The 2009 Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Conference was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana from October 18-20. The conference theme was “Libraries Building Our Future.” SLIS Indianapolis faculty members Rachel Applegate and Marilyn Irwin (Executive Associate Dean) presented research — see abstracts below. SLIS Alumni Coordinator Sarah Burton hosted an Alumni Reception.
Rachel Applegate:
• Hearing from your Users: Thinking about Surveys and Other Options
Surveys—and interviews and focus groups—are ways of receiving input from our constituents. This session will describe ways of thinking about WHO knows what YOU want to know and HOW you can reach them and with what tools. A brief guide to types of populations and types of survey tools will be provided, with audience discussion of challenges for different types of libraries. Writing survey questions is the easy part—learn how you can send and receive enough surveys or interviews to make a difference for accurate data collection.
Once you have decided WHO will get your survey and WHAT you want to ask them, you are ready to write questions—but wait! What kind of data do you want? This session will review common question formats, describe the types of summaries and analysis to which they lead and show common tools for online and paper surveys, and Excel and SPSS analysis.
• Whose Decline? Where are Reference Transactions Decreasing in Academic Libraries?
There are distinct differences in types of academic libraries with respect to the reported decline in reference traffic. Research libraries’ statistics show a big drop, but they are not the whole academic universe. For example, librarians at masters’ institutions have actually seen an increase in the numbers of questions per librarians. The data can provide a background for discussions about the experience of reference in different campus climates and with different staffing resources.
Marilyn Irwin:
• Challenges to Children’s and Youth Resources in Public Libraries and Media Centers
Find out who’s challenging books, videos and Web sites aimed at children and youth, where they’re doing it, and why. Marilyn Irwin, Rosanne Cordell and Doug Archer will give an update on the latest trends in the censorship of library materials. They will share from their combined experiences as library science professor and dean and recent members of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table Executive Board, ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Freedom to Read Foundation.
• Indiana’s MLS Diversity Fellowship Project
Indiana’s Librarians Leading in Diversity (I-LLID) Fellows will be introduced. The students will share their fellowship experiences to date and discuss their plans for impacting librarianship statewide. Library leaders and librarians from all types of libraries are invited to come and learn about these dynamic potential employees and co-workers interested in academic, public, school, and special libraries.
Alumni Reception:
Sarah Burton sent the following information about the event: “SLIS held its Indiana alumni/ae reception during the ILF annual meeting at the Fort Wayne Hilton Hotel. Nearly 90 alumni and friends gathered during the reception on October 19, to meet and greet one another. Featured at the reception were ten of the current Librarians Leading in Diversity (LLID) students who were introduced by Marcia Smith-Woodard, Special Services Consultant, Indiana State Library. Those LLID Fellows who attended and were introduced included: Hannah D. Cox, Shanika R. Hatcher, Dayna C. Masih, Kisha R. Tandy, Kirsten T. Weaver, Michelle D. Dartis, Veronica D. Henderson, Peter T. Nguyen, Armisha M. Paxton and Maurice T. Rembert.”
Posted December 04, 2009