Art Library Internship

by | Jun 29, 2013 | ,

Wondering what an internship at an academic library is like? There are several different kinds of academic libraries and various positions within those libraries. I interned with the Rutgers art librarian Megan Lotts during the Spring 2013 semester. There is no official internship program at Rutgers Libraries. I just heard by word-of-mouth (from another librarian, networking is important!) that she was looking for a new intern, so I emailed her, and it took off from there.A little bit of background: The Art Library at Rutgers holds over 90,000 volumes. It supports the research needs of students and faculty in the departments of art history, fine arts, landscape architecture, and other multidisciplinary fields. Megan is an artist and has both a Masters in Library Science and a Masters of Fine Arts. She has a very creative mind and is definitely a mover and shaker in the library world.One of my main responsibilities as an intern was to design library exhibits. In most libraries, there are display cases where we can feature items from the collection or anything that might be interesting and relevant to the campus. For the first one, Megan told me I could do it about whatever I wanted, so I picked one of my favorite artists, Francisco Goya. This involved researching, looking through books on Goya in the collection, writing the captions, deciding how to divide up the sections, and cutting out and arranging everything in the cases. I also had some souvenirs from Spain that I used as props.

The second exhibit I did was called Natural Beauty: Art in Math and Science. This was a very time-consuming but fun exhibit to curate. I learned after doing the first exhibit to spend less time on the text since few people actually read it anyway. I did spend a lot of time researching and making props for the exhibit. This involved everything from folding origami to assembling a foam praying mantis to tracking down Hubble telescope pictures. Here’s a picture of one of the cases in this exhibit:

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My other main responsibility was to develop the Art Library LibGuide. This consisted of browsing guides made by librarians at other universities and cherry picking and adding other resources that I found. I put together the pages on Medieval Art, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Copyright and Images. Although it was intimidating at first, I liked that the things I did in this internship were being used and seen by real patrons, in contrast to my school projects and papers.Megan headed the first annual Rutgers Edible Books Festival. The idea behind Edible Books is to represent the title or content of a book with food in a clever and/or artistic way. Although I did not assist in planning, I submitted an entry and talked extensively with Megan about her motives and methods in producing this event. With 32 submissions and free refreshments, it was well-attended both by participants and passers-by. Many people were pleasantly surprised that the library would host a fun, interactive event like this. Here’s a picture of the winning entry, The Grapes of Wrath (and you can see Game of Scones behind it 🙂
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Probably the most useful part of this internship was the opportunity to see what Megan does day-to-day. I watched her teach information literacy classes and help students with art history research. I also got to ask her things you most likely won’t hear in library school, such as: How many research consultations with students do you conduct weekly? Why do you think you outshone other the candidates for your current and past positions? Librarians at Rutgers have tenured faculty status; do colleagues and students treat you as they would a professor or do you feel second-class at times? Why is the tenure process so meticulous and involved? How do you deal with pushy faculty members and people who make unreasonable demands?This internship was a wonderful opportunity to get hands-on experience in the academic library environment. Megan was a great mentor to me, and the things I did and learned as an intern will be beneficial regardless of the kind of library I end up working in. I recommend getting as much experience as you can while in library school so that you will be a more well-rounded job candidate and will have better chances of finding a position that suits your needs and skills upon graduation.~ Roslyn Grandy, SCARLA secretary, 2013-14
roslyngrandy@gmail.com

Internship Opportunity: Instruction at Rutgers

by | Jun 24, 2013 | ,

Below is a great internship opportunity for an MLIS student who wants to gain teaching experience.

Rutgers Libraries in New Brunswick is looking for an intern interested in information literacy instruction for undergraduate students. The intern will assist in coordinating instruction and will participate in providing instruction to students in a variety of programs, including English writing and transfer student seminars. The student will also research and help develop improved methods of instruction deliver, including, but not limited to, the creation of online tutorials. A successful candidate will have completed at least one semester in the MLIS program, experience searching Rutgers databases, and strong presentation skills.

Contact Jill Nathanson, Kilmer Library, jill.nathanson @ rutgers.edu, (848) 445-3608

NJLA 2013 Conference

by | Jun 12, 2013 | ,

The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) held its annual conference June 3 – 5 at the Revel in Atlantic City this year. The theme was “Finding Your Perfect Fit” and the conference agenda promised a number of stimulating presentations and conversations. I attended the conference as a student and presented a poster with other members of SCARLA, “What’s the Big Deal About Library Instruction: Getting library instruction experience as an MLIS student.” Our session took place Tuesday morning so that gave us all ample time to attend different workshops and sessions without worrying about our presentation!

Here’s the SCARLA poster:

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As Jen mentioned in her anticipatory post for NJLA Annual 2013, attending conferences as an MLIS student is a great way to find out what library and information science professionals are doing in the field right now and why they love it. As a student, you also have the freedom to treat the sessions a bit like a buffet—sampling a bit of youth services, reader’s advisory, and distance learning strategies, if you so choose! Attendees did not have to register ahead of time for the sessions, so everyone was given flexibility with the sessions they attended and for how long.

That being said, I attended many different but interesting programs:

I also toured the Exhibits Hall, perused the poster sessions, conversed about trends with new and veteran librarians, celebrated hard work during the NJLA Awards Ceremony, listened to Laura Lippman’s keynote address, and (accidentally) ate lunch with Stephen Abram, the Wednesday keynote speaker. (Let that be a lesson in the importance of speaking up and networking.) I left Atlantic City Wednesday afternoon with a brain full of new ideas and thoughts, and a greater sense of the LIS professional community.

Who’s going to ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia this January?

~ Cassidy Charles, SCARLA co-president, Fall 2013
cassidycharles24 @ gmail.com

Setting and Assessing Instructional Goals

by | May 25, 2013 | ,

A few days ago I attended a workshop at Rider University sponsored by ACRL-NJ and VALE about writing performance objectives and developing assessment for library instruction sessions. Heather Dalal, of Rider (who was also a panel member at our library instruction program this past semester) and Lynee Dokus, of County College of Morris, gave a talk on the Dick and Carey model of instruction.They generously put together a site of all of their presentation files, so check out some of the worksheets that they provided to help write objectives and develop assessments.The Dick & Carey model of instruction is thoroughly explained in the book The Systematic Design of Instruction, and it’s easier to visualize with this flow chart that Heather and Lynee provided.

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A few takeaway points from the presentation: 

  • You need to understand learner contexts before you start teaching. For instance, if someone doesn’t know how to use a mouse, it will be difficult to teach them how to use an online database.
  • A written performance objective should be specific and use action verbs to help its specificity. Phrases like “know,” “understand,” or “gain an appreciation of” are hard to measure. Phrases like “select,” “write,” and “identify” are easier to measure because they align with a behavior.
  • With that said, a well-written learning objective will lend itself to developing an assessment. For example, an objective like “The student will be able to identify and list the differences between MLA format and other citation formats,” is better than “The student will understand citation style.”
  • You develop the assessment right after you’ve developed the learning objectives–before you’ve developed the instructional strategy or instructional materials, which should be closely aligned with the objects and how you’ll measure them.
  • The process is iterative and allows for revision. If students aren’t achieving the learning outcomes you expect, you can look at your materials, strategy, assessments, or objectives at any point in the process and modify them to create better success.

Jen Hunter
jah123 @ camden.rutgers.edu

Looking forward to NJLA 2013

by | May 23, 2013 | ,

As a newer MLIS student, I’m pretty excited to attend the NJLA conference this year because it will be my first library-focused conference. I can’t wait to go to the poster sessions, check out the programming, and see the exhibitors. But what I’m most excited about is networking.

One of my favorite parts of library school so far has been talking with working library professionals and finding out what they do, and why they love what they do. Everyone I’ve met has been enthusiastic about sharing and “converting” new librarians. It’s also been helpful to get informal advising about coursework. What kinds of skills do they expect new graduate applicants to have? How can classes help to fill those competencies?

In addition to networking, these are the sessions I want to check out:

What are you looking forward to at the conference?

Jen Hunter
jah123 @ camden.rutgers.edu

SCARLA at NJLA 2013

by | May 23, 2013 | ,

Don’t miss SCARLA at NJLA 2013. We’ll be presenting a poster: “What’s the Big Deal About Library Instruction: Getting library instruction experience as an MLIS student.”

Our session is on Tuesday, June 4 from 10-11 a.m.

Here’s the abstract:
The Student College, Academic, and Research Libraries Association (SCARLA) is a group of MLIS students at Rutgers University interested in academic librarianship. A recent panel session discussion sponsored by SCARLA revealed that SCI students had an interest in gaining instructional experience in a professional context as interns or volunteers. Our poster presentation will detail SCARLA’s practical problem-solving effort to increase student awareness about and experience with library instruction.

Revel: Oasis for NJ Librarians

by | Jun 18, 2012 | ,

Hi all,

I just returned home from “Retooling 4 Tomorrow: New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference.”  NJLA 2012 took place at the new Revel Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ from Monday June 4th to Wednesday June 6th. The Revel can only be described as the new standard for luxury and grandeur in Atlantic City. Beautiful ocean front views greeted participants as they approached the registration area and continued to captivate us throughout the week. We had excellent weather all three days and many of us spent most of our official ‘coffee-break time’ exploring the Revel’s expansive outdoor decks and lush garden meeting centers.

As hinted in the conference title, NJLA 2012 was all about innovation, positivity, exploring new technologies, and creating new community connections. We were all encouraged to discover what we as library professionals do best and how to continue expanding our strengths to suit the changing needs and wants of our communities. The conference activities consisted of a mixture of practical advice concerning instruction, purchasing agreements, technologies, social media, etc.  and theoretical discussions about how to continue proving our worth in the future.

Monday afternoon hosted a preconference, while Tuesday and Wednesday were workshop days that last from 9am to 5am. At any given time, there were at least 5 different places to be; a broad range of activities appealed to librarians from wide ranging backgrounds.  Attendees were able to custom design their NJLA schedule and keep track of all their desired locations on the free NJLA 2012 iphone app. In-between sessions, we visited the exhibitors hall to learn more about companies providing a wide range of potential services to libraries-everything from publishers to architects, and smart phone application software to authors and musicians!

Laura Palumbo and I presented a poster about SCARLA’s inaugural year at the Student Poster Session Tuesday morning. 5 of the 6 student posters at the session came from our fellow classmates at Rutgers. It was exciting to learn from each other and represent our school!

After the poster session, Laura and I attended a leadership luncheon where NJLA President Susan O’Neal, introduced us to the soon to be new NJLA President Karen Klapperstuck. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Karen and her vibrant personality, creativity, energy, and passionate dedication to this organization will no doubt lead to a very successful and innovative upcoming year in the New Jersey Library Association. We wish Karen the best of luck as she begins her term in the follow weeks!

I personally chose to attend many of the events sponsored by the College and University Section of NJLA. This section hosted panel-like discussions as well as more hands-on activities to help us learn more about instruction methods and research techniques. Academic librarians from Universities in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, California and, of course, New Jersey, gave presentations and workshops. Some of these many events included:

  • E-Reader Lending at Princeton University Library
  • Harnessing Your Connections: Developing Your Personal Learning Network
  • Retooling the CUS Website with Drupal
  • Retooling Library Instruction by Analyzing Student Information Literacy Skills
  • On the Road to Information Literacy Success
  • Using the New American Factfinder and FDsys to Locate the Current Census and Other Federal E-Documents
  • ACRL-NJ’s Research Forum award and presentations

SCARLA’s own Miraida Morales hosted a session entitled “Digital Library Toolkit: Building a Small Digital Library on a Shoestring.” Miraida shared her experiences with the 1st digital library project for the National Library of Puerto Rico, sharing valuable information about planning processes, choosing platforms and metadata schemes, and providing positive public relations. Miraida’s unique skillset will serve her well in her new career as a digital archivist. We wish her the best of luck as she begins her wonderful new career and continues to take the library world by storm!

On Wednesday afternoon, I attended the NJ Colleges and Universities Luncheon. I had the pleasure of getting to know academic librarians from across the state. All were very kind and offered valuable advice about navigating the local job market and finding opportunities to continue my education. During the luncheon, awards were presented to noteworthy members of the organization. Wednesday also marked the 10th anniversary of the Technology Innovation Award. Previous winners also came to share how their work has continued to grow and develop in the years since their initial awards.

NJLA also hosted many events specifically targeted to MLIS students and librarians looking for jobs. Professional librarians volunteered to host resume review sessions to provide students with 1 on 1 advice. Some of the events specifically aimed towards MLIS students included:

  • The Art of Managing Your Brand
  • Why Didn’t They Call Me!? Dos and Don’ts to Get the Interview Call Next Time?
  • How to succeed in Job interviews for Libraries
  • Library Student & New Librarian Mixer

The conference was extremely hospitable to students and I recommend that MLIS students join in this wonderful opportunity to attend the conference next year. The Revel has been booked for the next 3 NJLA conferences, so you too can experience all that this beautiful, beach front location has to offer. For more information on the conference location, visit the Revel’s official site http://www.revelresorts.com/.

Overall, the conference was a great mixture of networking, professional development, knowledge dissemination, hands on instruction, and most imporatantly, FUN! Comical key note speakers captivated our attention with their energy, humor, and dedication to brazing new paths for the future of libraries and library professionals. NJLA Leaders provided inspirational messages to MLIS students and made us feel welcome and appreciated by the organization. For more details about conference panels, presenters, and activities, visit the official NJLA webpage:http://njlaconference.info/.

Next, join me in traveling to Anaheim for the ALA 2012 conference from June 21st to 26th. If the idea of going to a Rutgers SCI alumnae reunion in the Magic Kingdom Ballroom doesn’t excite you, imagine having the opportunity to network with librarians from across the country! For more information, visit the official conference website:http://www.alaannual.org/.

Kelly LaVoice

KML254@eden.rutgers.edu

How to Present a Poster by SLA

by | Apr 20, 2012 | ,

I just attended an online webinar presented by Tara Murray, Director of Information Services/Librarian for the American Philatelic Research Library, and hosted by SLA. The webinar was a great concise outline of poster construction and presentation, and Tara agreed to let me share the highlights with you. You can get more information from her blog at http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2012/04/10/posters/

I know this will come in handy for our upcoming poster at NJLA!

  • Read the instructions! Follow the directions for poster size and format.
  • Include your name on your poster- nobody wants to be anonymous.

Generally, your poster should include:

  • Title of your poster
  • Authors and affiliations
  • Contact information
  • Intro/abstract- check with instructions if required or not wanted
  • Methods, if a research study, or a description
  • Conclusion
  • References and acknowledgements (optional)

Other helpful info:

  • Posters can be created using Adobe Illustrator, or MS PowerPoint.
  • Your title font should be at least 1.5 inches, the rest of the text at least 24 pt font- readable from 3-4’ away. All caps are difficult to read, as are fancy fonts. Sans-serif is good for titles; serif fonts may be easier to read in the body.
  • Color is good for highlighting important points, but don’t go crazy. Contrast is important–don’t use light text on light background.
  • Leave space around your text. Posters are visual- use images.
  • Don’t laminate–it makes the poster heavy, and causes glare.
  • Carry your poster in a tube or carrying case, especially if flying.
  • Handouts are a good place for additional information that didn’t fit on the poster, and for contact information. They should remind people of your poster.
  • Read the instructions so you are prepared with mounting materials, and check to see if you have a table for handouts, and electricity for a laptop. On the day of your presentation, arrive early to set up. Stay near your poster to answer questions.

Thanks Tara and SLA!
~Laura Palumbo, co-webmaster

Internship at MOMA

by | Mar 26, 2012 | ,

While visiting the Museum of Modern Art on a RUSLA field trip last fall, I discovered their internship program and, specifically, the opportunities available for library science graduate students interested in art librarianship, archives, and research. I submitted my application for a spring 2012 internship program by the October 2011 deadline and heard back from the reader’s services librarian (a Rutgers Library Science Alumnae!) in December. As a second semester student, I was ineligible to receive academic credit for the internship program; however students interested in pursuing the internship for credit would be able to do so.

For anyone interested in art librarianship in special, art, or museum libraries, I highly recommend you take advantage of this amazing opportunity just an hour away from New Brunswick! Why intern at the Museum of Modern Art? You will have unlimited free access to the museum as well as exclusive invitations to attend staff events including gallery openings with world renown artists, film premieres, and free admission to many other art museums throughout the country. You can also reserve free tickets for friends and family even if you will not be joining them (for up to 6 guests per day). Sounds too good to be true? It gets better. Interns receive 40% off at the gift shop, book store, and design store throughout the duration of the internship.

Each Tuesday, the 40 interns from the curatorial, research, and business divisions attend classes and events together to learn more about the various departments working behind the scenes to keep the museum at the forefront of displaying ‘the art of our time’. The museum is closed to the public on Tuesdays, so interns partake on private exhibition tours with the curators who designed and executed the exhibits. This is an opportunity to experience, first-hand, the extensive research involved in curating exhibits and publishing exhibition catalogs.

My favorite intern activities thus far have included: a private tour of collection storage in MoMA Queens (the closest I will probably ever be to a genuine Picasso!), meeting with the director of the museum to discuss strategic planning, an introduction to digital media design applications, and touring the conservation department for painting and sculpture. During the weekly classes, interns network with other graduate students throughout the metropolitan area studying art, museum studies, librarianship, and/or information technology. Staff members leading the weekly classes always give background information about their educational and professional backgrounds and give interns advice about navigating the job market.

As the MoMA library intern, I split my time between the branches in Manhattan and Queens. Because of the nature of the discipline, the majority of materials continue to be in print form and require multiple sites to accommodate the massive collection of materials on modern and contemporary art. The collection includes materials from the mid-19th century to the current times, focusing on painting, sculpture, drawings, photography, film, architecture, design, performance, and more! The library has approximately 300,000 books and exhibition catalogs, over 40,000 files on individual articles and exhibitions, 300 periodical subscriptions, PADD files (Political Art Documentation and Distribution) and unique artist books that will cause you to ‘rethink’ the traditional book format. Ever seen a book made completely of chocolate? How do you preserve such a resource? Another reason to check out the MoMA library!

Working with MoMA collections caused me to rethink my perception of books as mass-produced information sources. Materials in our collection are simultaneously works of art themselves as well as information and archival sources of information. MoMA has many unique items that must be handled with care, preserved for audiences of the future to better understand the cultures that produced the art movements. I have been lucky enough to shadow our preservation library assistant to learn techniques for repairing damaged materials and properly housing new materials to proactively prevent damage. It is amazing to see acid-stained books, with pages completely detached and extreme spine damage, be repaired to almost unrecognizable levels! Since we are only able to take 12 classes during our time at Rutgers, this is a great way to learn about physical and digital preservation if you are unable to schedule an academic class in these areas.

During my internship, I assist with cataloging and reference work. I have the opportunity to practice with new cataloging software platforms and learn more about full-level cataloging for research-based institutions. For an intern project, I am adding geographic descriptor terms to records for artist books to make keyword searching in the catalog easier for staff and visitors. During my days shadowing our reference librarian, I learn more about the unique process for art research using primarily print-based resources. The MoMA library is open to the public 4 days a week, so interns have the opportunity to interact with museum staff, curatorial assistants, visiting scholars, students from art programs throughout New York City, artists, film makers, and other professionals.

If any of this sounds exciting or interesting to you, please visit the MoMA internship webpage to learn more:http://www.moma.org/learn/courses/internships#types. If multiple people express interest in visiting the library, the library staff could schedule a private tour for Rutgers students on a Tuesday when the library is closed to the public.

If you have an interest in art, archives, museum studies, or are just looking for an interesting internship to learn more about cataloging, reference, or preservation, definitely consider applying for a MoMA internship in the future! Private gallery tours, free museum admission, and access to one of the largest modern art library collections in the world: I promise, you’ll be glad you did it!

-Kelly LaVoice
KML254@eden.rutgers.edu

Posters and conferences

by | Mar 18, 2012 |

It’s been a while since VALE, and now NJLA will be here before you know it. If you’ve been attending meetings and checking in here, you know that SCARLA will be represented at the NJLA conference in Atlantic City this June. I am excited to be able to represent our group there this year, along with Kelly Lavoice. Posters are a great way to get your feet wet and meet others, as I found when I presented a poster with Marty Kesselman from the Library of Science and Medicine at VALE.

Presenting a poster is not nearly as intimidating as speaking before a group, but your poster should be well thought out, succinct and attractive. There are many sites out there on the web which offer advice for making a poster, so I will only post one here which I found useful when I worked on my poster for VALE:
http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign
This is a blog written by a former professor at Swarthmore, and even though it is a little long, I thought it was well presented.

Better than reading about it though, is actually creating one. Help SCARLA design our poster for NJLA- come to the meeting on Wednesday, or contact Miraida or Natasha with your ideas.

~Laura Palumbo, co-webmaster