2006 AACRL/CUS Best Practices Programs

AACRL Program Coordinator: Beth Ashmore, Samford University

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

1:00-2:00pm
Pick of the Litter: Attracting, Interviewing, Retaining and Raising a Healthy Happy Librarian
Jason Baker,Reference Librarian and Instructor, UAB Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences
Lisa Ennis, Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor, UAB Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences

With ALA's emphasis on recruiting new librarians and the University of Alabama's SLIS IMLS grant to train new academic librarians for the 21st Century the next couple of years promise to be exciting for Alabama libraries. To attract, hire, and retain the best, libraries need to treat the interview as a dynamic and invigorating process for both interviewee and interviewer. The burden is no longer just on the candidate to shine. The library must also prepare to be interviewed by the candidate and put its best foot forward from job announcement through the first year of employment. Come learn some best practices for interviewing and hiring librarians from this exciting new crop of students!

Presentation Handout (PDF file)

2:00-3:00pm
Return of the Mini-Sessions!

Move around the room and hear six different presentations in one session.

3:30-4:30pm
Beyond Networks, Websites, and Digital Projects: Growing Trends in "Homegrown" Library Software Development
Chris Stearns, Technology Senior Specialist, Auburn University Libraries

Many libraries, systems, and consortia have recognized the value in hiring full-time web software/application developers who often play an important role in extending and adapting the library's mission. In addition to enhancing online access to library services in general, in-house developers also assist in solving access and preservation issues for rare archival material and local information; support librarians by simplifying or automating reporting and indexing tasks; and provide a range of services that are related to, yet distinct from, website design, desktop support, and network administration. This program presents criteria, guidelines, and strategies for identifying software development needs, evaluating personnel (and new technologies), and implementing and managing in-house projects.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

1:00-2:00pm
Information Literacy Double-Bill: Collaboration & Assessment

Collaboration with Faculty to Develop Course-integrated Library Orientations
Alyssa Martin, Interlibrary Loan/Reference Librarian, Troy University, Montgomery Campus
Jana Slay, Collection Development/Reference Librarian, Troy University, Montgomery Campus
Jo Anne Bryant, Professor of English, Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Sciences, Troy University, Montgomery Campus

Librarians and faculty collaborated to develop an innovative library component for a required undergraduate orientation course (TROY 1101) first taught on the Montgomery campus Fall 2005. Librarians worked with faculty to plan the curriculum for this component and created an instructional handbook that is included in the text. Librarians visited all sections to show a video, present a PowerPoint presentation, and work with students on an activity that required them to use both the library's physical and online resources. The effectiveness of the library component is now being evaluated.

Powerpoint Presentation (Powerpoint file)

This program will discuss how two very different academic libraries participated in implementing the SAILS assessment tool currently being developed by Kent State University and ARL. The libraries will discuss how they conducted SAILS testing on their campuses, what kind of results they received and their plans for using this information in future IL programming and assessment efforts.

Powerpoint Presentation (Powerpoint file)
Presentation Handout (PDF file)

Previous Best Practices Programs:
2005 AACRL/CUS Best Practices Programs
2004 AACRL/CUS Best Practices Programs
2003 AACRL/CUS Best Practices Programs
2002 AACRL/CUS Best Practices Programs