LIS 5937 - 735
--Seminar in Youth Services--
Book Talk
(Download)
I.b. Students demonstrate effective communication skills.
II.a. Students identify and analyze diverse information needs of individuals and communities.
II.b. Students evaluate and select print and digital information resources and systems to meet needs of users.
III.a. Students analyze, organize and describe various formats of information objects.
*Instructor Evaluation*
"I like how you explained clearly the age range these books are appropriate for - and why. I love that you have a personal connection to the topic and hooked your listeners with a story. The theme itself is unique and well-suited to these books. Nice shout out to Reading Rainbow too!
My only suggestions would be to:
1) Consider your audience - if you were targeting adults (teachers or parents) with these book talks, you're good, but if you wanted to reach kids, I would adjust the vocabulary and vary your voice inflection slightly to be more engaging.
2) Consider the length. This is quite long - I would shoot for closer to 3-5 minutes in order to keep your audience's attention.
Overall though great work."
--Natalie Taylor
Book talks (and book trailers) are wonderful means of performing reader's advisory in a digital format. Their goal is to succinctly discuss the highlights of a number of texts in an engaging manner that will ideally inspire others to seek them out. Recording my own book talk was a learning experience for me as it challenged me to communicate my thoughts in a more open and natural manner as well as sustaining listener interest through oral narration. While the resulting recording came out on the longer side and suffered from a somewhat stilted delivery, I still feel that this exercise was important to my growth as a librarian experimenting with new tools and mediums.
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Interview with Teen Librarian
(View)
I.a. Students are able to evaluate critically, reflect, and problem-solve individually as well as collaboratively.
I.b. Students demonstrate effective communication skills.
I.c. Students participate in professional and community engagement activities in the field.
IV.b. Students will identify opportunities for research and develop plans for research in applied settings in library and information science.
*Instructor Evaluation*
"Great write-up! You really encapsulated the challenges of the position, while still highlighting the rewards. I like that you emphasized the less "fun" parts of the job - like dealing with funding and bureaucracy - and also talked about the importance of staff collaboration. This librarian really seems to have a good handle on professional development as well, which is great to read. Nice work!"
--Natalie Taylor
Having the opportunity to discuss librarianship in detail with professionals is always a rewarding experience. It opens one up to ideas and considerations that they might never had otherwise, even when that professional under discussion is someone who works with you on a day-to-day basis, as was the case with this documented interview. The teen librarian at my branch provided me with information regarding her overarching and daily responsibilities that had previously eluded my observation, and as a result this extended conversation provided me with invaluable insight into her views and position in the workplace.
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Screencast
(Link)
I.b. Students demonstrate effective communication skills
II.a. Students identify and analyze diverse information needs of individuals and communities.
II.b. Students evaluate and select print and digital information resources and systems to meet needs of users.
II.c. Students understand and use appropriate information technology for information services.
III.a. Students analyze, organize and describe various formats of information objects.
III.b. Students identify and apply best practices in the use of different technologies for knowledge representation.
IV.b. Students will identify opportunities for research and develop plans for research in applied settings in library and information science.
*Instructor Evaluation*
"After all the tech issues, it was very exciting to get to see this :) You did a very nice job on the assignment - it was clear who the audience is and really seems appropriate for both class projects in the library and a recommended resource for librarians to suggest to youth. I like too that it's an example of universal design - the variety of lexile levels make it appropriate for struggling readers, but the resources itself is something that would benefit all young researchers. You did a great job explaining how it works and the different parts of the site as well. Very good work on this."
--Natalie Taylor
The vast amounts of digital resources that currently exist in databases and the Internet abroad makes librarianship appear intimidating to the recent graduate. How to navigate the seemingly endless streams of information? What resource should be recommended to the given patron or group based on their individual needs? Activities like this screencast ease the burden in a way in that they allow librarians to look at one resource deeply rather than many resources shallowly. As can be heard in the recording, my excitement over the potential of sites like Newsela to cater to underserved populations such as struggling readers within library programming is high, and my knowledge of this resource and its benefit to my community would have been sadly lacking had this assignment not prompted me to extend my reach and understanding of digital resources.
______________________________________________________________________*Instructor Evaluation*
"After all the tech issues, it was very exciting to get to see this :) You did a very nice job on the assignment - it was clear who the audience is and really seems appropriate for both class projects in the library and a recommended resource for librarians to suggest to youth. I like too that it's an example of universal design - the variety of lexile levels make it appropriate for struggling readers, but the resources itself is something that would benefit all young researchers. You did a great job explaining how it works and the different parts of the site as well. Very good work on this."
--Natalie Taylor
The vast amounts of digital resources that currently exist in databases and the Internet abroad makes librarianship appear intimidating to the recent graduate. How to navigate the seemingly endless streams of information? What resource should be recommended to the given patron or group based on their individual needs? Activities like this screencast ease the burden in a way in that they allow librarians to look at one resource deeply rather than many resources shallowly. As can be heard in the recording, my excitement over the potential of sites like Newsela to cater to underserved populations such as struggling readers within library programming is high, and my knowledge of this resource and its benefit to my community would have been sadly lacking had this assignment not prompted me to extend my reach and understanding of digital resources.
*Instructor Evaluations*
"Excellent introduction post Jose. I really like your analysis of the differences between today's teens and young people versus those of recent generations. I know I'm not alone in being jealous of all the rich YA lit that is available now that just wasn't when I was a teen just a couple of decades ago! I'm excited to hear about your experiences "on the ground" at your library."
"Jose,
I loved hearing about your work with the teen advisory boards. I really like that you've used the readings as further evidence to your own observations. Very creative ideas for the third question too. I also just wanted to thank you for your thoughtful responses to your classmates - great example of a good discussion."
"Great post this week! I also really appreciate your detailed responses to your classmates. It's a nice example of how to promote discussion online. Good work."
"I like that you highlighted the strategic plan in justifying your answer to question one. Great use of resources. I also think you are definitely on to something when you say evaluation needs to be specific. Great responses to your classmates as well."
"Great posts this week - thoughtful and well articulated. I'm glad the discussion had you considering the policies in your work life. Good to carry over what we're talking about in this class to where it actually matters!"
--Natalie Taylor
