2013 Information Literacy Faculty Showcase

Information literacy is about determining one's need for, ability to locate, and to evaluate information as well as to understand how information is socially situated and produced.

Like critical thinking, information literacy encompasses a wide range of skills and thought processes that have become increasingly relevant in today's complex information landscape.

Developing these skills and ways of thinking in students "depends on collaborative pedagogy, embedding research competencies in individual courses and throughout the curriculum, and integrating skills developmentally into the entire learning process."1

Come to our 2nd annual hour-long showcase highlighting methods of integrating and developing information literacy competencies through the curriculum.

Janelle Julagay (Library) and Scott Randolph (Business) will share the development of their BUS 226 labs.

Melissa Cardenas-Dow (Library) and Michael Groher (Communicative Disorders) will discuss introducing library research methods into the Junior Seminar.

Other librarians will share easily adaptable assignments/activities that develop information literacy competencies.

1 Hutchins, Elizabeth O., Barbara Fister, and Kris MacPherson. "Changing Landscapes, Enduring Values: Making the Transition from Bibliographic Instruction to Information Literacy." Journal of Library Administration 36.1-2 (2002): 3-19. Print.

Muslim Journeys Bookshelf Opening Reception @ Armacost Library

University of Redlands Armacost Library will hold an opening reception, a free program for public and university audiences, featuring the resources in the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys, a collection of materials from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA).

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf Opening Reception provides the opportunity for public and university audiences to view the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf and similar items from the Armacost Library collections. The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, February 17, 2013, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the 3rd floor of Armacost Library: 1249 E. Colton Ave., Redlands, California 92374. Space is limited. Please send RSVPs to Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Outreach Librarian, by Thursday, February 14, 2013. 

For more information about the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf materials and the Opening Reception, please visit http://library.redlands.edu or contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Outreach Librarian, at 909-748-8089 or Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu.

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf and associated programs aim to familiarize public audiences in the United States with the people, places, history, faith, and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world. 

Major support for the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf was provided by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Additional support for the arts and media components was provided by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Local support is provided by University of Redlands Campus Diversity & Inclusion and Redlands Peace Academy.

Banned Books Week Turns 30

This year, Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates 30 years of awareness-raising activity focused on the issues of censorship.

Armacost Library is marking this occasion by hosting the 2nd Annual UofR Reads Out during Banned Books Week. More details to come.

Banned Books Week 2012 runs from September 30 until October 6.

We also want to alert the University of Redlands community to the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out. Both the BBW Virtual Read-Out and UofR Reads Out celebrate our collective freedom to read, view, and express.

Interested in learning what books have been challenged recently? Check out the Top 10 List of Frequently Challenged Books of the Twenty-First Century. If you're wondering about classic titles, take a look at the list of Banned and Challenged Classics. Both lists are courtesy of the American Library Association.

Armacost Library is also holding our first Intellectual Freedom Blogathon. Armacost Library Intellectual Freedom (ALIF) runs through many fall 2012 events at Armacost Library, such as Constitution Day (September 17), Banned Books Week (September 30-October 6), National Information Literacy Awareness Month (October), and International Open Access Week (October 22-28). We welcome participation from across our University community.

Edit, 10/1/2012: 2nd Annual UofR Reads Out is slated for Wednesday, October 3rd, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Hunsaker Plaza. We hope to see you there!

World Book Night 2012 Giver Applic Deadline Extended to Monday, Feb. 6th!

There is still time to turn in an application to be a WBN book giver! Consider applying before the Feb. 6th midnight deadline.

For those who have already submitted an application, news of your status should arrive at the email address you provided shortly, if it hasn't arrived already. Be sure to check your spam folder. If you've recently submitted an application, hang tight. The WBN reviewers should get to your application really soon.

Around mid-February, you should receive another email asking you to select a pick-up bookstore or library. Armacost Library should be on that list!

For further assistance, please contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow at Armacost Library: 909.748.8089 or melissa_cardenasdow@redlands.edu.

Armacost Library Registered to be a Pick-Up Location for World Book Night-USA 2012

This year, World Book Night comes to the United States for the first time. Armacost Library is supporting this international effort to promote the love of reading. We signed up to be a pick-up location for community members of the University of Redlands and the City of Redlands. We hope faculty, students, staff and administrators of University of Redlands will sign-up to participate.

What is World Book Night?
WBN-USA is an international event that promotes literacy and the joys of reading among teens and adults. It is predicated on the idea of individual volunteers going out into their own communities and sharing copies of a text they had previously read and loved. Intended recipients of WBN editions are, ideally, new or light readers or individuals with limited access to books. WBN-USA book giver volunteers will receive 20 copies of a title they have selected. They will then pick up these books at a pick-up location they select and go out into their communities to distribute them on (or around) April 23rd. It will occur in the US, the UK, and Ireland on this same day.

Interested in volunteering to be a WBN giver?
Great! There is a sign-up process and some terms and conditions. Application sign-ups need to be submitted to WBN by February 1st. Notifications will go out in mid-February. April 23rd, the actual date volunteers go out to distribute books, falls during May term break for CAS students at University of Redlands. Because of this, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind.

• Think about where you will be on April 23rd and plan to give out books in that city. You will be asked to provide a mailing and an email address in the online application. The mailing address will help WBN organizers optimize selecting possible pick-up locations for you to consider. The email address is needed to notify you if your application has been approved or not, which book title you will receive, and how to select your pick-up location. Of course, you can still select Armacost Library as your pick-up location and give out books in the city of Redlands before you travel.

• Think about where you will go to hand out books and why. You will also be asked questions about the location/s at which you intend to distribute books, to whom, and why. WBN will use the answers to these questions to select applicants. While community centers are great places to consider, WBN also suggests distributing books at coffee shops, bus stops, commuter trains, malls, churches, and  hospitals. Do select locations other than libraries.

• Select books that you have personally read already. WBN has a list of 30 titles from which would-be volunteers can choose 3 books. Should WBN choose you as a book giver, they will select one of the titles you indicated in your application and mail 20 copies of that title to your designated pick-up location. The point of the program is to enable givers to say to a giftee, “I read this book and I really loved it. I think you may enjoy it, too.”

• Attend the WBN party hosted by Campus Diversity & Inclusion and Armacost Library on April 16, 2012! This will be a good time for Redlands WBN givers to meet other givers, ask questions about WBN’s process, and pick up the books you have signed up to distribute on April 23rd. Exact location and time is yet to be determined. Light refreshments will be provided. Stay tuned!

Have questions? For more information, please visit the WBN-USA website or contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow at 909.748.8089.

Banned Books Week 2011: BBW Retrospective

BBW Retrospective celebrates the freedom to read and express by showcasing poster from past American Library Association Graphics Banned Books Week events. Armacost Library has been celebrating Banned Books Week since 1993, so we have a number of posters to show!

In addition, display areas will feature banned and challenged books that are part of Armacost Library's current collections.

The posters and displays will be up starting Saturday, September 24 till Saturday, October 1.

Bookmarks and buttons from the 2011 Banned Books Week ALA campaign will also be available as free giveaways.

Display organization, design, set-up and tear-down are led by Armacost Library's Technical Services Supervisor, Trisha Aurelio.

Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award

Purpose
The proliferation of electronic information has made research a much more complex process than in the past. At the University of Redlands, students have available to them sources in paper and microfilm, electronically available through subscription databases and journals, as well as freely available on the open Web. Because so much information is available, evaluating sources of information takes increasingly more time and effort. This award was established to reward those students who demonstrate thoughtfulness and creativity in their approach to research and whose work exhibits excellence in critical thinking.

Eligibility

@Be a current University of Redlands undergraduate student (in any class or discipline).

@Eligible projects must have been completed for a University of Redlands credit course during the prior calendar year (e.g. for the 2009 award, eligible projects are those completed during Spring term 2008, May term 2008, or Fall term 2008).

@Projects must be accompanied by a letter of support from the faculty member who taught the course for which the paper/project was produced.

@All application materials will remain the property of the Library. Winning papers/projects will become a part of the Library collection.

Application Requirements and Procedure

Application will consist of:

@Application cover sheet

@Letter/email of support from supervising instructor.

@Research strategy essay (500-750 words) describing research process (including changes in the way student approached searching for information, new tools and resources discovered, interaction with reference librarians, use of interlibrary loan, and how sources were evaluated for credibility and relevance).

@Final version of research paper/project, including bibliography/reference list/ works cited.

Evaluation Criteria

@Make substantial and creative use of library resources in any format.

@Demonstrate effective application of information literacy principles:

@Determining information needs

@Evaluating and analyzing information

@Managing, organizing, and synthesizing information

@Applying information in the context of the research project

@Making responsible use of information by providing appropriate and accurate citations.

@Show evidence of significant personal growth in the methods of research and inquiry.

Award and Deadlines

@A monetary prize of $500.00 will awarded to the most outstanding undergraduate research project.

@Complete application packets must be received by 5:00pm, Friday, March 6.

@Mail or deliver complete application package to:
Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award Committee
c/o Shana Higgins
1249 E. Colton Ave.
Redlands, CA 92374

@The winner will be notified no later than April 10, 2009. Award recipient and faculty will be honored at a reception near the end of the Spring term.

For forms and guidelines, go to: http://libguides.redlands.edu/UndergradAward.

Librart/Audiopsy

Armacost Library (Verletta Kern) and MLuM members of the School of Music will present Librart/Audiopsy, a site-specific sound work and exploration of library science as an aesthetic procedure and category. The work will feature music and wall projections. Please join us for Librart/Audiopsy on Friday, April 11th, 2008 from 7-9 PM in Armacost Library. An informal lecture about the work will be given in the Music/Film Room of Armacost Library at 8 PM.

Engaging Hiroshima-Nagasaki Today

Armacost Library is pleased to be one of several sites on campus hosting a poster exhibition entitled Engaging Hiroshima-Nagasaki Today. The exhibition will run until March 28th. For more information on the exhibition and related events, please see the University website http://www.redlands.edu/x35021.xml