Creating Subject Guides for the 21st Century Library by Buffy Hamilton

CREATING SUBJECT GUIDES

FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY

LIBRARY

presented by Buffy J. HamiltonALA TechSource

September 20, 2011

Gro

up

Po

llWhat is your library environment?

What is a subject guide?

Defining the Subject Guide

A set of resources designed to help patrons fully research and explore a topic

Before the web, print resources dominated a pathfinder

Pathfinders are now dynamic and organic

Gro

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llDo you create subject guides for your library?

part 1 context: shifts in the information

landscape and what counts as

authority; implications of these shifts for

networked learners

part 2 elements and process:

tools and strategies for

cultivating the 21st century

research guide

part 3:threads to

weave together the fabric of

contemporary subject guides

part 1: a shifting information landscape and concepts of authority and implications for networked learners

Image used with permission under a Creative Common License from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt/2297933452/sizes/l/

what is authority?

who decides what counts as

authority?

who are the

experts?

cc licensed flickr photo by harold.lloyd (won't somebody think of the bokeh?): http://flickr.com/photos/safetylast/4068790874/

determining authority is now muddier

information sources are more diverse

today’s web is more participatory

knowing which information sources to trust, when to trust, and why to trust is increasingly complex

“we're on the cusp of profound changes in

the scholarly process”

~laura cohen~

“We can no longer be content to train students to understand the difference between peer-reviewed journals and popular magazines, to appreciate the value of books, newspapers and reference sources, and to understand how to evaluate garden variety web sites.”

Laura B. Cohen, Web Support Librarian, University at Albany, SUNY

Source: http://liblogs.albany.edu/library20/

social scholarship

“The practice of scholarship in which the use of social tools is an integral part of the research and publishing process. Social scholars may blog, share bookmarks, data and other resources, participate in social networks, make their works-in-progress available for review, and deposit their publications in open access repositories.”

Laura B. Cohen, Web Support Librarian, University at Albany, SUNY

Source: http://digitalscholarship.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/social-scholarship-in-the-humanities/

Greenhow, C. (2009). Social Scholarship: APPLYING SOCIAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES TO RESEARCH PRACTICES. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 42-47. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Gro

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llDo you incorporate social media networks and information streams into your research guides?

Have you observed your patrons (students, instructors, adults) utilizing any of these resources in their research?

blogs tweets videos

podcasts wikis web forums

social citation/

bibliography

social bookmarking

curation

images and graphics

rss mobile apps

CC image via http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/09/16/social-media-is-everywhere-but-is-print-still-

valuable/

“embrace the potentials and challenges of this [participatory] emerging culture not as a replacement for existing print practices but as an expansion of them”

~henry jenkins~

Source: http://henryjenkins.org/2010/02/learning_in_a_participatory_cu.html

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/202872717/sizes/l/in/photostream/

a focus on knowing how and

when a particularinformation source

is the right fitfor an information seeking

task

Credibility Changes With…

• Source cues

• Point of view

• Information seeking task/needs

• Timeliness

• Credentials of author(s)

• Transparency of peer review

Source: Debbie Abilock,

http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/6assess/digital_authority.pdf

how do we help learners negotiate

this friction between traditional

and

new media?Joyce Valenza

what do students need for the journey of

learning and

information fluency?

what navigation tools can librarians provide through subject guides to help students find their way in a vast sea of diverse information sources?

carefully constructed

subject guides can

help learners access

quality information

more efficiently

subject guides also scaffold learners’ efforts to construct personal learning networks and environments for organizing, managing, and publishing information and original content

http://teachweb2.blogspot.com/2010/01/personal-learning-environments-student.html

AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners

1.2.2 Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the selection of resources and information.

3.1 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.

3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

4.1.6 Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily.

4.1.7 Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information.

subject guides can also help cultivate network and attention literacy while modeling information dashboards organization strategies/possibilities for learners

CC image via http://bit.ly/r8oa8n

subject guides can be a vital point of contact for collaboration and cultivating partnerships

for learningCC image via http://goo.gl/C7zHC

Q&

A

Q&A

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/sizes/l/in/photostream/

part 2: tools and strategies for cultivating the 21st century research guide

subject guide seeds• learning objectives

• standards

• learning activities

• learner needs

• forms of assessment

cc licensed photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandoncripps/3156373103/sizes/o/

Step 1: Communicate and Collaborate

Step 2: Begin the design process and selection of resources

consider the full spectrum of resources• databases

• web-based resources

• print books

• digital books

• rss feeds

• instructional materials

• assessment tools

• audio based resources

• human resources

• tutorials (video or written)

• standards for learning

• student work samples

• interviews or feedback from teachers, students

Step 3: Make adjustments if needed during the implementation of the project

Step 4: Reflection and action for future directions (praxis)

Step 5: Help Patrons Learn How To Construct Their Own Subject Guides

(strategies for librarians as well as students in part 3 today)

unpacking web 2.0 tools for social scholarship, networked learning, and engagement

Image used under Creative Common License with permission from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/talekinker/2393380504/

Two primary tools for creating organic subject guide elements

RSS feeds

Embed code

RSS Feeds

rss=real simple syndication, a

web feed or stream format

designed to deliver content

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/3541653049/sizes/o/

RSS Feeds

DatabasesNews sourcesBlogsWebsitesOnline journals/magazine

publicationsPhoto streamsForums, Social Networks

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

Most websites and online publications now

provide a menu of specific RSS feeds for

free

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds

po

dca

sts

po

dca

sts

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=290783428

po

dca

sts

podcasts

podcasts

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

YouTube/video sources

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/LIS_learns/status/115491285565054976

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

social bookmarking

blogs

Flickr/Images as Primary Sources

book widgets

book widgets

book widgets

book widgets

book widgets

book widgets

Twitter

Image used under a CC license from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3616155715/sizes/o

Twitter

social bibliography

Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps

Database Widgets

Curation Tools Widgets

Curation Tools Widgets

Curation Tools Widgets

Embed Screenshots with Kwout

potpourri

CC Image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/anna_debenham/4428704459/sizes/l/

Engage Learners with Polls

Engage Learners with Polls

Assessment with Google Forms

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Embed instructional materials

Connect to library social spaces for learning

Connect to library social spaces for learning

Connect to library social spaces for learning

Q&

A

Q&A

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/sizes/l/in/photostream/

part 3: threads to weave together the fabric of contemporary subject guides

Gro

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ll

What platform/tool do you use to create your subject guides for your

library?

Platforms/Tools for Housing Subject Guides

• Library website created with traditional web authoring platforms

• Subscription or open source subject guide services

• Blogs

• Wikis

• Social Bookmarking Services

• Free Sources: Netvibes, Live Binders, Symbaloo, Scoop.it

Points of Consideration When Choosing a Subject Guide Platform

Cost: Free vs. Paid

Technical Support

Ease of Replicating Content

Types of Embed Code Supported

Points of Consideration When Choosing a Subject Guide Platform

Ability for multiple users to manipulate the guides and/or tools for creating the guides Is content sharable within a

community?Does the platform generate a mobile

version or have an app? Is the guide searchable?

Open Source Subject Guide Applications

Subjects Plus (open source)

Library a la Carte (open source)

LibData (open source)

Subjects Plus

Library à la Carte

Lib

Dat

a

Netvibes

netvibes

netvibes

Symbaloo

symbaloo

symbaloo

symbaloo

symbaloo

symbaloo

Scoop.it

scoop.it

scoop.it

scoop.it

LiveBinders

LiveBinders

LiveBinders

LiveBinders

LibGuides

LibGuides

LibGuides

LibGuides

LibGuides

Wikispaces

Wikispaces

Wikispaces

Wikispaces

Wikispaces

Wikispaces

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcwathieu/2979581445/sizes/l/

conceptualize subject guides as a medium for inviting and sustaining conversations for learning

“No risk, no art. No art, no reward.”

Seth GodinCC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/pure9/2606460947/sizes/o/Seth Godin, September 2010 http://bit.ly/9Vkh1K

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/xjrlokix/5097846224/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Q&

A

Q&A

CC image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/5005673112/sizes/l/in/faves-10557450@N04/

contact information

[email protected]://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.comhttp://theunquietlibrarian.wikispaces.com@buffyjhamilton (Twitter)