Erin Davis Copyright (c) 2011 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis Recent documents in Erin Davis en-us Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:34:21 PST 3600 Outcomes and Assessment in Post-Immersion Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Utah: Applying Immersion Principles to Public Libraries, Teacher Effectiveness, and the Student-Centered Classroom http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/7 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/7 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:38:49 PST Erin L. Davis et al. Creating Effective Staff Development Committees: A Case Study http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/6 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/6 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:29:34 PST Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of staff development committees (SDC) in the motivation, morale and education of library staff by relying on previous research and by using Utah State University's (USU), Merrill-Cazier Library SDC as a case study.

Design/methodology/approach – Discussion and analysis emerge from the documented formation of USU's SDC, including its membership, goals, and evaluative practices, especially as it relates to current research in this area. Informal staff comments regarding benefits and limitations of the committee are included.

Findings – Staff development has been approached from various perspectives. Most programs form as the results of formal or informal needs assessments. Goals for the program, or for the resulting staff development committee, vary and fluctuate depending on the time-specific needs of the library. Successful elements of USU's SDC include its emphasis on building inter-departmental relationships and its ability to elicit feedback from every level of the library. Challenges include having clearly defined goals and meeting a variety of individual and institutional needs through the creation of related events and activities.

Practical implications – This paper provides ideas on forming a staff development committee, including examples for specific events and activities. It details how to structure membership and explores literature relating to designing and implementing institutional goals for staff development.

Originality/value – Many studies lack a comprehensive literature review that focuses on the scope and purpose of staff development committees. This paper combines a literature review with an explanation of how USU's Library created a staff development committee to fill certain library-wide goals, including challenges and benefits that emerged as a result.

]]> Erin L. Davis et al. Librarian Perceptions and Information Literacy Instruction Models http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/5 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/5 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:29:31 PST Purpose – This paper aims to explore both instruction librarians' attitudes on teaching and how they identify themselves as teachers. Particular attention is to be paid to teaching librarians' views on the effectiveness of two types of instruction models: for-credit courses and course-integrated library instruction.

Design/methodology/approach – To investigate librarians' attitudes towards these two models, a survey was constructed targeting librarians who teach information literacy (IL).

Findings – The results indicate that there is an important relationship between the IL instruction model employed and feelings towards campus politics, perceived effectiveness of IL models, and librarians' self-identification as teachers.

Research limitations/implications – The survey was sent to list-servs whose readership includes high percentages of teaching librarians and received 276 responses. This is by no means an exhaustive study. The research is intended to be exploratory and to delve more deeply than the past editorials and blog posts on the issue of comparing for-credit and course-integrated instruction.

Practical implications – This study can help librarians gain a better understanding of how information literacy models impact librarian perceptions of themselves and their role on campus.

Originality/value – The authors seek to transform a discussion that has occurred mostly informally (in blog posts, on list-servs, and in conversations) into a formal investigation of librarians' attitudes towards the two models.

]]> Erin L. Davis et al. Instruction by the Numbers: Using Data to Improve Teaching and Learning http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/4 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/4 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:23:55 PDT Outcomes assessment has been a mandate across higher education for at least a decade, and instruction librarians are no strangers to the call to show what their students have actually learned. Most libraries keep general statistics on instruction, including the number of class sessions librarians teach and the number of students in attendance. These numbers, however, reflect only "outputs" of an instruction program. Administrators call upon librarians (and other faculty) to measure student learning and the impact of specific programs on student retention. Educational theory and practice provide models for assessment, yet librarians face significant challenges in this environment. Librarians often teach only single sessions of courses conceived, created, and controlled by traditional teaching faculty members, with little control over course pedagogy or learning outcomes, and limited opportunities to assess students.

]]> Wendy Holliday et al. A Happy Employee is a Productive Employee http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/3 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/3 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:59:25 PST Erin L. Davis Gathering Leadership Momentum Across Great Distances: Creating an Online Community of Practice http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/1 http://works.bepress.com/erin_davis/1 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:54:31 PDT At the 2007 Mountain Plains Library Association Leadership (MPLA) Institute, held in New Mexico, USA, eight academic librarians formed an online multi-state, multigenerational community of practice. MPLA is a twelve-state library association within the United States. Using Google Groups™, the members formed an online environment called the MPLA Community of Practice for continuing development of the leadership skills presented at the Institute. These early-career librarians represent diverse educational backgrounds and work in libraries serving varied populations with differing disciplinary emphases.

The group meets monthly with each member preparing and facilitating online discussions, complete with personal assessments, topical readings, and questions. The Google Groups™ site is also used to discuss important library issues including sharing innovative practices, identifying useful resources, and discussing timely workplace issues. The group has been extremely successful not only at maintaining regular communication but also pursuing opportunities for continuing professional development. This paper highlights how librarians can develop and launch a peer-mentoring space using free online tools such as Google Groups™, Skype™, and Doodle™ from anywhere in the world. It also addresses current literature related to communities of practice, leadership topics discussed by the group, and personal stories about its impact on individual group members.

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