Message to the Faculty
Hello faculty colleagues, and thank you for checking out The Library and U, the Forsyth Library newsletter for faculty and staff. Each issue of the Library and U will feature important information about the library, our print and digital resources, upcoming events, and more.
In our April issue:
Welcome: New Digital Curation Librarian Elizabeth Chance
Reception Held for Noted Holocaust Speaker Gene Klein
Recap of Recent Open Education Events
Information Literacy Pilot Program
Special Library Hours and Events
Libraries Transform: National Library Week
Be sure to check in throughout the semester for more issues and information, and if you have any questions about anything you read in our Newsletter, be sure to “Ask a Librarian!”
Welcome: New Digital Curation Librarian Elizabeth Chance
Please join Forsyth Library in welcoming our new Digital Curation Librarian: Elizabeth Chance. Elizabeth received her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Wayne State University, and most recently worked as a Distance Metadata Cataloger and Metadata Librarian at the McCracken Research Library of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, WY.
As Digital Curation Librarian, Elizabeth will build, curate, and promote the library’s unique digital collections and partner with others across campus in a variety of academic digital initiatives. The Digital Curation Librarian will work closely with colleagues from the library, the university, and the regional cultural heritage community to ensure that Forsyth Library’s digital collections are accessible and available for integration with teaching, research, and learning and that these collections contribute to an enlightened understanding of the history of the university and of western Kansas.
Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History from Fort Hays State University, and worked with the Russell Public Library for several years. We are very excited to welcome her to back to the area and into the Fort Hays University family.
Database Spotlight: Medici TV
Check out Forsyth Library's latest trial resource, Medici.tv!
The world's leading classical music channel, medici.tv is a video on demand (VOD) database that features over 1,800 programs, including:
- concerts and archived historical concerts
- operas
- ballets
- documentaries, artist portraits and educational programs
Medici.tv is available to stream via browser, and can also be accessed via app on iOS and Android devices.
Trial ends May 26th. If you'd like us to continue supporting this resource, or would like more information, please contact Jennifer Sauer.
Librarians in China
Two of our Forsyth librarians, Claire Nickerson and Nathan Elwood, will be going on a faculty exchange to Northwest University for Nationalities (NWUN) in Lanzhou, China from late May to early June. They will be presenting on information and digital literacy skills, current trends in U.S. academic libraries, and library community outreach for our partners at NWUN and other regional universities. Wish them luck!
“Lanzhou – China” CC BY SA stardust kay on Flickr
Reception Held for Noted Holocaust Speaker Gene Klein
On April 13, Forsyth Library was honored to host a reception for Holocaust survivor Gene Klein prior to his speaking engagement at the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. Ms. Hollie Marquess, an instructor with the Department of History, invited Mr. Klein to campus as part of a project for the National Campus Leaders Summit and as part of the Embrace Difference programming campaign, developed by the Center for Civic Leadership. During the reception, Mr. Klein offered his unique perspective on current issues and provided those in attendance with a preview of that evening's presentation while graciously answering their questions. Klein's poignant story of childhood in Beregszasz, Czechoslovakia, the growing anti-Semitism his family faced after Hungary's annexation of Eastern Slovakia, their deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, and his own survival in various satellite labor camps enraptured his audience. So too did Gene's dynamic presence and good humor endear him to many.
Forsyth Library would like to thank Hollie and her co-sponsors for allowing us to host Mr. Klein and provide a venue in which the FHSU community could engage such a captivating individual on an intimate basis.
Recap of Recent Open Education Events
March 27th-31st was Open Education Week. We showed some live sessions from the free NOVA Open Education Virtual Conference, but if you missed them, the recordings are available now. We also had free educational videos from Annenberg Learner, CrashCourse, PBS, and TED playing in the library over the course of the week.
Last week we hosted a live viewing of the NISO Virtual Conference on Opening Up Education. FHSU faculty and staff have access to the recorded sessions on the NISO site using the password “niso-oer.” If you’d like to learn more about open education, please contact Claire Nickerson, our OER librarian.
Image caption: Course material costs reported by FHSU students during Open Education Week
Information Literacy Pilot Program
Whether students focus on the humanities or the sciences, philosophy or computer engineering, information literacy, defined as the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information, remains essential. Unfortunately, many students enter university without proficiency in these skills.
Forsyth Library has begun a new pilot program with the Political Science Department in order to increase information literacy instruction among our students. The program, pioneered by Information Literacy Librarian Robyn Hartman, seeks to collaborate with department leadership to create key points across an entire program or major where information literacy skills will be introduced, broadened, and fulfilled.
The approach is called “Scaffolding,” because it allows student skills to rise up through the curriculum, like a staircase, tailored to the needs of that program and its students. Under this approach, students develop new and more complex information literacy skills at higher and higher levels. Alongside faculty leadership, we determine particular areas of information literacy that are necessary to the major, and what students commonly struggle with. We identify courses, at various levels, that would be universal amongst all the students in the program, and try to determine what elements of information literacy would be most useful to students at that stage of the program.
Using the syllabi for these classes, and co-operating with the instructors, we’re able to identify topics and assignments where information literacy skills can be integrated, and at what level of skill. At these points of integration, instructions will be designed with information literacy goals, objectives, and assessments embedded into the course.
By creating this system, where different elements of information literacy receive focus at different stages of the academic career, we ensure repeated application and practice, without duplicating the same information again and again for students that have already learned it, or taking large amounts of time away from the course schedule. By working with the department, we are able to create a holistic approach to information literacy, one that shows students the relevance of these concepts to their specific discipline.
Faculty Testimonial
"As a historian, I certainly appreciate the value of the library for books and research, but I have come to view the library as my go-to for a staging area for events. Over the course of this semester, I have hosted two Times Talks at the library, and I utilized the South Study area to host a meet and greet for a guest speaker, Mr. Gene Klein, who was visiting FHSU to speak about his Holocaust experiences. I also serve on the Learning Commons Council Committee. The phenomenal staff at the library have always been so accommodating to my needs as an instructor. I am grateful that we have such competent individuals working to broaden the educational horizons of both our students and our faculty!"
- Hollie Marquess, Instructor, Department of History
Special Library Hours and Events:
Heritage Harvest
On Saturday, May 20, join staff from Forsyth Library, the Ellis County Historical Society, and the Hays Public Library for a day of preserving your family history and celebrating Ellis County's rich heritage!
For details and registration information, please visit the ECHS Events & Programs page or contact Brian Gribben at 785.628.5511.
Libraries Transform: National Library Week
April 9th - 15th marked National Library Week, a yearly celebration of libraries and librarians across the country. "Libraries Transform" was the theme for National Library Week 2017, reminding all Americans that today’s libraries are not just about what they have for people, but what they do for and with people. As part of this effort, posters highlighting the many roles of Forsyth Library in our University community were distributed throughout the campus. Library Week activities also included a special dinner celebrating our library student workers, guest speakers, and storybook readings for Tiger Tots.
Thank you for your continued support of Forsyth Library.
Summer Projects
Here are just a few of the projects librarians and staff of Forsyth Library will be working on this summer:
Research Guides Update: The Teaching & Research team will be evaluating our research guides based on usage statistics, best practices and data gathered during usability testing. Our goal is to have updated, streamlined guides that better serve you and our students, ready for the fall semester.
UNIV 101 Conference-Style Library Instruction: This fall we are piloting a new method to engage with students in Freshman Seminar courses. Students will choose from several micro-workshops to learn about the Library, its staff, and the services we offer. This will allow us to offer several different topics of interest for students while dealing with the many sections of Freshman Seminar. Watch for more details to come.
Tutorials: Librarians will continue to produce video tutorials that can be linked or embedded in Blackboard. Topics include how to use specific databases, information literacy modules, and more. If you need a tutorial on a specific library-related topic, contact us so we can discuss what might meet your needs. You can view our existing tutorials on the Forsyth Library Tutorials Research Guide.