act may lead to an even wider range of interests.

RUSh: Wits Libraries Journal Club

• Monthly gatherings at set time & place, every 2nd Friday from 9h-10h

• Informal gathering, but with a selected topic of relevance to the library-profession, and suggested by a RUSh-member. The article is distributed to all members well in advance for reading & preparation

• The article-selector chairs the meeting & introduces the article – usually a short summary of the topic under discussion.

• The subject is discussed informally• The RUSh blog offers a further forum for discussion,

comments & opinion

RUSh blogging @ http://kim.wits.ac.za/index.php?module=blog&action=randblog&userid=8024090819

RUSh readings & discussions from 10/2009

• Is Google making us stupid? Carr, Nicholas(Chair: Cornelia Bothma) http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/

• Milennials coming to College (Chair: Cathy Dryden) http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ760817&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ760817

• Business Day article re. ASSAF Report – investigating the weighting of Scholarly Books as opposed to Scholarly articles (Chair: Diane Hillman) http://www.assaf.co.za/wp-content/uploads/reports/evidence_based/scholarly_report.pdf

• Book burning and the complicity of South African librarians, 1955-19711. Archie Dick. (Chair: Rebecca Senyolo) http://www.innovation.ukzn.ac.za/InnovationPdfs/No28Dick.pdf

• Evaluating Kindle Reading (Chair: Jenny Croll)... Reading list available• Guest : Prof Hilton Judin. Informal discussion on New Technologies & -Tendencies of

Information -finding & -use• Librarian Burnout. (Chair: Mark Sandham) No e-version, but can supply• Academic Library Websites in South Africa. Mandy Wood. (Chair: Wyndom Hudson) Innovation

Journal of appropriate Librarianship and Information Work in South Africa. no 39. December 2009 http://www.innovation.ukzn.ac.za/InnovationPdfs/No39-Mandy%20Woodr.pdf

• The Power and Peril of Web 3.0. Ohler, Jason. Learning & Leading with Technology; May2010, Vol. 37 Issue 7, p14-17, and Dunlop, Janine (Dec. 2009). Blogging by South African academic librarians: a preliminary survey. Innovation, (39) 35-42. (Chair: Alison Chisholm)

• Technostress in the Bionic Library. 2008. Kupersmith, John. Postprints, UC Berkeley. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/1hc8s95x (Chair: Diane Hillman)

Attendance & comparisons• RUSh participants vary between 9 to 21 per session, with an average

of 11• Compared to University of British Columbia Library Journal Club with

300 employees where attendance ranges from 20-50 per session, it seems as if RUSh is on par.

• Further, BC Library Journal Club have covered the following topics: young academic researchers, eBooks, *millennial students, *the future of the library catalogue, selection of library material, teaching in an academic library, citation measurements, *mobile technologies & devices in the library, and conference reflections. (A Library Journal Club as a Tool for Current Awareness and Open Communication: University of British Columbia case study. Partnership 2009 4:2 http://www.criticalimprov.com/index.php/perj/article/viewFile/1000/1558

• Regular communication between UCT and Wits US- Interns, re. articles discussed at Journal Clubs.

Future Plans• Promote effective blogging amongst RUSh

participants• Plan & publish the reading plan at least 3 months

in advance, using the RUSh blog• Invite and promote RUSh to all Wits qaulifying

candidates• Ensure that awareness & insights arrived at

through RUSh activities, are brought to the attention to relevant persons, and where possible implemented as a bonus!

• Share RUSh activities more actively in the library profession on a wider level.

Invite

• Candidate professional- and professional librarians are encouraged to start journal clubs at their own institutions. If you want to communicate about a journal club, or share your experiences, please send an e-mail janie.johnson@wits.ac.za

Hurry up, RUSh!