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September 2012 485 C&RL News

ALA’s 131st Annual Conference was held June 21–26, 2012, in Anneheim. 
Approximately 20,000 librarians, library 
support staff, exhibitors, writers, educators, 
publishers, and special guests attended the 
conference. Ed. note: Thanks to the ACRL 
members who summarized programs to 
make this report possible.

The future of the book
The ACRL/Association for Library Collec-
tions and Tech-
nical Services 
(ALCTS) joint 
Presidents’ Pro-
gram featured 
Duane Bray, a 
partner at IDEO 
who directs the 
fir m’s digital 
business and 
leads its global 
talent strategy. 
H o s t e d  b y 
ACRL President 
Joyce Ogburn 
a n d  A L C T S 
President Bet-
sy Simpson, a 
near capacity crowd enthusiastically received 
Bray’s talk on the future of the book. 

Bray first discussed his recent design 
exploration of digital reading, seeking to 
identify new opportunities for readers, pub-
lishers, and authors to discover, consume, and 
connect in different formats. This has focused 
on how digital and analog books currently are 
being read, shared, and collected, as well as 

future trends, business models, and consumer 
behavior within related fields. He noted that 
as more people consume pages in pixels, 
we can’t help but wonder why we continue 
to discover and consume the written word 
through the old analog, page-turning model. 
He posed the question: What happens when 
the reading experience catches up with new 
technologies?

Bray used the concept of narrative as 
the major thread of his presentation. He 

first began with 
location-based 
narrative, il-
lustrated with 
g e o - l o c a t i o n 
tools, and sug-
gested the use 
o f  l o c a t i o n -
based filters to 
enhance read-
ing. He then 
moved to social 
narrative and 
suggested that 
mediated in-
teraction could 
lead to a kind 
of collective in-

telligence. He noted that librarians can play 
significant roles in creating this collective 
intelligence through discovery and curation 
of new content. 

Bray moved on to personal narrative and 
coauthored narrative that can move author-
ship into a new shared mode that has the po-
tential to evolve in interesting ways enabled 
by technology. He concluded by discussing 

ACRL in Anaheim
ACRL programs at the ALA Annual Conference

conference circuit

2011–12 ACRL President Joyce L. Ogburn at the ACRL/ALCTS 
Presidents’ Program.



C&RL News September 2012 486

human-centered forecasting by focusing on 
new kinds of behavior, empathetic contextual 
immersion, finding inspiration from other 
fields, building narratives around new ideas, 
and protoyping or making ideas tangible. 

Bray’s provocative and intense presenta-
tion elicited numerous questions and many 
listeners left energized.—Richard W. Clem-
ent, Utah State University, richard.clement@
usu.edu 

Preparing college-ready 21st century 
citizens with integrated information/
media literacy programs in education
Conditions for successful articulation of in-
formation literacy programs were discussed 
at this ACRL/
American As-
sociation of 
School Librar-
ians (AASL)-
cosponsored 
session pre-
sented to an 
overflowing 
audience.

Lynn Lam-
p e r t  ( C a l i -
fornia State 
U n i v e r s i t y -
Northridge) 
spoke about 
collaboration 
efforts across 
the university and in conjunction with the 
university’s feeder high school. John Mc-
Ginnis (Long Beach Unified School District 
Board member) presented the administrative 
side of information literacy. Lydia Davis-
Smith offered two angles: as a site-based 
teacher librarian at Lutheran School in Or-
ange, California, and as a member of Life-
long Information Literacy (LILi), which is a 
Southern California consortium of multitype 
librarians. The panelists spoke about several 
issues related to information literacy and its 
articulation throughout education.

Incorporating information literacy into 
education requires librarians to initiate 

and implement curriculum development, 
instructional design, collaboration, and 
policies. Information literacy is sometimes 
considered a general education or gradua-
tion requirement, and in other cases it may 
be an elective option or capstone. Likewise, 
instruction varies from one-shot orientation 
or subject-specific explanation of a library 
tool (such as database aggregators) to stand-
alone courses or embedded units. Instruction 
varies from face-to-face sessions in a course 
to reference desk assistance, from online 
just-in-time help to Web tutorials. 

In terms of articulation between K–12 and 
higher education, librarians tend to work on 
a one-to-one basis with their counterparts. 

S o m e  s u c -
cessful initia-
tives includ-
ed summer 
workshops, 
o r i e n t a t i o n 
programs for 
high school 
students, in-
services for 
high school 
p r i n c i p a l s , 
and library 
m a r k e t i n g 
s e s s i o n s . 
A C R L  a n d 
AASL are col-
laborating to 

provide professional development and an 
online toolkit of resources. 

The panelists agreed that information lit-
eracy instruction requires that librarians know 
subject curriculum, know how to design and 
deliver instruction, and how to collaborate 
with peers and teaching faculty. Administra-
tive support and leadership is also needed for 
systematic information literacy incorporation. 

As librarians consider information literacy 
efforts, they should make sure that those 
efforts are sustainable through adequate 
resources, time, and staff.—Lesley Farmer, 
California State University-Long Beach, les-
ley.farmer@csulb.edu

ACRL/AASL information literacy session participants (l to r): Lydia 
Elizabeth Smith-Davis, Lynn Lampert, Lesley Farmer (moderator), 
and John McGinnis.



September 2012 487 C&RL News

Reference resurrected: Models for the 
21st-century college library
Barbara Whitney Petruzzelli moderated 
the ACRL/College Libraries Section (CLS)-
sponsored panel comprised of Hu Wom-
ack, David Consiglio, and Scott Vine in a 
discussion about “Reference Resurrected: 
Models for the 21st-Century College Library.” 
Panelists presented ongoing efforts to meet 
the reference needs required by current 
academic library users. 

Womack enthusiastically discussed 
models of embedded librarianship and 
provided examples of how librarians were 
physically embedding at Wake Forest Uni-
versity. Examples included: LENS (Learn, 
Experience, Navigate, and Solve), a summer 
outreach program for high school students; 
“Social Stratification in the Deep South,” a 
three-week sociology course that includes 
travel; in-class participation for on-campus 
seminars; and co-location for office hours 
in residence halls.

Consiglio spoke about Bryn Mawr Col-
lege’s merged information technology and 
library structure and its use of the MISO 
(Measuring Information Service Outcomes) 
Survey, a “Web-based quantitative survey 
designed to measure how faculty, students, 
and staff view library and computing services 
in higher education.” Results from the sur-
vey prompted changes in who is delivering 
reference services. With holistic service as 
a goal, Consiglio suggested that an embed-
ded librarian and an embedded instructional 
technologist reside in one person in order 
to meet students where they are.

Vine (Franklin & Marshall College) ad-
dressed the fact that while reference desks 
still exist, the number of transactions at that 
venue are declining. Increases in reference 
transactions are seen through services such 
as e-mail, chat, specific outreach efforts, 
and research appointments. Vine strongly 
emphasized the need for marketing services 
to students since everything else is marketed 
to students. Another idea includes making 
scheduled “house calls” in which two librar-
ians leave the library and try to visit every 

building on campus. Although librarians 
were early on asked, “Who let you out of the 
library?” the service is now well received.—
Kelly Brown, University of Science and Arts 
of Oklahoma, kbrown@usao.edu

Campus copyright initiatives
The ACRL Copyright Committee sponsored 
“Campus Copyright Initiatives: Roles and 
Opportunities for Libraries,” which was 
moderated by Tim Gritten (Indiana State Uni-
versity). Chris LeBeau and Cindy Thompson 
presented the team approach used at the 
University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) 
to handle the plethora of copyright issues 
faced by librarians and faculty alike. 

Copyright leadership is lacking on the 
UMKC campus, which must rely on an overly 
burdened university system legal office 
across the state. UMKC librarians assumed 
leadership in the void and encouraged li-
brarians in similar situations to do the same. 
Members of the team include the director of 
public services, the head of music/media, 
the virtual librarian, the director of scholarly 
communications, the director of the UMKC 
Law Library, the coordinator of the virtual li-
brary, and a staff librarian who teaches copy-
right at the University of Missouri School of 
Information Science. While the team does 
not treat issues regarding faculty intellectual 
property, it positions itself to address the 
proper “use” of copyrighted materials in the 
educational setting. The team also described 
its structure of faculty advocates.

Dwayne Buttler (University of Louis-
ville) echoed the concerns that LeBeau and 
Thompson reported. He frequently sees a 
vacuum of copyright expertise on campuses. 
Consequently, librarians—even those who 
are not lawyers—have an opportunity to 
assert their leadership on the various com-
ponents of copyright within an ambiguous 
environment. Faculty are increasingly look-
ing to librarians for advice. Your local institu-
tion will have unique limitations depending 
upon the beliefs and policies of library and 
campus administration, but you are still able 
to find a role within those confines. Create a 



C&RL News September 2012 488

policy that serves that the needs of scholarly 
communication in good faith, educate your 
campus about the policy, and reinforce the 
policy with your procedures.—Tim Gritten, 
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, gritten@
uwm.edu

Embedded librarian best practices
ACRL’s Distance Learning Section (DLS)
panel of experts discussed different ways that 
embedded librarianship has evolved at their 
academic locations. Deborah Nolan (Towson 
University) moderated the panel and pro-
vided historical context for trends in embed-
ded librarianship. Kathleen Pickens-French 
and Krista McDonald (both of the Hamilton 
Campus at Miami University) presented their 
rule of threes concerning content, videos, in-
formation-seeking behavior, and more. They 
encouraged the audience to be sustainable 
and scalable when it comes to library pages. 
Consistency across pages and “just because 
you can doesn’t mean you should (add the 
technology/idea)” were emphasized.

Kathleen Anne Langan (Western Michigan 
University) gave a Prezi presentation on her 
pilot program that taught university instruc-
tors how to use e-learning technology and in-
formation literacy concepts. Langan enrolled 
professors in an online class using D2L to in-
troduce them to best practices in information 
literacy, a literacy toolkit, pre- and post-tests, 
among other tricks. She argued, borrowing 
from the book Information Ecologies (1999), 
that librarians are the keystone species to 
the information cycle’s flow among students, 
faculty, and librarians.

Paul Betty (Regis University) advocated 
librarians’ goals should include creating 
lifelong learners, not just assisting with the 
task at hand. He said this is possible when 
we collaborate in course development and 
redesign and make strong relationships with 
faculty members. Regis University has seen a 
300 percent increase in library instruction over 
the past ten years because of their targeted 
approach to instruction. Using timesaving 
tips, appealing to different learning styles, and 
working as a member of a team, Betty argued 

that you, too, can become successfully and 
personally embedded.

The committee also created a bibliogra-
phy of embedded librarianship articles at 
http://mypage.iu.edu/~mcclell/DLSBib2012.
doc.—Rachel E. Cannady, Mississippi State 
University, rcannady@library.msstate.edu

Streaming video in academic libraries 
and higher education—An era of 
transformation
The joint Education and Behavioral Sciences 
Section (EBSS)/ALA Video Round Table (VRT) 
program “Ubiquitous video: Can libraries 
offer it? (or can libraries adapt?)” featured a 
panel on the use of streaming video in higher 
education, which included a faculty member, 
a media librarian, and a content developer. 

Cyndy Scheibe (Ithaca College) spoke 
to the pedagogical need for video and why 
the mode of access is so critical. Scheibe 
remarked on the recent research in brain 
science showing the importance in varying 
modes of learning, including video. Video 
can also be very empowering for students 
with disabilities who have difficulty interpret-
ing text, but who can interpret film. Scheibe 
explained her use of video in her classroom—
students don’t “just kick back and watch a 
movie,” but the are engaged in her use of 
short clips, sometimes shown repeatedly, to 
answer questions and have a conversation 
about what they are watching.

Claire Stewart (Northwestern University 
Library) provided some practical tips for li-
brarians to consider when acquiring licensed 
digital media. For example, an outright pur-
chase or perpetual license is preferred over 
a lease-style arrangement. It is also important 
to note that sometimes an aggregator just 
cannot secure the rights for a video. Some 
additional value-added features to look for 
include the ability to view transcripts, make 
and save clips, and embed in course manage-
ment systems.

Stephen Rhind-Tutt (Alexander Street 
Press) gave a glimpse of the changing con-
sumer market—high-definition, high-quality 
educational streaming video is on the way, 



September 2012 489 C&RL News

and the case can no longer be made that 
video is simply for entertainment.

EBSS and VRT thank Alexander Street 
Press for their generosity and participating 
in this program.—Debbie Feisst, University of 
Alberta, debbie.feisst@ualberta.ca

NIH public access policy and the 
library
Sponsored by the Science and Technology 
Section (STS) and cosponsored by the Health 
Science Interest Group (HSIG), this program 
was moderated by Shannon Johnson (Indiana 
University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne). 
The session addressed the history of the 
policy and the variety of roles librarians can 
take to support the NIH Public Access Policy 
at their own institutions. The panel of speak-
ers took questions from an audience of about 
100 attendees.

Neil Thakur (National Institutes of Health) 
gave his presentation virtually. He provided an 
overview of the policy and its relationship to 
the law PL111-8 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 
2009), spelled out the components of MyNCBI, 
MyBibliograpy, the PubMed Central submission 
methods, copyright, and citing with PMCID 
numbers, as well as offered suggestions on 
the ways institutions can ensure compliance. 

Scott Lapinsky (Countway Library, Harvard 
University Medical School) gave an overview 
of the guidance Countway Library offers its 
scholars. He outlined the objectives, chal-
lenges, allies and partners, tools developed 
to facilitate deposit and support researchers, 
and statistics, which show more than 11,000 
Harvard faculty are publishing about 100 
NIH-funded research articles per week. Pre-
liminary observations indicate that properly 
submitted manuscripts to PubMed Central can 
improve an H factor. He encouraged more 
and continued outreach to ensure authors 
understand copyright management, manu-
script submission, and obtaining the PMCID.

Heather Joseph (Scholarly Publishing and 
Academic Resources Coalition [SPARC]) spoke 
on the last four years of NIH Public Access, 
addressing the four strategies (open access 
journals, open access repositories, author 

rights/open license education, and open ac-
cess policies). 

She referred to the current factsheet 
(http://publicaccess.nih.gov/public_access 
_policy_implications_2012.pdf), as well as 
results from the PEER (Publishing and the 
Ecology of European Research) project. PEER 
looks at the impact that systematic archiving 
of research in open access repositories might 
have on the publishing industry. SPARC is 
surveying other agencies interest in moving 
to open access and data sharing. 

Joseph did point out that Congress has 
a current bill H.R. 3699, which proposes 
to overturn the NIH Public Access Policy, 
nevertheless, in spite of anti-open access 
legislation, this has been a banner year for 
open access support.—Marcia Henry, Cali-
fornia State University-Northridge, mhenry@
csun.edu

Grown ups just want to have fun!
Tangrams and wizard duels provided just 
some of the excitement at “Grown Ups Just 
Want to Have Fun! Library Play Program-
ming for College Students of All Ages.” Scott 
Nicholson (Syracuse University School of 
Information Studies) kicked off the program 
with an overview of gaming, including a 
breakdown of formats and archetypes, and 
its value in making interdisciplinary connec-
tions on campus. 

Noting that a game is “not just a box on 
a table,” he emphasized that it is fundamen-
tally about creating a world that facilitates 
memorable experiences. Other practical tips 
and recommendations offered included es-
tablishing goals and then selecting the play 
activities that support them, incorporating 
debriefings, and considering gaming models 
used at nonlibrary organizations to discover 
other innovative ways of engaging with users.

Fantasia Thorne (Syracuse University) next 
detailed her work organizing team-based 
library competitions for college and local 
area students. Combining activities such as 
scavenger hunts and challenges inspired by 
NBC’s Minute to Win It, these events have 
taught students fun facts about their library, 



C&RL News September 2012 490

while building sustained partnerships with 
groups throughout campus. 

Collaboration was also a theme in Mary 
Broussard’s (Lycoming College) discussion 
on Lycoming’s Harry Potter Nights. She pro-
vided creative ideas about hosting themed 
events on a limited budget, from showcas-
ing the artistic and culinary talents of library 
staff to recruiting in-costume professors as 
volunteers. Pauline Shostack (Onondaga 
Community College) then described History 
Mystery, a multimedia trivia game celebrat-
ing her institution’s 50th anniversary. In 
addition to increasing awareness of the col-
lege’s history and key library resources, it 
was also inventively designed so that online 
students and alumni could participate.

Throughout the program, the audience 
was continually engaged through open 
idea exchanges and, to much enthusiasm, 
amusing demonstrations of the presenters’ 
examples. Detailed slides and handouts are 
available at http://ala12.scheduler.ala.org 
/node/160.—Tarida Anantachai, Syracuse 
University, tanantac@syr.edu

Diving in and learning to swim as 
new distance education librarian
Four librarians who all fell into positions 
serving distance learners presented the panel 
“Diving In and Learning to Swim as a New 
Distance Education Librarian.” The panel-
ists, representing a variety of institutions 
and roles, began by each describing the 
climate of online/distance education at their 
institution and their place in supporting it. 
This introduction clearly demonstrated the 
wide scope of scenarios currently present in 
higher education.

The panel gave essential information for 
those new to or interested in serving dis-
tance populations. Each panelist presented 
three tips in a total of four categories. Ra-
chel Cannady (Mississippi State University) 
opened by describing how she created a 
relay team at her institution through building 
relationships, listening, and advocating for 
distance populations. Britt Fagerheim (Utah 
State University) followed with encourage-

ment to be brave and dive in by taking 
risks, improvising, and collaborating. Heidi 
Steiner (Norwich University) emphasized 
the importance of plunging into the deep 
to ensure distance populations are part 
of overall library goals and plans through 
planning, marketing, and collecting. Beth 
Filar-Williams (University of North Carolina-
Greensboro) closed out the panel with tips 
on how to swim with the current by using 
technology for instruction, outreach, and 
keeping up; dropping myriad technologies, 
tactics, and names along the way.

During transitions, the audience was 
queried about its key takeaways using Poll 
Everywhere. Audience members revealed 
they are challenged by advocating, full of 
ideas for being brave, and most apt to market 
existing services. They also took away key 
points such as “raise consciousness.” The 
Q&A included discussions of embedded 
librarian scalability, first steps in starting a 
new position, and how to support distance 
populations with a small staff.

Panel slides and supplementary informa-
tion are available at http://guides.library.ms-
state.edu/divingin.—Heidi Steiner, Norwich 
University, hsteiner@norwich.edu

Learning styles: Fiction, nonfiction, 
or mystery?
Moderator Anne-Marie Deitering (Oregon 
State University Libraries) opened the In-
struction Section’s (IS) program by asking 
attendees, “How many use learning styles 
in your teaching?” A majority raised their 
hands. The panelists then investigated learn-
ing styles, its critiques, and its relevance to 
information literacy instruction.

In her overview of learning styles, Char 
Booth (Claremont Colleges Library) used 
an onion analogy to describe the different 
layers of the instructional approach.1 She 
remarked that, like an onion, some who 
“cut in” to learning styles “cry,” some are 
“stoked,” and others “reduce or caramelize” 
it to fit their teaching practice. Peppering her 
overview with critiques, Booth persevered 
through tears while dicing learning styles—



September 2012 491 C&RL News

and perhaps extracted some tasty ingredients 
to caramelize her future teaching practice. 

Lori Mestre (Undergraduate Library, Uni-
versity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) offered 
further critiques, examining the reliability/
validity of learning styles measurements and 
whether students truly learn better in their 
preferred learning styles. However, Mestre 
seemed fairly “stoked” about learning styles 
theory—mentioning that she incorporates it 
into her teaching practice based on evidence 
supporting its utility.2 Jean Runyon (Anne 
Arundel Community College) was similarly 
stoked about the applicability of learning 
styles to online instruction, calling Mestre’s 
research “amazing”—or, as the Brits would 
say, she thought Mestre really “knew her 
onions” regarding learning styles.

After further discussion in response to 
questions from moderator Deitering and 
attendees, the ultimate consensus was this: 
Engaging students in active learning using 
multiple modalities, designing instruction 
guided by content-tailored outcomes, and 
continuously reflecting on our teaching is the 
best recipe for student learning—no matter 
how you slice it.

Notes
1. Booth’s full presentation is available at 

www.slideshare.net/charbooth 
2. Lori S. Mestre, “Matching Up Learning 

Styles with Learning Objects: What’s Effec-
tive?” Journal of Library Administration 50 
(2010): 808-29.—Amanda Swygart-Hobaugh, 
Georgia State University, aswygarthobaugh@
gsu.edu

Fair use, intellectual property, and 
new media
ACRL’s Literatures in English Section (LES), 
Arts Section (Arts), Scholarly Communica-
tion Committee, and Copyright Committee 
sponsored a panel featuring Jack Lerner 
(University of Southern California), Kevin 
Smith (Duke University), and Dean Cheley 
(Donaldson & Callif). The panelists discussed 
the current legal cases affecting fair use rights 
in libraries, including Cambridge Univer-

sity Press v. Becker (Georgia State University 
Case), Authors Guild v. Google (Google Book 
Search Case), Authors Guild v. Hathi Trust, 
and AIME v. UCLA.

Lerner spoke about orphan works and the 
need to free them from their current legal 
limbo. Smith, discussing the Georgia State 
case, stated that it is only a district court case, 
which is not binding on all libraries, and is 
not a definitive resolution to the issue of fair 
use in libraries. Cheley, citing practices used 
in film making, gave some practical advice 
to librarians about making fair use decisions. 
He said librarians should ask themselves 
three questions: 1) Are you using material to 
illustrate a specific point? 2) Are you using 
only enough material to make that point? 3) 
Is it clear to the audience the point you are 
making? 

According to the panel, fair use is an im-
portant tool for research and education in the 
digital age. Though there are still questions, 
there are also concrete steps librarians and 
others can take in asserting fair use rights. 
One resource that all the panelists cited as a 
helpful guide is the ARL Code of Best Practices 
in Fair Use for Academic and Research Librar-
ies (www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/codefairuse 
/index.shtml).—Shawn Martin, University of 
Pennsylvania, shawnmar@pobox.upenn.edu

Publishing without fear
First, the bad news: Writing is hard. But wait.
The good news is: We’re all in it together. 
An expert panel of authors and editors came 
together to equip aspiring and experienced 
writers to better tackle the challenges of au-
thorship. “Riding the Publishing Rollercoaster: 
Practical Strategies from Research to Writing,” 
a program sponsored by ACRL’s Publications 
Coordinating Committee, overflowed with 
essential tips and insights for academic librar-
ians. Kathryn Deiss (ACRL), Katherine O’Clair 
(California Polytechnic State University), 
Wendi Arant Kaspar (Texas A&M University), 
R. David Lankes (Syracuse University), and 
Char Booth (Claremont Colleges Library) 
reminisced, informed, and entertained a 
standing-room-only crowd. 



C&RL News September 2012 492

Due to the diversity of the panelists’ ex-
periences, their presentations covered nota-
bly different ground. Starting off the session, 
Deiss offered the book editor and publisher’s 
perspective, while O’Clair followed by dis-
cussing her experiences editing a book. Kas-
par, editor of two prestigious journals, talked 
articles, while Lankes described the range 
of publishing options available to authors. 
Booth, characterizing herself as “burned-out 
writer,” shared more than a dozen points of 
advice about good writing and maintaining 
a writing/life balance. 

Three messages, repeated by multiple 
panelists, surfaced as valuable take-aways 
for attendees: 1) when submitting work for 
publication, expect to get edits and be asked 
for revision. As Kaspar underlined, “edits 
equal love,” and mean that the editor sees 
promise in your writing; 2) editors are hu-
man beings, and it’s important to maintain 
open communication throughout the publi-
cation process, from initial proposal through 
final edits, to make sure you both get what 
you want and need; and 3) in choosing a 
topic to write about, it’s critical to choose 
something you care about that contributes 
to the field—and, above all, to write with 
creativity and passion.—Kim Leeder, College 
of Western Idaho, kimleeder@cwidaho.cc 

Data curation collaborations
The Research Program Committee’s panel 
session “Data Curation as a Form of Col-
laborative Research” cosponsored by the 
Science and Technology Section (STS), 
featured four panelists, three of whom were 
librarians, the fourth a sociologist. 

Each panelist reported on their institu-
tion’s data curation projects, highlighting 
tools developed to support infrastructure, 
resources available to support data cura-
tion projects, collaborations with faculty, 
challenges they are facing, and anticipated 
needs for the future. 

A common challenge with data curation 
is to get faculty on board. Sociologist Sophia 
Acord (University of Florida) stated that 
administration should provide incentives 

to faculty for their involvement with digital 
projects, particularly by recognizing this 
work as scholarship. 

Other panelists offered strategies for 
collaborating with faculty and gaining ad-
ministrative support for their institutions. For 
example, D. Scott Brandt (Purdue University) 
described a Data Curation Profiles Toolkit 
created at Purdue to help librarians open 
conversations with faculty. The toolkit is 
available for use. 

For administrative buy-in, Harriett Green 
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) 
mentioned the Digital Humanities Mani-
festo 2.0 (http://hastac.org/node/2182) as 
an excellent source to share with campus 
administration. Finally, Patricia Hswe 
(Pennsylvania State University), suggested 
that libraries develop a service model that 
incorporates data curation with other areas, 
such as library instruction. 

The program drew a standing-room-only 
crowd of more than 160 attendees. Many of 
the participants mentioned that the speak-
ers were “first-rate” and “great.” Copies of 
the speakers’ presentations are available at 
http://ala12.scheduler.ala.org/node/159.—
Sheril Hook, University of Toronto, sheril.
hook@utoronto.ca

Winning on two fronts 
The Residency Interest Group (RIG) spon-
sored this panel, which discussed residen-
cies from the perspective of residents and 
administrators. Sara Arnold-Garza (Towson 
University) moderated.

Hannah Lee (University of Delaware) 
described her residency experience as a 
way to get her foot in the door and create a 
portfolio of work, while providing the library 
with staffing flexibility and opportunities for 
collaboration.

Mark A. Puente (Association of Research 
Libraries) reflected upon his experience as 
a resident, which followed a cohort model. 
This model built community and increased 
engagement among residents. He appreci-
ated the early career exposure to a variety 
of library functions, which developed his 



September 2012 493 C&RL News

organizational understanding of libraries and 
allowed him to identify his own strengths, 
as well as the opportunity for formal and 
informal mentoring.

Gerald Holmes (University of North 
Carolina-Greensboro) illustrated residen-
cies as a way to nourish diversity in aca-
demic libraries. This nourishment creates 
a diversity-friendly environment not only 
for the resident, but also for current and 
prospective employees, increasing recruit-
ment and retention of librarians from diverse 
backgrounds, according to Holmes.

Deborah A. Nolan (Towson University) 
highlighted residencies as a way to create a 
new vision for libraries, positively effecting 
institutional climate, spotlighting commit-
ment to diversity, and increasing library 
visibility on campus.

A lively Q & A followed in which audi-
ence members probed for additional infor-
mation, such as how to establish a residency 
and how to navigate cultural concerns. 
Along with excitement at the prospect of 
such positions, there were also laments 
regarding the high-degree of competition 
involved. For more information on residen-
cies, visit RIG at acrl.ala.org/residency/.—
Amanda Youngbar, Towson University, 
ayoungbar@towson.edu

 
Current status of academic librarians
The Committee on the Status of Academic 
Librarians’ program featured four librarians 
who shared their perspectives on how librar-
ians can remain relevant and adapt to change 
during transitional times.

Ann Watson (Scarborough Library at 
Shepherd University) discussed her experi-
ence restructuring library positions during 
her first year as dean. Using the method 
outlined in the book Reframing Organi-
zations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, 
Watson discussed how she evaluated and 
redesigned position descriptions through 
the following four frames: structural, human 
resources, political, and symbolic.

Using methods from her book, Productiv-
ity for Librarians, Samantha Hines (College 

Library at University of Montana) shared time 
management tips that can be employed to 
increase efficiency and workload balance. In 
addition, she provided strategies for combat-
ting workload creep by learning how to say 
“no” when approached by administration or 
colleagues to take on additional tasks.

Robert Farrell (Lehman College-CUNY) 
drew on the “predator” model of entre-
preneurship introduced in the book From 
Predators to Icons. Libraries can thrive during 
challenging economic times by adopting an 
entrepreneurial approach that seeks profit-
able opportunities funded by parties other 
than the library. He advocated that librarians 
adopt a view of the entrepreneur as one who 
preys on unexploited, low-cost/high-profit 
opportunities to leverage “other people’s 
money” to build capital for later innovation. 

Suzy Szasz Palmer (Greenwood Library at 
Longwood University) wrapped up the pro-
gram with a discussion on maintaining pro-
fessional development opportunities during 
challenging economic times so that libraries 
continue to become “learning organizations.” 
Administrators can support their staff by pro-
viding time and money towards professional 
development, bringing opportunities to the 
library and collaborating with neighboring 
institutions. The benefits of continued pro-
fessional development include increased 
retention rates, improvements to customer 
service, and succession planning.— Connie 
Strittmatter, Montana State University, con-
nie.strittmatter@montana.edu

The librarian has left the building
Faced with an imminent critical mass of 
librarians retiring, university libraries must 
identify and develop potential leaders from 
within the organization. To address how 
this can be accomplished, ACRL’s University 
Library Section (ULS) sponsored a panel 
discussion comprised of succession plan-
ning experts, which was moderated by ULS 
Annual Program Committee Chair Yvonne 
Mery (University of Arizona).

Kyomi Deards (University of Nebraska-
Lincoln) began the program emphasizing 



C&RL News September 2012 494

that succession planning should be “broader-
based” and also germane to the institution. 
In lieu of traditional mentoring, she recom-
mended that veteran librarians sponsor their 
colleagues in pursuing leadership and scholar-
ship opportunities.

Christina Gomez (University of California-
Davis) described the University of Notre 
Dame succession planning case study. The 
impending retirement of Theodore Hesburgh 
compelled the administrators to groom sev-
eral candidates for the position resulting in 
the selection of one president and several 
vice-presidents. She concluded leadership’s 
commitment is integral to effective succes-
sion planning. 

Joan Giesecke (University of Nebraska-
Lincoln [UNL] Libraries) provided an account 
of succession planning at UNL in which candi-
dates embark on a program of “organizational 
learning.” They are encouraged to serve on a 
variety of teams and participate in leadership 
workshops. This develops leaders internally 
while simultaneously contributing to “the 
national talent pool.” 

Katherine Simpson (American University) 
opined a talent management program could 
be a potential model for libraries. Talent 
management, encompassing the fulfillment 
of strategic goals and determining resource 
allocation, offers a more holistic approach 
incorporating many elements of succession 
planning.

Jerome Offord Jr.’s (Lincoln University) 
ARL succession planning survey results of 49 
respondents disclosed the lack of formal suc-
cession planning. The barriers to succession 
planning include institutional politics, federal 
law and ethics, administration, and staff.—Ra-
chel A. Erb, Colorado State University, rachel.
erb@colostate.edu

Documenting sexual dissidence and 
diversity in France, Italy, and Spain
Documenting and preserving minority cul-
tures is an ongoing challenge for libraries and 
archives, as most of this cultural production 
continues to exist beyond the mainstream. 
Such is the case for sexual minorities in pro-

gressive societies including France, Italy, and 
Spain. The program sponsored by the Western 
European Studies Section (WESS) provided a 
learning opportunity not only to assess voids 
in our collections but also offer novel strate-
gies for addressing such gaps.

The first speaker, James Michael Fortney 
(University of Illinois-Chicago) talked about 
gay Italian prose fiction and cinema. Pier 
Paolo Pasolini is the first writer that will be 
mentioned when talking about Italian gay lit-
erature. However, what is gay literature if not 
Pasolini? Fortney answered this question by 
giving an overview of gay Italian prose fiction. 

Gerard Koskovich (independent scholar 
and antiquarian book dealer) talked about 
LGBT movements in France. He pointed out 
that France has a long history of cultural pro-
duction by and about what we call now the 
LGBT movement. But no one has yet devel-
oped specialized research collections focus-
ing on French LGBT studies. Koskovich gave 
samples of materials librarians might consider 
adding to their collections, an overview of ef-
forts to create special collections, and pointed 
to some useful little-known online reference 
resources for French LGBT bibliography.

The final speaker was Mili Hernandez 
(publisher and owner of Madrid’s LGBT book-
store Berkana), who talked about her journey 
as LGBT publisher and book dealer. In 1995 
she founded EGALES, the first publishing 
house in Spain and Latin America devoted 
solely to LGBT themes. Hernandez has been 
at the forefront of the LGBT movement in 
Spain for the past two decades and has been 
called the country’s “Harvey Milk” for her 
social activism.

Web pages and more information about 
the program are available at http://wess-
web.info/index.php/Documenting_Sexual 
_Dissidence_and_Diversity_in_France,_Italy 
_and_Spain.—Marcus Richter, Alma College, 
richtermj@alma.edu

“Insert catchy label here” or the end of 
Gen Y, digital natives, and the millenial 
student myth 
The Women and Gender Studies Section 



September 2012 495 C&RL News

(WGSS) panel explored the work of three 
individuals who dispel the myths between 
technology, opportunity, and social class. 
Moderated by Pamela Mann (St. Mary’s Col-
lege of Maryland), the panelists included 
Yago S. Cura (Los Angeles Library Foun-
dation), Roberto C. Degadillo (University 
of California-Davis), and Virginia Eubanks 
(cofounder of Our Knowledge, Our Power 
and Popular Technology Workshops and 
author of Digital Dead End: Fighting for 
Social Justice in the Information Age [MIT 
Press, 2011]). 

Cura opened the discussion with a brief 
overview of the training program he pro-
vides to predominantly Spanish-speaking 
parents on accessing free resources from the 
L.A. Public Library. Since October 2010, Cura 
has given 71 presentations reaching more 
than 4,500 people in the Los Angeles area. 
Cura emphasized that “education is an indus-
try,” adding that parents must be responsible 
for their child’s educational trajectory and 
not leave it to overburdened teachers and 
under-resourced school districts. 

Degadillo touched on his outreach 
efforts to Woodland Community College 
(WCC). Due to budget constraints result-
ing in an understaffed library at WCC, 
Degadillo helped to provide remedial 
research skill courses. He remarked that 
more collaborations between neighboring 
institutions need to occur, particularly in 
the face of budget cuts. 

Eubanks, speaking from her extensive 
work in community technology centers in 
low-income areas, noted that “communities 
that are poor are not necessarily technol-
ogy poor”; bridging the digital divide is 
about creating space to use technology, 
not teaching skills. 

The session concluded with an open dis-
cussion of how a high-tech equity agenda 
can operate in libraries today. The panel 
agreed that social standing does not have 
a reflection on the technology divide; as 
information professionals we must help 
people connect for the right reasons.—Ka-
tie Crook, New York Public Library, crook.
katie@gmail.com 

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