jason's jottings

Books and the work life of a technical and academic librarian

[jasondcooper]

I came across this unflattering description of George F. Handel while cataloging a book last week. “Corpulent and bewigged.” Ugh... #books #librarylife #music #shade #work

[jasondcooper]

I was applying a security strip to a book today when I happened on this image of the 1806 Seal of Transylvania University

[jasondcooper]

Above: Searching for (”Serial killers” OR “Serial murderers”) AND profile, profiling, etc. AND “United States.” This was one of the more complex Venn diagrams that we drew during today’s unit on Advanced Search Strategies.

I’ve just finished teaching my penultimate First Year Research Seminar (FYRS) session at Transy for the Winter Term and wanted to jot down a few thoughts before too much time gets away:

It's always a good idea to introduce a variation to a unit of content you've taught before. Not only do you learn more as a teacher, but it's just more fun that way

Students may freeze up in class when you've asked them to engage in some way. It's okay to slow down the pace and let them catch up. Or, you may just need to explain what you're asking them to do more thoroughly

You can also provide multiple avenues for feedback for the (many) students who don't want to speak up in class

No matter how many times I have taught a given class, there are a few pre-class jitters involved, at least for me...

Thankfully, 19 times out of 20, my nervousness pushes me to work to the point of being over-prepared. The result is usually the delivery of a better lesson

I'm grateful to be able to play a small role in bibliographic instruction at Transy. While it's not a role that the person in my position has traditionally played, I have to give kudos to my coworkers who have allowed me to continue to grow in an instructional role. As a Technical Services Librarian teaching has never been my primary responsibility, but I have found that working in the classroom can be much more rewarding than working with systems and other technical issues.

[jasondcooper]

Read the first installment of Black Lightning and it’s great! 

[jasondcooper]

This was my end of the week challenge: find library catalog records for Nintendo games!

[jasondcooper]

Concept mapping remains one of my favorite library instruction activities to teach. We had a good group this morning.

[jasondcooper]

Working through my signed copy of "The Light Fantastic," by Lexington, KY author Sarah Combs

[jasondcooper]

Just finished another book: "Splinterlands," by John Feffer. A quick, absorbing, futuristic read

[defakingnews]

Daycare Busted Running Toddler Fightclub, Parents Outraged

http://www.celebtricity.com/daycare-busted-running-toddler-fightclub-parents-outraged/

The claim made in this article is that a Daycare owner has been running a fight club in Woodbridge, Virginia.

By following the CRAAP test, I found that the article has no date, so testing currency is impossible. In addition, It is very simplistic and gives no detailed. There is no evidence or sources. The website is a sensationalist yellow journalism page. The article is also extremely poorly written.

On the other hand, the story does have a hint of truth. The Washington Post published an article about this (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/former-day-care-worker-who-encouraged-kids-to-fight-each-other-is-sentenced/2016/09/30/8927325c-871a-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html?utm_term=.ad2e04078aed).

I would argue this is propaganda that is used to discourage the use of daycares or decrease trust in baby-sitting. 

[jasondcooper]

Sharing one of the entries from last week’s special session on “fake news.” I presented a short lecture, then assigned students a fake news item to investigate. As you can see here, the students did an excellent job sorting out fact from fiction. 

More entries from the class can be found at http://defakingnews.tumblr.com.

[jasondcooper]

I was impressed by how a small tweak in running an active learning exercise made such a big difference and set the tone for more engagement throughout an instruction session today. 

It’s always a good sign when a student shares with you, unprompted, that your session was helpful, and when multiple students stay after class to ask questions. All of this on a Friday afternoon, no less!

[jasondcooper]

I just saw this classic sitting on a bookshelf at work. This is one of the first books I can remember reading, probably around age three or so #books #library #librarylife #life #reading #work

[jasondcooper]

That feeling when you track down the last resource you need for your research. Ahh!

[jasondcooper]

Exploring the Transylvania Medical Library collection this morning. This shelf contains mainly volumes on chemistry and electricity #archives #books #history #kentucky #lexington #library #transylvania #work

[jasondcooper]

One of my first recommendations for the collections at Transy Library is here. I'm proud of this one. 😄

[jasondcooper]

Spied in the stacks this morning. I'm digging the spelling of this title for some reason. #books #library #librarylife #music #work

[jasondcooper]

I'm looking into 4T+ storage for our library. We've come a long way! #library #technology #work

[jasondcooper]

Time to learn about the history of my new city.