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1
Listening to Many Voices: Community Conversations and the Graduate ExperienceRutgers University Libraries
Presenters: Nancy Kranich, Laura Palumbo, Jonathan SaucedaLibrary Research Seminar IV, U. of Illinois, October 9, 2014
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From dialogue to action What is the future role for library
liaisons at Rutgers? Conversation in the academic
library community Formed a Liaison Action Team Developed an Action Agenda Created a Vision Convened a Liaison Assembly Defined new roles for liaisons Planned and convened
community conversations
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Themes of internal conversations
Libraries can’t live on love alone…
Eager to engage but uncertain how
Focus more on specific communities
Work in teams and build partnerships
Use library space to build community
Get in the flow of users Build connections, not just
collections Provide students a comfort
zone
Generate constructive and inclusive discourse
Envision a greater sense of possibility
Increase relevance and significance
Act with intentionality based on readiness
Increase our impact Achieve shared goals
Turning outward: the Harwood Institute
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Understand our campus communities better
Become more deeply rooted in the life of our communities
Create a narrative around shared community aspirations
Engaging our campus communities
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Starting Point1. ID problems
2. Visioning
3. Aspirations
What we Get Rooted in
Complaints Blame
Wish lists Disconnected
from Reality
Based on reality Focus on
community
What it Creates
Problem lists No shared sense
of direction
False hope Not rooted in
people’s reality
Shared aspirations that roots work
Possibility
Stage 1: Building community knowledgeCommon starting points
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Listening to Many Voices Convened faculty,
administrators, and students on campus and library faculty and staff
Focused on undergraduate, graduate, and international education
Listened to understand people’s shared aspirations and concerns
Engaged in authentic dialogue that reflects people’s reality
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Graduate education community conversations, Dec 2013 – May 2014
Met with the Graduate School before and after
Engaged a cross-section of Rutgers graduate students: 44 total—4 conversations
Shared the findings with a group of 8 faculty and administrators
Liaison Assembly open space discussion with 20 librarians and library staff
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Identify Aspirations1. What kind of Rutgers graduate community do you
want?_______________________________________________________
2. Why is that important to you? _______________________________________________________
3. How is that different from how you see things now? _______________________________________________________
4. What are some of the things that need to happen to create that kind of change?_______________________________________________________
Community conversation questions
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Aspirations and concerns–summary narrative about our community
1. Interdisciplinary collaboration and interaction in a comfortable setting
2. Acceptance and inclusion3. Access to information of interest to
graduate students 4. Creation of more of a graduate identity 5. Differing needs for different
communities
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Innovation spaces: Reflections from our conversations
What did you make of the conversations?
What are we learning? Why is this important? What are the implications for our
work? What possibilities are there for
moving ahead? What insights did this
conversation spark?
… A different conversation
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Stage 2: Executing strategies and actions that fit our COMMUNITY
Develop strategies that achieve results and also build community
Identify and act on specific pockets/areas of change that align to local context
Focus on creating conditions necessary for community change
Determine “who to run with” as partners Develop networks for innovation/learning
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Finding the sweet spot
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Calibrating our work: community rhythms How broad and deep is the community’s
leadership? How strong and constructive are the
community norms? How broad and deep are the informal
networks and links? How strong is the collection of catalytic
organizations?
15Source: Working Together Project, Community-Led Libraries Toolkit, p. 16, http://www.librariesincommunities.ca/resources/Community-Led_Libraries_Toolkit.pdf
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Taking action fitting to our community Laura 1st – actions lower on the
continuum Jon 2nd – higher level actions
Can create a different slide for each or just one slide with 4 bullets) and a visual
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Taking effective action
Meet your community where they are
Solutions for the “Waiting Place” and “Impasse”- Graduate Student Information Resource
We have identified a need, and can provide resolution with limited outside assistance
Moving into the “Catalytic” stage- Graduate Student Lightning Talks, Research Cafes
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Stage 3: Embedding and sustaining change Cultivate a can-do community narrative Build the capacity of partners and other
groups to strengthen our community together Recalibrate our efforts based on changing
challenges and conditions Apply Harwood practice across the main
functions of your organization Align our organizational structure, staffing,
and resources outward facing Adopt outward facing organizational
performance measures
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Shift our thinking to turn outward Recognize new opportunities and
connections Uncover a sense of common purpose Set realistic goals Engage more deeply with graduate students Act intentionally to reflect aspirations Align our strategies with others on campus Partner with the Rutgers community in
meaningful and significant ways
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For further reading: Brown, Karen and Kara Malefant. (2012). Connect, Collaborate, and
Communicate: A Report from the Value of Academic Libraries Summit (Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries), http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/val_summit.pdf.
Covert-Vail, Lucinda and Scott Collard, (2012). New Roles for New Times: Research Library Services for Graduate Students (Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, http://www.arl.org/storage/documents/publications/nrnt-grad-roles-20dec12.pdf.
Dewey, Barbara. (2004). “The Embedded Librarian: Strategic Campus Collaborations,” Resource Sharing & Information Networks 17 (2004): 5-17.
The Harwood Institute. (2014). Public Innovators Workbook. Chicago, IL: ALA. http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/sites/ala.org.transforminglibraries/files/content/LTC_Binder_FINAL_0.pdf.
The Harwood Institute and American Library Association. Libraries Transforming Communities. (2014). Tools for Community Engagement and Innovation, http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/libraries-transforming-communities/resources-for-library-professionals
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For further reading (cont) Kranich, Nancy, Megan Lotts, and Gene Springs. (2014). “The
promise of academic libraries transforming campus communities,” College and Research Libraries News. 75 #4 (April): 182-186, http://crln.acrl.org/content/75/4/182.full.
Lougee, Wendy. (2002). Diffuse Libraries: Emergent Roles for the Research Library in the Digital Age (Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources), http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub108/contents.html.
Shumaker, David. (2012). The Embedded Librarian: Innovative Strategies for Taking Knowledge Where It’s Needed (Medford, NJ: Information Today).
Williams, Karen. (2009). “A Framework for Articulating New Library Roles” in Karla Hahn, Research Library Issues, Special Issue on Liaison Librarian Roles, no. 265 (Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries), http://publications.arl.org/rli265/4.
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Rutgers University Libraries Graduate experience working group
Thanks!
Nancy Kranich, [email protected] Laura Palumbo,
[email protected] Jonathan Sauceda,
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Extra slides
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Actions Celebration of passing qualifiers—liked this idea Coffee with the deans—a modification of one of
the ideas from the library with modifications. Food helps. Gave example of similar effort by graduate dean at U. of Maryland holding grad student events at the libraries
Networking tool—powerful, could make a big difference
Space planning—repurposing library spaces, including grad student spaces. RUL would like to identify graduate students from GSAs, GSOs to help us identify interests/priorities.