ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1086 / C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2001 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s ewsn Information literacy and the arts Be there . . . or miss it! by Priscilla Atkins I nformation literacy is highly valued at our library; the library mission statement em­ phasizes “fostering a community of informa­ tion literate, lifelong learners” and “reaching a variety of information needs.” So in August 1999, when I was appointed Hope College’s first arts librarian, a position justified by the unique needs of the specific disciplines con­ stituting “the arts”— Art, T heatre, Music, Dance, and Creative Writing—I proposed to spend time with some of the Arts classes and Arts faculty as part of my Fall 2000 sabbatical in order to increase the library’s effectiveness in fostering information literacy in this area. My primary goal was to become better ac­ quainted with the Arts classes and Arts stu­ dents and faculty at the college in order to become a more effective steward for the in­ formation needs of these departments. What I did not know was the extent to which my e x p e rie n c e s w o u ld b o th rein fo rce and broaden my vision for how a reference/in­ struction librarian might best serve her col­ leagues and patrons in the information-rich environment of this new century by being with students and faculty outside the library, on their turf, so to speak, in classrooms and studios, theatres and offices, galleries, and hallways. A brief diary of my visits to classes in the­ atre, art, creative writing, and an interdisci­ plinary arts course sets the stage—fills in the b ack g ro u n d — for a list o f tips librarians and o th er e d ucators m ay find useful in fostering inform ation literacy in the arts, a n d p erhaps o th er disciplines. Spending tim e in the theatre departm ent D ue to tim e constraints, a n d w ith the u n d e r­ standing that this initial foray w o u ld serve as a gatew ay into e x p loration o f all o f the arts, I fo cu sed o n the dep artm e n ts o f T heatre and Art during m y sabbatical. In T heatre, I visited acting classes, th e principles o f d esign class, th eatre crafts class, lighting design class, di­ recting class, in troduction to th eatre class, stage m an a g em e n t class, a n d several of the pro d u c tio n m eetings for the m usical “Steel Pier.” In N ovem ber, I a tte n d ed pro d u c tio n m eetings for “T he Rimers of Eldrich” a n d “A M idsum m er Night’s D ream ,” b o th to b e p e r­ form ed in the spring sem ester. W h en I a p p ro a c h e d this project, my m ain goals w e re to g et a se n se o f w h a t students are a sked to do in theatre classes, to think a b o u t h o w the library co u ld m ost effectively su p p o rt them , as well as to get to k n o w the th eatre faculty better. W hat in fact h a p p e n e d w as th at I w as sw ep t off m y feet. I am n o w in utter aw e o f th e th eatre d e p artm e n t at H ope College. I stum bled o nto the fact that w hat in e d u ­ cation lingo is called “g roup w o rk ,” a nd in A b ou t th e au th o r Priscilla Atkins is arts/reference librarian a t Hope College, e-mail: atkinsp@hope.edu mailto:atkinsp@hope.edu C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2001 / 1087 corporate lingo “team effort,” is m anifested in its g o o d a n d true a n d h u m an a n d im per­ fect a n d perfect forms in a college theatre d e partm ent— all the time. T he theatre d e partm ent is an academ ic departm ent— a very rigorous o ne— and it is a theatre com pany— an extrem ely talented a nd successful one. The critically acclaim ed productions staged b y the H ope College the­ atre dep artm e n t are a result of the constant a n d intense collaboration o f all o f the theatre faculty a n d staff. Reaching consensus over a n d over during the creative process o f play- m ak in g is e x tre m e ly d e m a n d in g o f e ac h individual’s time, intelligence, a n d em otions. To be included in the th e a tre ’s production m eetings w as to be invited to the h eart o f the artistic process. By attending m any classes a n d o n e re­ hearsal, I also h ad the opportunity to observe a n d e x perience firsthand the enthusiasm and dedication o f theatre students. And, inadvert­ ently, it gave the theatre students a c hance to k now me. W hen I w alk into the theatre build­ ing now , I am g reeted by friends everywhere. I have b e e n a th eatregoer for years, b ut this sabbatical e xperience allow ed m e to learn h o w m uch I did n 't k n o w a bout w hat g oes o n b e h in d the scenes. Hanging out in art classes A ttending classes a nd critique sessions a nd sim ply nosing a ro u n d in the art studios a nd classroom s in the art building felt very com ­ fortable to me. I w as privileged to stand at the edge a n d w atch as students in the b e gin­ ning sculpture classes a p p lie d c o ncepts of shape, form, and com position to three-dim en ­ sional self-portraits in cardboard. In a beginning design class, I w as able to observe th e introductory lessons in a soft­ w are program that students w o u ld u se in an assignm ent for d esigning CD jackets— an as­ signm ent in w hich th ey w ere a sked to take all elem ents, including the barcode, credits, a nd c om pany logo, into consideration. D uring a class o n early B aroque p a in t­ ing, I listened a n d w a tch e d as students com ­ p a re d the M adonna paintings o f various re­ naissance m asters. As a fellow teacher, I was en v io u s o f th e autom atic a tte ntion-holders in tegrated into every art class: I d o n ’t th ink I ev er saw teachers sim ply talk to a class, they always h a d a n image or object u p o n a screen . . . I did not know . . . the extent to which my experiences would both reinforce and broaden my vision for how a reference/instruction librarian might best serve her colleagues and patrons in the information-rich environment of this new century by being w ith students and faculty outside the library, on their turf . . . or in their h ands or o n a table o r leaning on an easel. Art History is o n e long, fascinating sto ry m ade u p of m any, m any interw oven stories (intersecting all disciplines). W hether a class w as history or studio, there w as a continu­ ous referral to w orks by specific artists that students w ere e x p o se d to a n d /o r encouraged to p u rsu e o n their ow n. After attending only a few classes, particular faces grew familiar to me, a nd vice versa. Encounter w ith the Arts: a class for everyone I also w as able to a ttend several class ses­ sions a n d out-of-class events for the E ncoun­ ter w ith the Arts course, a four-credit class that in tro d u ces stu d e n ts to th e visual a nd perform ing arts via attending exhibitions and perform ances o n evenings a n d w e ekends, as well as in-class lectures a n d dem onstrations. (O n e evening, in the lo bby o f the DeVos Center for the Perform ing Arts in G rand Rap­ ids, I h eard a student sp o n taneously a n d sin­ cerely th an k h e r professor for giving h e r the chance to a ttend a p ro duction of Puccini’s “M adama Butterfly,” the first o p e ra she had ever se e n p erform ed live.) P erhaps d u e to its large enrollm ent, inter­ disciplinary nature, a n d rotating leadership, the E ncounter w ith the Arts course is n ot a course the library has targeted for instruction. How ever, as I ap p reciated the trem endous bre ad th the class offers students for experi­ encing, thinking, a nd talking a b o u t the arts, I realized th ere w as an o p p o rtunity here for librarians to c o nnect students to the multi­ 1088 / C&RL N ew s ■ D ecem ber 2001 tu d e o f resources in the arts. It is a class I w ish every stu d e n t at H o p e h a d the opp o rtu n ity to attend. V isiting a creative w riting class A lthough m y focus w as o n theatre a n d the fine arts, I also visited classes in creative writ­ ing, w h ich is an o p tio n for em phasis within the English major. W hen I w as sitting in o n a fiction class, a stu d e n t asked a visiting w riter h o w she h ad g o n e a b o u t w riting a p articular story (the story involved a y o u n g w o m a n w o rking in a circus w h e n a tiger gets loose). T he au th o r talked a b o u t h o w she h a d w o rk e d w ith the circus w h e n she w as the stu d e n ts’ age a n d a tiger, in fact, h a d g o tten loose. She talked a b o u t read ­ ing lots o f boo k s a b o u t tigers, especially to learn a b o u t tiger attacks, behavior, etc. This led h e r into a discussion a b o u t h o w m uch time she sp e n d s d o ing research for the fiction she writes. For a c h ap ter in a novel sh e ’s currently w orking on, she n e ed s to k n o w a b o u t the sp e ­ cific habits o f w o oly b e a r caterpillars, a n d she is using b ooks, librarians, g o vernm ent ag en ­ cies, a n d W eb sites in h e r quest. I u se d this as a n opp o rtu n ity to jum p a n d talk to the students a b o u t th e library a nd h o w it is u s e d by writers. I have d o n e this m any tim es o v e r the years in m y capacity as a p o e t w h e n invited to sp e a k to creative w riting classes. T he w riting students g et to k n o w m e as a writer, a n d m any o f th em stop by th e ref­ e ren c e d e sk after m eeting m e in class. T hey n o t only ask for h elp w ith English assignments, b u t w ith assignm ents in o th e r classes, as well. T hey are willing to a p p ro ac h m e for h e lp b e ­ cause they k n o w me. Tips fo r fostering inform ation literacy in the arts • Contribute to or create a departmental or class resource guide. Find o u t if the d e p art­ m ents in the arts have som e sort o f survival g uide for majors, o r for specific courses in the discipline. Offer to w rite a section o n inform a­ tion resources. Certain classes m ay b e especially a p p ro p ri­ ate for such guides. For instance, in the T he­ atre D ep artm en t’s directing class, I c o uld find out w hich plays w ere going to b e used as teach­ ing vehicles a n d design a reso u rce list. A ttend­ ing pro d u c tio n m eetings for plays gives the librarian the opp o rtu n ity to g ather resources in In short, I learn ed during the se m ester I focused on inform ation lite ra cy and th e arts th a t you have to be th ere. for th e c h o se n “w orld o f the play ”— tim e p e ­ rio d /g e o g rap h ic location. • Target specific classes to visit at least once a semester. T hese visits m ay involve giving a brief p lu g a b o u t inform ation resources o r sim­ ply give y ou a c hance to get to k n o w w h a t is going on. If n o thing else, it gives the students contact w ith a librarian, increasing the likeli­ h o o d that th ey will b e com fortable asking for h e lp later. D uring a visit to a critique session in an interm ediate level painting class, I h e ard the instructor m en tio n tw o artists’ w o rk for a stu­ d e n t to consult as sh e p ro c e e d e d w ith h e r self- portrait. I jotted d o w n the artists’ n am es a n d later left printouts o f b o o k s w e o w n e d o n the stu d e n t’s easel. T he stu d e n t d id c h e c k the b o o k s o u t and, in a su b s e q u e n t critique ses­ sion, th e instructor m ade u se o f the illustra­ tions w hile instructing the class. • Target specific classes fo r instruction ses­ sions in the library. T he particular classes for w hich library sessions w o u ld b e m ost b enefi­ cial m ay differ from institution to institution. Both th eatre history a n d art history classes, for w hich in -d ep th research is e x pected, d e m o n ­ strate a n e e d for this kind o f instruction. • Review the library’s collections (electronic and print) in the arts. Sitting in o n classes al­ low s yo u to b e co m e m ore a ttu n e d to particu­ lar sections o f the collection. For instance, dur­ ing an introductory design class in w h ic h the students w e re building a d esign portfolio, I realized I w as u n a w are o f w h a t resources the library h a d to offer in this area a n d m ad e a n o te to p u rsu e this. Conclusion In short, I lea rn ed d uring th e sem ester I fo­ c u se d o n inform ation literacy a n d th e arts that y ou have to b e there. Academ ic librarians have m any roles a n d responsibilities a n d n o t a lot o f tim e o n their hands. H ow ever, it is crucial (continued on page 1092) 1092 / C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2001 principle. T he institute later d e c id e d to scan th e archive, w h ic h will lea d to n e w a n d in­ teresting opp o rtu n ities for technical c o o p e ra ­ tio n b e tw e e n us, a n d s h o u ld re su lt in an e n d -p ro d u c t that is m u ch m ore accessible to scholars w orldw ide. P ossib le student visit: O n e en terp risin g UWM faculty m em b e r w ith a n existing inter­ e st in th e c horal m usic o f e aste rn E urope has re s p o n d e d enthusiastically to publicizing o u r Slovenian m usic m aterials. She h as b e g u n to p ro g ram the m usic in local concerts, b o th o n a n d off cam pus, a n d is p lan n in g to tak e the UWM stu d e n t choristers o n a su m m er trip to Slovenia in 2002, w h e re th ey will give c o n ­ certs, p e rh a p s w ith Slovenian students. S lovenia b o a sts fo u r e x c e lle n t su m m e r m usic festivals. I w as privileged to a tte n d a stu d e n t co n ce rt at o n e o f them , th e Brezice Early Music Festival 2000, w h e re a m ost im ­ pressive stu d e n t e n se m b le from K rakow , P o ­ land, w as perform ing. C om m ission : D u rin g th e m id-1990s I w o u ld occasionally joke to c o lleagues that o u r Ermenc fund w as sufficiently large e n ough that if th e Slovenian m usic w e w a n te d d id n ’t exist, w e c o u ld c om m ission it. A w o n d e rfu l m o m e n t cam e w h e n I re aliz e d th at institu­ tional policy c h an g e s at UWM w o u ld p erm it m e to d o exactly that. T he UWM Library has therefore com m is­ sioned a p iece o f m usic from an accom plished Slovenian co m p o ser and, given a successful outcom e, m ay com m ission further works. This is a n o th e r exam ple o f h o w a d e ep e n in g n e t­ w ork of contacts a n d trust can p ro d u c e n ew options. In sum m ary, w h a t w as at its in ce p tio n a v ery low -key, traditional ty p e o f library o p ­ eration to collect specialized material has b e en d e v e lo p e d into a m ultifaceted, active, a n d highly re w ard in g v e n tu re in international li­ brary c o o p e ra tio n w ith direct links to schol­ a rship a n d learning. T he benefits o f in cre ased k n o w le d g e a nd a w are n e ss o f a little-know n p a rt o f E urope a re accruing to UWM students, faculty a n d s ta ff, in c l u d i n g l ib r a r y sta ff; t h e lo c a l S lovenian-A m erican c o m m unity in so u th e ast W isconsin is d elig h ted to find o u t m ore a bout its e th n ic h o m e la n d ; a n d in Slovenia, the m usic c o m m unity n o w h as M ilw aukee firmly in its sights as a prim ary c en ter o f interest a n d activity. ■ ( “Information literacy . . . ” continued from page 1088) that w e fit outside-the-library/inside-the-class- ro o m tim e into o u r schedule. Spending time in classrooms, listening in o n discussions, b e ing aw are o f the sp o n ta n e ­ ou s suggestions/ideas/topics that arise during a class (o r m eeting) that either students o r fac­ ulty o r b oth w a n t to p u rsu e gives the librarian the opportunity to b e there at the m om ent of need. Being able to advertise th e n a nd there the kinds o f resources stu dents a nd faculty have available to th em is far m ore m eaningful than instructing them w h e n th ey d o n ’t perceive an imm ediate need. B eyond advertising our wares, librarians can follow -up w ith e-mail, cam pus mail, o r even by delivering a b o o k or tw o to the office, class­ room , studio. O ver the course o f a semester, seeds can b e planted for future library sessions, individual ap p o in tm en ts w ith students, and class-tailored resource guides. More a n d m ore, I see th e pivotal role of librarians as o ne o f relationship-builder: the better yo u a n d y our patrons k n o w e ac h other, the m ore com fortable y ou are w ith each other, the b etter y ou are able to k n o w their needs a n d to serve them. ■