Internship: Courseware Support at UPenn

by | Nov 15, 2013 |

This internship at Penn is an amazing opportunity. I work there now as an Education Commons and RIS intern and they have a great program with a lot of support. I also did my M.A. in English with one of the librarians who works in this department. Definitely apply if you’re in the central/south Jersey or Philly area.

~ Jen

Penn Libraries Courseware Support Internship
Availability: One year position beginning January 2014

Hours: 20 hours/week including some weekend hours.

Salary: $15/hour.

Reporting to the Courseware Services Manager and Educational Technology Librarian, the Courseware Support Intern will provide end-user support for the University’s Blackboard and Canvas learning management systems. The Intern handles courseware related support requests, creates and updates documentation and help pages, and assists in administering training sessions and workshops.

Our extensive training program leads us to ask for a commitment of one full year.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Under the direction of the Courseware Services Manager, receives, troubleshoots, and responds to Blackboard and Canvas questions and issues using Footprints Helpdesk software.
  • Holds workshops and walk-in hours in support of courseware.
  • Updates existing knowledge base and support documentation.
  • Creates documentation and tutorials for new tools, features and systems.
  • Assists with assessment of courseware systems and other tools.
  • Participates in special projects related to courseware and educational technology support and library public services as required.


Qualifications:

  • Enrollment in a graduate degree program in library or information science, information technology, or education (particularly educational technology) or related field is required.
  • Strong public services orientation.
  • Comfortable with technology and the ability to quickly learn new applications
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
  • Attention to detail and the ability to juggle multiple tasks
  • Experience using a learning management system such as Blackboard, Canvas, Sakai, or Moodle is preferred.
  • Proficiency with HTML is highly desired.
  • Candidates should be comfortable with and enthusiastic about educational technologies and be able to explain their use and benefits to others.
  • Previous experience in an academic setting preferred; previous experience providing academic or technical support services highly desirable.

To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to the attention of:
Elizabeth Martin
at martinev@pobox.upenn.edu
Please write “Courseware Support Internship” in the subject line.

NJLA Job Shadowing Program

by | Oct 23, 2013 |

Even if you have an internship at an academic library, you might still wonder what academic librarians do, especially in other areas of the library or in different disciplines.

The NJLA Job Shadowing Program is a unique externship-type program that pairs a student with an academic librarian for a day or so. During this time, the student will shadow the librarian and have an opportunity for information interviews.

You can view the list of people who have volunteered to be contacted by students for shadowing, or if you have any questions about the program you can contact Zara Wilkinson at zara.wilkinson@camden.rutgers.edu.

Internship Activity: LibGuides

by | Oct 23, 2013 |

I’ve been juggling a few projects for my internship, but one that I’ve been really engaged in is revising and creating research guides. My exposure to LibGuides came about as a graduate student. To be honest this experience could be coined as “LibGuide 101: An Introduction.” The initiative is keeping in line with Web 2.0 for libraries (academic and public alike), so it will be a valuable commodity to learn. In addition, they have been a helpful “go-to” reference source when answering questions at the reference desk. I have been able to recommend several guides to assist students and alumni with their requests. My goal is to spread the good word about these virtual nuggets of information.

To build the research guides at Montclair State University we use LibGuides by Springshare, which is not only user friendly, but actually fun to create. To me it’s reminiscent of Tumblr, which I’ve used on a few school projects (Literary Chicanas is one of my latest examples), except the layout and the concept for organizing information is different. However, uploading pictures, videos and adding text is what makes these two platforms distant cousins. After getting acquainted with the application, organizing and arranging the content has been like piecing together a creative puzzle of information.

Thus far, I’ve revised an existing reference sources guide and am in the process of creating a new guide on visual literacy. This project has been challenging in terms of choosing what visuals to use, defining visual literacy as a discipline and how to concisely explain existing resources in a clear and efficient manner. One of the nice things I’ve been able to incorporate is some of my photography. This is not only a great way to visually communicate information with users, but it also lends itself to my creative side.  So for a creative soul, who thrives on sharing information it’s a win/win situation!

Diving into academic librarianship

by | Sep 20, 2013 | ,

I’m inquisitive by nature; I imagine a lot of librarians have this innate quality since we are hunters of information. As a result, I’ve always had an interest in academic librarianship. Teaching as an adjunct at William Paterson University and observing a literacy class became the catalyst for my interest in academia. But I vividly remember saying to myself upon completion of the literacy lesson, “I would love to do this!” Plus I thought it was great way to translate my skills as a news researcher to that of the world of academia. So I made it my goal to learn all that I could by getting an internship at a university library.

This semester I’m interning at Montclair State University and the experience has been enlightening and energizing. I have several projects lined up for the semester:

  • Creating a LibGuide to Visual Literacy
  • Revising the current Reference LibGuide
  • Producing an online tutorial
  • Meeting face to face with students at the reference desk

The nice thing about this internship is that I am getting the opportunity to delve deeper into academic librarianship, more than I could in any class. I’ve always felt that “experience” is one of the greatest teachers and this internship is proving that sentiment true.

I have to say the “leap” to the reference desk seems very organic for me. Perhaps it’s due to my present job as a researcher at a news organization; the only difference is I communicate with producers instead of students (or professors) and search for video instead of books or articles.

I’ve just finishing up my first month at MSU and so far I’ve been exposed to more than I could have hoped for! Thus far, all has been challenging, but I’ve only dipped my toe in the pool of academic librarianship. Now I’m ready to dive in.

~ Maria Russo, mar454@scarletmail.rutgers.edu

First Meeting of the Semester

by | Sep 17, 2013 |

We had a great first meeting of the semester, and we apologize to any online students who may have logged into Adobe Connect to join us virtually. We had a technical problem with the Adobe Connect kit, which we hope to resolve for the next meeting. You can read the complete minutes on our Meeting Minutes page.

If you have any questions about upcoming SCARLA activities, please contact Jen Hunter jah123@camden.rutgers.edu or Cassidy Charles at cassidycharles24@gmail.com.

Write a blog post for SCARLA

by | Sep 4, 2013 | ,

Do you have an internship? Have you attended an event or workshop? Have an opinion about an issue? Write a blog post about it for SCARLA!

We’re looking for people who have worked in an academic or research library to share their experiences and ideas. It’s a great way to be on the web–and an opportunity for future employers to find you and see that you’re contributing to the field.

If you’re interested in writing a post, contact Jen Hunter (jenhunternj @ gmail.com) or Cassidy Charles (cassidycharles24 @ gmail.com).

Job Opportunity: Research Assistant

by | Aug 8, 2013 | ,

Yarimar Bonilla, professor in Anthropology and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers is looking for a research assistant.

“I am seeking a research assistant to help in the completion of my manuscript, which focuses on French Caribbean History and Social Movements. I need someone with excellent reading skills in French who can peruse legal texts, colonial documents, and academic publications.

Most of the work will be done virtually, although being able to meet occasionally in either New Brunswick or New York City would be a plus. I am seeking someone to start immediately and continue on into the next academic year, if possible. Remuneration is $20/hour for 10 hours a week. Please contact me directly if you are interested:
yarimar.bonilla@rutgers.edu”

Academic Interviews: Top 5 Takeaways

by | Jul 19, 2013 | ,

My previous post detailed the 2-day academic interview. Here are my top lessons learned.

  1. Be yourself. While being professional and informal is important, be sure to show your personality. Remember, you are not a robot; even if you are the most qualified candidate, you want your potential future co-workers to view you as a well-rounded, passionate person with real life interests and goals.
  2. Bring comfortable shoes if your itinerary includes tours or moving between buildings.
  3. Practice, practice, practice your presentation! Save it in as many places as possible.
  4. Have a list of questions ready to ask (as every encounter ended with “Do you have any questions?”).
  5. You will be offered dozens of bathroom breaks. TAKE THEM. This is a great time to de-stress, whether that is by drinking some water, checking your phone, fixing your hair, etc.