Meeting with Tracie Hall, DU assistant dean

Acting as the SGO representative, I met with Tracie Hall on Monday, February 11. Some of the things we talked about:

• DU will stop offering classes at St. Kate's in December 2008. However, they will offer courses in the Twin Cities area (possibly at locations in the St. Paul Public Library) in the Winter term of 2009 to help students finish the four required courses.
  
• DU will try to improve communication with their students taking courses at St. Kates, possibly through increased e-mail correspondence.
• Tracie encourages students to contact her with any suggestions for courses, improvements to the program, or problems which arise for them.
  
• Deborah Mitts-Smith, a DU faculty member who lives in St. Paul, will serve as a liaison/advisor for St. Kate's students in the DU program. Students can also contact Deb with questions or concerns.
  
• Tracie encouraged students to consider doing a practicum supervised by a DU faculty person. Lenora Berendt in the placement office at DU is the first contact for setting up a practicum.

Renee Dougherty

Minutes from February 7, 2008 Advisory Council Committee Meeting

Laura Morlock has provided the minutes from the meeting and they are much more complete and clear than my notes. Thanks Laura!
-Liz

MINUTES

Present: Jerry Baldwin, Liz Cavert-Scheibel, Margaret Gillespie, Karen Harwood, Kathrine Hayes, Bob Horton, Laura Morlock, Erin Perry, Peter Sidney, Deb Torres, Mary Wagner, and Joyce Yukawa.

Laura Morlock took the minutes.

1. Welcome and Introductions.

2. MLIS Program Updates
a. The MLIS new student enrollment was 46 for fall 2007 and 43 for winter 2008. There were 56 fall 2007 MLIS graduates. There are approximately 89 students left in the Dominican University track program.

b. See handout of the External Review Panel from COA. We have been in communication with James Benson, the Panel Chair. He will receive the Program Presentation draft in June; the MLIS Program will then revise it and submit the final version by September 8, 2008 to all COA Panel Members. The ERP onsite visit is scheduled for October 20-21, 2008. Currently the MLIS department has the draft form of each standard. Marilyn Cathcart will edit all drafts beginning in April. At the MLIS Summit on April 28, 2008 (5:30-8pm, Derham Hall room 409) the Advisory Council will have a chance to review the Program Presentation.

c. A new faculty position is available in the MLIS department. Marilyn Cathcart is the head of that search committee; MLIS faculty members David Lesniaski and Deb Torres as well as Library Director, Carol Johnson also serve on the faculty search committee. They are looking for 1-2 students to also serve. See handout of faculty position description.

3. Refer to The Braided Curriculum handout for details on the Curriculum Revision; discussion led by David Lesniaski, principal investigator for the ELITE (Ethical Leadership Intertwining with Technological Literacy) Curriculum Grant, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

a. Concerning the overall process of the ELITE grant, there is a need to integrate “threads” (the “key competencies, attributes, behaviors, and skills”) into the MLIS Program. Ethics is one of the “threads; integration is preferred to simply offering an Ethics course. There are at present six main threads: ethics, leadership, critical inquiry, technological fluency, research methods and diversity. Currently, MLIS faculty are each working in two separate focus groups on this; one group is looking at the threads, the other on the MLIS core courses. Each full-time faculty member has a one point taught one or more of the core courses. Faculty who have taught the same core courses have begun to meet together; adjuncts who have also taught core courses were invited to the discussion. At this point faculty are data gathering; the analysis will come later.

b. The MLIS Advisory Council was asked to Brainstorm on Management and Leadership. How do we prepare people for management supervisory experiences as part of the core program requirement? Practitioners ask: where are our leaders going to come from? How should leadership be woven into the program? Discussion points are listed below.

i. Management. Recent graduates may not be in managerial positions. Managerial skills learned in the MLIS Program may be outdated by the time they get into those managerial positions. Teach students how to be “managed”; how to fit into their institutions; how to change and adapt into an organizational framework; support their organizational goals; know the culture of their organization. Teach students how to dedicate themselves to the work that is before them. The MLIS Program could offer more Practicum situations, have more budgeting and planning aspects; more project management and process development improvement. Manage with “m” versus “M”. Graduates are capable of managing a project and learning how to get others to buy into the project. Know outcomes and evaluation; offer 1-2 day workshops on assessment: help students figure out their collaboration style or management style. Have modules in which students can learn how to manage a project using timelines, with meeting schedules, and actions are recorded. Offer a “skills” course using Microsoft Project. In a class, have students evaluate a project: learn the skill; do it; reflect on it; and problem solve it for the next time. Teach students how to give constructive criticism and be able to accept it in return.

ii. Leadership. Position students to become leaders versus training them to be leaders. Employers will look for people who can behave as a leader with some leadership abilities such as: taking accountability & initiative, being able to work on teams, being able to influence others. Learn collaboration. Have flexibility.

iii. Other discussions included how to discern if a job applicant has these management or leadership qualities? Have them write an essay; give examples; interview them using situational-based questions. The MLIS program doesn’t screen for this—just for subject expertise. There was also a discussion on what students already bring to the program from their own work experiences; there is great diversity amongst student experience. Margaret Gillespie mentioned trying the “Bridges to Poverty Workshops” as an idea. Mary Wagner shared a handout with a citation on it for an article on “a survey of MLIS graduates that addressed the managerial and leadership skills they needed on the job, with a section on whether these skills were addressed in their MLIS curriculum.” Arns, J.W., et. al., To Market, to Market: The Supervisory Skills and Managerial Competencies Most Valued by New Library Supervisors. Library Administration & Management v. 21 no. 1 (Winter 2007) p. 13-19.

4. Other News
a. On Sunday, March 2, 2008 an MLIS Mini-Conference will be held. It will take place in the Coeur de Catherine building, Rauenhorst Hall, 3rd Floor, from 12:30-5pm. Its theme is Diversifying for the Future of Librarianship. This conference is an opportunity for students to understand more about research and presenting. They can present a poster, paper, or group/individual project. A keynote presentation will replicate an MLA Panel from last fall. Marcella Sanchez, outreach worker for the Latino community, will work on recreating a panel to talk about “Serving Diverse Populations”. The Urban Library Program students will present posters. There were also three MLIS students who presented at BOBCATSSS this past January in Zadar, Croatia. They will have a Monday night session on “Presenting at a Conference” on February 18 from 6:30-8pm, room CdC 362. Refer to the flyer for more information or contact Marilyn Cathcart. All MLIS Advisory Council members are invited to attend the conference.

b. Mary Wagner briefly discussed the MLIS Program Goals for 2008-09. Faculty will work on decisions regarding grading standards; acceptable standards for measuring Student Outcomes; an MLIS calendar compatible with the college; admissions reviewal, among others. The College itself is still discussing the College versus University decision. The Board will most likely decide at their May meeting.

c. An updated MLIS Advisory Council contact list was distributed. Refer to handout. Email imdept@stkate.edu with any corrections.

Department Meeting Feb. 4th

• Revisited 2007-2008 MLIS Goals
• Most topics on track
• Many goals revolve around Accreditation work
• Other discussions:
• Academic Calendar (do we want to remain on our schedule or switch to match the rest of CSC; J-term?) This will be discussed at March General Meeting
• Admission process and candidate screening (Evaluation of current system; Do we want to include interviews?) This will be discussed at April General Meeting
• CSC still discussing whether they want to remain a "college" or change name to "university"; all grad school discussions are on hold until college/university decision is made; if CSC becomes a university - what does that mean for the formation of a grad school?
• 2nd Annual Summit - April 28th
• focus on faculty activities, particularly scholarship.
• MLIS Academic Conference - March 2nd
• Every one is encouraged to submit a proposal for paper and poster presentations!! Proposals due Feb. 15th to Marilyn Cathcart.
• This will be Sister Marjorie's last year teaching in the MLIS program
• She has taught 710-713 for many years (archives, manuscripts, special collections)
• How do we want to modify curriculum?
• Distinguish or combine classes on special collections and special libraries?
• Scholarship criteria development committee
• Joyce, Susan, Mary
• Education department - Sister Marie Award
• Curriculum
• Marilyn has been comparing our program requirements to the other ALA accredited programs
• We could have more tech requirements
• Require the research methods class?
• All other programs have some sort of final project for the MLIS degree; there are many options
• Capstone project
• Comprehensive exams
• Action project
• Action research project
• Thesis
• Should these be part of a 1- or 3-credit class?
  
• Please let me know your ideas on this!! The faculty would like to have our input.

Respectfully submitted,
Tanya Cothran

Curriculum Meeting

*I attended the Curriculum discussion on Monday (Feb. 4th) with 2 other students and 3 faculty. It was a small discussion and we got TONS of great ideas out there.

We are planning to have another discussion soon with hopefully MORE PARTICIPATION! I know you have opinions about the program - here is your chance to really share them and create REAL CHANGE!

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

• How to create the feeling of a "cohort" in our program?
• Cohorts create lasting relationships that can be a great help in our future professional careers
• Cohorts can create support groups for our class work and scholarship/research
  
• Social events on other nights of the week?
• Social events during weeknight class breaks
• In the past they have had small socials during breaks in evening classes so that people get a chance to see their friends who are not in the same classes
• Each class responsible for food & each shares about their class
• Require weekend retreat before starting first class?
  
• Some programs require cohorts to continue meeting once or twice a year to develop lasting relationships
• Could be fun community event; Habitat for Humanity? Other volunteer/cohort-building activities?
• Curriculum grant is 3 year grant to revamp curriculum now that we are no longer following Dominican's schedule
• 1st phase: reviewing CORE classes (701, 703, 704, 770)
  
• How to prevent overlap?
• Should these be required before taking advanced courses?
• Should these be taken with the same group of people (to create cohort feeling?)
• Introduce THREADS then build on those more as student progresses through program
• Introduce THREADS
• Threads include:
• Ethics
• Leadership
• Critical Inquiry
• Technological Fluency
• Research Methods
• Diversity
• These will be introduced in modules in the beginning of program;
  
• first: basic, background knowledge of subject
  
• second: practical application of threads, specifically as it relates to the class topic (ie diversity in children's literature)
• third: develop own understanding of topic; own vocabulary; refine understanding (ie ethical analysis)
• More class topics we want?
• There was a lot of discussion on other classes we want and other focuses for classes
• If we switch our academic calender to include a J-term we could possibly have classes that look at more specific topics, more in depth discussions
• Some other classes we wanted:
• Grant writing
• Non-profit management (not specifically related to libraries)
• Advocacy (public policy)
• Consulting
• More corporate library classes
• Technology (J-term internet basics, rather than entire semester)
• Library theory (reading and analyzing classic library theorists)
  
• OTHERS??
• I will let you know when the next meeting will be and I hope to see you all there. Otherwise, let me know your thoughts, ideas, etc and I can bring them to the larger group.

THANK YOU!

Advisory Council Committee Meeting

The Advisory Council Committee consists of 25 working librarians, library directors, alumni, and faculty to advise the MLIS department about its future development.

Notes from February 7, 2008 MLIS Advisory Council Committee Meeting
Liz Cavert

Mary Wagner conducted the meeting and Laura Morlock took notes.
The following attended:
Jerry Baldwin
Margaret Gillespie
Karen Harwood
Katherine Hayes
Bob Horton
Peter Sidney
Deb Torres (faculty)
Joyce Yukawa (faculty)
Liz Cavert (student)
Erin Perry (student)

Update on program:
-86 new students for this term (Winter 2008)
-50 students graduated in Summer and Fall 2007 terms
-85 students left who will graduate as Dominican Students

Accreditation Update:
-we have the names of the members of the panel for the external review.
-the chair of the panel will receive the program presentation, send it back for clarifications, etc., then it will go to others.
-the standards for the accreditation are in draft form. Next steps are looking at the revised draft (through March). Then Marilyn Cathcart will edit the drafts and feedback into the program presentation.
-the April 28 Summit will have the program presentation available for public review.
-Summit is in Derham Hall, room 409, in the evening.

Open faculty position:
-2 students are needed on the panel to look at candidates
-meeting at the end of February about applications; possibly bringing someone here in March.
-new faculty will start next fall.

Mini-conference on March 2, 2008: Diversifying for the Future of Librarianship
-conference is an idea from input gathered at last year’s Summit: students need opportunities to develop skills for presenting and conferences.
-using a broad theme to encourage lots of interest.
-will start with a panel that was at MLA, talking about serving diverse populations.

Update on goals of the program:
-we are continuing on the path to accreditation and doing well.
-we wanted to develop a diversity plan. We are making progress on this and it will also figure into the program presentation.
-we will be needing to make some decisions about grading standards.
-we will be needing to make some decisions about student learning outcomes.

Calendar for the 2009-2010 year:
-once we are not DU anymore, we can make our own calendar.
-St. Kate’s would like the program to fit with an already operating calendar.
-do we want a January term with short, intense classes? Summer term? Summer terms?

Admissions:
-have been talking about how to screen candidates.
-have been participating in planning for “School of…” ideas at the college, but this has been put on hold by the College vs. University discussion.

Update on curriculum development and grant from David Lesniaski:
-we have a grant to revise the curriculum.
-the feeling is not to just add classes for big themes, like ethics.
-the current working idea is to have these 6 themes (ethics, leadership, critical inquiry, technological fluency, research methods, and diversity) run throughout the program, but be consciously developed as a student moves through. The learning would happen in a sequential manner; the basics of, for example, ethics, ethical theory/philosophy and how those relate to libraries would be covered in an introductory course, then other courses build on that and students work through ethical issues (“I think…”), and then later courses ask for more advanced ethical work (“I think this because of all I have learned and experience in these areas…”).
-the idea is to focus on how to teach, develop, and measure the qualities, skills and knowledge a professional should have.

The curriculum discussion led into a discussion on management and leadership and how these skills should be taught in the program. There were many points made on a large number of topics, so I will try to summarize some of the big ones.

Some wondered how much the program should focus on management when many graduates will not be in those positions for many years (issues with younger generations and their expectations of immediate responsibility came up). It was also mentioned that it can be hard to teach and talk about management in a way that is meaningful for a student body with such diverse backgrounds; some students have management or extensive other professional experience while some have just finished the undergraduate degree. Perhaps part of “management class” should also be learning how to be managed, since for many that may be the more immediately necessary skill.

There were many comments about evaluation and feedback, both self-evaluation and feedback from others. Related to this was the topic of collaboration. In the program, students do a lot of group work, but are we reflecting and getting feedback so that those experiences teach us something? When we give presentations, the feedback is often minimal; the instructor says the content was good for the assignment and the presentation was done well, and the classmates say, “Good job!” I have continued to think about this topic and I would like to see more feedback overall for these vital communication skills and more specific feedback. If the presentation was good, how so? If it was a group presentation, was I the stronger or weaker part of the presentation, and why?

In terms of evaluation, we also talked a lot about self-evaluation and where it should be in the program, especially in regards to management. The idea that I took away was that if we do more self-evaluation and exploration, we will know more about ourselves, our management and learning styles, and thus be better prepared to be managers and know where our strengths and weaknesses are. These kinds of activities can be useful to those new to the workforce and those with experience, since evaluation happens throughout the professional life.

Talking about these ideas led to the theme of lifelong learning, which the group as a whole seemed to agree was an important skill and value, especially for librarians. The professionals at the meeting felt that if students could all graduate intending to be lifelong learners, they would be better leaders, managers and employees.

We also touched on teaching and how students could learn to be good teachers and gain experience in this area. Teaching is one possible solution to the difficulties of the different backgrounds of the students; if ethics and leadership are core themes that should run throughout the program, students will experience or knowledge of these areas should get to share what they know.

There were many more ideas and comments - I simply couldn’t keep up with taking notes! It was definitely a very interesting conversation and one I hope students will get to be involved with more later on, as curriculum develops. Please post any comments or questions and I will do my best to respond or let you know who can answer you. I hope to get other summaries of the meeting posted as well, since these are just the themes and comments that stuck out for me and it’s an incomplete picture of all that we covered.

Opportunities for Students!

Several great opportunities for students came up in this meeting. Students are needed to help in the faculty search - it sounded like Marilyn Cathcart is the person to get in touch with if you are interested. Participation in the conference is also still open and is a unique chance to get some conference experience without having to travel or get too nervous! And in my experience, Mary Wagner and the faculty are always receptive to comments and input from students on any topic, so if you have something to add to the conversations about admissions, curriculum, or the calendar, talk to Mary or another member of the faculty.