ACRL New England Chapter News Online

ISSN 1527-0106

Spring 2005, Number 105

In This Issue (Home):

President's Letter

ACRL/NEC Retreat

Librarian of the Year Award

Communications Cte. Co-Chair Needed

Legislative Report

Women's Studies Summer Retreat

Interest Group Reports:
Information Technology (ITIG)
Library Instruction (NELIG)
Women's Studies

Board Meeting Minutes, March 9th, 2005 (.pdf)

Calendar Listings

New England Library Instruction Group Report

Barbara Kenney, Roger Williams University
NELIG Chair

The NELIG-sponsored break-out session at ACRL/NEC Annual Conference, The Future of Academic Libraries, attracted more than 80 attendees. Teaching in the Information Commons was the focus, with presentations by Mark Caprio, eScholarship Program Manager at Boston College, and John Schlinke, Architecture/Art Librarian at Roger Williams University, and moderated by NELIG-Chair Barbara Kenney, Instructional Services Librarian at Roger Williams. An overview of the information/learning commons concept was provided by Barb Mann, Coordinator for the Information Literacy Program at the University of Southern Maine, in her submitted paper presented by John Schlinke. The Question and Answer period indicated a strong interest in the "commons," with lively discussions about the role of media in creating scholarship. Caprio challenged attendees to listen to their users in the pursuit of creating a commons, noting the importance of surveying their needs before creating the commons. He emphasized the importance of creating a collaborative space, either actually or virtually, that provides a variety of services and resources to promote scholarship.

A registered architect who has worked in architectural practices, as well as having taught in the Architecture Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Schlinke described the role space plays in behavior, seeing the commons as providing "space options" for students and faculty. He spoke of the importance of an "environmental scan" of the campus to determine where and how people work.

As the idea of creating an information commons is embraced by campuses and campus libraries, interest in designing a common space that is unique to the campus culture is growing. Mann's paper emphasized the commons as a support for information literacy concepts and provided a bibliography for attendees.

June 10th is the date for NELIG's Annual Program which will be held at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. This year's theme is making learning meaningful for the student. Ken Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do, and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at NYU, is the keynote speaker. Holding the program in Maine provided an opportunity to reach colleagues in Northern New England, and once again, registration was closed early due to strong interest in NELIG programs.

Sandra Rothenberg of Framingham State College, will assume leadership of the group during the Annual Program. The chair-elect position will be shared by Susan Herzog of Eastern Connecticut State, and Kendall Hobbs of Wesleyan University.