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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library Design

Elliot Felix of brightspot Strategy, a library design expert, shares his perspectives on the latest trends, tools, and tactics. As the founder and director of brightspot, Elliot has played a major role in the design of the new Hunt Library at North Carolina State University. He also co-conceived and participated in the development of the Learning Space Toolkit.
Continue reading Trends, Tools, and Tactics for Better Library Design