Amandajean Nolte: Information Literacy Librarian

In planning for the fall term, I've tried not to let myself get sucked into what appears to be an overwhelming and hopeless situation. Trying to prepare for all contingencies is overwhelming. Worrying about the health and safety of my students, colleagues, family, and self makes it even more so. The moments I feel the most at peace, however, are when I feel the community of the people who are in this with me. It helps to know I'm not alone. It helps to know I have a support system. As August is staring us in the face, I wanted to reach out and remind you I'm here. Not just for the things I've always been here for, but in ways, we haven't necessarily dreamed yet.

Request a purchase

While Vogel Library does not purchase textbooks for our collection, I know many of you are using texts that aren't strictly textbooks published by big textbook companies. If there is a book or film, you plan to ask your students to consume this term, and it would benefit them to have a copy in our collection, reach out! When possible, I have been purchasing digital items that can be accessed at a distance by multiple users. I have always been concerned about how much books cost our students, but COVID has further shown a light on the inequities of our systems. If I can lessen those economic concerns with my budget dollars, while also ensuring our collection is supporting the curriculum, I'm happy to do it. Do be aware that not all books have an eBook equivalent, but when they are available, they are worth considering. eBooks weren't my chosen purchasing model a year ago, but, hey, mitigated normalcy.

Request instruction/workshop

If you're trying to figure out how to include information literacy instruction this fall, but you aren't sure the best way to do that in our current climate. Reach out to me. You don't have to have it all figured out yet. I might have some ideas that include me being physically present but could also pull from some of the synchronous skills I've honed over the last six months. As a trained speech and theatre teacher, I like to think I'm quite dynamic on video! :) If ever there was a time we want to help students understand how to locate, process, and create credible information, this is it. #wearamask 

Like many of you, I’m overwhelmed, but in my best moments, I can see the possibilities. Maybe there are some ways that the new norm can be better for more of us.

If you find yourself away from campus and needing some research support, don't forget it's possible to reach me remotely! 

• Chat with librarians or staff (or use the popup on the Vogel Library homepage)
• "Meet" with your Liaison Librarian
• Email your Liaison Librarian

If what you need is online materials or tools to support your coursework, consider: 

• OneSearch @ Vogel Library
  You can limit your search to "Open Access" and "Full Text Online" only to return results available online. Sometimes results can be a bit finicky if your result says "No full text," scroll down to the Links header, and there is (usually) a direct link listed there. If neither of those work, contact me and I can troubleshoot it on my end.
• Databases A-Z
  Feel free to link to a specific database you would like to see students use in a given assignment. 
• Research Guides
  At the start of term, I asked if you would be willing to add the Research Guide for your discipline to your syllabus. This is an excellent time in the semester to remind students that these exist.
• Linking to Articles and Database Items
  Many of Vogel Libraries' online materials are licensed for use by the Wartburg community only. For all of your links to work correctly off-campus, you'll need to include the proxy string on any resource URLs. EBSCO requires you to use the Permalink in the sidebar, while ProQuest has made all of their links permalinks and you can pull those straight from the hyperlink bar. We discourage you from uploading the PDFs yourself because of Copyright, but also because it throws off our statistics and can make it harder for us to show accurate usage when it comes to budget decisions. 

If you're concerned about how to make your usually physical copies available digitally but are worried about Copyright:

Library Copyright Experts across the nation have put together a helpful Public Statement: Fair Use and Emergency Remote Teaching and Research document for us to use as a guide. One of the services they are offering is Copyright Office Hours that I can use to get answers for you if you need more guidance. Feel free to reach out to me with these types of questions, and I can go to the experts for support. 

If you are looking to feel a little less alone:

I personally am finding the Facebook group Pandemic Pedagogy full of helpful tips! If there is ever the time for community (even a digital one), this is it. I'm here for troubleshooting, brainstorming, and lamenting. 

We knew it was coming and it's HERE! Purdue OWL has updated its online materials to support the 7th Edition of the APA manual. Users can still access the 6th edition, but they have to read directions. And let's be honest, many of us in academia are notoriously bad at reading and following directions (for example, are you still reading this correspondence?)!

Many of you have students that rely on Purdue OWL, it would be worth your time to show them this change, especially if you are looking for 100% complaint formatting and citation style. At the top of each page, Purdue OWL has made a heading that clarifies if the user is viewing APA 7 or APA 6. If the user finds themselves on the wrong page, it's an easy link to the other manual.

While my office offers a calming and quiet place to work through a research question, folks have to go out of their way to meet me in my space.