ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 154 / C & R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 2001 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s we ns Part-time library school faculty, full-time librarians An opportunity for continuing education by Ellen A. Keith and Trudi E. Jacobson C o n tin u in g e d u c a tio n is a h o t to p ic am ong reference an d instruction librar­ ians. We attend national and local conferences and w orkshops and form regional or local groups so that w e may stay current in our field, brainstorm w ith our colleagues, and develop our skills. The authors propose an additional m eans of continuing education: teaching a course in a graduate school of li­ brary and information science (LIS). This ac­ tivity not only benefits the librarian but also the g ra d u a te stu d e n ts a n d th e g ra d u a te schools. B ackg ro u n d O ur full-time jobs are as reference and in­ struction librarians at academ ic institutions. We w ork at the reference desk, instructing students one-on-one, an d teach information literacy concepts and research skills to u n ­ dergraduate an d graduate students in one- shot library instruction sessions. However, as all instruction librarians know , the one-shot leaves a lot to be desired. We w anted more tim e w ith o u r stu d en ts to m easu re th eir progress and to assess the results of our teach­ ing. We w elcom ed the chance to becom e adjunct faculty in LIS schools. O ur p art-tim e jo b s We recognize that this opportunity for con­ tinuing education is only available w h en there is a nearby graduate LIS school. The authors are fortunate enough to have such schools in the vicinity, Dom inican University and the University at Albany. These schools, like al­ most any institution, ten d to rely on adjunct faculty, so w e all gain from the exchange. We teach Reference an d O nline Services, Library User Instruction, and User Education: Theory and Techniques, and, as practitioners in the field, w e feel that w e bring valuable, practical experience to the classroom. C o m m itm e n t W hether teaching in another institution or teaching in the graduate school o f o u r own institution, taking o n a sem ester-long class is a serious commitment. Librarians w ho wish to becom e adjunct faculty must keep the re­ sponsibilities in mind: committing to one night a w eek for the duration of a sem ester (that may not run concurrently w ith your own), preparing lesson plans, lectures, class discus­ sions, an d assignments, being available to students via e-mail, ph o n e, and office hours, grading hom ew ork, an d all the while, work­ ing your full-time job. That said, the authors agree that the rew ards are trem endous. But because of the time comm itment, one author has decided to limit her graduate teaching to one sem ester p e r year. A b o u t th e a u th o rs Ellen A. K eith is instruction/reference librarian a t the Illinois Institute o f Technology; e-mail: keith@ iit.edu, and Trudi E. Jacobson is coordinator o f User Education Programs a t the University at Albany, SUNY, e-mail: tj662@cscalbany.edu mailto:keith@iit.edu mailto:tj662@csc.albany.edu C&RL News ■ February 20 0 1 1 155 Teaching at another institution What are the advantages and disadvantages to teaching at another institution? It’s easy to point out the disadvantages. W hile teaching a reference class or an instruction class, you can’t have the students sit in w ith you at the reference desk or observe y o u r instruction session or a co-w orker’s session. Everything related to your class is h o u sed at an o th er li­ brary, There are also advantages to b e found from this situation. You have affiliation w ith another institution, providing contact w ith another group of librarians and faculty an d a different collection. A lth o u g h a d ju n c t f a c u l ty c a n fe e l marginalized and out o f the loop, efforts may be made to counteract this. T he d e a n at Dominican’s library school m akes a p oint o f having a meeting o f part-tim e faculty on ce a semester. Adjunct faculty m em bers feel like a part of the institution an d are k ep t up-to- date on initiatives. And, although th e n o n ­ affiliation with the LIS school’s library can be a hindrance, it can also b e a benefit. Coauthor Ellen Keith, in b o th h e r refer­ ence and user instruction classes, m akes fre­ quent reference to real-life scenarios she has encountered in h e r full-time em ploym ent, some of them exam ples o f w h at n o t to do at the reference desk or in the classroom . As they are examples from h e r w orkplace, they do not focus upo n the librarians the students will encounter at the institution’s library. Teaching at one's own institution A key benefit for Jacobson, w h o teaches at her own institution, is th e deg ree o f contact she has with som e o f the students in her course. While she does no t w ork at the li­ brary that supports graduate students at the School of Information Science an d Policy, these students often w ork o n assignm ents at the main library. She has b e e n able to help them at the reference desk o r can chat w ith them when encountering th em in the libraty. Students also feel that their instructor is eas­ ily available to them outside o f class time. In addition, som e o f th e students have been graduate assistants o r em ployees o f the reference departm ent at the main library over the years. C o au th o r T ru d i J a c o b s o n has worked at the reference d esk w ith them , in the process obtaining a fuller view o f them than might occur in the classroom setting. One o f the reasons fo r taking on a semester-long class of LIS students is the opportunity to teach more and in greater depth. O n e a s p e c t o f th e d u a l ro le h a s b o th b e n e f i c ia l a n d d i s a d v a n ta g e o u s s id e s . Ja c o b s o n also d e sc rib e s a n u m b e r o f ac­ tu a l in s tru c tio n s itu a tio n s as e x a m p le s. N aturally, m a n y o f th e situ atio n s are draw n from h e r o w n e x p e rie n c e s at th e in stitu ­ tio n w h e re sh e w o rk s a n d w h e re th e s tu ­ d e n ts a re e n ro lle d . T h e ad v a n ta g e is th a t s tu d e n ts are o fte n fam iliar w ith c a m p u s initiatives th a t lie b e h in d so m e o f th e e x ­ am p les . T h e d is a d v a n ta g e is th a t th e y m ay also b e fam iliar w ith th e p e o p le involved, e v e n th o u g h th e y are p r e s e n te d a n o n y ­ m o u sly , o r m ay b e a b le to p u t tw o an d tw o to g e th e r to o easily. This re q u ire s th a t th e in stru cto r w alk a fine line b e tw e e n p ro ­ viding b o th positive an d negative exam ples th a t m ay illum inate th eo ry an d n o t slip into tale-tellin g a n d p o ss ib le cynicism . Student and instructor expectations O n e o f th e re a s o n s fo r tak in g o n a se m e s­ te r-lo n g class o f LIS stu d e n ts is the o p p o r ­ tu n ity to te a c h m o re a n d in g re a te r d e p th . In the trad itio n al o n e -s h o t sessio n w ith u n ­ d e rg ra d u a te stu d en ts, in stru ctio n librarians hav e to h o ld back. W e’re no t te ac h in g them to b e lib rarian s, so, te m p te d as w e m ay b e to tell th e m e v e ry th in g w e k n o w a b o u t li­ b raries a n d re se a rc h , th a t w o u ld n ’t b e ef­ fective. But, o u r g ra d u a te s tu d e n ts a re b e ­ ing e d u c a te d to b e lib rary a n d in fo rm atio n p ro fe ssio n a ls, so w e feel free to tell th em e v e ry th in g w e know . We n e e d to rem em ber that similarities b e ­ tw een graduates an d undergraduates exist. Graduate students are no t yet conversant w ith all library jargon. O n the first night o f Keith’s class in Library U ser Instruction, o n e student finally interrupted h e r to ask w h at w as this “BI” to w hich she k ep t referring. We can use jargon w ith o u r graduate students (they will en co u n te r it), b u t w e m ust rem em ber to d e­ fine it an d caution them about using it w ith patrons. 156 / C&RL News ■ February 2001 … almost every class period w ith the graduate students provides an opportunity to rethink ways in which w e do our full-tim e job or a reminder of w h a t w e need to focus on in those jobs. As with our undergraduate students, ex­ amples need to be placed in context for our graduate students. Yes, they need to learn the variety of reference sources, but they also want to know which sources you use the most and w hat you think o f online reference sources versus print sources, am ong other issues. We expect m ore from our graduate stu­ dents than our undergraduates, including a greater attention to detail and a greater inter­ e s t in in q u ir y , w h ic h is r e a l ly w h a t librarianship is all about. Keith’s latest sem es­ ter o f graduate students w as a group of good listeners and goo d questioners. At times, Keith did not have answ ers to all their questions and h ad to prom ise the answ ers at the next class. At one point, she realized that they w ere learning the skills to find the answ ers them selves an d so she in­ cluded o n e o f their latest questions in their hom ew ork. W hen the class saw it, there w as a bit of surprise— isn’t this the qu estio n they had asked her?—but they took it in stride and all answ ered it correctly. It’s important to rem em ­ ber that they are being educated to be the librarian’s peers, and as m uch as w e w ant to share everything that w e know , part o f that is teaching the process so they have the abil­ ity to ultimately answ er their ow n questions. W hen Keith has b een disappointed w ith a class, the frustration has be e n with students w ho are not interested in the process an d do not see how it will relate to anything they are o r will b e doing. Continuing education benefits Teaching an LIS course is a unique continu­ ing education experience. First, the librarian gets paid for the education rather than the other w ay around. Second, almost every class period w ith the graduate students provides an opportunity to rethink ways in w hich w e d o our full-time job or a rem inder of w hat w e n eed to focus o n in those jobs. • T e a c h i n g r e f e r e n c e . W h e n K eith teaches the reference interview, the ensuing class discussion reinforces its im portance, rem inding h e r that a straightforward ques­ tio n is n o t alw ays straightforw ard, w hich m akes her m ore alert to the interview at her reference desk. In addition, reference sources on the syllabus include som e that may be otherw ise overlooked o n the job. Teaching graduate students reference skills and refer­ ence philosophy while w orking as a refer­ ence librarian fosters the instructor-librarian’s ow n skills and philosophy. It calls us to ac­ count, explaining to future librarians w hy and how w e d o w hat w e do. • T e a c h in g u s e r e d u c a t io n . Teaching students how to teach forces us to think more carefully an d clearly about our ow n teach­ ing: w e start to see ourselves through our students’ eyes. Are w e g ood role models? Do w e teach as w e are teaching them to teach? O ur graduate students can m ake a very in­ form ed judgm ent about o u r teaching abili­ ties, since w e are doing it in front o f them w eek after w eek. We are also forced to con­ front w hat w e are doing in our traditional instruction sessions. If w e teach our gradu­ ate students to set goals an d objectives for instruction, can w e honestly say w e do this for our o w n classes? O ur students som etim es ask us questions that cause us to really think about a topic, or delve into the literature, in order to respond. We n eed to stay current w ith the literature an d key resources in the field, so our as­ signed readings and our lessons are up-to- date. Along w ith all the time comm itments of o u r primary job and our teaching responsi­ bilities, this can place great dem ands upo n our time, b u t it also keeps us o n our toes, energizes us, an d m akes us better at our pri­ mary jobs. Expanded teaching styles Teaching graduate students on a w eekly b a ­ sis allows us to ex p an d our range o f teach­ ing styles. We are consistently able to use methods that encourage students to take more responsibility for their ow n learning, such as group w ork, role-playing, an d discussions. T hese m ethods ten d to be more successful (co n tin u ed on p a g e 197) C8RL News ■ February 2001 / 197 As a result of UMD’s Mardigian library’s Project, our target group, OIR, was better educated about the availability and reliability of library informa­ tion services, and gained easier access to the in­ formation they needed. Library outreach projects such as this enhance library services to all poten­ tial user groups, promote cooperative relation­ ships between campus communities, and ulti­ mately benefit the whole university. Notes 1. L ibraty Literature ( Bornx: H.W. Wilson, 1 9 8 4 -) ( “Part-tim e … c o n tin u e d fr o m p a g e 156) with students at this educational level than they are w ith undergraduates. In addition, we have tim e to accustom th em to such m ethods over th e course o f the sem ester. Initial resistance usually crum bles as students understand th e effectiveness o f these m eth­ ods a n d as w e set the to n e for the class such that students feel m ore comfortable w ith their classmates. Assignments Assignments need to be a mix of the theoreti­ cal and the practical, readings, and activities or exercises. G raduate students can be given fairly heavy reading loads, and as long as they are being held accountable in some way, they will com e to class prepared. They often be­ come very engaged w ith the readings, and adding one or tw o controversial sources to the syllabus can lead to lively discussions. As with any graduate program o f study, they need to understand th e theory behind the practice and the concepts that currently guide the p ro ­ fession. They also need assignments that will prepare them for w hat they will be asked to do on the job; assignments like preparing a lesson plan for an instruction session or writ­ ing an Internet use policy. Benefits to our students While w e believe that teaching part-time pro­ vides us w ith im mense professional benefits, w e think it also benefits our students. Brundin reported on a study o f Canadian library school faculty conducted in 1979. “For many educa­ tors practical experience w as a strong factor in establishing their credibility w ith their students as well as colleagues in the field.”1 2. Scott Nicholson, “A proposal for cat­ egorization and nom enclature for Web search tools,” J o u rn a l o f In tern et Cataloging 2, 3/4 (2000): 9. 3. T hose interested in Web site design sh o u ld see Kristen L. G arlock an d Sherry Piontech, D esigning Web interfaces to library services a n d resources (Chicago: American Li­ brary Association 1999). 4. S tephen Markel, M arketing the library (1996). Available at http://w w w -personal.si. u m i c h . e d u / ~ s m a r k e l / p a p e r s / m i s c / marketing_libraries.htm l. ■ B ru n d in also said, “L ibrarianship is a people-oriented profession; w e are concerned with users and w ith service to the users. We teach our students concepts and techniques, but do w e effectively prepare them to use these concepts and techniques in the working library world w ith real library patrons.”2 Students in LIS program s cannot do w ith­ out the theory that they learn from their full­ tim e instructors. But w e are able to provide, in o n e o r tw o o f their courses, the perspec­ tive o f w h at goes o n in an actual library, w ith the problem s and challenges an d successes that w e en co u n ter daily. We have encour­ aged o u r students to k eep in touch w ith us, and w h en they do, w e have b een delighted to hear, “Your class p rep ared m e w ell.” Contact your library school Teaching these courses has furthered our pro­ fessional developm ent, provided continuing education, and given us the opportunity to educate future librarians. We have only ben­ efited from the experience, and so w e encour­ age librarians to avail themselves of this chance. If you w ork at an institution w ith a graduate LIS school or have such a school in your area, contact the dean to inquire about becom ing an adjunct faculty member. The opportunity to teach future members of our profession pro­ vides a w in-w in situation for both the students and for us, and is not to be missed! Notes 1. Robert E. Brundin, “Field experience and the library educator,” Jo u rn a l o f E ducation f o r Library a n d Inform ation Science 31 (1991): 366. 2. Ibid., p. 367. ■ http://www-personal.si umich.edu/~smarkel/papers/misc/