These short “pecha kucha-like” sessions will feature 4 PowerPoint presentations of 6 minutes and 40 seconds each. We will have approximately 15 minutes at the end of the session intended for Q&A for all 5 sessions. Come for a lively, rapid-fire group of talks.
1) ERM & The Extended Mind
Lenore England, University of Maryland University College
Lenore England (slides) The Extended Mind Concept was discussed in a 1998 article in the Analysis journal, just before Google became popular. More of a philosophical approach to learning, it addresses the concept of: Where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin? Ultimately, the extended mind concept looks at how human beings actively externalize problem solving. The electronic resources management (ERM) staff at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) are interested in how this point of view might apply to students taking courses at UMUC and utilizing electronic resources while studying. How do students set up their environment as they study?
The ultimate results for ERM: A better understanding of how students use electronic resources in their coursework in order to help them get what they need and when they need it. The Center for Instruction and Student Services at UMUC might be interested. To achieve this understanding, the ERM staff believes they will need to view the student usage in three dimensions and understand how their environment might be set up at home or work while they study. There are also other concepts that can be similarly applied, for instance, the “As We May Think” article published in 1945 about how information is better managed.
2) Evaluating Library Capacity to Manage Research Data
Sheila Corrall, University of Pittsburgh
Sheila Corrall (slides) Advances in networking, the rise of digital scholarship, and developments in research policy have created opportunities for academic libraries to extend their roles in scholarly communication and open access to managing research data. Government publications, consultancy reports, and professional organizations have called for library involvement in curating data for future access and use. Many commentators have pointed to synergies with existing library practices, but others have argued that domain experts and/or technology professionals are better prepared for the task.
This shotgun presentation will re-examine the case for library engagement from a novel perspective that will provide a richer appreciation of what librarians can bring to the research data space. Using an intellectual capital lens, it will argue that libraries have important structural and relational assets that should be taken into account alongside their more widely recognized human assets, represented by their professional knowledge and technical skills.
The objective is to develop a broader and deeper understanding of our professional assets; to use these insights to identify the different factors helping or hindering the efforts and progress of librarians in this emerging area of professional practice; and to give delegates an analytical tool and practical examples, which they can use to re-assess their own capacity to deal with research data and other strategic challenges.
The presentation will quickly sketch the context for research data management, briefly introduce the intellectual capital model as an analytical framework, and then draw on published case studies of library initiatives and an international survey of current activities, future plans, and service constraints. It will present a fresh analysis and synthesis of the evidence, going beyond strengths and weaknesses in professional expertise and technical know-how to highlight the significant structural assets and stakeholder relationships that are enabling librarians to become major players in the research data arena.
3) If "Filter Failure" is the Problem, what is "Filter Success?"John Dove, Senior Publisher, Credo Reference
Clay Shirky (author of "Here Comes Everybody") has famously said that our problem these days is not "information overload"--we've had that ever since Guttenberg. Rather what we are suffering from is "Filter Failure". This short talk takes that assertion and turns it on its head: how can we paint a vision of a world in which we all experience "Filter Success". I will pose a set of questions which would need to be answered in order for students, scholars, patrons, and life-long learners everywhere to experience a world of "Filter Success". What will it mean for publishers, acquisition librarians, aggregators, discovery services, and even scholarly communications.
4) Bitter Coffee & Watered-down Bourbon: Lessons for Libraries from Chase & Sanborn Coffee and Maker’s MarkCorey Seeman, University of Michigan
slides The story of Chase & Sanborn Coffee provides all organizations a great morality tale for all organizations, including libraries, about how small changes may lead to larger problems down the road. Chase & Sanborn ranked with Maxwell House as one of the leading coffee brands in the early 20th century. They were known not only for their fresh sealed coffee, but also for the Chase & Sanborn Hour variety show that featured many stars including Don Ameche, Nelson Eddy, and Edgar Bergen with his wooden dummy Charlie McCarthy. In the years after World War II, there was a belief at the company that they could make small changes to the process to reduce costs, without changing the quality that much. A similar decision was made earlier this year by Maker’s Mark to reduce their alcohol for their Kentucky Bourbon as a cost reduction plan to help boost profits.
Using these two examples from the business world, the presentation will explore how small decisions can, over time, fundamentally change the very nature of any organization. For the library, the presentation will show how modest and sometimes seemingly consequence free decisions about resources and services that a library provides can snowball into a complete change in the overall perception of the library. So changes that seems minor at the time, when considered together, transform and (more importantly) potentially undermine what the library is attempting to provide for their community. In the light of continued encroachment on a libraries space and budget, this type conundrum might be easier to fall into than we might think or like.
