ALA EMERGING LEADERS PROJECT
Shu-Hua Liu, Jian Anna Xiong, and Hilary Davis
July 2009
CALA Annual Conference
Analysis Report of
Chinese American Librarian Association (CALA)
Twenty First Century Seminar Series 2006-2008
美国华人图书馆员协会二十一世纪系列研讨会
分析报告2006-2008
Introduction - ALA Emerging Leaders
Program
• Competitive program for new librarians
• Opportunity for collaborative problem-solving,
networking with peers, learn about ALA
organization
• Leadership experience
• Projects solicited from all ALA units
• CALA project team first met in January 2009
• Collaborated online to complete project
• Now, we’re here at ALA in July 2009!
Background – CALA 21st Century
Seminar Series
• 2006 – 2008
• Workshops, seminars and forums
• Collaboration & exchange between Chinese
and American libraries
• Digital librarianship, library management,
reference & instruction methods,
cataloging, consortium collaboration, &
general challenges & opportunities faced by
libraries
Emerging Leaders Project
• Gather & analyze data on seminar series from
CALA website
• Analyze data from:
–
–
–
–
–
Evaluations
Profiles of presenters
Demographics of participants
Topics of presentations
Feedback
• Make recommendations for future seminars
Methods
• Information about teams, presenters,
presentation and discussion topics, hosting
libraries, attendees, and feedback on the
seminars was collected from the CALA 21st
Century Seminar Series website
• Some evaluations and reports were not
available, therefore not included in this
project report
Summary
•
•
•
•
July 2006 - November 2008
Mainland China and Taiwan
9 teams and 1 delegation group
38 presenters from the U.S. (5 non-Chinese
speaking presenters)
• 13 presenters from China
• 9 seminars
• 145+ presentations
51 Presenters (China and U.S. side)
• A few U.S. presenters
made more than one
trip
 Background
 92% academic
 6% public
 2% consortia
51 Presenters and
Library Background
Consortia
2%
Public
6%
38 Presenters From United
States and Frequency of
Trips
3 trips
7%
Academic
92%
1 trip
79%
2 trips
14%
Presentation Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reference and instruction
Technical services
Emerging technologies for libraries
Service models
Management and operations
Fundraising
Library professional organizations
Research and publication opportunities
Professional development
International cooperation
Digital librarianship
Topics and Audience
There were total 145 presentations given in
2006-08
• 60% appropriate for general audience
• 30% academic library focus
• 10% public library focus
Presentations and Type of Library
Focus
Public
10%
Academic
30%
General
60%
Frequency of Topics
# Times
Presented
11
6
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Main Topic
Computing Technology & Networks
Professional Development
Electronic Resources & Information Management
Consortia & Resource Sharing
Assessment of Services & Collections
Management
Children Services
Reference & Instruction
Libraries & Community
Collection Development & Acquisitions
Digital Libraries
Subject specialist librarians
Cataloging
Challenges in Digital Age
Collaboration between Librarians & Faculty
Future of Academic Libraries
Fundraising & Gifts
Information Commons
Integrated Library Systems
Library Organizations & Associations
Public Services
Academic Librarianship - General
Readers' Services
# Times
Presented
Main Topic
1
Design & Architecture
1
Book ATM
1
Electronic Reserves
1
E-Paper & E-Whiteboard
1
Budget & Finance
1
Generation Y Students
1
Hiring Practices
1
Information Literacy
1
Innovative Library Services
1
International Cooperation
1
Role in Accreditation
1
Curriculum
1
Strategic Planning
1
Libraries & IT Mergers
1
Outreach
1
Special Collections
1
Speech-Making
Participants
• Over 900 attendees
• From: Mainland China and Taiwan
• From: Academic libraries, public libraries,
school libraries, vendors, and governmental
organizations
• Background: library directors, librarians,
associate research librarians/professor, with
some support staff and students, etc
Map of Seminars and Origins of
Participants
Feedback - General
• Overall quite positive in terms of:
–
–
–
–
–
Diversity of content
Relevancy
Clarity
Speed of presentation delivery
Knowledge and experience of the presenters
• Presenters: experience exceptional &
rewarding
– Good learning opportunity
– Great hospitality and organization
Formats & Activities that Worked
Well
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use of case studies as examples
Use of lively & engaging presentation styles including skits
Question & Answer sessions
Comparing library practices between China & U.S.
Including refreshment breaks
Focus on practical aspects of librarianship
Describing how libraries work in the “real world”
Open forums for discussion
Use of PowerPoint presentations
Practical “how to” aspects of librarianship with hands on
activities
Improvements Made Early On
•
•
•
•
•
Different formats
Different activities
Increased breaks
Less busy schedules
New topics for the presentations
Major Areas Needing Improvement
Major areas for improvement
# Responses
Provide final handouts prior to sessions (include URLs)
41
Focus on day-to-day issues, use more case studies and "how-to" examples, and hands-on activities
23
Expand schedule to have more time for reflection or reduce sessions
19
Better promotion
16
Increase interaction between speakers and participants (maybe more evening activities, socializing events)
10
Reduce cost and/or provide more financial support
7
Better time management/scheduling
4
During presentation, stick to the handouts as participants prefer to take notes on handouts
4
Adjourn seminar series for 1-2 years
3
Create online environment after seminar event for participants to learn more
3
More comparison of library practices between and
3
Visit Chinese libraries and offer advice on specifics
3
Use images, videos, audio, props
3
Future Presentation Topics
Top 20 Suggested Topics for Future Seminars
Slideshow of interiors and exteriors of library buildings
Integrated Library Systems demo
Google Scholar, Wikipedia, SFX demonstrations
Information literacy
Library service models
Challenges of technology services
Future of the library
Gifts and donations, fundraising
Strategic planning
International collaboration
Subject librarian model and job descriptions
Digital library development
Management of libraries & organizational structure
Collection selection and development (including e-books)
Conducting academic research in librarianship and publishing
Workflow s and process in all library units
Professional development
Reference and Instruction (including virtual reference)
Assessment & evaluation (Usability, surveys; usage statistics; ROI)
Computing, netw orks & w eb technologies (Web 2.0, cell phone apps)
0
# Responses in 2006-07
5
# Responses in 2007-08
10
15
20
# Responses in 2008-09
25
30
35
Ranked Lists of Top Suggested Future
Topics by Four Major Functional Roles
A. Application of technologies in library
services
1. Assessment and Evaluation
2. Computing, networks and web technologies
3. Trends, impact, challenges and other issues
associated with application of technologies
4. Integrated Library Systems Demo
5. Information security management
6. Network infrastructure in underdeveloped
regions
Ranked Lists of Top Suggested Future Topics
by Four Major Functional Roles - Continued
B. Public Services
1. Information Literacy/Library Instruction
2. Collection Development
3. Innovative library services in digital/Internet
era
4. Subject librarians
5. Circulation, access and delivery services
Ranked Lists of Top Suggested Future Topics
by Four Major Functional Roles - Continued
C. Library management at different levels
1. Workflows and process in all library units
2. Library management in general, all functions
3. Strategic planning (case studies) & problem solving
strategies
4. Future of the library
5. International collaboration
6. Gifts and donations, fundraising
7. Library buildings
8. Organizational structure and management
9. Budget allocations, promotion and marketing, library
policies
10. Special libraries & management of special libraries
Ranked Lists of Top Suggested Future Topics
by Four Major Functional Roles - Continued
D. Research, Professional Development and
Librarianship as a Discipline
1. Academic Research
2. Professional development, professional
education, advancement into administrative
roles
3. Practical aspects of librarianship
Online Presence of CALA Seminars
• Significant improvements are necessary for
website and incorporation of web technologies
– Online survey to collect information on the
background of participants to find out what are
their learning needs and expectations
– Online forum for participants and presenters to
engage in discussion prior to and after the seminars
– Improved website structure with stable links to
documents and resources
– More consistent and robust evaluations for
gathering feedback from participants (online
surveys)
Recommend Online Portfolio
• Webinars
• Online (synchronous and asynchronous)
discussions
• Online hosting/archiving of documents
(including Powerpoint slides, PDF
documents/articles, video demonstrations, etc.)
• Online learning modules
• Online calendar of activities
• Online sharing of learning objects and
documents
• Better promotion online (blogs, websites,
listservs) & in magazines
Think Globally Act Globally (TGAG)
• Continued success of CALA 21st Century
Seminars ensured through the TGAG project,
supported by funding from:
– Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS)
– University of Illinois
– Ministry of Culture in China
• This Emerging Leaders project will enable CALA
and ALA to achieve the goals of enhancing
communication and relations between U.S. &
Chinese librarians & promoting collaboration
and sharing of information across borders
Future ALA Emerging Leaders
Project?
• CALA should consider another Emerging
Leaders project to achieve these goals for
sustaining Seminar series:
– Focus on investigating and potentially
implementing aspects of an online portal
– Explore web-based solutions such as wikis,
blogs and free survey applications
– In-depth programming skills for more dynamic
& sustainable online portal (working with
CALA webmaster)
Emerging Leaders Project Wiki
– Full report
– Wiki version
– This PowerPoint presentation
– Digital version of poster presented to Emerging
Leaders session
http://wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders/index.php/Project_W_(2009)
Project Contact
• Hilary Davis
Assistant Head
Collection Management for Engineering and E-Science Collection Management,
NCSU Libraries
Email: [email protected]
• Jian Anna Xiong
Government Information Librarian/Associate Professor
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Email: [email protected]
• Shu-Hua Liu
Reference Librarian
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
Email: [email protected]
Thank You!
Thanks to CALA & especially to Haipeng Li
and Shali Zhang, project mentors!