02 April 2007

ACRL: So Much to Learn, Not Enough Time

Went to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference this weekend in much-warmer-than-Vermont Baltimore. And incredible display of curiousity, innovation, and commitment on the part of academic librarians. It's hard to understand how anyone could suggest that librarians are stodgy and immovable. I was impressed again and again at the attempts by libraries across the country to improve their services using the latest technology, the efforts to understand the implications of technology on the institution and our students, and the excitement and collaboration among librarians to not just keep up but lead the way in incorporating technology with traditional methods of instruction to ensure that our students are developed and learned.

Once I have the chance to read through my notes, there will be more to come on the inspiring talk on Library 2.0 and blogging by David Silver, media studies professor at the Univ. of San Francisco, on the highly original and interesting use of gaming in the undergrad library by my friend David Ward at UIUC, and perceptions of authority in Wikipedia by Dan Ream (I forget where he's from but I will find out before I post about it).

2 comments:

david silver said...

hello sarah! it was nice meeting you at ACRL. i thought your poster session - and the project the session described - really rocked. i think we share a common idea regarding teaching - that the best way to empower students is to allow them to be as creative as possible.

what i really dug about it though was the way the project encouraged students to use new media and the library - not one or the other.

above, in describing the librarians you met at ACRL, you say: "curiousity, innovation, and commitment." to this i'd say, "yes!" and add generousity. the amount of sharing that takes place among librarians (public, academic, school) is unlike anything i've witnessed within the non-librarian academic conferences i usually attend. to share information - and to make that information as free and public as possible - is something we all need to learn.

The Sheck said...

Thanks David! And thanks for finding me and my blog.

In response to you comment, I am new to teaching but I am finding more and more that turning to students for ideas and giving them the freedom to act on those ideas is what creates the kinds of relationships I crave and the kinds of outcomes I dream about. Our e-gaming experience is just one example.

To future comments and collaboration. Cheers.