To the Community & Beyond: DLIS Fall Symposium 2014

The 6^th DLIS Symposium, Fall 2014 emphasizing service to the community, met the expectations and beyond of event organizers and attendees. Maintaining the theme of community, the event was organized in such a way that all attendees had an opportunity to listen and learn from each of the day’s presenters. A day for communal appreciation of the lifelong commitment to learning, those in attendance were treated to guest panels, guest speakers and a student-led ignite session as well as continental breakfast and lunch buffets.

View below candid shots of the day’s events:

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To the Community & Beyond: New Media & Evolving Services in Libraries

Guest presenters at this fall’s DLIS Symposium made a point to broaden the scope of community, highlighting the usefulness, resourcefulness and inherent value of community members to all libraries. The first panel discussion of public librarians focused on connecting communities through training collaboration and service. Speaking first in turns and then together as a group, these librarians could not emphasize enough the means with which the library is a foundation of civic engagement within the community.

To the Community & Beyond: Connecting the National Public

From a Pacific Northwest public library to a New England collegiate archive center, useful knowledge and information is collected, preserved and used to promote scholarly communications and facilitate learning. The interconnectedness of the world today allows these seemingly different information institutions to share information resources through the Digital Public Library of America (DP.LA).

Fall Symposium guest speaker Kathryn Shaughnessy, Associate Professor of St. John’s University Libraries, introduced attendees to the notion of “public in the broadest sense” with an informative session on how every librarian can use and contribute to the DP.LA project.

To the Community & Beyond: The Community is the Collection

Keynote Speaker, R. David Lankes

Librarianship and the overall field of library and information science are in a current state of transition. The development of the role of the ‘new librarian’ is highly dependent on our recognition of the dynamic changes in the field in relation to the collections we maintain to provide service to the community.   The evolution of the collection in the last fifty years is dramatically different from that of the classical library. Today, we must alter not only our collections but also our mindset about the professional services libraries and librarians offer to maintain the high level of professionalism expected of us.

DLIS Professors Featured on University Website

Over the last few years, the St. John’s University Department for Institutional Advancement has taken steps to extend outreach to our alumni community.   The University seeks to develop and maintain donor gift plans by focusing on intuitive ongoing faculty research and department projects that relate to the St. John’s Vincentian mission.

Our faculty provided the Department for Institutional Advancement stories of personal experience in the field that exemplifies the passion that guides them through their careers.   Currently featured on the University website are faculty spotlights on three of our DLIS professors: Dr. Kevin Rioux, Dr. Christine Angel, and Dr. Shari Lee.

A New Student Reflects on Her First Semester

Rachel Sferlazza graciously participated in a new student survey to follow up on expectations of the program from the beginning of the semester:

“My first semester of classes has been pretty well so far (written with a smiley face). The subject matter is simple to understand, but it can be difficult to handle the workload as I am also working. A challenge many students are accustomed to in this program, but we make it work. I must say I expected the online and hybrid courses to be a bit more interactive. I would like to do more listening in an online environment, to recorded lectures and such, rather than a large emphasis on reading deliverables. Next semester looks very similar to my current schedule: three classes and work. However next semester I am excited to take LIS203: Organization of Information and begin an Academic Service-Learning project. I am most looking forward to learning more about metadata and educational technology and to begin to gain experience in the field.”

DLIS Professor to Co-Lead Workshop at ALISE 2015

Dr. Kevin Rioux

The upcoming year marks the 100-year celebration of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), the nonprofit intellectual breadbasket for university faculty of LIS graduate programs in North America. Professor Kevin Rioux, Ph.D. will co-lead a workshop at the event being held in Chicago, IL on January 27, 2015.

Op-Ed: The Library is the Community

A sign from Library Director, Scott Bonner

Keeping with the running theme of community and beyond for this newsletter installment let us focus on the ongoing civil unrest and turmoil in the community of Ferguson, Missouri. Since the fatal shooting in August, the protests and rioting have forced the Ferguson Public Library to close just once (although the library closed early on the day of the grand jury decision not to indict), while community businesses and restaurants suffer from the ongoing state of disruption. In a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” live Q&A, Ferguson Library Director Scott Bonner writes, “The library has to be open to every human being in Ferguson,” in lieu of standing ready and armed with a fire extinguisher to combat rogue groups of protesters attempting to kick in the front doors on a recent Monday night.

DLIS Alumni Publishes Book as ‘Jailhouse Librarian’

Marybeth Zeman, MLS’09

Marybeth Zeman began to pursue a Masters in Library and Information Science in 2007. She was awarded a Laura Bush 21^st Century Librarian scholarship, which supports early career development of librarians with promise of strong leadership in the field. During the program Zeman worked closely with Professor Kevin Rioux, Ph.D. focusing on coursework that emphasized community outreach to disadvantaged populations.

Upon graduation in 2009, Zeman began working at the Nassau County Correctional Center. A jailhouse librarian, Zeman has recently shared her professional experiences with St. John’s University Office of Marketing and Communications to promote her recently published book, Tales of a Jailhouse Librarian: Challenging the Juvenile Justice System One Book at a Time.

Welcome! From Our New Program Director

Greetings! I am happy to report that the DLIS Blog is up http://sjudlis.com . This began as a semester project in LIS 238 Web Design by Michelle Levy and Christina Orozco. With the support of St. John’s College, Michelle and Christina continued the development over the summer. In September, there were several rounds of review and revision until it went public on Oct 1^st. In addition to information about DLIS and the MS LIS program, the blog provides a categorized and searchable organization for the information going out over the listserv. We will continue to use the listserv as an ‘alert’ mechanism. LIS 270 Colloquium will continue to serve as an information resource. LIS 270’s Blackboard platform is useful for tutorials, discussions, and organizing more-detailed information.