Return on Investment Study from UIUC

The administrators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently conducted a study to demonstrate the library's value to the institution. The study's goals were to "document quantifiable data that would be meaningful to the university community and to develop a simple methodology that other institutions could replicate." Originally they had planned to do a 10-year longitudinal study, but when they could not identify a decade's worth of reliable usage data, they focused on the academic year 2006.
Kaufman, Paula T. The Library as Strategic Investment: Results of the Illinois Return on Investment Study. LIBER Quarterly. Volume 18 (2008), No. 3/4.
http://liber.library.uu.nl/publish/issues/2008-3_4/?000269

End of year lists

As we near the end of 2008, I can't resist linking to a "best of" list--this one is for the most popular free windows downloads of 2008:
http://lifehacker.com/5110552/most-popular-free-windows-downloads-of-2008/

CARLI digital imaging grant workshops

The CARLI Digital Collections Users’ Group announced Thursday that registration is open for “State of Confusion: Writing Your Digital Imaging Grant,” a workshop on best practices for writing digital imaging grant applications. This grant writing workshop will be offered twice and is meant to help libraries prepare for LSTA digitization grants. The workshops will be:
February 24, 2009, at the Illinois State Library in Springfield (with a “snow date” of February 26)
March 10, 2009, at the Illini Center in Chicago (with a “snow date” of March 17)
Workshops will run from 10:00am – 3:00pm. http://www.carli.illinois.edu/news/109/65/Registration-open-for-State-of-Confusion-Writing-your-Digital-Imaging-Grant.html

SLA IL meeting January 28

There will be a SLA IL Chapter meeting on January 28 from 12-1:30pm. ALS members can participate via VTel in the Valerie J Wilford room in East Peoria. Registration in now open in L2: http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=5111

The SLA IL Chapter meetings brings together Illinois Library Systems, ALA, ILA, and the Illinois State Library to present resources for Special Libraries within our state. Resources from the power of networking, to continuing education, advocacy support, grant opportunities and much much more. Each of the participating Library Systems will host the meeting. Lunch is part of your registration.

Plan To Close LIS Library at UIUC

Citing low usage, officials at UIUC are recommending the closure of the Library & Information Sciences Library at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as reported by Library Journal yesterday. Caroline M. Nappo, a doctoral student and Information in Society Fellow at University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, is circulating a petition to save the space. This is one of the top rated graduate school's of Library and Information Science in the country. What impact will this closing have on the program and it's ranking?

Information Literacy and the Public Agenda for Higher Ed in IL

After a successful lobbying efforts, digital information fluency and information technology skills in secondary and postsecondary levels of education have been included in the Public Agenda for Higher Education in Illinois. Sherrill Weaver, President of NILRC (Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges) and Professor & Chair of Library Services at Oakton Community College, stated "once passed, the Public Agenda is only an opportunity to have input on policies and budgets. Our success in actually getting policies in place and funding for them will depend on school, academic, and public librarians working together to develop effective educational and training program plans throughout the state. We will none of us have the resources alone to do this in the difficult economic times ahead. We must use our professional organizations to collaborate and coordinate our efforts if we are to have a significant impact on the lives of the people we teach and serve."

Below is a link to the latest draft of the Public Agenda for College and Career Success. This document will be presented to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for approval at its December 9 meeting in Chicago. http://www.ibhe.org/Board/agendas/2008/December/PublicAgenda.pdf

Audio - Visual learning via Podcasts

I'm taking a workshop on podcasting via the Internet and we just had our first session yesterday. It is called "Producing Great Audio and Video Podcasts" and it's a certificate program directed by Jonathan Finkelstein from Learning Times. Yesterday, we discussed the definition of podcasts (video or audio recorded session available via the Internet that can be viewed at the leisure of the learner, accessible by RSS feeds, and usually sequential) and discussed the possible uses for podcasts. Jonathan did a great job utilizing the audio, polling, posting, and chating features of Eluminate and keeping the discussion interactive and relevant. This is a three part workshop and I highly recommend it. I believe it will be offered again, so check L2. In addition, the U of I-Chicago is offering a series of online workshops on podcasting. Info is available on the Consulting page.

Inside Higher Ed had a post this morning on the effectiveness of including audio/visual instructor comments when grading. The post mentions a study which seems to indicate that the addition of an audio/visual component can significantly impact student learning. To read Inside Higher Ed's post, go to http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/12/03/audio

Free broadband? FCC votes December 18

After 2 years of debate, the FCC has scheduled a full vote at their Dec. 18th meeting. The plan, first proposed in 2006, would allow airwaves to be used for wireless broadband across the USA. USA Today reports that "under terms contemplated by the FCC, the winner of the AWS-3 auction would have to reserve at least 25% of network capacity for free broadband." FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has been leading the debate throughout 2008 with renewed vigor as the change in the White House, the commission and the Congress neared. If the measure is approved, free broadband could be available within a year. Link to the USA Today article: FCC to vote on free broadband Internet across USA