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Bradley Seybold 

 

My personal thoughts on the three Stages of interaction, are that although many of us base our ideas of what Librarians and Teachers/Professors are based on our own interactions with them through out time, we need to be able to see the full potential of both. The full potential being Stage three in which there is interaction, collaboration not only with each other but an iterative solution including students. Although what should be, is not always what is, due to budget constraints, under-staffing, economy, no matter what life intervenes. Stage three is an ongoing process, if not today than through outreach programs and advocacy teachers and librarians can work together to create and foster a better learning environment.

 

For the Interviews, I decided to interview academic librarians both in Community Colleges as well as Universities.

 

Interview #1: University Reference Librarian

 

The Librarian interviewed was a reference librarian, the first point that she wanted to get across was that it truly depended on the instructor that they were working with, without a cooperative professor there could be no collaboration possible. Although she stated that some Librarians at the University may play a more active role in instruction and collaboration many of the factors are subject dependent. Also there are information competency classes in each discipline and the active librarian in these disciplines must take a more active role in collaboration as well as instruction.

For this specific Librarian she stated that most of the time she is at stage one , although there is communication between professor and librarian in terms of class assignments, research questions and other requested demonstrations the librarian and professor do plan together as they would in Stage two.

Although most of the interactions are at Stage one, there are some specialized subjects that are at Stage two, in which she co-teaches a class about information competency. This is stage two because of meetings on methodology, assessment, curriculum.

And although she does not interact with professors at the Stage three level there are other Librarians within the University who interact with professors at this Stage.

In conclusion although most of the interactions with professors are at Stage One, the stages of interaction seem to be limited by professors of the specific course. Different professors will seek different levels of interaction and collaboration with Librarians at the University.

 

Interview #2: Community College Instruction & Reference Services Librarian

 

The Librarian interviewed was an instruction and reference Librarian at a Community College. Being an Instruction Librarian they stated that they would love to conduct their job and duties with professors at the Stage three level in which the professor and librarian form a partnership where they plan, execute and evaluate an instructional sequence. They stated that due to under-staffing at their workplace that they were unable to reach that Stage of cooperation. They stated that they believed that their College Library was at Stage two for the most part. Being that they worked actively with the teaching faculty to design effective library instruction sessions. The constraint again to reach Stage three would be time, due to under-staffing.

They stated that Stage three would be optimal, because it would meld all of the resources directly with course curriculum. Stage three is such a time consuming process that the college does not have time, money or resources to hire the additional librarians that would be required.

In conclusion although stated that they thought that they were at Stage two, they hoped to be able to implement strategies to reach Stage three because they thought this was an optimal use of their resources and the professors.

 

Interview # 3: Community College Public Access Services Librarian

 

The Librarian interviewed was a Public Access Services Librarian at a Community College.

This Librarian also stated that they would find Stage three with the fullest and most cooperative relationships between instructors, librarians as well as students to be the most fulfilling. Yet although Stage three was not possible due again to time and resources of the College and Library, Stage two was an active part of the Library. Due to an active interest of the head librarian in collaboration as well as making full use of the library's resources, professors and librarians due work together to some degree. The Librarian also noted that to continue to a Stage three level of interaction between professor and librarian they would have to actively develop an outreach program. An outreach program that would again cost time and money that the College did not have at the moment.

In conclusion, although the Librarian definitely saw the advantages of a Stage three interaction with professors, that stage was out of reach due to circumstances of budget.

 

From these three interviews, I learned that although Librarians were at differing stages of collaboration with professors/teachers they all saw the value, both in terms of the fullest resources of their abilities as well as the physical resources of the library. Although actual implementation of Stage three was a different manner especially considering that Stage three takes time and effort in addition to the other stages. Time and effort which would have to met with additional librarians. These additional Librarians could of course not be hired due to budget constraints, especially within California. Also much collaboration depends on the specific educator, without both parties actively interested in collaboration, Stage three may not be met in many Academic Libraries. In retrospect I was not expecting many Stage three interactions from the librarians I interviewed, and I did not receive any either. It would be interesting to include Private University Librarians and whether their budget allowed them to collaborate on a different stage.

  

 

 

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YOLANDA RAMIREZ- Interviews and current position on the three stages of Library's Human Interface.

 

At the beginning of this class and without any further investigation, what is your reaction to the three suggested stages?

 

My reaction to the three stages of librarians acting as the human interface between users and technology is that I hope to reach the 3rd Stage soonest.  However, my current stand is a work in progress.   I know that as a new and currently practicing Reference Librarian, I find myself at Stage One, slowly striving to fulfill Stage Two.

 

In the small public library where I currently work I have began my personal quest for Stage Three by training and teaching clients/patrons how to use the OPAC and the Databases available to everyone who has a library card to find what they need.  Whenever a student comes in with a list of books or specific resources or periodicals they need to search for a given topic, instead of finding and giving them the materials, I show them how to do an electronic search with the OPAC or Online Databases.  I have them type in the information into the computer to allow them a sense of control and to help them develop confidence in using the library’s technology resources.  I teach them to recognize the call numbers and whether or not the item is checked in or out, and then walk them to the stacks to show them how and where to find them. Thus, slowly but surely I am entering Stage Two. I, the librarian, have realized that much frustration can be avoided using information technology available to everyone at the public library.  By taking the time to instruct clients and patrons, I empower them to seek knowledge and have them critically assess and select what they need best.

 

YOLANDA RAMIREZ

Background information to 1st & 2nd Interviews with the Academic Librarian Team – Community College, CA (Feb 10, 2009)

Follow up done on Sept 19, 2009.

 

This Academic librarian was a person who could see my potential when I took Lib 101 to learn the fundamentals of Library research and bibliography class at the college.  She, then, encouraged me to attend library school and gave me my first letter of recommendation.  She is a great supporter of my efforts and is excited about my learning as much as I am.

 

When I talked to her about collaboration and asked her if the college or library has a program in place to ensure collaboration with the faculty, she said: “It’s funny that we are considered faculty for financial purposes but not all faculty or administrators consider us faculty per se.  It depends.”  She mentioned that ever since the revision of the Mission Statement.  “The college is a collaborative center of lifelong learning which provides innovative, challenging, and quality educational offerings for its diverse students and community.”  (Mission Statement revised 12/13/05).  There was some effort in trying to embed the librarians into the curriculum as collaborators, but it has been hard.

 

First of all, there has to be buy-in from the administration and the different divisions and so far the English Department and Social Sciences Division are more likely to seek help to have students increase their research skills and to push student to take the LIB 101 Course.  However, only one course has allowed her to embed herself as part of the class, the Chicano Studies Program.  This is due to the fact that it is one of the newest programs and she had some involvement in the curriculum committee which allowed her the opportunity to suggest the library should be a collaborative part of the course.  She said she would like to do more “embedding” in the English, Business and Social Science courses, but it takes time to show that the collaboration with one course faculty can be beneficial in other and of course this one-time trial effort needs to show results and they have to show a clear and effective benefit to the students before there is more buy-in from other faculty.

 

She says “embedding” is time consuming and her workload is still waiting when she returns from class. For now she is sitting in class and participating by asking questions to evoke more student discussion and participation while at the same time she is relaying library related information as needed.  The “embedding” is still thought of as a “disturbance” rather than collaboration and it will take time.  This academic librarian hopes results can show that student’s academic understanding of subject matter is increased because they can make a holistic connection with the addition of research and library services to the curriculum.

 

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1st Academic Librarian Interview – Community College, CA Sept 19, 2009

 

I went to see other PT librarians for the same Academic Library.  There were two librarians and I asked them the questions above.  Both mentioned the head librarian’s effort with the Chicano Studies program.  One of them said that she has in some way collaborated with various professors at her other college.  She is a web designer by choice, and she showed me her work on how she has collaborated to provide subject-matter tutorials that are helpful to professors in the usual subjects English, Social Sciences.  They are more or less pathfinders with directions to finding the best and most reliable sites for current and relevant information. 

 

She teaches the students how to navigate the site and provides the links to all to have them access the site as needed.  She also mentioned that time is a problem in collaborative efforts, and she would be willing to do it in the future, if the collaboration becomes part of her duties.  Otherwise she feels she does quite a bit in helping when requested.  She enjoys being on the reference desk where she is in contact with the students, but she definitely enjoys the creative aspects of her work doing websites and blogs.

 

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2nd Academic Librarian Interview – Community College, CA Sept 19, 2009

 

The second Librarian showed me the visitors log for library orientations.  She mentioned there is a number of professors, mostly in English and Social Sciences, who see the library as the best resource for students to learn how to do research for a required paper in their course.  They aim to bring all their classes to the library for an orientation each semester.  She showed me that the library keeps a log of the assignments per semester. However, these are turned in voluntarily  professors, and the library makes no extra effort to request the assignments from everyone to ensure materials are readily available when needed.  The log also includes the library procedures and trainings on Database navigations, the master DB logins and passwords, and information on where to locate resources in the MCLS Reference database to request ILL as needed, but it is used rarely.

 

When we talked about embedding librarians into the classroom she mentioned that they are still taking baby steps, and the head librarian is the only direct POC with the faculty.  When she receives a request for orientation or library assistance  she assigns librarians according to the schedule and availability.  She indicated they are mostly given information on which class and they usually wait for the professor to contact them about the details of the assistance needed.

 

Since I work at the Math & Science Division I asked both librarians if they ever get any requests for assistance from faculty there, and both said they have not.  I mentioned that I notice a high trend of students repeating Math courses on a regular basis.  I have a theory that the reason students are not passing is lack of literacy, and whether or not they thought the library could help with that, and both said they would if asked.  But nobody is asking.

 

Overall, I felt that the Academic librarians are only committed to helping students and professor as requested. They are not volunteering any extra effort or supporting any embedding options.  They both enjoyed their work but they are a bit bored and non-committal when it comes to doing more. They both listed lack of time, and lack of cooperation from the department and that would affect how they might perform as collaborators with faculty.  They both mentioned money, as an incentive.  If duties were increased to include embedding into the classrooms they both feel more financial remuneration should be included.

 

I assessed both librarians touching base in the 2nd stage, but very reticent to move forward to Stage 3, unless it becomes a mandate or part of their duties as assigned.

 

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3rd Librarian Interview – Children’s Librarian in a Small City’s Public Library  (Also posted under Special Libraries).

 

Of course since I am working as a Reference Librarian in a Public Library, I must include the obstacles to collaboration that the Children’s Librarian contends with each year.  She tells me that she communicates with all schools during the summer to make contact with the professors as to what the assignments will be for the next academic year.  She said response is limited to either professors who have dealt with her on a regular basis or new professors who welcome the added assistance.  She said she has tried with some and has not been well received.

She said that the relationship with the schools is hierarchical and that School Directors practically demand to have the Library Director be the first contact.  However, the directors are so busy they do not prioritize the Children’s Librarian’s information needs.  If she knows what books will be needed the requisitions and purchase orders can be done ahead of time, but most of the time she waits until the first student comes in with the list she makes a copy and orders as quickly as possible to accommodate the increased demand for certain titles.

 

This librarian feels overwhelmed and overworked and tells me that not having enough time for meeting the professors on a one-on-one basis limits her ability to connect and collaborate.  Tenure professors are also non-committal because they do things because “That’s how they have been done in the past”, and change is not always welcome because it entails new learning for them and changing their current curriculum to accommodate the changes.  There is also a bureaucracy in place the limits change to the curriculum to have the Media Center Librarian embedded into the classroom.  She said she barely communicates with the Media Center Librarians because they are also overworked, and since their hours are limited she barely has time to connect with them.  She is still unable to communicate how much our library is needed as the second best resource for students to fulfill their academic needs.

 

To most teachers change is an ideal but hard to get.  They are cautions about making decisions without consulting a supervisor and this limits the librarian’s efforts to assist them.   In any case, this Children’s Librarian tells me she enjoys her job immensely.  She is knowledgeable about the “YA” and “J” resources, she keeps abreast of all the hip and hype in youth related issues and she has excellent rapport with the kids in the area.  She is begging to get to the 3rd Stage but is sadly aware that only time and management’s collaboration and insistence on change can help her achieve that level.  For now she feels she is entering the 2nd stage.  The best part of her job is dealing with the kids and talking to them about the projects she can get off the ground with their ideas and volunteering help.

 

The frustration from all these librarians is almost palpable.

Considering the following stages of interface with teaching and learning: