NEMO NEWS
Volume 8, Issue 4 April 2012
NEBRASKA-MIZZOU LIBRARY SCIENCE STUDENT NEWS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE MPLA/NLA/NEMA Conference and Presentations
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Library Science student luncheon
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Important Dates and Reminders
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Tips for a Great Conference Presentation
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Library Student Travel Photos
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Student Spotlight: Megan Klein-Hewett
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NLC Webinars
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NEMO NEWS TRI-CONFERENCE PRESENTATION PROPOSALS DUE APRIL 30 Mark your calendars for the MPLA/NLA/NEMA tri-conference October 17-19 at the LaVista Conference Center. The 2012 theme is “Back to Basics,” and the keynote speaker for the conference will be former congressman and Nebraska football coach Dr. Tom Osborne. Registration opens April 10, and the students rate is $50 for students who register online. Students are encouraged to present or participate in the student poster session at the conference. Program proposals must be submitted to the NLA Conference Planning Committee through the NLA website by April 30. All programs must be sponsored by one of the many sponsors within MPLA, NLA, or NEMA, and the list of programming sponsors can be found here .
Additionally, the New Members Round Table section of the NLA (NMRT) sponsors a conference poster session, which typically includes students and/or practicing librarians that each present a poster on the topic of their choice. Poster session presentation lengths vary on the amount of participants, but are around 10-15 minutes. If you are interested in presenting during the poster session, please e-mail your contact information and a brief description of your topic to nmrt.officers@gmail.com. This is an excellent opportunity for networking and resume-building, so don’t miss out!
TACO LUNCHEON AT ROSKENS Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 Missouri and UNO library science faculty will be hosting a taco luncheon for UNO and Missouri library science students from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the student lounge area on floor 2 of Roskens Hall. All students and alumni are invited to stop by, grab some food, and socialize with colleagues. Vegetarian, gluten-free and meat taco options will be available. We look forward to seeing you there!
NLC SCHOLARSHIP DUE JUNE 1 The Nebraska Library Commission’s 21st Century Librarian Scholarship helps recipients with tuition, fees, class-related materials, professional association fees and conference fees. All Nebraska residents pursuing an education in library science are eligible to apply. The new deadline for this year’s scholarship is June 1. Students may apply for this and other scholarships at http://nlc1.nlc.state.ne.us/ nowhiring/scholarships.asp.
Claire LaCosse of Bellevue Public Library was the winner of a drawing for a stuffed Mizzou Bengal Mascot at the Spring University of Missouri Library Science Information Meeting. From left to right: Dr. Denise Adkins, Claire LaCosse, and Dr. John Budd.
Ideal Bookshelf by Jane Mount
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NEMO NEWS
IMPORTANT DATES & REMINDERS Registration Registration for Summer and Fall 2012 classes begins March 5. Consult your Plan of Study and course schedules.
Classes fill quickly on a first-come, first-served basis Be ready to register on your assigned date and time! Visit http:// mudirect.missouri.edu/ _catalog/index.asp to complete your registration.
Comprehensive Exams Summer 2012 comprehensive exams will be held June 9 through June 17.
Graduation Ceremony – University of Missouri Hearnes Center Saturday, May 12, 2012 6:30 PM If you are graduating in Spring 2012 and planning to attend the ceremony in Columbia, you need to be making your travel arrangements immediately as hotels are filling NOW! If there aren’t rooms available in Columbia, there are also hotels in Boonville, Jefferson City, and Moberly.
Volume 8, Issue 4 April 2012
10 TIPS FOR A GREAT CONFERENCE PRESENTATION Bromberg, P. (2010). Learning Round Table of the ALA. Retrieved from http://alalearning.org/2010/02/02/10steps/
A small meme developed on Twitter yesterday prompted by the following tweet by David Wedamen, “Just had a GREAT idea from @brandeislibn. Conferences should be built around TEACHING not PRESENTING. Wouldn’t that be something?” Alice Yucht built on the idea with her tweet, “how about Conferences should be about LEARNING, not Show-n-Tell ?”, which got me thinking about how we approach conferences, and conference presentations, in the library profession. If the goal of the conference is that attendees will learn, what do conference presentations have to look like to achieve that goal? I believe the goal of presenting should be to a create a change in the listener; a change of behavior, thinking and/or feeling. Any good teacher or trainer will tell you that to be effective in creating that change, you must begin with the learning objective(s) in mind, and work backwards from there to design the lesson or the talk. Wedamen’s tweet points out an interesting feature of many library conferences—they seem to be designed around topics that presenters wish to present on, more than they are designed around, or focused on, the learning that participants need. In too many conference presentations speakers design their talks as core dumps of data, or long, dry recountings of “how we did it good”, without giving enough attention to the key question, “As a result of hearing me speak, people will do/think/feel_________ “(fill in the blank). The answer to that question is the main organizing principle, the guiding star, of any wellconstructed talk. Leaving out all of the other variables that go into an effective presentation (emotion, humor, pacing, eye contact, vocal variety, body language, visuals, questions, room environment, acoustics, etc.) it is very difficult to have a successful presentation if what constitutes success is a mere afterthought. Ask, “What do I want them to do, think, and/or feel as a result of hearing this program?” Ask and answer this question before you write one word or create one slide. The answer to this question is your OBJECTIVE. Let the objective guide you continually as you construct your presentation, throwing aside anything that does not help achieve the goal of the talk. Share your objectives with the audience at some point during your presentation–preferably during the first few minutes. If the audience knows what you intend to achieve with the talk it will give them context that will help them make meaning and ground the learning. It will also help them evaluate whether you have effectively achieved your goal. Or not.
Have a strong opening. The first two minutes of your talk gives you a great opportunity to grab and hold the audience’s attention, but it’s likely that you already have their attention during the first two minutes. It’s the next 58 that present the challenge! So what do I mean by a strong opening? I mean an opening that engages the audience, creates some positive expectation for the rest of the talk, and/or provides a framework for the learning that is about to take place. Olivia Mitchell, who blogs over at Speaking and Presenting, suggests three possible openings – Organized Opening, Story Opening, Dramatic Opening — and discusses when/why to use each. Use examples to illustrate your points. For example… Don’t just say, “Merchandising your collection is good.” Say, “When we created a ‘recently returned’ display at the front door and displayed them all covers out, 98% of them recirculated within the same day and our circulation stats increased 20%.” Examples support the learning by attesting to the truth of your message, and also help ground the learning by clarifying and fleshing out your meaning. Use simple, clear, engaging visuals to reinforce your points (or don’t use them at all.) Good visuals can help you focus the audience’s attention, help them make meaning, and promote future recall, by connecting intellectual ideas with visual representations. As for bullet points… I’m not one of those people that believes bullet points should never be used, but if you use them, do it sparingly, with a large readable font, and a supporting image (if room permits.) Tell stories. Our brains are actually wired to enjoy stories. And because stories have the power to simultaneously engage the listener both cognitively AND emotionally, they are highly effective in getting your point across (assuming you know your point–see #1). And speaking of engaging the listener… Appeal to emotions as well as reason. Unless you are presenting on the planet Vulcan, your audience probably consists of human beings, and research shows that it is our emotions that lead us to act. If your goal is get listeners to DO SOMETHING, you need to rouse some feeling within them by appealing to their empathy, their self-interest, or some combination of both. As the Heath Brothers suggest in Made to Stick, you want to appeal, “not only to the people they are right now but also to the people they would like to be.” Practice, Practice, Practice: There is no substitute for practicing your talk, preferably in front of others, to work out the kinks, identify and clarify muddied points, and become comfortable with the material. When you know your talk cold you will relax, let you personality show, and more easily connect with the audience. You may have Continued on page 4
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NEMO NEWS
LINKS TO
Volume 8, Issue 4 April 2012 PHOTO COLLAGE: MIZZOU LIBRARY STUDENT TRAVEL PHOTOS
STUDENT RESOURCES Graduate Office University of Missouri Graduate Offices
Academic Calendar Registration dates, class dates, and holidays
Graduate Record Exam GRE requirements, tips, and practice tests
Transcript Request Procedures University of Missouri transcript procedures
MU Online Continuing and distance education support (formerly MU Direct)
Course Schedule University of Missouri course schedule search page
From top left: Jessica Johnson, a Mizzou library science alum, snaps a picture with Big Ben in the background in London, England. Top Right: The 1st Amendment engraved on the exterior of the Newseum in Washington D.C. photographed by Mizzou library science student Annette Parde. Bottom Left: Photo of the Nebraska State Library inside of the Nebraska State Capitol taken during the 2011 Nebraska Library Association "Libraries, Law, and Lee Lawrie" Preconference by Annette Parde. Bottom Right: Mizzou library science student Melanie Schulz stands in front of the main parking garage at Kansas City Public Library, which was designed to resemble a giant bookshelf.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MIZZOU COLLEAGUES Melanie Schultz has been promoted from Clerk/ Typist II to part-time Library Specialist at the Millard Branch of the Omaha Public Library. Naomi Solomon has been promoted from Library Aide at Benson Branch to part-time Library Specialist at the Elkhorn Branch of the Omaha Public Library.
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Aimee Owen has been promoted from Library Aide at Swanson Branch to Clerk II at the Washington Branch of the Omaha Public Library. If you have been promoted or changed jobs recently, please let us know! E-mail Karen Pietsch at nemogradassistant@gmail.com.
NEMO NEWS UPCOMING NLC WEBINARS All webinars can be found on the Nebraska Library Commission (NLC) website.
QuickBooks for Nonprofits and Libraries 4/18/2012 1:00-2:00 p.m. Learn more about how you can streamline your day-to-day business with the new 2012 updates to Intuit’s QuickBooks. During this webinar, we will be hearing from QuickBooks Made Easy instructor Gregg Bossen about how this tool can aid your nonprofit or library, giving you an indepth look at the new updates to the QuickBooks software.
Trends in Library Architecture and Interior Design 2/22/12 10:00-11:00 a.m. Steve and Desta Krong of Krong Design Inc. will discuss some of the latest trends in library architecture and interior design such as: how libraries have transformed through the years, the importance of design, identity, and branding, how to prepare for the future of library design, budget and scope considerations, architect‘s and interior designer‘s working relationships, finish materials, furniture, lighting trends, case study reviews, and sustainability in library design and operations.
Volume 8, Issue 4 April 2012 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Megan Klein-Hewett What is your education/library/professional background? I have a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from Creighton University. After college I bounced around working in retail for a couple of years, then attended the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University and received a certificate in publishing. I worked as a freelance graphic designer and editor while I lived in Ithaca, New York (where my husband attended graduate school), then moved back to Omaha and began working for the Omaha Public Library as a library aide. I'm still with OPL and currently work full-time as the senior clerk in the circulation department at the W. Dale Clark Main Library. What is on your reading list? What are your favorites/your recommended/your want to read lists? I'm currently reading Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon. I've also recently read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, and Divergent by Veronica Roth. Those books offer a pretty good representation of what I love to read: non-fiction, literary fiction, science fiction with dystopian themes, and YA fiction (among other things). What is on your professional reading list? Well, I'm currently on the hunt for a book to read for Dr. Pasco's Collections Management class, so I have quite a stack that includes Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room by David Wineberger, and Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other by Sherry Turkle. Name one of your personal or professional qualities that make you, or will make you, a leader in 21st century library and information centers. I am incredibly patient and love using that patience to work with people and help them
What idea / experience / topic / speaker in your library science education journey has impacted your practice or thinking? Interviewing Melissa Cast-Brede as part of an assignment for Reference Resources and Services was such an enlightening experience. Not only was I was able to see and understand how what we're learning in class relates to and is used in the real world, but speaking with a professional who is so excited about and devoted to her field was inspiring. Her enthusiasm and passion for library work served as a great reminder of why I got into this field. What advice do you have for your fellow graduate students? Work in a library! I was fortunate to be employed by a library when I started the program, but I can't imagine going through school without some working knowledge of a library. Plus, you get your foot in the door. I don't think there's a library in the world that wouldn't appreciate a library science student who wants to gain real-world experience. What deep dark secret would you like to share? I once saw the off-off-Broadway show Jollyship The Whiz-Bang: a Pirate-Puppet-Rock Odyssey. And it was awesome.
Continued from page 2 noticed that it’s difficult to connect with a presenter who reads his talk in a monotone and seldom glances up from his notes. Conversely, it is very easy to tune out and start twittering during such a talk.
Missouri faculty and students pose for a picture at the spring Library Science Information Meeting, held in Roskens Hall on the UNO Campus. From left to right: Dr. Denise Adkins, Kathryn Brockmeier, Dr. Rebecca Pasco, Brian Maass, and Dr. John Budd.
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better navigate their world. Whether I'm training new employees who are struggling to learn our ILS, or trying to explain the purpose of a banned books week display to a patron, I love taking the time to help someone understand. This quality is useful not only when working with co-workers and patrons but also when advocating for libraries. I look forward to having the opportunity to fight for our libraries and their users on a large scale.
Have a strong closing, and telegraph when it’s coming. You don’t have to bring tears to the audience’s eyes, or bring them to their feet. But you do need to let them know that you’re wrapping it up, and use the closing as an opportunity to reinforce your goal. You can do this by simply restating your main points and asserting why/how the listener will benefit by doing what you want them to do. Or you can end with a provocative question (engaging them cognitively), or with a story (engaging them emotionally). However you choose to close your presentation, use vocal variety and word choice to telegraph that your are concluding so the audience realizes that it is now appropriate to clap wildly.
NEMO NEWS
Volume 8, Issue 4 April 2012
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES There is funding available for students pursuing library studies. Please take advantage of these opportunities. These scholarships are waiting to be snapped up by deserving students like you. Please make the decision to apply. Your educational journey is worthwhile, but it’s not free. Let NLC, NLA, and NEMA help! For Nebraska Educational Media Association Scholarships, visit: http://www.schoollibrariesrock.org/scholarships.html For Nebraska Library Commission Scholarships, visit: http://nlc1.nlc.state.ne.us/nowhiring/Scholarships/ ScholarshipInfo.asp#apply The new deadline for this scholarship is June 1, 2012 Nebraska Library Association Scholarships http://nebraskalibraries.org/member-resources/ scholarships/
DON’T FORGET MIZZOU! As Missouri students you are eligible to fill out the Missouri Application for Graduate Scholarships. By submitting a completed Application for Graduate Scholarships, you will be considered for over 100 scholarships available through the University of Missouri College of Education. The 2011-2012 application will be available to download on November 1, 2010, and completed applications are due March 1, 2011. This is a great opportunity to fund your education, so don’t miss out! For more information and to download the application form, visit: http://education.missouri.edu/academics/ financial_aid/scholarships-graduate.php
NEMO NEWS CONTACTS Dr. R. J. (Becky) Pasco Professor, College of Education Coordinator, Library Science Education University of Nebraska Omaha Roskens Hall 308 6001 Dodge Street Omaha, Nebraska 68182 402-554-2119 rpasco@unomaha.edu 1-800-858-8648, ext. 2119 Bridget Kratt Instructor, Library Science Education University of Nebraska Omaha Roskens Hall 308 6001 Dodge Street Omaha, Nebraska 68182 402-554-3673 bkratt@unomaha.edu Karen Pietsch Graduate Assistant nemogradassistant@gmail.com
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES It’s important for all of our students to keep up with the current library job postings. You never know when your “perfect” job might come along. We regularly send out an email with the current postings. Please read these! Even if you’re not looking for a job, you may see something that you want to pass on to a classmate or colleague. In addition to reading these emails, take the initiative to check the website periodically. We only send out Nebraska postings, but you can view regional postings by accessing the website. Visit: http://nlc1.nlc.state.ne.us/NowHiring/JobsAndCareers.asp and check out who is looking to hire in Nebraska and in other states as well. Directions: Once you access this link, select “view by location”, pick your state and then hit “GO”. This site provides access to postings in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.