Working With the Green

The hills are green, and the grassy turf is sprinkled with color from the spring wildflowers decorating the fields. The flowers have come in early this year, many in February because the lack of rain and the warmer weather have tricked them into thinking it's well into Spring. I see splashes of orange from California poppies and purple blushes in the fields from some tiny flower I don't have the name of every morning and evening as I drive to and from work. I feel like a flower myself, ready to pop out of my winter shell and bask in the sunshine and the spring breezes.

Even so, I never feel like it's truly Spring until I can get my garden going. The last couple of years, I've missed out on this because there wasn't enough time and space to really branch out (pardon the pun). This year, I have the opportunity to literally get my hands dirty and get a modest garden up and running. Poor Scooter has had to listen to me prattle on about vegetables and roses and bulb plants and bird feeders and outdoor furniture since Fall. Come hell or high water, I was going to have a garden this year. I am an unstoppable force that really needs my green. I'm almost embarrassed to say that a recent trip to OSH nearly had me spending on gardening stuff what other women spend on shoes. But in the end I had to be sensible; we're not able to do as much as we did three years ago. Part of it is because the backyard of our current place is cemented over, so everything has to be in pots or planter boxes (but I'll take what I can get). Part of it is because while I do have more time, life is still busy and I don't want to take on more than I can handle. And part of it is because the area is in a drought and it doesn't make any kind of sense to have a large garden that needs a lot of water. But all those garden goodies were very hard to resist.

So, we're starting small: some strawberries, some tomatoes, basil (other herbs to come), and one zucchini. The tomatoes and zucchini don't need tons of water (and actually zucchini--we found out--is susceptible to fungus if over-watered). The strawberries and basil are my two concessions that will probably need water every other day or every day, depending on how hot it gets. I also chose some flowering plants that don't seem to need a lot of water (every 2-3 days until established, then less after that). The few pictures below show our progress at the end of day 1.

We planted sequoia strawberries, the variety that Scooter likes.

A basil plant for pasta and to eat with tomato--an Italian must!

Scooter found this container at a swap meet. It's a perfect match for the red tomato.

The herb bed is ready and waiting. I just have to buy the herbs.

The zucchini bed before we lined and filled it. Scooter also added support on the sides to make sure it lasts the whole season.

Some of the pretty flowers we got to adorn the garden and not need tons of water.

We added another wine barrel with two tomatoes on day 2 (thank you K and Z for the donation of wine barrels!). We also added protection in the form of chicken wire for the strawberries and the zucchini; with cats in the area, the dirt would of course seem like a convenient litter box and I don't need that kind of surprise when I'm digging around. I hope to add thyme, oregano, and sage to the herb bed by May (there's a rosemary hedge out front, so we're good there); now that I'm cooking more again, I need my Italian herbs! And I have plans for adding bird feeders--high out of the reach of cats--and comfortable chairs to enjoy my new green space. Spring is just too much fun!

Information Literacy

This topic has been on my mind lately because of both my e-portfolio and a job posting I saw. On my way to work this morning (which is a time when I think about a lot of things), I began to wonder what challenges information literacy a few decades ago would have faced compared to today. This page provided by ACRL on information literacy implies that the concept wasn't even around then. I find that worthy of exploring further because of how I envision information literacy and teaching individuals information literacy skills. The main concepts could have been applied to one's search and use of information ten, twenty, or even fifty years ago. Perhaps back then these ideas were simply called research skills.

I see information literacy as teaching proficiency in three areas: how to search for information, how to analyze information, and how to use information. Obviously, the techniques for searching for information have been refined with the adoption of online and digital resources. However, the search for information still takes places within physical materials--skills that were relevant long before the Internet and that still are helpful to know now. The techniques used for analyzing information I don't see as having changed too much. The purpose of analyzing information is to be sure that the information is accurate and comes from an authoritative source (when doing publication-worthy research, authoritative sources are important). With digital resources, such as websites or webpages, finding the identifying information that one normally uses to determine this can be somewhat elusive; but the things we look for (author, author's bio, date of publication, etc.) haven't changed terribly much. How we use the information we find also is relatively the same. Sources still need to be properly cited and plagiarism is still considered the grave sin of writing. Citation styles have been updated to include the variety of materials one can find online or in digital formats, but again, the concepts of how to use others' works is still consistent with how it was done before we could "find everything online."

So what is the big challenge with information literacy today? Why would we need to coin a phrase for a process that is basically researching with a bigger pool of information? The "bigger pool of information" is the key here. Information literacy, in addition to teaching research concepts with more types of materials that one can use, is also teaching how to navigate the ocean of information that exists. It's about quantity. There is so much information out there that it's often hard for the information "newbies" to even complete the first task of searching for information. It would be like sending a sea captain out on a boat without any navigational tools and tell him to sail across the Pacific and land on a specific island out of the more than 7,000 that make up the Philippines. Setting a fresh-faced student in front of a computer and giving her a topic to research without any preparation is like what the sea captain would be up against. The student probably has some basic knowledge that she can draw from to start searching (as the sea captain would have to head in the right direction), but she's probably not able to find and use the resources that would be perfect for her needs (just as the sea captain would not be able to find that single tiny island without some navigational help). It also doesn't help that anyone can put any information on the Internet they want, as long as they have a site and host server--which means our student may think she found the information she needs when actually it's completely inaccurate.

This is where librarians come in. We have the skills to pay the bills, and we are willing and able to teach our patrons information literacy skills. In libraries that serve post-secondary student populations, this exchange is already happening; I suspect that it's also occurring in K-12 school libraries and media centers with a dedicated librarian or other individual that fills that role (but it's not always the case that the school has such a person on staff). The reality is that information literacy instruction isn't always reaching the students because (1) school or campus libraries may not provide it or (2) the instruction may not be compulsory so students choose not to participate (which is often the case at post-secondary institutions). Information literacy skills use critical thinking skills and Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive skills, so teaching information literacy not only serves to improve ones skills in finding and using information but also builds competence in these other areas. I guess my point here is that information literacy skills should be a required component of the classroom and library instruction in all school districts and at all levels of education up to and including undergraduate (and instruction should be compulsory). This can be done either by having instruction in the library that students would attend, or coordination between librarian and faculty that would allow the librarian to provide instruction in the classroom that would tie in to the course. It's not an impossible feat, and I'm sure it would be easily accomplished if everyone supported the idea and was willing to help make it happen.

I'll step down from my soapbox now. I get worked up about this because I want students to leave school with all the skills that will make them successful, and too often I see the product of an incomplete education. I don't by any means blame the teachers (believe me, I KNOW how hard you all work to teach kids, teens, and adults), but I think there is a way that we can do better by our students and make them competitive in all industries.

At the Finish Line

Well, I know that I was AWOL on here for awhile, but I did it. I finished my e-portfolio, and before my personal deadline of April 1. It has been accepted by my department, so I am officially done with all of my Master's work. No more classes, no more discussions, and best of all no more writing. My mom suggested that I print everything in my e-portfolio out and have it bound, and I'm considering the idea. Here's what the final numbers look like:

Competencies completed: 15
Competencies graded satisfactory: 15
Competencies in progress: 0
Competencies yet to address: 0
Revisions required: 2
Pages written: 86
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 10 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 24 days

It's a bit surreal. I feel myself waiting for the next assignment to emerge and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm done. My graduation ceremony is still over a month and half away, and I don't think I'll really feel like I'm done until I get to be hooded. Even when I go to the campus bookstore next week to order my graduation gear.

Two things that I needed to talk about in the "extra" parts of my e-portfolio were my professional goals and my professional growth plan. My goals are "to (1) work in an environment where I interact with and assist patrons on a daily basis both at the reference desk and in other capacities within and outside of the library; (2) focus on providing reference assistance and supporting and expanding the library’s online services; (3) develop and present library instruction workshops; and (4) work in either a public or academic library" (taken directly from my e-portfolio). Part of my professional growth plan is to keep learning. One thing that I've come to understand is that there is so much that we can learn from each other. Librarians are often a gregarious bunch (you should see us at our conferences) and are very willing to share their experiences and knowledge on pretty much every topic one could imagine has anything to do with libraries. And some topics that have nothing to do with libraries. Many librarians write on blogs in order to share this experience and insight with a larger crowd. I'm listing here a few blogs that I follow (some more loosely than others) so that I can share some of those I turn to for information and inspiration.

Librarian in Black: This librarian shares a lot of my views, and I appreciate her willingness to be very vocal about them (as sometimes I find myself unable to do the same). The author helps me to stay up-to-date with issues in the profession since she tends to be really on top of them. She's actually in the same region where I am, so it's nice to read about a "local" librarian's experiences.

In the Library with the Lead Pipe: What initially drew me to this blog was the name (used to play Clue a lot when I was young). What kept me returning back to the blog were the articles. It's a great blog which posts on a wide variety of topics. It's actually won some awards and is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals and EBSCO (where it's noted as peer-reviewed). I guess really it should be termed an online journal.

Librarian by Day: This is another great blog with topics that span nearly every library-related subject. I like Bobbi Newman's posts because they goes beyond the surface of a topic and dig a little. I appreciate her insight and experience.

The Library Loon: This is a rather witty blog and one that almost always gets a chuckle out of me. The authoress, whoever she is, tackles issues and shares her experiences with her audience by writing in a manner that Emily Post would most heartily applaud. And yet, she manages to inject much humor among the quite proper language. Perhaps this blog isn't for everyone, but I do enjoy it.

YALSA's The Hub: This is a must-read for anyone in YA services (and those folks probably are already reading it), but it's also a fun read for any librarians or even (YA) book enthusiasts. There is a LOT of discussion about up-and-coming and popular YA books and many book lists. With my growing interest in books for the YA audience, I am often browsing posts looking for potential titles to read. It's been a great help to figure out what I want to read next!

Librarian Problems: This one is purely for fun. Check it out, laugh, enjoy. No further explanation is needed.

So that's my short list. There are a few other blogs that I have bookmarked and go back to every so often, but these ones I follow more regularly and really enjoy. Feel free to note any other library blogs you enjoy in the comments section.

I hope to post a new recipe next week.