With the rapid growth of the video and VCR market since the 1980s, librarians have increasingly used videos for staff training and development, as well as for instructional…
Abstract
With the rapid growth of the video and VCR market since the 1980s, librarians have increasingly used videos for staff training and development, as well as for instructional purposes. As a medium, video provides a potentially stimulating and accessible alternative to other training approaches. In many training and instructional situations, video can clarify technical procedures, step‐by‐step, using such functions as slow motion and replay. For training programs emphasizing soft skills development (including communication, supervisory, and management skills), video can enhance role playing and behavior modeling. It can also provide opportunities for self‐observation and evaluation through the taping of simulated or actual interactions.
In a recent RQ column, Sharon L. Baker reviewed the profession's literature in the area of readers' advisory services. She found that very little research existed in the area of…
Abstract
In a recent RQ column, Sharon L. Baker reviewed the profession's literature in the area of readers' advisory services. She found that very little research existed in the area of readers' advisory services. The research that does exist is focused on “passive” readers' advisory strategies. Baker is a leader in this area and her articles on overload and browsing, the use of displays, and genre classification are essential to understanding the adult fiction reader and ways in which libraries can assist these individuals in locating new authors and titles of interest.
In the literature of librarianship, the education of a reference librarian has, on the whole, meant two things. First, it has referred to the theoretical and/or practical training…
Abstract
In the literature of librarianship, the education of a reference librarian has, on the whole, meant two things. First, it has referred to the theoretical and/or practical training in reference services that a student receives in library school. Second, it has meant the training, or lack of it, the new librarian receives in making the transition from library school to the reference desk. What reference education has not meant, to judge by the literature, is the ongoing training or professional development a working reference librarian might receive on the job.
Andrea R. Testi and Sever Bordeianu
Research at universities is becoming increasingly specialized and, at the same time, more interdisciplinary. In response to this paradox, academic libraries have tended to…
Abstract
Research at universities is becoming increasingly specialized and, at the same time, more interdisciplinary. In response to this paradox, academic libraries have tended to specialize along discipline lines by creating divisional libraries. The divisions typically offer reference and other library services to a focused clientele. This specialization leads to isolation and lack of communication among library departments, including separate, subject‐specific reference units. It also limits the versatility of staff. Staff exchange has been used in academic libraries to address some of these problems. It entails the utilization of a library's employees from one department performing tasks in another department.
Robert Burgin and Duncan Smith
Libraries devote considerable money to providing continuing education and staff development, but initial research suggests that there is little “pay off” to continuing education…
Abstract
Libraries devote considerable money to providing continuing education and staff development, but initial research suggests that there is little “pay off” to continuing education efforts, that less than half of all training transfers to the work place. While a wide range of activities may be used to promote the transfer of training to the job, evidence shows that librarians do not often engage in such activities. Ways of strengthening support for transfer of training in libraries — and thereby enhancing the performance of the library's personnel — are suggested.
Lee‐Allison Levene and Polly Frank
With so many academic librarians now employed in split or multi‐task job assignments, those who teach may question how they can develop the skills they need to be challenging and…
Abstract
With so many academic librarians now employed in split or multi‐task job assignments, those who teach may question how they can develop the skills they need to be challenging and innovative in the classroom. Instruction librarians may turn to their colleagues to help them cultivate their teaching skills, particularly during times when bibliographic instruction (B.I.) workshops or training sessions are not imminent. Noticing the informal coaching that exists among trusted colleagues, some libraries have given structure to this exchange through peer coaching programs.
Laura M. Oliver and Kae Reynolds
The recent financial crisis has brought business ethics issues to the forefront. While most colleges have formal training in business ethics, a person’s ethical standards have…
Abstract
The recent financial crisis has brought business ethics issues to the forefront. While most colleges have formal training in business ethics, a person’s ethical standards have often developed before college age. This application brief proposes using digital popular media to teach servant-leadership principles to public school adolescents. The purpose is to illustrate the advantage of using secular content from the television series Merlin (Wilkie, 2008) to demonstrate an ethics-based leadership perspective through a medium that is accessible to the virtual/video generation.
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
In lieu of recent violent acts and the deaths of quare individuals‐queers of colour (e.g. Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, Carl Walker‐Hoover, Jaheem Herrera, Sakia Gunn, etc.) this…
Abstract
In lieu of recent violent acts and the deaths of quare individuals‐queers of colour (e.g. Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, Carl Walker‐Hoover, Jaheem Herrera, Sakia Gunn, etc.) this piece remembers their lives, while reimagining our current sociopolitical landscape (Johnson, 2006). Recognising the spiritual as political (Jacqui Alexander, 2005), this work calls upon our collective memories‐psychological, bodily and sacred‐to remember the tragedies and lessons of love necessary to heal our collective wounds. Through a polyvocal montage performance text, life, living, love, and quareness are explored. Believing love as the core of Christianity, and the necessity of love to sustain life, revolution, justice and equality, A Call to Love questions our love practices, urging us to operate from that commonality.
Details
Keywords
With connections to history, culture, and religion, many holidays have potential for inclusion in early grade social studies curriculum. However, opportunities for meaningful…
Abstract
Purpose
With connections to history, culture, and religion, many holidays have potential for inclusion in early grade social studies curriculum. However, opportunities for meaningful content are frequently passed over in favor of holiday crafts that can trivialize content and promote stereotyping, cultural appropriation, and false information. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perspectives about holidays in the curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
Through questionnaires and interviews, 20 teachers identified which holidays they address and explained why and how they attend to these special days.
Findings
Most often, participants used holidays to teach history, impart values, and make connections to children's lives. Findings suggest that although holidays may provide avenues for transformative social studies, few early grade teachers may recognize this potential.
Originality/value
This study adds to elementary social studies research by promoting scholarly consideration of meaningful holiday lessons as avenues for robust social studies instruction.