Greetings everyone – I want to check in and see how you all are doing and offer some thoughts on the rest of our time together. Here are some action items that may be helpful:

Community Description:

This is an important component of the formal assignments to come.

• LRM: Define the Information Community and explain the significance of studying the information behaviors of this group (e.g. why is this research important).
• Research Paper: Introduction. Identify the information community being studied and why an examination of this group is significant. This opening section should conclude with an overview of what topics related to the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of the community the paper will address.

ACTION ITEMS:

• Work on this now and you’ll be able to remix and re-use in the LRM and paper.
• Use citations to support your description of the community.
• A successful description for the assignments addresses who the community is, what information needs and behaviors they have, and should cite some of our foundational literature as well as your own pertinent, peer-reviewed resources. You might even include some stats pulled from research-based sources as well such as Pew, etc.
• Be clear with your writing. Use simple, straightforward sentences. Avoid sweeping generalizations without supporting evidence.
• Organize your thoughts into categories, such as: “Citizen Scientists seek information, exchange news and insights, and often use virtual communities for enjoying their community via discussion and analysis.”

Literature Review Matrix

ACTION ITEMS:

• Use the LRM Helper as a guide.
• Paste in your community description and be sure to include all articles cited in the references list.
• Be sure you have 8 peer reviewed studies from LIS or related fields on the info behaviors and needs of your community (or related community) to evaluate in the LRM.
• Strategy: schedule your time to write up one article maybe every 2-3 days. Don’t feel you need to do it all at once. Return to the early ones and see if your thinking has changed.
• Write clear, simple sentences about the articles.
• For the “I Say” portion – write about what reading the article inspired in your thinking about the community and how they look for and use information.
• Use the LRM examples for inspiration.

Blog Reports: Here are some thoughts on the rest of our course blogging.

• Blog Post #5: Explore how libraries and information centers create learning and programming opportunities for your chosen community.  

Helper: Explore the professional literature and the resources included in the Teaching and Learning module and write a post related to how libraries and information centers create learning and programming opportunities for your chosen community. What innovative services are in place to support your community’s curiosity? Or suggest some ideas for learning programming based on gaps you discover in services to your group.

• Blog Post #6: Report on the issues your community may face on an international scale. 

Helper: Blog Post #6: From your exploration of the literature and the resources included in the Global Librarianship Module, craft a blog post related to the issues your information community may face on an international scale. Consider, for example, how similar info communities to yours seek and create information in the context of their culture. Try to discover whether your international counterparts bring social, gender, environmental and economic justice to light. See if you can share your discoveries and observations in hopes that your experience can prepare and even educate fellow information professionals.

ACTION ITEMS:

• These two can be written by exploring the professional literature (Library Journal, American Libraries, etc) or other resources related to your community.
• Search for articles related to how libraries are offering learning programs for your community and how your community or a related community is being served on the global stage.
• You can actually start these searches now and keep what you find for when you complete the upcoming modules and start writing.
• Write both posts to easily fit into your research paper’s Discussion section, perhaps under headings such as “Learning Programming for Citizen Scientists” and “Library Services Around the World for Citizen Scientists.” This is not self-plagiarism!

Next:

• Blog Post #7: Report on your community’s use of emerging technologies 

Helper: Create a media-based artifact (infographic, video, audio, etc) from your research and explorations of your community’s use of emerging technologies. How do they use technology to advance the community or share information? Be as creative as you’d like! Use these “How To” pages at the Community Site:

• How do I add media to pages or blog posts?
• How do I create a media-based artifact?
• Be sure to cite your sources within the artifact or as part of your blog post.

Some popular tools students have used, as compiled by include:

• 16 Best Infographic Tools
• Jing: https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html
• Prezi: https://prezi.com/
• Piktochart: https://piktochart.com/
• Canva: https://www.canva.com/
• Venngage: https://venngage.com/
• Animoto: https://animoto.com/
• Wondershare Filmora: https://filmora.wondershare.com/
• Visme: https://www.visme.co

Also, checkout  this helpful site: https://marketingtechblog.com/infographic-layouts/

Please comment below with how you are doing, your own coping strategies and any action items you have for our class, etc. Send questions to me anytime!

Image: Edinburgh Close and view of St. Giles.