ULS Universe

C. Derrik Hiatt is the new Electronic Resources Librarian for the Z. Smith Reynolds Library of Wake Forest University. He will assist in managing the Library’s subscription based electronic resources. He comes to this position after having served for 6 years as the Assistant Serials Librarian at the Harold B. Lee Library of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. A North Carolina native, Hiatt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Brigham Young University and a Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University.

Judy Jeng, Head of Collection Services at the Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library of New Jersey City University, has been appointed to serve on the IFLA Standing Committee for Acquisition and Collection Development, 2009-2013. The 2009 IFLA conference will be held in Milan, Italy.

Judy also recently published a chapter on usability evaluation in Handbook of Research on Digital Libraries: Design, Development, and Impact, published by IGI Global, in Feb. 2009.

In March I was fortunate enough to attend the E-Learning Guild Annual Gathering in Orlando, FL, with a couple of colleagues. As our library is moving away from one-shot face-to-face sessions and more towards scalable online instruction, this seemed relevant.

We were the three lone librarians in a conference filled with hundreds of instructional designers from the corporate, non-profit, and consulting sectors. These are full-time e-learning professionals, experts in presenting online content, designing for online learners, and assessment through online mechanisms. We can certainly learn a lot from them.

For one, I’m finding that rapid e-learning tools are fantastic, and there are plenty of them out there. You don’t need to learn Flash or XML to create engaging, dynamic online presentations. A lot of libraries are already using screencapturing software such as Captivate and Camtasia, but not too many have started exploring the more broader world of e-learning tools. At my library we already have Articulate, which is a big one, but I learned about other options such as FlyPaper, Raptivity, and Lectora. These products can be on the expensive side, but there are often academic discounts, and you can always get a trial to test them out and see if they’re worth the money.

Second – which should come as no surprise – designing instruction for online learning is far different than designing for face-to-face sessions. Fortunately, there is a lot of research out there on how to design effective online instruction. Check out Empowering Online Learning, Making Sense of Online Learning, the Online Learning Idea Book, and the E-Learning Handbook. It’s worth taking the time to learn about good design; read up on the challenges, opportunities, and best practices for creating quality online learning experiences for our students.

If you are involved in developing online instructional materials, I highly recommend attending a conference geared towards e-learning professionals. In addition to the E-Learning Guild Annual Gathering, both DevCon and DevLearn are taking place this year.

-Rebecca Blakiston

The University of Southern California (USC) Libraries seek an innovative, service oriented librarian to lead the library services and information support requirements for the Rossier School of Education and the School of Social Work. Reporting to the Director, Public Services Division III, the librarian will participate in a full range of library services, including reference, instruction, collection development and outreach. Working collaboratively with other librarians and staff, the librarian will participate in the USC Libraries’ full suite of reference and instruction services. The successful candidate will be a member of the Social Sciences Collaborative that supports collection development. The Head will partner closely with the two Schools, serving residential and distance learners.

Please see a full position description and instructions for applying at:

http://www.usc.edu/libraries/jobs/librarians

Do you have a story to tell?

Come and share it at Library Worklife!

Library Worklife is looking for aspiring and experienced writers – library employees and graduate students who have stories to tell about their careers, jobs, research, and pathways to success.  Stories can be about:

• You or a great project that you want to share with colleagues – Spotlight
• Advice, testimonials, opportunities and research about advancing your career – Career Advancement
• Why it is important to participate in professional development and continuing education, including state and national certification programs – Certification
• Legal issues facing or concerning library personnel – Human Resources Law
• How to manage library staffing issues, such as training, budgeting, performance appraisals, hiring, outsourcing, and motivation – Human Resources Practice
• What you, your library or your state has done to address pay inequities – Salaries and Pay Equity and Statistics
• How do we attract people to the profession? – Recruitment
• Profiles, standards, innovative approaches, conferences or topics of concern for support staff – Support Staff
• How you manage the two (or more) roles you play on a daily basis – Work/life Balance

Write about your ideas or use some of ours on almost any other topic related to working in libraries.

Submission should range from 200 – 1200 words, although longer articles can be accepted by arrangement.  They can be in almost any style from serious academic research to humorous work-life articles.  Further details can be found at the Library Worklife web page, http://www.ala-apa.org/newsletter/newsletter.html or by emailing the editor, Jenifer Grady at jgrady@ala.org.

And the best news is… If you commit to writing three (3), count ‘em THREE, articles in one year, you get a free subscription to Library Worklife, a $35 value (for ALA Regular members.)

So come and share your story, at Library Worklife.