News from the Field
Library Integration in Institutional Learning Analytics white paper
“Library Integration in Institutional Learning Analytics,” a new white paper resulting from the IMLS-funded Library Integration into Institutional Learning Analytics (LIILA) grant, is now available. The paper provides the higher education community with a foundation for discussions about the role academic libraries may play in learning analytics efforts at the institutional level. ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis served on the Advisory Board for the grant, which included representatives from IMS Global Learning Consortium, EDUCAUSE, CNI, OCLC, the University of California-Berkeley, and DePaul University.
The paper envisions library involvement in learning analytics, describes facilitators and obstacles to library engagement in this important area in higher education, and suggests “next steps” for library participation in learning analytics. Learning analytics is rapidly proliferating throughout academia as a strategy for understanding and promoting student learning and success. “Library Integration in Institutional Learning Analytics” is freely available online through the EDUCAUSE website at https://library.educause.edu/resources/2018/11/library-integration-in-institutional-learning-analytics.
RCL thanks peer reviewers
Resources for College Libraries (RCL), the database of 95,000 core titles for undergraduate libraries, is peer-reviewed by academic librarians and faculty to ensure continued credibility and excellence. On behalf of the RCL editorial board and copublishers Choice and ProQuest, we thank the referees from 2018 for their valuable review of the RCL and RCL: Career Resources subject bibliographies and their service to the profession. A complete list of 2018 reviewers is available on ACRL Insider at https://www.acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/archives/16817.
For information about participating in RCL’s editorial development, contact RCL Project Editor Anne Doherty at adoherty@ala-choice.org. Learn more about RCL at http://rclinfo.net.
Nominations sought for ACRL Board of Directors
The ACRL Leadership Recruitment and Nominations Committee (LRNC) encourages members to nominate themselves or others to run for the position of ACRL vice-president/president-elect and director-at-large in the 2020 elections. The deadline for nominations is February 15, 2019.
To nominate an individual or to self-nominate, please submit the nomination form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/acrlboardnominations. LRNC will request a curriculum vita and/or a statement of interest from selected individuals prior to developing a slate of candidates. If you have any questions about the nominating or election process, please feel free to contact LRNC Chair Amanda Peters at arforres@umich.edu. More information about the ACRL Board of Directors is available at www.ala.org/acrl/resources/policies/chapter2.
OCLC Research, euroCRIS release report on international research information management practices
OCLC Research and euroCRIS, the international organization for research information, have published a joint research report, “Practices and Patterns in Research Information Management: Findings from a Global Survey,” which examines how research institutions worldwide are applying research information management (RIM) practices. RIM is the aggregation, curation, and utilization of information about research and is emerging as an area of increasing interest and relevance in many university libraries.
The report, written by a working group comprised of experts from both organizations, details the complexity of research information management practices. It examines how commercial and open-source platforms are becoming widely implemented across regions, coexisting with many region-specific solutions as well as locally developed systems. It also considers the factors that have led to the need for complex, cross-stakeholder teams to support institutional RIM activities, which increasingly includes the library. The report, along with the full data set, banner tables, and the survey instrument, is available on the OCLC Research website at www.oclc.org/research/home.html.
BBC Studios video library now available through ProQuest
An expanded agreement between ProQuest and BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios, gives libraries access to thousands of additional BBC Studios titles through the Academic Video Online streaming video subscription service. In the coming months, ProQuest will add more than 1,500 BBC Studios educational titles to Academic Video Online and will continue to add new titles in the future. Available in high-quality streaming format for use in research and classrooms alike, the latest additions include topical films like Borderlands: Life on the Line and Diana: 7 Days that Shook the World.
These BBC Studios titles join more than 65,000 movies, documentaries, and training videos also available in Academic Video Online. In addition, ProQuest will curate a selection of BBC-branded video collections to be published throughout the term of the agreement. These collections will be curated in partnership with content and archival experts from BBC Studios and will showcase previously unavailable content from BBC’s 80-plus-year history of broadcasting, along with current releases.
Collections will be curated in areas of academic interest, including science, technology, theater, drama, literature, and more. Details are available at https://alexanderstreet.com/products/academic-video-online.
GPO makes documents easy to download, repurpose
The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) makes available a subset of enrolled bills, public and private laws, and the Statutes at Large in Beta United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML, a format that makes documents easier to download and repurpose.
The documents available in the Beta USLM XML format include enrolled bills and public laws beginning with the 113th Congress (2013) and the Statutes at Large beginning with the 108th Congress (2003). The conversion of legacy formats into Beta USML XML will provide a uniform set of laws for the public to download. This new format maximizes the number of ways the information can be used or repurposed for mobile apps or other digital or print projects. The public will now be able to download large sets of data in one click rather than downloading each file individually, saving significant time for developers and others who seek to repurpose the data.
They are available on govinfo, GPO’s one-stop site to authentic, published government information at https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata.
ARL releases Outreach and Engagement SPEC Kit
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has released Outreach and Engagement, SPEC Kit 361, which captures a snapshot of how ARL member libraries are defining their outreach and engagement programs, how they are assigning and structuring responsibilities, and how they are measuring the success and impact of their efforts. The SPEC survey gathered information about types of activities, which populations are served, levels of funding and staff support for these activities, program planning, collaborations and strategic partnerships, and assessment measures and reporting practices. In addition, survey respondents were asked to provide a brief case study for an outreach or engagement activity in their organization. Outreach and Engagement, SPEC Kit 361, is available at https://publications.arl.org/Outreach-Engagement-SPEC-Kit-361/.
ACRL announces the publication of Library Service and Learning: Empowering Students, Inspiring Social Responsibility, and Building Community Connections, edited by Theresa McDevitt and Caleb P. Finegan.
This thorough book describes active teaching techniques that help build community, are relevant to students’ current lives and future career goals, and allow students to work together to solve real problems and shape their own successful and empowering learning.
Service and community-based learning is one of several high-impact educational practices identified by George Kuh and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and is increasingly seen as a vital part of the undergraduate experience.
Today’s students want to work in groups, apply what they learn to real-life problems, and work in environments that are relevant and participatory. Classroom work is shifting to include more activities that are relevant to future careers, include action, and develop agency in students. Colleges and universities are actively promoting this work by including it in strategic plans, creating high-impact, practice-themed faculty development programs and initiatives, and offering grant funding to support their development.
Divided into three comprehensive sections—Library and Information Literacy Credit-Bearing Courses or Sponsors of Undergraduate Community-Based Research, Library Support for Courses with Applied Service-Based Projects in the Disciplines, and Library as Location for Student-Led Educational Outreach Events and Projects—Library Service and Learning is a collection of case studies written by librarians, university faculty, and students who have successfully employed service-based or experiential learning experiences for students in higher education.
Chapters include classes or programs that have been taught by or developed in collaboration with librarians and examine information literacy-related outcomes, use library resources, and/or take place in library facilities.
Each chapter describes activities, motivations, curriculum materials, and outcomes, and appendices include assignments, rubrics, and other materials that enable you to replicate and adapt the activity to your own needs.
Library Service and Learning: Empowering Students, Inspiring Social Responsibility, and Building Community Connections is available for purchase in print and as an ebook through the ALA Online Store, in print through Amazon.com, and by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the United States or (770) 442-8633 for international customers.