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Panel 10: Roda Viva (2015)

Monday, June 15, 2015 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Moderator: Alison Hicks, University of Colorado, Boulder
Rapporteur: Melissa Gasparotto, Rutgers University

Sara Levinson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Following the Clues and Getting Help from your Friends: Creating a Catalog Record for an Item Written Almost Entirely in a Language You Don’t Understand

Leif Adelson, Books from Mexico
Reflections on Why There Are So Few Digital Format Academic Titles in Mexico

Jesus Alonso-Regalado, SUNY/Albany
Crowdfunding and Collection Development

Lisa Gardinier, University of Iowa
Conversaciones con fanzineros: Collecting Zines in Latin America

D Ryan Lynch, Knox College
US LIbraries for Beginners: Library Instruction for ESOL students

Jorge Matos, Hostos Community College/CUNY
Latino Librarianship in a Predominately Latino Community College: Thoughts form a New Junior Faculty.

Ana Ramirez Luhrs, Lafayette College
Crossing the Border: Librarians in the Classroom Beyond Information Literacy

David Woken, University of Oregon
Human Rights and Genocide: Leveraging Academic Library Resources to Support Secondary Education

 

Sara Levinson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Following the Clues and Getting Help from your Friends: Creating a Catalog
Record for an Item Written Almost Entirely in a Language You Don’t Understand

Building off of last year’s presentation on correcting and enhancing OCLC records, Levinson spoke about collaboration as a solution. In the previous year’s presentation she had used a problematic MARC record for an illustrated story demonstrating that the language was problematic and format was inaccurate. She was pretty sure it was a Mayan language but not sure which one. After returning from that conference, Levinson was contacted by another SALALM member, Ellen Jaramillo, who suggested a possible dialect, Tzotzil Maya, and developed a partial translation of title. Jaramillo found Princeton’s institutional record for the same item which somehow is not in OCLC. It’s also partially in Spanish. In that record, a proper name was mentioned and there was an authority file for him and he turned out to be a Tzotzil religious leader.  Levinson edited the OCLC record and made changes to Princeton’s record, adding a “comics and graphic novels” heading and deleting an old incorrect heading for Huitzil readers. The final takeaway is that OCLC is only as good as the information that member institutions contribute to it and cooperation is key to the process.

Leif Adelson, Books from Mexico
Reflections on Why There Are So Few Digital Format Academic Titles in Mexico

Adelson noted that Mexican academic institutions produce the overwhelming majority of Mexican academic titles. There are independent houses that publish with academic publishing houses, too, but this is a small portion of production (less than 10% estimate by Adelson). There are other potential sources for digital publishing - author self publishing, small publishing outfits, NGOs, etc., but they lack the impetus and wherewithal to intervene in publishing digital monographs. Squeezed between forces, content producers must publish for academic stature while income pressures producers to make their writings available digitally. Also international electronic distributors approach publishers and offer money to publish those products on their format. But presses believe they should distribute publicly funded research for free. All are poorly equipped to conduct a cost benefits analysis. Given that this is a new field, it’s hard to calculate profit potential from free digital publications. Many academic publishers have been shielded from market pressures and don’t know how to transition to profit seeking digital publishing.

Many presses want to distribute in this way but rights management and technical platform considerations make things more complicated; plus, these conversations are slower to get moving in Mexico. Additionally, institutional academic publishers have a long history of non-bottom-line mentality. Generating revenue or being economically stable has not been part of equation.

There are opportunities (e.g., aggressive strategies in digitizing, publishing and publicizing through vendors) that could help alleviate economic pressures. Additionally, the government could issue standards for digital publications or create a national server for these digitized monographs. These things could put Mexico in front of today's digital academic publishing trends.

Jesus Alonso-Regalado, SUNY/Albany
Crowdfunding and Collection Development

Alonso-Regalado made the distinction between this topic and fundraising for library-generated library projects. His project deals with generating revenue to fund projects outside the library (projects by authors or filmmakers that result in books or videos): the library helping to create items that they then collect. He sees this as a potential for libraries to be co-creators in the production of knowledge. He advocated for crowdfunding for creation of materials as a valid method of collection development, as many of these crowdfunding projects might not happen without library support.

How can librarians do this? Support may be provided via Kickstarter, Indiegogo, USEED. Alonso-Regalado uses same collection development criteria with these projects as he would for other more traditional collection development decisions, such as reading project description, etc. Many times, supporting the crowdfunded project is the only way you can acquire these limited edition items, but any library, large or small, can afford this. However, fund management and structure might be problematic. In Kickstarter you put in chargecard but you don’t pay until the project reaches its goal. But what if that creator never finishes the item/project.? The creator must work that out with funders. You can advocate for these things even if you’re not doing it directly, and have someone else back the project and donate the resulting items.

Alonso-Regalado talked about four projects he had backed in this way.The book Invisible Immigrants Spaniards in the US 1868-1945, and the films Papa Machete, Memories of Guantanamo, and Save our film: la ciudad.

Lisa Gardinier, University of Iowa
Conversaciones con fanzineros: Collecting Zines in Latin America

Gardinier had been collecting zines from Latin America for last 3 years. Zines are generally self-published with intention of being serial, and they are often personal.

The acquisition of zines typically requires an informal method of collecting. For example, attending “La Otra FIL” in Guadalajara, which happens in conjunction with the larger book fair, but at another site. Sometimes zines come to her in Iowa in the form of visiting artists who can either donate their own works or put her in touch with others. Social events can lead to collecting opportunities, and she has had lots of conversations with fanzineros about why she was collecting and the value of exerting effort to build these collections. One of the most important parts of building a collection like this is building relationships, showing creators that people care and that this material is important. The work represents voices that are otherwise unheard and so these materials belong in an academic library. These materials are getting the same treatment as any other acquisition format. Since they’re inexpensive, budget is not much of a problem.

Q&A for first half of the panel
Jade Mischler of Tulane asked Alonso-Regalado how he finds out about these projects. Is he in Kickstarter searching, or does searching elsewhere lead him to Kickstarter? He answered that both were the case.

Daisy Dominguez of City College asked Alonso-Regalado if he had supported a project that was unsuccessful and how did that look to library administrators? He did back a project that ultimately failed but they tried again. His support of these projects was a proof of concept so he used his own money and donated books.

AJ Johnson of UT-Benson asked if Alonso-Regalado had looked into any music projects on Kickstarter. He answered that he hadn’t seen projects for Latin American music. He added that other platforms for crowdsourcing allow you to connect things to development office of the university. If your library doesn’t want to do it, you can try to convince your constituents to do it and donate toward the item.

Miguel Valladares of University of Virginia asked Gardinier if she was collecting zines from Spain? She answered yes, but unintentionaly. They’re very transnational She can find one country’s publications in another. For example Spanish anarchist zines from the late 90s are still floating around Latin America with prices in Pesetas. They get photocopied over and over and redistributed.

David Woken of University of Oregon noted that he had tried crowdfunding and backs a lot personally. People may present themselves well but there may be problems after the fact. For example, one video project on racism that he has personally backed is taking a long time and getting lots of criticism from other documentary makers for failing to secure proper permissions, You don’t know if the product will be made ethically. Alonso-Regalado responded that this is a question of trust and that if they fail it will affect their reputation. He added that he will alert SALALM members if/when he identifies other projects of interest.

D Ryan Lynch, Knox College
US LIbraries for Beginners: Library Instruction for ESOL students

How do you engage students in academic support resources at your college or university? How do you overcome perceived or real barriers preventing access to resources like the library or tutoring? Lynch is the library liaison for all non-departmental centers and offices (e.g., Center for Teaching and Learning, Global Studies) and spoke about involvement  with IELP (Intensive English Language Program) a two-week summer bridge program for international students who need extra language and writing skills to help them get a jump start before semester. This was the college’s very first summer bridge program, and part of the VPAA initiative to focus on retention and success. It was approved at the last minute so there was little time to prepare.

The ½ credit program consisted of six hours of English language and writing instruction each day for ten days. Instruction was delivered by Center for Teaching and Learning and peer writing tutors. The library provided 4 short sessions (two times each week of the program). The library sessions were scheduled for the end of the day and students were inevitably exhausted by the time they arrived. The goals for library sessions were to cover the physical space, the librarians, library resources including I-share, helping students understand the differences between types of information, where to look, and search strategies.

Lynch sought feedback on expectations, constructive criticism and information on student engagement with resources on campus, conducting six semi-structured interviews over 7-8 hours. When asked why they chose to participate in the program, most said they had gaps in English and/or lacked confidence. Some students wanted to get to know the town, some wanted to meet people and others wanted to get an edge. One student remarked that for “every international student no matter how well you are prepared you are still underprepared.”

Five out of six students had come to the reference desk and half had sent their friends to the desk. Every student had remembered every skill covered in the four library sessions. Five out of six had used tutoring and three had referred their friends. They sent their friends to people they were familiar with. All students were positive about the program, but they were a particularly highly motivated group and perhaps not representative. Lynch concluded that this was a nice model for helping less acculturated students become more acclimated to and more engaged with support.

Jorge Matos, Hostos Community College/CUNY
Latino Librarianship in a Predominately Latino Community College: Thoughts form a New Junior Faculty.

Matos began by presenting demographics of Hostos at a glance: 60% of students are Latino, and many are West Indian, as well. 65% are women, ¾ of students live in households earning less than $30k/year. Half are the first generation to attend college, and 1/3 continue on to 4 year institutions. The college serves lots of working mothers and other working students. These facts aren’t always obstacles and can sometimes add to the educational experience. Hostos was founded in 1968 through political pressure/advocacy, and located in old abandoned tire factory. There were no labs, pool, theater or gym. The 1975-7 Save Hostos campaign, in response to a decision to close the school and merge it with Bronx Community College, was a major turning point in the school’s history. Students, faculty and the community participated in mass demonstrations and engaged in civil disobedience. Supporters took over the Grand Concourse for a whole afternoon and brought classrooms into the street. In a strategy to bring national attention and establishment press to focus on the issue, they occupied the college for 20 days and the New York State Assembly eventually conceded to protests. These actions lead to the saving of the college and its continued development into what it is today. Hostos is a service-oriented institution and during his first year Matos participated in traditional reference and instruction, bilingual services and interaction with students and staff. Many students are recent immigrants. Sonia Sotomayor’s mother graduated from the college in the 70s with a degree in nursing.

Matos concluded with observations from first year. The current challenges include funding and space issues, library instruction and outreach to faculty (there is limited library staff), services to students with disabilities (modern adaptive technologies are a challenge), the increasing role of community college as site of workforce development and remedial education. Community colleges may be seen as an institution of last resort of lower income and communities of color or the disabled; this is a national trend.

Ana Ramirez Luhrs, Lafayette College
Crossing the Border: Librarians in the Classroom Beyond Information Literacy

Lafayette College is a small 4 year liberal arts college with approximately 2,000 students in Eastern Pennsylvania. The student body is mostly middle to upper-middle class and caucasian and Ramirez Luhrs serves as an advisor to Hispanic students at the college. She partnered with a LAS historian who works on Argentina and is interested in issues on gender and diversity on campus. They taught a class on these issues in 2013. The History 275 course was a 50/50 shared collaboration so Ramirez Luhrs was a teacher as well as embedded librarian. The course was organized around the themes “moving, mapping and telling.” Harvest of Empire was their main text and an anchor for all class discussions.
Ramirez Luhrs discussed the resources she used during each of the class themes.

Moving

This theme explored Mexican migrant workers in US (going back to Treaty of Guadalupe), and the Brazero program. It was important to use primary sources and teach visual literacy. The novel’s Mother Tongue and Drown were used for this theme. A few Latino students on campus self-selected for the class. Some were Dominican so the instructors added the Junot Diaz book to relate more.

Mapping

Ramirez Luhrs is interested in the politics of Latino immigration, so the class took a deep look at the Census and its history of representation of Hispanics and Latinos through the years. She also used Pew Hispanic Center as a resource because she wanted to give students a chance to access good data that doesn’t need to be crunched too much.

Telling

Anzaldua’s Borderlands was used in support of this theme. Ramirez-Luhrs taught students how to use governmental primary sources to research law. Students completed an assignment on legislation and gave presentations on the immigration propositions in CA and AZ, which were current events at the time. Other texts used included Frontera, The Circuit and Becoming American.

Lafayette has special collections with related content, including protest posters on anti-immigration policies, and these are used as teaching materials.

Students produced a document: 10 Things Every US Citizen Should Know about Latin American Immigration. Her students held an “Immigration Week,” and worked to get the campus community to think about human rights issues and immigration.

The co-teaching partnership brought the students into the library and lead to them telling their friends. The other professor feld that better quality assignments were turned in. A further outcome was that the students no longer had barriers about going into the library.

David Woken, University of Oregon
Human Rights and Genocide: Leveraging Academic Library Resources to Support Secondary Education

Woken presented on his involvement in a workshop that the University of Oregon hosted for secondary teachers, about human rights and genocide prevention. Lectures exhibits and workshops were conducted for both faculty and high school teachers as part of a grant-funded program.

The program wanted to bring in lots of disciplines to help people think about how they might teach about human rights, and the teacher workshop topics included:

  • Gendered violence and impunity: Bangladesh and Mexico
  • Teaching human rights in Latin America: problems sources and methods (Woken co-taught with a professor in the History Department
  • Art and human rights in Latin America: pedagogical approaches
  • The thirst for human rights and the struggle for water in Latin America and Africa

Woken’s workshop covered repressive states of the Cold War era. He built an online guide for university instructors, modified to emphasize open access materials (primarily in English). Both he and the faculty co-teacher wanted students to seek a critical understanding of human rights. For example, Woken highlighted online truth and reconciliation documents, and how to think about the limitations of these documents.

Challenges and Lessons:

  • Provide useable information about a range of different cases while not oversimplifying
  • Avoid stereotyping
  • Deal with complexity of human rights as a concept itself
  • Provide teachers information that they can work with and giving them a positive example with which to work
  • Working within the restraints high school teachers face
  • Not stereotyping the teachers (It turned out that many of the teachers were Latinos, and Spanish language resources could have been useful)

Second Q&A

AJ Johnson, UT-Benson, asked Woken if there had been a follow-up from the teachers and if he had promoted the teaching of online primary sources. Woken answered that lots of contacts were made, which has been very positive. He added that there was a trend in common core to encourage primary source reading, and that he did discuss them, including the Archivo Policia Guatemala.