This annual mini-conference offers librarians the opportunity to share their best practices,
innovative pedagogy, and creative solutions with colleagues. SCIL Works 2019 will focus on the many
ways in which instruction librarians help students from a variety of backgrounds overcome library
anxiety.
Friday, February 8, 2019
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University Library, 5th Floor South
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
Directions to CSUDH
CARL Members $30 | Non-Members $45 | Students $15
Registration is Closed
Non-members, did you know that it's only $40 to join CARL? SCIL and other CARL interest groups provide
great programming and opportunities to work with your fellow librarians.
CARL is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities at all CARL-
sponsored events. Please indicate your special needs or dietary requirements when registering or
RSVPing to events. Requests for special accommodations must be received at least two weeks prior to
the event
Parking and Food
Parking on campus is $8, at the parking kiosk. The recommended parking lot is Lot 6 or 7.
Breakfast is provided, lunch is on your own, but the planning committee will provide some local
recommendations so you can continue networking.
Schedule
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9:00 - 9:45: Registration, Networking, Breakfast
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9:45 - 10:00: Welcome
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10:00 - 10:30: Research and Practice I
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10:30 - 11:00: Research and Practice II
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11:00 - 11:15: Break
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11:15 - 11:30: Lightning Rounds
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11:30 - 12:00: Research and Practice III
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12:00 - 12:15: Closing remarks and evaluations
SCIL would like to acknowledge California State University, Dominguez Hills for hosting this
program.
Presentations
Research and Practice
Jennifer Pierre, Kian Ravaei & Doug Worsham
(University of California, Los Angeles)
Intersecting surveys and fun: Reducing library anxiety through interactivity in a library
poster survey series
This presentation will explore the role of interactivity and collaborative knowledge production in
reducing library anxiety. Through a six-week interactive poster survey series and associated social
media campaign, the UCLA Library Writing Instruction and Research Education team (WI+RE) gathered
over 600 responses from an interdisciplinary group of library patrons on their strategies for
approaching every stage of the research process, from conducting literature reviews to sharing
research. The campaign was designed and produced by instructional design assistants at WI+RE with
the help of instructional librarians across campus to boost student engagement and raise awareness
of library help and resources. Users placed stickers next to one or more provided answer options on
posters displayed in three campus libraries, some of which included links to library resources, and
were also encouraged to write in additional options. Corresponding social media polls were posted
each week, followed by short videos that summarized findings and highlighted specific library
resources for popular answer choices. The series averaged 100 responses per week. Half of the weeks
included original write-in options discussing influential library staff, unexpected research tactics,
and even jokes. The informal and playful series design and flexible, encouraged interaction helped
dissipate student preconceptions about expected library interaction. This process contributes to
reduced library anxiety by creating a welcoming space and inviting mutual, beneficial, and lighthearted
knowledge sharing and discovery (Westbrook & DeDecker, 1993; Muszcewicz, 2017). Additionally, the
data collected can inform future library services, by providing insight into students' research
processes through direct student involvement.
Yvonne Nalani Meulemans & Talitha Matlin (CSU San Marcos)
Nobody goes to the library when things are easy: library anxiety as a necessary component of research
There is a growing body of literature related to portraying the library as "fun" in order to
encourage students to visit and use the library. During midterms and finals, academic libraries often
strive to cultivate a relaxing atmosphere in hopes of providing students with a welcoming place where
they can "de-stress." Certainly we want students to be welcomed to the library. However, the
presenters have evidence that leads them to believe that portraying the library as "fun" and
"relaxing" may result in increased levels of student anxiety towards research. Based upon
anecdotal and theoretical evidence, the authors argue that this approach may actually hinder
students' development of research skills and abilities. Librarians know that research is typically
non-linear, confusing, and stressful. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety often includes
recognizing, describing, and strategizing to address anxious situations and thoughts. Ignoring and/or
dismissing such feelings can in fact cultivate more anxiety and rumination. Also, critical information
literacy theory requires educators to place primacy on students' positionality within the power
structures of higher education that may cultivate negative feelings. Lastly, the threshold concept
framework provides a learning theory context that emphasizes "more knowledgeable other" roles in
aiding students through confusion, frustration, and apathy. We argue that leveraging these feelings
can be vital in developing students' research skills, habits, and dispositions necessary to be
successful in other research endeavors. Presenters will share practical approaches to be used in
reference and library instruction that allow librarians to aid students' surfacing of library
(and related) anxiety.
Rebecca Greer (University of California, Santa Barbara)
"Libraries in Your Mind's Eye": Using Icebreakers to Build Classroom Community
In this presentation, participants will be introduced to the learning theory and utility of
icebreakers in one-shot instruction sessions. A common challenge of one-shot instruction sessions is
librarians do not have ample time to build rapport with students. By incorporating icebreakers
students are able to engage in a low-stakes exercise with the librarian who can foster an open
dialogue and promote participation in a library instruction session. This particular icebreaker,
"Libraries in Your Mind's Eye," helps to build classroom community and informs the instructor of
students' prior knowledge as well. This formative assessment, combined with a social constructivist
approach to teaching, enables the librarian to position themselves as a confident and coach for
student research needs. Participants attending this presentation will be provided with a
demonstration of the icebreaker, a brief background on the learning theory that supports the use of
icebreakers in the classroom, and a sampling of other icebreakers that can be easily incorporated
into one-shot instruction sessions.
Lightning Rounds
Lindsay Davis & Maria Rosales (University of California, Merced)
Fiat Lux + Library: A First-Generation Workshop Series
The University of California, Merced is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with an undergraduate
student body that is 73 percent first-generation. This short presentation will describe the UC Merced
Library's burgeoning partnership with the University's Fiat Lux Scholars Program, a living-learning
community for first-generation students whose mission "is to empower [...] students through intentionally
structured services that ease their college transition..." Part of easing students into this transition
is to introduce them to academic library services and resources, as well as the role of academic
librarians in their college careers. Under the direction of Fiat Lux Coordinator Maria Rosales and
input from the program's student mentors, Instruction & Outreach Librarian Lindsay Davis developed a
four-part workshop series that centered around four questions: Why the Library?, What is a Scholarly
Article?, How Do I Use Databases to Find Scholarly Articles?, and What is a Research Question? In an
effort to draw more students to the workshops and assuage fears of "the Library", the series was
held in a learning space in student housing rather than in the Library As with any new initiative,
the series is not perfect, and changes will need to be made, but the partnership is a first step
toward better supporting this subset of first-generation students.
Jillian Eslami & Maggie Clark (CSU Dominguez Hills)
Students, librarians, and a BuJo walk into a library classroom...
Students have a certain perception about librarians in the classroom. We are not quite professors,
but might still be more intimidating than say a student research assistant. In creating workshops
OUTSIDE of information literacy instruction, you can help create a new perspective for students. At
my institution, we have attempted to create this new perspective by offering workshops centered
around student success, rather than information literacy. The workshop my library presented to
students was "Planning For Academic Success by Journaling", which was just a fancy way to
introduce students to Bullet Journaling. While still somewhat academic in nature, this was a workshop
that could be presented outside of the information literacy walls of the library classroom, but still
be entirely relevant and useful to students beyond their school work. Offering workshops to students
in this vein could help transform their perceptions of librarians and the library as a whole. Instead
of only being a class that is required to take for a specific class, they can choose to participate
in a library workshop in a more intrinsically inclined way. If a student suffers from library
anxiety, by offering more informal, less about schoolwork and more about life, style workshop, the
student's anxiety and perception of the library could begin to change.
Kelle Rose (Loyola Marymount University)
Alleviating Research Anxiety in Graduate Students: A Prescription for Success
Many incoming graduate students have been out of school for years and exhibit high anxiety around
libraries, technology, and scholarly research. Because there is the expectation that graduate
students should already know how to do research, they don't want to appear inept. Imposter
syndrome is strong, though, and there is sometimes a significant gap in their skill set. Often the
anxieties of this special population aren't entirely unfounded. One important strategy to combat
library anxiety is the facilitation of a tiered structure that allows for an early relationship to
develop between graduate students and their liaison librarian that can evolve along with their
changing research needs. This multi-tiered instructional approach allows for an initial orientation
that establishes the librarian as a friendly resource sanctioned by their professor, which can be
followed by a later session covering research strategies and resources in-depth. There is no
one-size-fits-all instruction due to the diverse and often interdisciplinary research topics of
graduate students, so another important strategy is to offer individualized research consultations
and workshops with customized tips tailored to their research topics. There are potential pitfalls
to avoid, on the other hand, such as spending too much time teaching technology that isn't worth
the students' investment (or the librarian's). This lightning talk will include strategies
for reducing anxiety in graduate students who have been out of school for many years, as well as a
few danger zones to watch out for.
Tessa Withorn (CSU Dominguez Hills)
Preparing Students for the Journey with an Online Research Road Map
You're at the library's homepage. Now what? Starting a research project in a new environment
is a daunting task for first-year, transfer, and graduate students alike. In the unfamiliar landscape
of a university library website, it's difficult to know what landmarks to look for, understand
signs with library lingo, and anticipate the next bend in the road. Instead of expecting students to
click through multiple tabs or skim blocks of text, visually representing the research process and
linking to resources from one place can help students find a destination on their own. This
lightening round offers one solution to addressing library anxiety by creating and promoting an
online research road map with self-paced tutorials, videos, and infographics that guide students
through the research process from start to finish. Framing information literacy concepts within tasks
students associate with research like "starting your assignment," "using library
resources," "reading and evaluating sources," and "writing about your research"
connects resources with desired outcomes and empowers students sit in the driver's seat. I will
describe my process for designing and promoting this guide, and how similar guides can be used to
support students asynchronously and online, and during reference and instruction.
