NELIG Meeting - 1/17/2003

ACRL-New England Chapter
New England Library Instruction Group NELIG  
Meeting Minutes of January 17, 2003
Wesleyan University , Middletown , CT
51 Attendees.

Welcome and introduction by Anna Litten, Chair of NELIG.

Brief Announcements:

• The next NELIG meeting is May 16th, location to be determined.

• Upcoming events of interest to NELIG'ers include ACRL-NE in March, LOCI, ACRL in Charlotte and LOEX in Madison , WI .

• Anna discussed the new expanded format for the meeting.  She felt that people generally traveled significant distances to come to the meetings so added more content to make it more valuable.  Feedback on the change is welcome. 

• The NELIG annual program is tentatively scheduled for June 6th and will be held at a site in New Hampshire .

• Beth Lindsey, Chair-elect of NELIG, has taken a position in Washington and will be unable to fulfill her term as chair.  Mary MacDonald stated that according to ACRL, there are two options open:  Anna may opt to stay on as Chair for another year or she may appoint someone.  After a discussion with the group it was decided that Anna would contact those individuals that participated in last year's election for chair, and if one of them was still interested and able assume the position, she would appoint them.

The theme of the meeting was Innovative One-Shot Instruction Sessions. There were presentations from four groups.  PowerPoint presentations will be posted to the NELIG website when available.

The first presentation was by Laurel Bliss and Barbara Rockenbach of Yale University (Library Research Methods at the School of Architecture, Yale University).  Their presentation focused on the use of problem based learning in a required library course for the school of architecture.  After a brief overview of the class and what constitutes problem based learning, Laurel and Barbara led the group in a planned, problem based learning exercise involving selecting an architect for the new buildings at the World Trade Center site.  Further information on their class is available at <http://www.library.yale.edu/art/researchmethods.html>.

The second presentation was by Judy Romein of St. Anselm College.  Judy discussed her role in planning and presenting a library orientation program to all incoming freshmen.  By utilizing the entire library staff, they were able to provide orientation to 600 students in a couple of hours by breaking them into small groups and filing them in and out of the library after a 25 minute presentation.  Judy felt her program was successful and has increased the use of the library by the freshmen.  She also discussed their development of a virtual library tour and their use of TILT as a library tutorial.  More information is available at <http://www.anselm.edu/library/>.

The third presentation was by Peg Barrett, Judy Hildenbrandt and Lois Merry of Keene State College (Taking the Show on the Road at Keene State College).  Their presentation focused on their efforts to maintain an active instruction program through a library renovation during which they lost use of their classroom and meeting space.  They discussed the challenges in taking their instruction out of the library and into various classrooms on campus.  Issues with technology, the need for hands-on space, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing situations were covered. Some positive outcomes of the experience include a new scheduling system, a more evenly distributed teaching load, an opportunity to learn new technologies and greater exposure outside of the library.  

The final presentation was from Kari Parker of the Wentworth Institute of Technology who discussed her Internet searching class (PowerPoint and handout).  Kari's class includes advanced Boolean search techniques, differences in search engines and evaluation of web sites. 

The meeting adjourned at 3:00 pm .  A number of people stayed after the meeting to work on the annual program committee that is chaired this year by Mary Sullivan and Kate Shaw.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Gehring
Secretary, NELIG