Teaching Information Literacy

BY SHARON WEINER

PILLARS: Campus-wide Information Literacy and New Relationships

One way that the Libraries contribute to the University’s mission is to focus on information literacy as one of our major priorities as seen in our new strategic goals. Information literacy is important to our students because it gives them the competencies they need to succeed in their courses as well as in their future careers. This is very challenging and complex work!

Some in the library profession believe that librarians are only responsible for the part of information literacy that involves teaching students how to find information. The problem with this way of thinking is that it isolates one aspect of information literacy from the rest. This is also contrary to the mission statement for the Information Literacy (IL) Program that the Libraries developed in 2010 which states: the IL Program “collaboratively develops skills and competencies in learners to identify, find, evaluate and ethically use information, enabling academic success.”

For Libraries faculty who are, by definition, teachers, this means that we must consider all of the aspects of information literacy in our work. We must learn about those with which we are not familiar, to competently fulfill our role. Working with disciplinary faculty to scaffold information literacy concepts in a planned and progressive manner through curricula and embedding librarians in courses, problem-based learning teams, or co-curricular learning environments, are some of the effective strategies for developing these competencies among our students. These require knowledge in areas such as learning theory and assessment; disciplinary subject knowledge; applicable software; data gathering and interpretation; interpersonal skills; and the ability to influence.

If there are areas of information literacy in which you are looking to learn more about for the holistic approach to information literacy, and to contribute in this way to the success of our students, consider developing a targeted learning plan for yourself. I would be happy to discuss this with you, as would supervisors and mentors among the Libraries faculty.

MEL staff and collections temporarily relocate to HIKS

PILLAR: Infrastructure

As soon as classes were over the Auxiliary Services staff began relocating the Management and Economics Library (MEL) staff and collection to the Hicks Undergraduate Library (HIKS). The library is temporarily closed for the final phase of its renovation process with plans to reopen in spring 2012.

The MEL main phone, 49-42920, has been forwarded to the HIKS iDesk and staff members may still be reached through their MEL number or their campus email addresses.

New office locations for the MEL staff in HIKS are as follows:

• Tomalee Doan
  HIKS G947
  49-42920 or tdoan@purdue.edu
• Hal Kirkwood
  HIKS G940
  49-42921, Kirkwood@purdue.edu
• Mary Dugan
  HIKS G939
  49-49825 or mdugan@purdue.edu
• Pat Walkup
  HIKS G951 (reference work area)
  49-66859 or pwilli@purdue.edu
• Laura Alsop
  HIKS G949 (circulation/reserves work room)
  49-63179 or lwaisner@purdue.edu

The MEL collection has been moved to HIKS and is located in the northwest corner of the ground floor behind the media collection. Course reserve items were returned to the appropriate place or person at the end of the spring semester. Instructors have been prompted to select an alternate location for their reserves during the temporary closure.

“The staff in HIKS has been especially welcoming to the MEL staff and worked effortlessly to make the move as easy as possible for everyone,” said Tomalee Doan. “It is the goal of the entire MEL/HIKS staff to continue to provide excellent service to its patrons.”

 If you have questions please contact Linda Rose lrose@purdue.edu, Rae Lynn Boes rboes@purdue.edu or Tomalee Doan tdoan@purdue.edu .

For updates on the renovation please visit http://www.lib.purdue.edu/mel/renovation/melrenovation2.html

Successful staff transitions

PILLAR: Infrastructure

A note from Beth McNeil: In the May 18 issue of INSIDE, Dean Mullins noted how proud he is to talk with colleagues around the country and the world about the many accomplishments of Purdue Libraries. He highlighted several in the article, including the redefinition of the role of librarians and staff, and that administrative/professional and clerical/service staff are taking greater responsibility for the services and operations of the Libraries. Many of us have taken on new duties and responsibilities recently and that trend is certain to continue as we move forward.

Over the next several months you will be reading about Libraries staff members who have made successful transitions into new jobs or those who have added new roles and responsibilities to their current job duties. If you'd like to share your experience, please contact Teresa Brown at tmabrown@purdue.edu.

ALLEN BOL
Library Assistant
PNHS & Digital Initiatives

In August of 2008, I was hired on to the Libraries by Mary Aagard to assist in the Hicks Repository (HKRP) two-year serial de-selection project and with the Google Books project. Since that time I have now worked in three different positions and have had six different supervisors all within the Libraries!

Soon after I was hired, the Google Books project was put on hold and I was left with the de-selection project and barcoding. I was then asked to split my time between HKRP and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) assisting them where needed. My time in HKRP was brief, but assisting in the barcoding allowed me to get to know many different people from all areas of the Libraries. One thing I will always remember from HKRP is the video I made for One Book Higher, Barcode Follies (which I might add now has over 300 views on YouTube).

My original position had an end date of December 2009, meaning I would be out of a job on December 31. Luckily, a Library Assistant III position opened up in ILL so I applied, interviewed and was hired on full time by Amy Winks in May 2009. Working in ILL kept me busy. I handled shipping/receiving, purchasing of supplies, loaning Purdue materials to other libraries and performing other duties as assigned. My co-workers in ILL were a great group to work with and we had many good laughs and pranks together (which I still found a little time for). I enjoyed working in ILL and if it weren’t for the fact that I wanted to advance within the Libraries and make more money, I would have stayed in ILL.

In October 2010, a new Library Assistant IV position became available. It included a dual role working in the Pharmacy Library (PNHS) and Digital Initiatives in Stewart Center. Once again, I applied, was interviewed and accepted this new position. The transition into my current job was made much easier because of my two previous jobs. I have found that my experience in ILL has helped me assist patrons with questions and to help them get the information they need as fast as possible.

Splitting my time between two completely different positions and two different supervisors has been fun and I enjoy the challenge that it brings each day. It is not that I did not like working in HKRP or ILL, it is just when an opportunity came to advance myself, I went for it and I encourage others to do the same. Who knows? This time next year I might be sitting in the Dean's office!

New staff

JENNIFER THERIOT
Production Editor
Purdue University Press

I began working as Production Editor for the Purdue University Press and for the Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) at the beginning of May. For the Press, I will primarily be working on journals, and my role with the JTRP will focus on the production of their research reports.

A Purdue graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English, I previously worked for Wiley Publishing in Indianapolis and worked as a freelance writer and editor on a variety of publishing and marketing projects.

I recently moved back to the area after living in southern Indiana and am pleased to be back at Purdue. I am joined in Lafayette by my black cat, Sydney, who is also pleased to be back at Purdue. During non-working hours, I am a voracious reader, knitter and I love to spend my weekends biking, hiking or camping with family or friends.

You can find me in the office of the Purdue University Press, STEW 370, or reach me at jtheriot@purdue.edu or 49-48024.

Are tattoos protected by U.S. Copyright law? The case of Whitmill v. Warner Bros. will be addressing that issue. The movie “Hangover, Part II” which was recently released has a character that has a tattoo on his face. The tattoo is an exact copy of the tattoo that Mike Tyson, a prize fighter and actor, has on his face. The tattoo artist, S. Victor Whitmill, is suing Warner Bros., for copyright infringement.

Mr. Whitmill attempted to stop the movie from being released but the judge ruled in favor of Warner Bros. saying that to stop the movie at that late date would cause irreparable harm to the movie studio. The judge allowed Warner Bros. to proceed with the movie but the Court did not dismiss the copyright infringement claim and has allowed that to move forward. The question before the Court is whether a tattoo which is a pictorial work of art is protected when it is on a human body. The Court has already indicated in the preliminary hearing that copyright does protect tattoos but the issue still must go to trial.

For a work to be protected under copyright, it must be original and fixed. The artist will have to show that the tattoo is original, which should not be difficult to do, and then the next step is to show that it is fixed. If the Court finds that a tattoo on a human body is not fixed under the definition in the copyright law then more than likely the artist will produce documentation such as a paper drawing that was used to create the tattoo which would satisfy the fixed requirement. Warner Bros. would then have to show that their use of the copyrighted work was fair use under the law. In this case, this is a difficult hurdle because the tattoo was an exact reproduction with no transformative use.

Is art work on the body any less protectable than art work on paper or a computer? The Court will make that determination when the trial moves forward in June.

If you have questions, contact Donna at ferullo@purdue.edu.

Google digitization project continues

LuAnn Gooden spends time each day pulling serials from shelves in the Hicks Repository for the Google digitization project. “It’s not a difficult job but accuracy is very important. It will be fun to see the outcome of our labors once the content is digitized and available on Google Books,” said Gooden.

These volumes will be digitized at a Google scanning facility, and they will not be returned to us. A few months after they leave Purdue, the scanned documents will be available for access on both Google Books and HathiTrust.

Other staff working on the project include Sue Ward, Lori Bryant, Wendy Kelly, Candy Sheagley, Sue Long and Dan Yeoman.