The Award ceremony for both the 2020 and 2021 recipients was recorded. The award recognizes librarians, archivists or curators whose contributions to providing professional development opportunities for librarians have been especially noteworthy or influential.
Recording of the May 11, 2021, ACRL University Libraries Section Professional Development Committee: The Flywheel Effect: Bridging the Gap for First-year Students in a Virtual World.
Nimisha Bhat, Hailley Fargo, Chelsea Heinbach, and Charissa Powell, members of the editorial team for the professional development blog LibParlor, are the 2021 recipients of the ACRL ULS Outstanding Professional Development Award. Sponsored by Library Juice Academy, the $1,000 award recognizes librarians, archivists or curators whose contributions to providing professional development opportunities for librarians have been especially noteworthy or influential. The team was selected for their efforts to create and promote an online community of practice for librarians.
Researchers and faculty are talking about predatory publishers within the academic literature. In fact, many disciplines devote considerably more ink to this issue and the pitfalls of illegitimate journals than the library community does. Small pockets of the greater scholarly community further whisper about the benefits of journals with lax standards for faculty who are under extreme pressure to publish or pad their record. How scholars come to know about and interact with deceptive publishers has evolved and matured since they first garnered attention a little over a decade ago, and thus, how we as information professionals approach this topic must adapt and mature.
Want to help someone new to the profession, or more experienced but seeking your wisdom? Sign up to be a mentor! The University Library Section (ULS) Membership Committee is once again providing the “On-the-Fly” Mentoring Service, which allows a mentee to talk with a mentor for a 20-minute session, on a drop-in basis. We need experienced librarians to help those new to the profession or looking for career advice.
As instruction librarians we may assume that students enter college with certain prerequisite skills to start them on the path to success. While some students may be prepared, others have lacked the opportunity to develop essential critical thinking skills needed to navigate their coursework and research assignments efficiently.
On March 25, 2021 the ACRL University Library Professional Development Committee sponsored a program on how solo and small organization librarians can build a community to foster professional grown.
Many academic and research librarians work solo or in small organizations. Working in these environments can foster extremely versatile skill-building and independence. However, it can also lead to a feeling of isolation from other librarians. One common concern among librarians who feel disconnected is that they do not have the opportunities to learn from others, and to benefit from mentorship, collaboration, or other opportunities for professional growth.
On February 23, 2021 the ACRL University Libraries Section Professional Development Committee sponsored a presentation on supporting the whole person with student basic needs services. College students across the country are struggling to meet their basic needs while attending school, including facing housing, food, and fiscal insecurities.
