findingEducation’s Digital Teachers’ LoungeTips and insights from the findingEducation team.

FindingEducation met Rachel Borchardt, a science librarian at American University, at the 2010 Computers in Libraries conference in Washington, D.C. She and Jason Puckett, the instructional technology librarian at Georgia State University, gave a presentation about podcasting.

This week, we chatted with Borchardt over the phone about why she loves teaching, how her library is taking information literacy to the next tier and what podcasts can do for libraries.

Along with Puckett and Anna Van Scoyoc, a librarian in Mercer County, N.J., Borchardt hosts the monthly podcast Adventures in Library Instruction. “All three of us left [Emory University] to work in other libraries. We miss each other a lot, and we all enjoy bouncing ideas about teaching off each other. So Jason thought, ‘Hey, why don’t we start a podcast?’”

Borchardt earned her master’s degree in library science at the University of Pittsburgh, then worked for three years at the Emory University library in Atlanta, Ga., before coming to American University.

She tweets @butternutsquash.

fE: What preconceptions did you have about librarians before you became one?

RB: I thought that we would just sit at the desk all day and answer questions, which I was really excited about. I had no idea that you would spend so much time in meetings and at your cubicle working on other stuff.

I also thought there would be a lot more introverts. So it surprised me when I went to graduate school and everyone I talked to was super outgoing.

fE: What made you choose to become a science librarian?

RB: I worked in a science library my freshman year as an undergraduate, and I really liked it. After college—I graduated with a degree in neuroscience and psychology—I worked at a cognitive psychology lab at Carnegie Mellon doing MRI research for a couple of years, but it wasn’t really my thing. Being a science librarian seemed like a good way to be involved in science, without having to do the same thing everyday.

fE: Do you think others still have preconceptions about what a librarian is or do you think that concept is changing?

RB: I’ve been thinking ALA [the American Library Association] needs to do a big campaign showing who librarians are now, because nobody has a really good sense of what it is a librarian does. Even people in academia—undergraduates, graduates, faculty and staff—don’t know.

fE: How is being an academic librarian different from working at a public library?

RB: I admire public librarians a lot. I could never do their job. They are really good at knowing all of the literature that’s coming out, and all the new nonfiction.

If someone says to me, “I just finished reading Harry Potter and I really liked it. What can you recommend?” I’d say, “That’s cool! Glad you liked it. But I have no idea what you should read next.” If someone says, “ I’m researching the role of amygdala in emotional processing in autism.” I can say, “Okay, we should go to psych info and so on.”

fE: You host a monthly podcast called “Adventures in Library Instruction” with two other librarians. Can you tell me how these podcasts got started?

RB: Jason Puckett, Anna Van Scoyoc and myself all used to work together at Emory University. All three of us left to work in other libraries. We miss each other a lot, and we all enjoy bouncing ideas about teaching off each other. So Jason thought, “Hey, why don’t we start a podcast and talk about everything related to information literacy and maybe people will listen.”

It’s really informal. It’s the same as if you were to go to a library conference and afterwards were to sit at a table with a beer and talk about what you’re really passionate about. That’s our podcast. And it’s starting to catch on, which is really cool.

fE: Who were some of your favorite people to interview and what did you learn from them?

RB: I loved interviewing Dana Longley [a distance librarian at Empire State College] because she actually doesn’t have a physical library. So her conception of what it means to be a librarian and the services that she provides are so forward thinking compared to the rest of us.

For example, last month we did our first workshop online, but Dana’s never had a workshop where she’s met with people face to face. It’s really interesting to think about how she conceives ways to provide services to her users, when she doesn’t have the luxury of them ever coming to see her.

Maurice Coleman runs another podcast called T is for Training, and he’s just a hoot. We really didn’t have to ask him any questions. You just wind Maurice up and he’ll just go for an hour. But I’ve learned something from everyone. Often we’ll just pick the person and say, “Hey, what do you want to talk about?”

fE: What are some of the ways other libraries are using podcasts?

RB: Jason and I actually first started podcasting at Emory. We produced a monthly podcast for undergraduates called the Library Survival Guide. It was kind of educational, but hopefully a little entertaining. And it survived after we left.

Other ways libraries use podcasts are to archive events. So if someone comes to speak at the library for a book talk, they’ll have them sign a waiver and record it, then draw it up on a podcast. People also use them as a marketing tool to say, “Hey, here’s the stuff that’s going on at the library in the next two weeks.” You can also use them for library tours. People can download the MP3s onto their iPod and then take themselves on a library tour.

Arizona State University has something called Library Minute. They’re the only ones that actually use video in their podcasts. It’s kind of a blend between marketing and information literacy in video form.

fE: Tell me about the grassroots campaign for information literacy at your library.

RB: We have a really well established program, “College Writing,” where each freshman class gets partnered with a librarian who introduces them to what research is like at the college level—using a catalog, how to use databases and how to search them effectively. That’s the basic level, tier one.

What we’re trying to work on is the tier-two-level instruction. Once they’ve picked a major, they need to learn not only how to search the specific databases in their fields, but the ins and outs of that field. In the case of psychology, for example, they need to learn how to find tests and measurements.

If I wanted to do a study on campus of the relationship between tanning and anxiety levels I would need a way to measure anxiety levels in undergraduates. I would need a test to give them that’s reliable and accurate, and that’s been used before. Part of that teacher instruction is teaching them how to know that they’ve found a good test, instead of making up their own silly test that doesn’t mean anything. So that’s an example of the difference between tier one and tier two instruction.

We’re attacking the problem from a number of different angles; one is assessment. We currently have a method for assessing the information literacy skills of incoming freshman, but we don’t have anything at the higher level. So we’ll be meeting with the vice provost of undergraduate studies to talk about how we are going to do that. Then, the next level is going to be talking to individual departments. For example, we might be going to the head of the biology department and saying “Hey, you need a research methods class and you don’t have one right now. How can I help you make this happen?”

fE: I read in your tweets that you’re part of the Library Research Award Committee. What is the library research award?

RB: It’s a way for students to demonstrate that they know how to not only find appropriate resources for a topic, but how to use them effectively in a paper. There are two awards and they’re both $1,000 each.

fE: Whoah!

RB: I know! One is specifically for a student in the college writing class. The other award is just for an exemplary research paper that makes good use of library materials. They have to submit the paper and an explanation of how they used the library’s resources to write their paper. The project will give us insights that will help us market our services more effectively.

fE: It’s obvious from your tweets and your podcasts how much you genuinely enjoy teaching. Why do you like it so much?

RB: What I love about teaching now is that it’s a chance to change students’ lives. I know that sounds hokey, but it’s true.

One of my favorite classes to teach is “Evaluating Information.” We’re always hearing about stuff we should and shouldn’t be doing, and it’s always because of “science research.” There are always going to be articles in women’s magazines that say, “You should drink three glasses of tea a day because it helps promote your metabolism” or “You should eat blueberries because they have antioxidants.” What I love to do is find the actual article where the study was done, and then have students compare the results. The actual evidence isn’t nearly as strong as what they’re reporting in a newspaper or a magazine.

It’s fun for me partly because they have to use critical thinking, but it’s also cool because it has the most applicability to their daily lives.

You know how they have the Snapple Facts on the cap? I always think, “Oh, that’s interesting.” But how often do you stop to think, “How do I know that that’s true? Since when is Snapple the end-all and be-all of information?” And this is exactly what you’re striving for. It’s the process of questioning that is often missing.

fE: What do you like to do outside of work?

RB: I’ve been an ultimate Frisbee player for almost 12 years now. I started playing my first day of college and I never stopped. It involves traveling to tournaments, and practicing with the team and doing track workouts. It’s a much more serious sport than people actually realize. You compete at the section level and the regional level, and then if you’re really good you go to nationals, and if you’re really, really good you go to world’s.

I also play all kinds of board games and card games; I read a fair amount and I cook. But outside of work, ultimate Frisbee is my main passion.

Rachel Borchardt’s Favorite Sites:

Twitter
Dropbox
T is for Training
Adventures in Library Instruction
The New York Times
Google Reader

Subject: Uncategorized
Tags: Educator Profiles

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