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6/1/2007
Two unique features of the workshops are notable: 1) Aside from the cost of housing, transportation, and meals, they are fee-free to participants, through financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and 2) Each institution participating must commit to sending three representatives: the library director, a "rainmaker" faculty member who can shape faculty opinion, and the chief academic officer. Bennett offers simply, "If you can't get all three together in one place at our workshop, then you're going to be wasting our time and resources."
That may sound a bit harsh, but by the time participants leave, he insists, their teams have developed a plan for strengthening their information literacy programs, encouraging faculty and librarians to work together, and fostering collaboration between IT and library staffs. No small feat. Yet, even with all that effort behind it, persistence is the operative word: Transformation, Bennett acknowledges, "is going to take a while."
Immaculata also joined the consortium of schools using Searchpath, a flash tutorial originally created by librarians and staff from Western Michigan University in 2001/2002. Searchpath teaches students the basics of information literacy: how to conduct research in the library and on the web more effectively and accurately, including performing a qualitative evaluation of the source being used for research.
In addition, the librarians and IT team behind the library went on to adopt Adobe Captivate (formerly from Macromedia), a flash creation tool. The library uses Captivate to create brief tutorials that walk students through the use of its specialized online databases. And the school is producing three new tutorials a month, not limited to the library, reports Isselmann, who adds that the team has applied the technology to the creation of lessons designed to teach new users how to work with the school's course management system and portal.
Still, the evolution of Immaculata's digital library didn't simply kick off with the ribbon-cutting of the new building, even though "We had this new building with space, and not much space in other places," recalls Isselmann. "So, seeing the library as the center of information, we made the decision to house the technical folks in the library." The initiative really shifted into high gear four years later, when university administrators made the decision to outsource the management of the institution's technology and IT services--including the post of the campus CIO. After an evaluation process, the campus chose Collegis (since subsumed into SunGard).
Today, it's clear to almost every campus executive that moving an institution from the traditional purchasing model to a strategic eProcurement program can greatly increase staff efficiency and save the institution money. Because eProcurement automates so many purchasing processes, it eliminates reams of paperwork and allows procurement staff to refocus their efforts on cutting costs and improving strategic partnerships.
Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno didn't start out in IT. She joined San Jose State University (CA) in 1981 as an assistant professor in the school of nursing. But somewhere along the way, she realized her energy was focused on academic technology, and how it could help a variety of learners gain knowledge.
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