Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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.

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