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The Future of Librarianship: A Blended Perspective

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Date: Thursday, April 10, 2014 from 3:00-4:00pm Eastern
The library profession is in the midst of a paradigm shift, thanks to technology and its impact on literacy and learning. With it have come new leadership roles for librarians, roles that require knowledge and skills not traditionally taught in library school programs. Blended librarianship is one way to embrace these new roles. Join Amanda Hovious as she discusses her journey toward becoming blended, and her perspective on what librarianship will look like in the (not too distant) future. Continue reading The Future of Librarianship: A Blended Perspective→

PRIMO: What It Is and What It Can Do For You

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Peer Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO), is a repository of online instructional projects created by librarians to teach people about discovering, accessing and evaluating information in networked environments. The PRIMO Committee, affiliated with the ACRL Instruction Section, is charged with reviewing and maintaining PRIMO. It works to publicize selective, high quality resources will help librarians to respond to the educational challenges posed by still emerging digital technologies. Continue reading PRIMO: What It Is and What It Can Do For You→

PRIMO: What It Is and What It Can Do For You

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Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 3:00 pm EST
Peer Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO), is a repository of online instructional projects created by librarians to teach people about discovering, accessing and evaluating information in networked environments. The PRIMO Committee, affiliated with the ACRL Instruction Section, is charged with reviewing and maintaining PRIMO. It works to publicize selective, high quality resources will help librarians to respond to the educational challenges posed by still emerging digital technologies. Twice a year the PRIMO committee puts out a call on various discussion lists and blogs for project nominations and submissions. Submitted projects are then evaluated by committee members using a standard rubric. Projects meeting the selection criteria are added into the public PRIMO database and the creators of some of the highest scoring projects are interviewed by a PRIMO committee member and posted as a Site of the Month Interview. Continue reading PRIMO: What It Is and What It Can Do For You→

The Evolution of the Academy: Alt-Ac and the Future of the Library

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Steven Bell and John Shank, co-founders of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and their guests, Elliott Shore (Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)) and Christa Williford (Program Officer, Council on Library and Information Resources) explore the emerging ecology of positions and roles in Higher Education and examine the roles libraries and allied departments might play in relation to the emerging Alt-Academic movement. Continue reading The Evolution of the Academy: Alt-Ac and the Future of the Library→

Augmenting the Learner Experience & Awaking the Digital Imagination: new media, new pedagogies, & new possibilities

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Steven Bell and John Shank, co-founders of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and their guests, Brian Mathews, Gardner Campbell and Shelli Fowler, all from Virginia Tech University, invite you to attend the next Blended Librarians webcast. In this session “Augmenting the Learner Experience & Awaking the Digital Imagination” our guests will explore new directions in teaching and learning. From studio-based experimental classrooms to establishing online domains and awakening the digital imagination, this session presents a discovery-oriented outlook for instructional endeavors. Continue reading Augmenting the Learner Experience & Awaking the Digital Imagination: new media, new pedagogies, & new possibilities→

Communities of Conscious Design: Planting and Pruning Your Way to an Effective Online Community

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Building an online community works in a similar way to growing a garden. You plant a seed (provide an online platform), water and feed (engage and share with larger communities) and you will develop some sort of community. It will not however, be what you envision if you are not willing to weed and prune it. By this I mean moderate and, if necessary, limit who can join and get rid of the rabble rousers. Part of facilitating and managing a community is keeping it focused and you cannot do this with flame wars erupting weekly. Continue reading Communities of Conscious Design: Planting and Pruning Your Way to an Effective Online Community→

Digital Badges for Learning: Exploring the Possible Impact on Higher Education & Libraries

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Steven Bell and John Shank, co-founders of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and their guest, Jonathan Finkelstein, Founder and Executive Producer of LearningTimes and Director of the BadgeStack Project, invite you to attend the next Blended Librarians webcast. In this session, we will explore the latest thinking around the use of Digital Badges as an engagement strategy and as a form of microcredential or certification. Continue reading Digital Badges for Learning: Exploring the Possible Impact on Higher Education & Libraries→

Evolving as a Blended Librarian: A Conversation with Three Blended Librarians

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In this session “Evolving as a Blended Librarian” we will explore the many different paths to becoming a Blended Librarian. For some it happens on the job as their work requires more instructional design and technology activity. For others it may develop through their interest in integrating the library into the teaching and learning process. And yet for others they enter the library workplace as a skilled instruction designer or Blended Librarian. Continue reading Evolving as a Blended Librarian: A Conversation with Three Blended Librarians→

Reaching Sustainability with Online Library Instruction: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

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Sustainability is not just about fuel efficient cars, composting and ethically sourced food. The concept is also readily applicable to library instruction programs, many of which are on unsustainable paths. Incorporating more online instruction holds great promise, but does not have to mean expensive tutorial creation software and web conferencing suites, expansive embedded librarian initiatives, or burnt out teaching librarians at mid-semester. This webcast will provide practical tips and resources for creative, cost-effective and sustainable online library instruction using the cycle of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Continue reading Reaching Sustainability with Online Library Instruction: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle→

The Evolution of the Academy: Alt-Ac and the Future of the Library

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Steven Bell and John Shank, co-founders of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and their guests, Elliott Shore (Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)) and Christa Williford (Program Officer, Council on Library and Information Resources) explore the emerging ecology of positions and roles in Higher Education and examine the roles libraries and allied departments might play in relation to the emerging Alt-Academic movement. Continue reading The Evolution of the Academy: Alt-Ac and the Future of the Library→