An Oldie But a Goodie

Posted by Stephanie Van Cleave on May 6, 2013 in Blog Posts | 0 comments

To this day I write all my to-do lists, emails, and essays on actual paper before transcribing them into my phone or computer. The action of putting a pen to paper and seeing what I have produced keeps me engaged and connected to my work even as the professional, social and educational climates become increasingly digital.

It’s not groundbreaking knowledge that people learn best through various media. I am no exception. Generally speaking, there are five types of learners:

• Visual
• Auditory
• Verbal
• Logical
• Kinesthetic

The Modern Librarian: Insights from TLA 2013

Posted by EasyBib on May 2, 2013 in Blog Posts | 2 comments

Buffy Hamilton saying hi to us at TLA 2013

Like many students, my perception (and misconception) of a librarian involved helping me find books. After joining the EasyBib team and attending the TLA 2013 conference last week in Ft. Worth, Texas I have learned just how wrong I was.

I walked into the exhibitor arena and was blown away by the massive room and number of people in attendance. There were book publishers, database companies, educational technology companies, like us, and many more. The general atmosphere of friendly collaboration had people sharing not only ideas and suggestions but the free chocolate too.

 Keynote sessions included an inspirational talk by J.R. Martinez about overcoming his unique challenges, the thought provoking Dan Ariely on decision making, and Neil Gaiman closing out the conference with a speech that had the audience in a standing ovation. Furthermore, authors from Scholastic, Random House and HarperCollins came out to talk about and sign their books.

More than the size of the room, number of people or great giveaways, the quality of the attendees had me excited about the future of education and information literacy. Working for an education technology company, I had long retired my childhood views of my elementary school librarian, but the individuals I met at TLA 2013 molded an even newer perception of the modern librarian.

Today’s modern librarians are on the cutting edge of education and information technology. Librarians are rewriting the rules of when and how we use technology to access information in the benefit of both students and their colleagues alike.

They use Twitter to stay connected and informed while buzzing from one event to the next. If they missed Mike Eisenberg’s presentation, they could catch important key points like, “Information literacy is as important in the 21st century as reading and writing,” as Mary Woodard tweeted.

Info literacy is as important in the 21st century as reading and writing. – MEisenberg #txla13 #misdtxla13

— Mary Woodard (@MaryWoodard) April 27, 2013

TLA 2013 proved to me that although librarians and educators face challenges, their spirit and enthusiasm for learning, collaboration and innovation have proved them an irreplaceable resource. As the conference drew to a close and I prepared to head home, I knew that as an educational technology company, EasyBib must continue to live up to the same high standards today’s modern librarians are setting for themselves.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to share your love of Easybib with us. The feeling is mutual!

Eli Rothschild is the Texas School and Library Representative for EasyBib and ResearchReady. You can reach him at eli[at]imagineeasy.com

Personalized Information Literacy Instruction for Your Students

Posted by Caitlyn Selleck on Apr 24, 2013 in Blog Posts | 2 comments

Although ResearchReady has been on the market for only a couple months, we have been talking to librarians for over a year about our new product and its information literacy instruction and assessment curriculum. The feedback has been wonderful. The six customizable courses cover all the fundamental skills a student needs to know to be successful in their research projects. But what about subject-specific skills? Or library-specific information? Sometimes students need more than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Well, we can help you with that! Emily Gover and I, the two in-house librarians and content creators at EasyBib and ResearchReady, will work with you to create personalized content to help your students learn important critical thinking and information literacy skills. If you have pre-existing content, we can also host it on our platform, presenting it to your students in a clean, easy-to-use interface that also includes a powerful assessment tracking tool. Emily and I will work closely with you to make sure that your ideas for information literacy instruction and assessment are realized.

Interested in learning more? Contact your EasyBib/ResearchReady representative, or Emily and me.

Caity Selleck is the in-house librarian for EasyBib and ResearchReady. You can find her on Twitter, @Caity_EasyBib, or posting news you can use at the EasyBib Librarians Facebook page.

ACRL 2013: Library Conversations

Posted by Caitlyn Selleck on Apr 22, 2013 in Blog Posts | 0 comments

While at ACRL, I had the pleasure of speaking with Michele Van Hoeck of Project Information Literacy and Instruction Coordinator at California Maritime Academy. She really summed up why ACRL is such a great conference.

I couldn’t agree more. I talked to so many interesting people and attended so many interesting sessions, including one hosted by Michele about using Wikipedia to strengthen students’ information literacy skills.

I was also able to speak with two MLS candidates from the University of Maryland iSchool, Bridgette Hendrix and Margaret Leist, who were both ACRL first-time attendees.

Margaret said of the conference, “As a first-time attendee, I really appreciate the opportunity to interact with practicing professionals in the field and to see first-hand the innovative products that are shaping where the field is going.”

I was also able to talk to Bridgette about a very exciting project that she, Margaret, and several other students from the University of Maryland are currently working on.  She and her fellow students have learned a lot about the fact that many current and incoming college students lack the research skills necessary for post-secondary education. These students are now taking action on this issue and are planning an information literacy mentorship program with a few students at the University of the District of Columbia. After careful training, students involved with iDiversity would partner with a UDC student, and would lead them in a series of information literacy lessons, starting during their second summer session this year.

The group is currently exploring the information literacy instruction and assessment provided by ResearchReady and may use it with this student population.

It’s conversations like these that make ACRL worth the trip! We hope to see you in Portland, OR in 2015!

Caity Selleck is the in-house librarian for EasyBib and ResearchReady. You can find her on Twitter, @Caity_EasyBib, or posting news you can use at the EasyBib Librarians Facebook page.