Hello and welcome to our November, 2017 newsletter. October is a great month for librarians around the country. Many of the state associations hold their annual conferences, including our Minnesota Library Association (MLA). This year we met in beautiful Rochester in the brand new Mayo Civic Center. It was a wonderful conference focused on social justice. Deb Torres, Toyin, and I staffed the MLIS booth in the exhibit hall. It was great fun meeting new people and reconnecting with alum, students, and employers.
On another note, our Program is very committed to professional development. We believe that state associations strengthen the library community. To that end, we’ve been working with the President of MLA Amy Boese (an alum) to secure student memberships for all of the St Catherine University MLIS students. More information to come, but we are certainly excited.
The Program has been moving towards our upcoming re-accreditation. We submitted our self-study on September 25th. I want to thank the MLIS faculty, staff, students, alums, advisory council, and employers for helping us with our self-study. Accreditation is a wonderful process. It lets us tell our story, helps us reflect on accomplishments for the last 7 years, and identify areas for improvement for the coming years.
The external review panel (ERP) will be on campus from November 5-7. You are all invited to join us on Monday, November 6 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the Ballroom to talk with the ERP.
At this year’s MLA Conference the theme was Radical Librarianship; the sign at the entrance to the Exhibition Hall declared:
WE ARE A NATION DIVIDED BY RACE. AS WE GATHER TODAY AND TOMORROW, I HOPE OUR TIME TOGETHER CHALLENGES US TO THINK ABOUT THE RADICAL WORK THAT WE DO. Amy Boese, MLA President
Many St. Kate’s students, alum, faculty responded to, and met that challenge. The list below represents a small sub-section of the presentations delivered by St. Kate’s students, alums, faculty and staff:
In Would Trader Joe’s Hire You?: Lessons from the Best Retailers, recent graduate Tasha Nins, Program Director Tony Molaro, and Suzi Stephenson from Hennepin County Libraries presented about how libraries can learn from retailer customer service.
St. Kate’s Librarian Amy Mars and Deb Torres looked at librarianship through the lens of critical race theory to advance the discussion about race, de-center whiteness, and bring theory to a practice of anti-racist librarianship in their session #Librarianshipsowhite: Using Critical Race Theory to Form a Call for Action.
Molly Hazelton (SLMS student and Adjunct Instructor in Archives) and Chayse Sundt (MLIS student) discussed the history and evolution of GLBTQ young adult and children’s literature in: Queering the Stacks: LGBTQ Young Adult Literature. Despite their 8am start time, Molly and Chayse had over 30 people in attendance – perhaps due not only to their topic, but also to their awesome rainbow cookies!
As shown in the cover photo for this issue, Janis Shearer gave a poster presentation on Diversity Initiatives during the Academic Research Library Division meeting.
Together with friends and colleagues, 2017 alum, Mallory Haskins presented, Leave it to Teens: Running a successful YA book group…by not running it.
Below are some of the conference highlights! Click on the images to enlarge them and view their captions. We apologize to anyone we are not yet able to include. Please feel free send any photos if you have them, and we will add them as we receive them.
MLIS Faculty: My Sabbatical in Scotland
First, I’d like to say that a yearlong sabbatical is a benefit that all people should have as a part of their benefits package. Removing oneself from the daily grind and opening up to new experiences is revitalizing. Taking a break from work every seven years apparently relates to the Sabbath, whereby one rests on the seventh day. Employers do not actually expect their employees to just rest on a sabbatical however. There is an expectation that they will do something like finish uncompleted work, or pursue new knowledge. I opted for the latter; I went to Scotland to study architectural history.
Rather than telling you all about my thesis research here, I thought would relate two other important aspects of my experience: immersing myself in Scottish history and culture, and navigating a large international university. For three semesters, I studied Architectural History and Theory at the University of Edinburgh. I don’t have a background in architectural history, or art history, or anything related to the field. I became interested in the subject a few years ago trying to understand how the built environment conveys knowledge over time and space. To explore this idea well, it seemed to me that I needed to get formal exposure to the literature, theory and methodological approaches in this foreign discipline.
Not only did I embed myself in a new discipline, but also a different academic culture. I gained a fresh empathy for my students back home as I struggled with the material and attempted to understand academe through a British frame of reference. I audited several undergraduate and graduate courses, in addition to my regular course load, In order to keep up with my classmates, almost all of whom had backgrounds in architecture, conservation, or preservation. There were 12 students in my cohort, representing Turkey, Bengal, Poland, Italy, China, Uruguay, Canada, England, and the United States; none were Scottish. We were a range of ages and surprisingly, I was not the oldest.
My cohort took the core courses on Theory and Method together; the rest of the curriculum was flexible. For instance, in addition to architectural history classes focusing on Victorian Britain and Medieval Scotland, I also took a class in Art History called the Celtic Question and one in in Conservation Engineering called Culture and Performance in Building History. The summer semester was devoted to researching and writing the 12000-15000-word dissertation (we would call this a thesis). In addition to working with the faculty on our coursework, we attended weekly workshops by visiting architectural historians. I also attended the weekly master classes offered through the conservation and preservation program. My brain was fully stuffed at the end of each day.
Most topical courses were lecture based. Undergrads and postgrads would attend the lecture together once a week for two hours. Afterward, small groups would meet in separate tutorials for an additional two hours of discussion. This was the rhythm for 12 weeks, after which time students would focus on writing the 3-4 thousand word essay; this would be the only grade for the class. Having only one shot at a good grade was truly intimidating, especially the first semester when I didn’t really know what the professors were expecting. My professors hailed from Australia, the United States, the Democratic Republic of Georgia, and Scotland. Moreover, the grading system there is not like ours. It is rare to get a grade over 80%. The first level of A begins at 70%. The threshold for failing a class is 50% or thereabouts. Seemingly endless days and nights in the library reading and writing resulted in a body of essays of which I am proud.
While free time was scarce, I tried to make time to engage with the culture of Scotland while I was there. I lived in the heart of Edinburgh, just blocks from the Parliament Building and Holyrood Park, where I would take a walk in the evenings. I walked everywhere, rain or shine, as does everyone else. Unlike here however, cars have the right of way; it’s very important to look to the right before crossing! It is a hilly city often requiring pedestrians to climb stairs to get from one street to another. According to my Fitbit, I climbed an average of 45 flights of stairs each day; my stair count has been woefully disappointing since I returned to Minnesota. There are a lot of tourists all year round, which lends a certain excitement to the air, but can slow progress walking from home to school or to the grocer or coffee shop.
I was a member of Historic Environment Scotland and the National Museum of Scotland, both of which held lecture series and other events that I attended regularly. These two organizations are instrumental in the ongoing historic and prehistoric research agenda in Scotland; access to their collections and archives was invaluable. Of course, I got library cards for the city library and the National Library. I took Ceilidh dancing lessons and joined a whisky club. I did try some restaurants, but mostly I cooked at home. The food in the stores did not offer much variety, but what was there was incredibly fresh and affordable. Produce is grown year round using polytunnel farming. I do miss the beautiful free-range eggs and all-local meat products. I must have learned dozens of different ways to cook lamb, duck and salmon.
My dissertation research required that I travel quite a bit, especially to the northern and western reaches of the islands; I visited Shetland and the Orkneys, Lewis and Harris, Skye, and Iona, as well as many inland sites. I also had the opportunity to visit neighboring countries that shared a common past with northern and western Scotland, specifically Ireland and Iceland. I would have liked to have explored Norway as well, but couldn’t fit it into the schedule or the budget. Then, there were the non-dissertation-related trips into the countryside and neighboring cities so accessible by bus. One of the perks of membership with Historic Environment Scotland was free admission to all of the sites that it oversees, such as the castles and abbeys, standing stones and Neolithic tomes, and Iron-aged roundhouses. It was on an excursion to explore one of these roundhouse, that I determined by dissertation topic: a landscape biography of a broch.
My dissertation site was a small valley in Glenelg, called Glean Beag, situated on the mainland across from Skye. It is a remote and geographically isolated place, with little historic or archaeological record. However, there does seem to have been continuous human habitation there at least since the Neolithic period. This valley is remarkable because of its Iron-aged architectural remains. There are two well-preserved brochs as well as the ruins of two more in close proximity. A broch is an architecturally complex roundhouse made of dry stone and is unique to Scotland. Situating these structures in the history of the area required learning about local geology, Scottish archaeology, stone construction, Celtic and Pictish cultures, early Scandinavian migrations, clan histories, and the clearances, among other things. If you are interested in knowing more, I will be discussing my dissertation research during one our Monday night programs during this academic year.
St. Kate’s Libraries: Co-Chairing the MLA Conference Committee
Libraries have always been radical and done amazing things to enrich the communities they serve, but what does radical librarianship look like today? That was the question Amy Boese, MLA president and St. Kate’s alumna, asked those of us on the MLA Conference Committee, a committee Amy asked me to co-chair this year.
Conference themes are chosen by the MLA president, and Amy’s vision was laid out in her introductory letter in the conference program:
“We have had a tempestuous year. We have struggled with challenges to free speech and disappearing data. We have faced funding cuts, threats to net neutrality and Fake News. We have been reminded again and again that we are a nation divided by race. As we gather today and tomorrow, I hope our time together challenges us to think about the radical work that we do: the power libraries have to provide access to the truth, to strengthen community voices, to create opportunity for exploration and innovation, and to assist our patrons to build a better future.”
I’ve served on multiple conference committees, but I have never felt the surge of energy and excitement that this theme invoked. Committee members were passionate about bringing Amy’s vision to light and found keynotes and sessions covering racial equity, LGBTQ literature, Dakota Access Pipeline activism, algorithm bias, serving bilingual patrons, social justice, cataloging for inclusion, and so much more.
Conference attendee evaluations aren’t compiled yet, but we heard positive feedback from many people about how inclusive the conference was, how empowered they felt to return to their libraries, and how this was one of their favorite MLA conferences.
As a co-chair of the conference, this feedback was wonderful to hear, because I wasn’t able to attend most of the conference. I was there, but I wasn’t going to many sessions, networking, and hovering over my silent auction bids. I was putting out fires, like running around trying to find volunteer room moderators, replying to Twitter comments on the MLA account, taking pictures, and helping in any way I could when things were going wrong. But this isn’t a complaint. I expected this.
Serving on a conference committee, my job is to make the conference a good experience for everyone else. It’s a great way to give back to an organization that’s given so much to me. Being an MLA member I’ve met many people, had the opportunity to present numerous times at the conference, and learned so much going through the MILE program (MLA Institute for Leadership Excellence). I’ve gained a lot and have made great connections in MLA, so serving on a committee is a nice way to give back.
If you’ve never served on a conference committee, for MLA or any other organization in which you’re involved, you should. You’ll gain experience planning, organizing, and framing a conference. You’ll be able to lead certain initiatives at the conference, like managing all the breakout sessions or reaching out to exhibitors and coordinating the exhibit hall. Working on a conference committee is also a great way to network and meet more people, and if you haven’t heard it enough by now, networking is important. The more people who know you and the good work you do, the better.
Working on a conference committee also gives you insight into how hard it is to put on a conference for 400+ people. You’ll learn that the most expensive thing you pay for at a conference is food, and it isn’t cheap, even for something simple. You’ll also learn that the biggest thing people complain about is the food. You’ll learn how hard it is organizing all of the sessions, room numbers and times, especially when there are many people who present multiple times and the people they present with also present multiple times. You’ll learn that even though a keynote speaker is prolific and has been doing this for awhile, locking them down has many twists and turns, and you may slightly panic when they show up mere minutes before their presentation.
You’ll also learn that there will be mistakes, especially since our conference is heavily organized by volunteers. You should expect screw ups and you should also expect to hear about them. But working through issues will make you understand how to reply to people when things go awry, how to listen to people’s suggestions, and how to not take mistakes as failures but as ways to learn and improve. Serving on committees like this will make you a better leader.
If you’re interested in being on the MLA conference committee next year, when the conference will be in St. Cloud, let me know. There are many subcommittees that work on: keynotes, program sessions, exhibits, local arrangements, communication, silent auction, etc. The incoming MLA president will start planning his committee for next year soon, so I can pass along names. I don’t know his theme yet, but he gave an energetic speech at the MLA business meeting about what he wanted to do during his presidency, so I’m hopeful next year’s conference will excite people as much as this year’s did.
Karen received her MLIS from Dominican University/St. Kate’s in 2004. She has been a Reference and Outreach Librarian with MnDOT since February 2009. Prior to that, Karen was an Assistant Librarian at the Perpich Center for Arts Education.
What attracted you to the LIS field?
I found the LIS field quite accidentally. My undergrad degrees are all in the liberal arts. I have a B.A. in Music Performance (violin), Spanish, and English Literature/Creative Writing. I followed my passions but didn’t know what I would end up doing job-wise. One of my Spanish professors actually tipped me off to the career field by saying it was a way to combine all of my interests – and she was right! I also liked the customer service aspect and of course, the “research” part. I could be stereotypical and say “I like books and love libraries” – which is true, but didn’t really weigh into my decision.
What is a typical day like for you?
As with most jobs, I don’t really have a typical day. I’m a list-maker so I try to make some goals to accomplish during the day. Often, I don’t get a single thing on my list done, but at least it’s documented that I need to do something. I triage my work based on new requests coming in and additional projects I’m in charge of and assigned to. My colleagues and I spend approximately 2-2.5 hours on the reference desk each day. When I’m at the desk, not much is different – same work, different location. I also address any phone and walk-in requests during that time. I am also in charge of local InterLibrary Loan – Minitex requests. I am involved with several committees at MnDOT and in the general library community so I attend a number of meetings and have additional work tasks related to those. I participate as an officer with Special Libraries Association Transportation Division (Vendor Relations Chair). For the outreach part of my job, I occasionally travel to conferences and outstate meetings to represent the library. We don’t have specialty areas or subject matter liaisons, but a lot of my requests tend to be related to demographics and history. I work with our Communications office to market their projects to various communities and along with that, goes the research of finding out more about the communities represented. I also get questions from the public on properties that were moved, demolished, or taken by MnDOT to make way for road building or improvements.
What do you like about your job?
I like the variety. Transportation is an area that a lot of people outside of the engineering field might not realize has so much research! I have learned about technologies and advancements, and I also get to use my passions and interests in education and diversity when I’m conducting historical and demographic research. I write press releases and work with local media to produce stories on various projects. I also really like the people I work with. We all have our differences and strengths and weaknesses but we pretty much get along and work together to get our job done. It’s important to work independently but also recognize the importance of working with others. MnDOT Library has also been a leader when it comes to case studies and projects that are very common in libraries, but not so much in special libraries and government libraries (such as ROI and Digitization Plans and Toolkits, which can have quite a learning curve!) so I’ve been involved with those reports.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far, and what are the steps you have taken to get through it?
My biggest career challenge has been myself. I love what I do. I am always learning. Here’s a quote I have in my email signature line that a friend of mine once said, “Learn how to learn. The latest and greatest fad is already obsolete.” My challenge is that I get comfortable and have a hard time branching out. I try to make everything work in the current situation instead of branching out to learn new things. As an introvert, I’m not great at talking myself up. I have no problem speaking in front of a group or giving presentations or staffing a table or booth, but I’m not good at asserting myself to advance my career. The other unfortunate situation, is being bound by state contracts/unions (not a lot of room for advancements). In a field as narrow as LIS, it’s important to keep up your skills and look for non-traditional employers and positions. I continue to keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities and then research how I could reach that path by using the skills I do have and would I have to branch out to get there? That’s the scary part!
How has the profession changed since you graduated?
The profession is constantly changing – but sometimes the workplace doesn’t. That’s frustrating – when your resources and options are limited. It’s tough to hear about fun new ideas and technologies and then know that you can’t implement any of them. I think the most obvious answer would be related to technology. A lot of digital. I’m “old-school” and still love the print and historical but I also understand, appreciate, and use digital access to find what I need. eBooks were new and personal mobile devices weren’t really available beyond a limited release back when I was in the program. Publishers didn’t know how to address library use of these things. MnDOT conducted a pilot project of using Amazon Kindles for book loans – and there were a lot of case studies, research, and back and forth.
What experiences at St. Kate’s (or otherwise) were most helpful in getting you to where you are today?
My experience with school (St. Kate’s/Dominican) was helpful for the coursework but also for making connections in library world. I met some of my former and current coworkers through the program and some of my good friends and references are also graduates of the program. The program was relatively small and at the time, there were fewer options for classes, but it almost felt like a cohort. The course offerings were limited – therefore you had classes with a lot of the same people each semester. There was also the option of taking classes from Dominican professors in person, in person at St. Kate’s, via Interactive TV, or a few were offered online. Some of my favorite classes ended up being with Dominican professors, which I might not have had the opportunity to do with without the partnership with St. Kate’s.
What advice do you have for current LIS students?
My advice is to focus on your skill sets – you can take those skills to any job. Look for traditional and non-traditional positions where you can showcase your expertise in researching, communications, customer service, technology, etc. I also liked not focusing on a specialty. I had a lot of interests, but because classes were limited, I went with what was available – and it ended up being a good thing! It kept my learning broad enough that I dabbled a little bit in a lot of subjects. The more specific the specialty, the narrower the job field could be. I wish I would have taken more computer classes (coding, website design, etc.). I also wish I could have taken a grant writing course. Marketing is also a subject I should have paid more attention to. I did take one marketing class and it was excellent, but I feel like we’re constantly justifying why we need libraries and how to remain in existence in a digital world. Finally, get involved with groups! Network! You never know when you’ll need to call upon a colleague or expert in an area outside of your own – and you never know if you’ll have a job opportunity somewhere if you don’t talk to people. Plus, it’s cheaper to get involved while you’re at the student level – check it out and find out what is beneficial to you (conferences, meetings, email lists, publications, activism and involvement on various issues, etc.) and then you can decide with which ones to continue your membership after you graduate.
Send Your Holiday Greetings!
Photo by Sean MacEntee
The holidays are just around the corner, and we’d love to celebrate them with you!
As a part of the December newsletter, we’d like to add a section of holiday greetings from students, faculty, staff and alumni.
A picture of your dog with reindeer antlers? Send it! A photo collage of your family in ugly Christmas sweaters? Send it! A Hanukkah wish for your friends? Send it! A Happy New Year greeting for the library community? Send it!
The first ten responses will be displayed in the December newsletter and any additional wishes will go on the department website. Please adhere to a 50 word limit so we have room for all the amazing wishes.
If you have a happy holidays wish, please e-mail it to lis-news@stkate.edu by November 15.
SPOTLIGHT: LIS JOBS, INTERNSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS
Job Opening
The St. Catherine Minneapolis Campus Library is hiring a Circulation Student Assistant. Circulation student assistants provide the first point of contact for the Library. As the “public face” of the library, they must be friendly, positive, accessible, and helpful to all library users.Student assistants staff the Circulation Desk, and assist the Media Services and Interlibrary Loan staff as needed. More information is available on our department blog.
Adjunct Professor Gail Nordstrom and Associate Professor Heidi Hammond presented “Reading the Art in Caldecott Award Books: What makes a picture book Distinguished? at the Education Minnesota MEA (Minnesota Educator Academy) Conference. The conference provides professional development for educators and took place October 19-20 at RiverCentre in St. Paul.
Professor Sarah Park Dahlen attended the Global Rights for Women celebration dinner on October 27 with MLIS students and recent grads Kallie Schell, Elizabeth Johnson, Anne Burkhardt, and Tasha Nins as well as two undergraduate students from GSJ 3990 Dismantling Racism: Taylor Hall and Ashley Alex.
Janis Shearer (current student) wrote an article for The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Newsletter (No. 146, 2017 September), as a follow-up to her presentation at their 49th Annual Meeting in June 2017. Titled “Story Time in the Garden: Picture Books that Celebrate Diversity through the Seasons”.
Anne Thayer (2015) is now Youth Services Librarian I at Washington County Libraries.
Sarah Park Dahlen spoke on a panel with Edith Campbell and Laura Jiménez at the #Indivisible10 Institute at the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books in Illinois on October 14, 2017.
Scholarships Available for the 2018 Library Technology Conference: a limited number of scholarship opportunities are offered for persons with financial need to attend the Library Technology Conference. The Library Technology Conference will be awarding up to 10 scholarships. Anyone is welcome to apply. Special consideration will be given to applicants who live outside the 7-county Twin Cities metro area, students, and applicants who have not attended the conference before. Selection will largely be based on the brief (up to 300 words) statement of how attending the conference will benefit the applicant. All scholarship applications must be received no later than Monday, November 13, 2017. Applications received after this date will not be considered. All applicants will be notified of their status by November 30, 2017. For questions, contact libtechconference@macalester.edu.
Looking ahead: we’ll have a review of the ITEM Fall 2017 Conference by Laura Gingras and Lauren Cottrell in our December newsletter.
Upcoming Events
NOV 6 MLIS ACCREDITATION STAKEHOLDER MEETING
At: 6:30 p.m.
In: the CdC Rauenhorst Ballroom
All students, alum, faculty, staff, employers, and LIS professionals are invited.
Appetizers and refreshments will be provided.
NOV 13 BOOKED FOR THE EVENING: KID LIT AT ITS BEST
March 14-15, 2018 Library Technology Conference 2018 at Macalester College. Registration begins December 6. libtechconf.org
Friday, April 6, 2018 Dr. Christine Jenkins will speak about LGTBQ YA literature as part of LIS 7220 Library Materials for Young Adults.
Seeking News From Our Students & Alums
Have a new position? Presented at a conference? Starting a new project? Serving on a committee? Hosting an event? We love to hear updates and news from you. E-mail our Social Media Assistant, Trish Vaillancourt at lis-news@stkate.edu with Subject Line: News in Brief. 50 words maximum.
<– That’s me, Trish Vaillancourt. I am in my second year at St. Kate’s and enjoying the program very much. It is exciting to be back at school after getting my undergraduate degrees last century. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for the newsletter. Also, I like cats…a lot.
First, I’d like to say that a yearlong sabbatical is a benefit that all people should have as a part of their benefits package. Removing oneself from the daily grind and opening up to new experiences is revitalizing. Taking a break from work every seven years apparently relates to the Sabbath, whereby one rests on the seventh day. Employers do not actually expect their employees to just rest on a sabbatical however. There is an expectation that they will do something like finish uncompleted work, or pursue new knowledge. I opted for the latter; I went to Scotland to study architectural history.
Photo by Sean MacEntee
<– That’s me, Trish Vaillancourt. I am in my second year at St. Kate’s and enjoying the program very much. It is exciting to be back at school after getting my undergraduate degrees last century. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for the newsletter. Also, I like cats…a lot.