ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 5 2 8 / C&RL News RESEARCH FORUM Bonnie. Gratch, editor Papers and programs: Librarians adopt a scholar’s model By Don Frank Head, Science-Engineering Library University o f Arizona and Carol Hammond H ead o f Inform ation and Support Services Arizona State University, W est Campus ACRL’s Arizona C hapter, which is also th e C ol­ lege and University Libraries Division o f the Ari­ zona State Library Association (ASLA), recently completed its first call for papers. Librarians re ­ sponded by subm itting proposals th a t w ere judged by a review com m ittee, and the best o f these w ere selected for presentation at th e annual statewide conference. W ith funding from th e ACRL C h ap ­ ters Council and ASLA, th e papers are about to be published and distributed to th e m em bership. The idea of using th e scholar’s m odel for re p o rt­ ing to colleagues in a discipline th e results o f re ­ search, experim entation, and innovation is not new to librarians. Long practiced by faculty, th e aca­ demic tradition o f making a call for papers, com ­ petitively evaluating th e proposals, and p resenting the results before an audience o f in terested fellow practitioners has b een used by ACRL in five n a­ tional conferences. Arizona may be th e m ost recen t state chapter to offer this opportunity to its m em ­ bers; many others sponsor sessions for co ntributed papers either at th e state association level or at chapter-sponsored conferences. A n u m b e r o f les­ sons were learned by the sponsors in th e process o f organizing the co n trib u ted papers sessions; an equal num ber of learning opportunities w ere avail­ able for contributors. Sharing some o f these lessons with other ACRL chapters who sponsor contrib­ uted paper sessions is one purpose o f this paper. O ffering some suggestions to users o f the trad i­ tional scholar’s m odel for presenting papers is another. Benefits o f using the scholar’s model W riting and presenting papers has benefits for both th e individual and the profession. F o r the individual librarian, it is an opportunity to develop an idea or rep o rt on progress m ade in a research project and to obtain feedback and reactions from colleagues with similar interests and expertise. It provides a stage on which to develop or improve both w riting and speaking skills. T he public p re se n ­ tation process is one which facilitates networking, since it can bring to g eth er librarians who are in ter­ ested in a particular topic. Rewards for participa­ tion are significant; presenters receive professional visibility, and papers th at are given may be p u b ­ lished. O n a larger scale, th e re are benefits to th e p ro ­ fession and to individual institutions as well. U ni­ versities an d colleges can also gain visibility through th e participation o f librarians who report on th e creativity, scholarship, or innovation taking place at th e institution. T he opportunity and re ­ wards for th e individual may provide motivation for undertaking projects th a t have on-the-job benefits to th e library. T he public forum as a way to share THE WILSON INDEXES When You Need an Answer Fast and it Has to be Right Offering broad coverage, unparalleled accuracy, and unmatched currency, the Wilson Indexes are your key to important literature in business and law, science and technology, art, education, the humanities, the social sciences, and general reference. Now you can search these renowned indexes in print, online, on CD-ROM, and on tape. 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T he co m p eti­ tive selection process allows participants to see how th eir proposals fare w hen they are ju d g e d by o th e r professionals and com pared with work subm itted by others. Because the expense o f attending a statewide or local conference is usually m uch less than w hat is req u ired to travel to a national m e e t­ ing, most librarians can participate w ithout making a large financial investm ent. Sessions are also dem onstrations o f quality th a t stand as learning models for future participants. Evaluative criteria for papers O rganizers o f p ap er sessions n eed to develop and refine th e criteria th a t will be used to evaluate proposals. T he criteria m ust be clearly expressed at th e tim e th e call for papers is m ade to provide guidelines for those who will develop and subm it proposals. It will also insure fairness in th e evalu­ ation process if expectations about topics, content, and form at have b een established. Some questions and observations th at can facilitate th e develop­ m ent o f criteria for both evaluators and partici­ pants follow. Are th e papers related to th e conference th e m e? Or, do th e papers n e e d to be associated w ith th e conference th e m e ? If particular “tracks” or p r e ­ fe rre d topics have b een defined, do th e them es o f su b m itted papers fall w ithin these topics? Will a p articular p a p e r appeal to a large audi­ ence? W hile audience appeal is desirable, p ro ­ p o sed p ap ers on topics c o n sid ered “d iffe re n t” should be appraised with care as th ese may be innovative or provide n ee d e d perspective to the aggregate o f acceptable papers. A good n u m b e r o f papers will fall naturally into standard categories such as reference, online or instructional services, collection developm ent, faculty liaison, or o th e r defined topics or them es. Evaluators n e e d to seek appropriate balance betw een audience appeal and th e im portance o f a w ell-rounded collection o f inform ative papers. Will it be possible to cover th e topic adequately in th e tim e allocated? This may be difficult to assess, b u t needs to be considered. Individuals who subm it proposals may not think about th e feasibil­ ity or possibility o f practical tim e constraints. They are usually concerned with th e critical elem ents o f th e topic, not w ith th e actual presentation. As a result, evaluators n e e d to consider proposals w ithin th e context o f realistic tim e limitations. Type or category o f p ap er needs to be d elib er­ ated by th e evaluators. C ontributors n e e d to be aware o f possible categories such as research p a ­ p er, position paper, or sum m ary paper. If “r e ­ search ” papers have b een requested, th e n a “how- w e-do-it” p ap er may be inappropriate for p re se n ta ­ tion. In th e examination o f contributed proposals, evaluators should look for a m easure o f innovation or creativity. Ideas or concepts th at are innovative or different should be cultivated and receive seri­ ous consideration. A routine or standard sum m ary o f activities or procedures may be acceptable, too, particularly for relevant topics. A balance o f appli­ cation and theory is desirable. Are ideas and m ethodology expressed with clar­ ity and are goals and objectives evident? A m e th o d ­ ology th a t is difficult to u n d erstan d needs to be questioned. If the au th o r is unable to clarify goals and objectives in th e proposal, approval o f th e proposal will be difficult to justify. Evaluators n eed to focus on potential quality in these papers. Ex­ pression o f goals and related m ethodology is a requisite for quality. T h e question o f balance should be examined. Ideally, proposals on topics related to both public services and technical services will be su bm itted and accepted for presentation. This will provide n e e d e d perspective and enhance universal appeal. Are proposals lim ited to academ ic libraries? I f so, possible com binations o f proposals from college libraries, university libraries, and com m unity col­ leges may be considered to increase overall re p re ­ sentation. Quality o f writing skills needs to be appraised w ith care and attention. Com m unication o f ideas to p eers and colleagues is a prim ary goal o f this colle­ gial program . Ability to w rite well and to express ideas w ith clarity is essential. Evaluation o f proposals T he evaluation process m ust apply th e estab ­ lished criteria, and th e panel o f jurors m ust add th e ir professional ju d g m en t in rating th e proposals. It is through this process th a t th e best proposals are selected to be developed into papers and p re se n te d at th e conference. T he proposal w riting process is one in which those who are novices in th e use o f th e scholar’s m odel seem to have th e m ost difficulty. Identifying an appropriate and significant area for study or reporting is th e first challenge. O ne way to successfully m eet this challenge is to review possible topics and ideas and ask if they are innova­ tive, experim ental, or new. D o they offer creative solutions to problem s th a t others face as well? W hat can others learn from w hat you will rep o rt? C an th e application be used elsew here? I f some- June 1990 / 531 thing has been studied, what can be done with the evidence or conclusion? If an opinion is offered, what is the objective in doing so? Producing a docum ent that shows a planned strategy for developing the idea is another p ro b ­ lem. Librarians often rely on reporting “how we do it” or “how we fixed it.” These reports can be o f real value, but only if the projects can serve as models for others in another setting. In order to do so, the report needs a research com ponent that is p ro ­ vided by relevant statistics or evaluation that vali­ dates the success of the program. Proposals m ust include a methodology to provide this evidence. Curiously, some academ ic librarians, many o f whom assist others in the research process on a daily basis, are unfamiliar with structuring research projects in their own discipline. Proposal writers would do well to take advantage of the informal review process that is available to all through peers and colleagues in our libraries and academic departm ents. Using o ther librarians as a prelim inary sounding board can provide good feedback. Asking the faculty with whom we work to read a proposal is another opportunity for getting constructive input. Many of them are experienced in using this model and can identify problem areas in proposals and in how the project or idea is presented. Librarians at the local level can provide growth opportunities for each other, and through using another scholar’s model—that of collegial­ ity— help develop stronger professional reporters and researchers. Seeking and providing input, advice, and constructive criticism are less obvious but not unim portant parts of the whole process. The sessions and the papers Participating in the actual sessions dem ands a different set of skills; these include organizing, researching, speaking, and writing. Librarians have had m ore experience with and exposure to these processes, and know how to approach and deliver a finished project. Keeping a presentation within the tim e constraints in paper sessions is a talent that many faculty m em bers have difficulty developing, and the same holds true for some librarians. C om ­ posing a well-written report with appropriate visual support in graphs, charts, and examples is also a task that most librarians handle well. W hether from actual experience in going before students in class­ rooms, working on research projects or other job requirem ents that may call for organizing, writing, and speaking skills, librarians dem onstrate exper­ tise in carrying out this part of the scholar’s model. Conclusion Librarians have adopted a model used by faculty for reporting and sharing research, experim enta­ tion, and innovation. Some o f the skills required to use this model are both highly evident and often exercised by librarians in their work. O ther skills that are needed are not as clearly evident, and some library professionals are unprepared to follow the model through lack o f experience or training. Li­ brarians can improve the ability to use the model effectively by increased exposure to the practice and the process. State-level sessions can provide the opportunity for both observers and participants to becom e more familiar with the scholar’s model. Additionally, mechanisms and processes need to be developed and employed for providing con­ structive feedback to contributors on how to p ro ­ duce a successful proposal that will becom e a suc­ cessful paper. H elping each other to develop this expertise is a worthy objective for local ACRL chapters that seek to provide professional develop­ m ent opportunities for members. New ACRL publication on research perspectives The latest volume in the A C R L Publications in Librarianship series, no. 47, has just been p u b ­ lished. E dited by Mary Jo Lynch and A rthur P. Young, Academic Libraries: Research Perspectives, will give practitioners an expanded understanding of their daily work. More than a review of the literature, each essay in this collection examines recent research and current issues in a major topic in the light of the following questions: W hat have we learned from research that will help us deal with present and future issues? If past research is not relevant, why not? W hat research questions should be addressed now and what methodologies appro­ priate? The collection includes the following essays: • “C o lle c tio n D e v e lo p m e n t an d M a n a g e ­ m ent,” by Charles Osburn • “Bibliographic C ontrol,” by Elaine Svenonius • “Access Services,” by Jo Bell W hitlatch • “Instructional Services,” by Mary George • “Bibliom etrics: Library Use and C itation Studies,” by Paul Metz • “M anagem ent Theory and Organizational Structure,” by Beverly P. Lynch 532 / C&RL News • “Insurm ountable O pportunities: Advanced Technology and the Academic Library,” by Bill P otter • “Analysis and Library M anagem ent,” by Mal­ colm Getz Mary Jo Lynch is director o f the American Li­ brary Associations’s Office for Research. A rthur P. Young is director o f th e library7 at the University of South Carolina. Academic Libraries: Research Perspectives may be ordered for $27.50 from ALA Publishing, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ISBN 0-8389-0532- 3. Poster preparation for ALA Annual Conference By Suzanne D. Gyeszly Resource Development Librarian Texas A & M University T he first poster session was introduced in Phila­ delphia in 1982 during the American Library Asso­ ciation Annual C onference. Since the beginning, it becam e very popular among librarians, both for participants as well as observers. T he num ber of applications, participants, subject topics, and ob­ servers have increased during th e past years. Among the most popular subject categories are: autom ation, technology, cataloging systems, public awareness, publishing, services to special groups, collection developm ent, serials, special collections, reference and inform ation services, bibliographic instructions and education, m anagem ent, person­ nel, and planning. Last year in Dallas 105 posters w ere exhibited in thirty major subject categories. T he purposes o f the poster sessions are to: 1. prom ote research project(s) o f an individual librarian or a team. 2. provide an effective com m unication o f ideas and research. 3. p resen t a broad range of topics in an informal way. 4. provide th e opportunity for both beginners and experienced librarians to participate in a na­ tional conference in a ju ried session. 5. place th e p re se n te r’s institution in a national spotlight. 6. obtain valuable inform ation on innovative programs, in a relatively short tim e period. Preparation for a successful poster session Based on my personal experiences after partici­ pating in several poster sessions since 1982, and currently preparing th ree posters for the Chicago Annual C onference, I strongly believe that the hardest task is to com plete the first poster. T h e re ­ fore, the purpose o f my article is to provide a “hands-on” experience for all the librarians who are struggling with th eir current research and poster or planning to participate in a poster session in the future. Suggested calendar o f events September to December Identify the future research or subject topic(s) for a poster. Subject should be relevant to the researcher’s interest or institution. If “seed money” is n eed ed to execute the project, the library direc­ tor, university, institution administration or outside sources may be approached for funding. If funding is not available, bu t the researcher still wants to proceed with the project, I believe that it is w orth­ while to personally finance the work. January Obtain an official poster’s abstract form and instruction manual from the ALA exhibit booth at th e ALA M idwinter M eeting or submit a le tter for the necessary inform ation from ALA H ead q u ar­ ters in Chicago. Read all instructions before p re ­ paring the abstract. P repare a well-written, short, b u t very specific abstract about the research proj­ ect. The abstract should cover major areas: state­ m ent o f th e problem , objectives, methodology, anticipated research results and conclusions. Be­ fore th e deadline, subm it the poster’s abstract to the C hair o f the ALA Poster Session C om m ittee using the official abstract form.