DLIG is also excited to announce that they are sponsoring the session “Using Usability Testing to Determine Best Practices for LibGuides” at the upcoming ALAO Annual Conference. Attendees will learn how the presenters conducted usability testing to assess the findability, organization, and design of their LibGuides. Whether you use LibGuides or a different platform for reaching your students online, you will pick up strategies and tips for best practices that can be implemented in your own library. Please see the Conference website for more details.

Instruction Interest Group (IIG)

(Kathryn Venditti, Ashland University)
The Instruction Interest Group (IIG) welcomes Lauren Wahman as our new IIG co-chair. Lauren has been very active in IIG over the past year, serving on the planning committee and presenting at our spring workshop. She officially began her tenure as co-chair at the ALAO board retreat in July. Lauren is an Instruction Librarian at University of Cincinnati, Raymond Walters College Library. She coordinates Library Instruction Services and teaches course-related library instruction. Her research interests include student-centered learning, first-year experience, and teaching methods.
The IIG is pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring a session for instruction librarians at the ALAO Annual Conference in November. Otterbein University librarians Rares Piloiu, Judy Carey Nevin, and director Lois Szudy will present “Taking Tutorials to the Classroom: the Use of Tutorials in ‘Differentiated Instruction.” At Otterbein, the teaching librarians have been experimenting with the use of tutorials in classroom instruction. They will share what they learned and how they utilized the tutorials in their Libguides to provide simultaneous “differentiated instruction,” reduce the amount of time spent on verbal instruction, and increase the use of Libguides.
The IIG will also be sponsoring an information table at the Annual Conference. Please stop by to say hello and to learn more about the IIG. We are already thinking about our spring 2012 workshop and are eager to hear your ideas for a theme. Stop by our table or email Kathryn Venditti kvenditt@ashland.edu or Lauren Wahman lauren.wahman@uc.edu to let us know what workshop topics interest you or to suggest a presenter.

Research & Publications Committee

(Mark Eddy, Case Western University)

2011 Conference Panel Session
The RPC will host a panel discussion session at this year’s conference entitled, Tackling Your First Research Project: Tips and Strategies for New Library Science Researchers. The session will be held from 11:10am to 12pm. Join experienced professionals for a lively discussion about conducting and publishing research in a rapidly evolving library environment. Topics will include exploring publishing opportunities and venues, working with a mentor, identifying research trends, collaborating with colleagues, and capitalizing on cost saving measures and grant opportunities. This session will be a free-form, informal discussion among our panelists and session attendees. Whether you are new to research, or just looking for tips on meeting your current research goals, this is the session for you! Our preliminary roster of panelists includes,
Sue Polanka – Head of Reference and Instruction, Wright State University
Heidi Gauder – Coordinator of Instruction and Reference, The University of Dayton
Fran Mentch – Social and Behavioral Sciences Librarian, Cleveland State University
Fang Fang – Instructional Technologist, Kenyon College
Joshua Finnell – Librarian, Denison University
Daniel Feinberg – Associate Lecturer & Information Literacy Librarian, The University of Toledo

2011 Research Grant Award (Round Two) Winners!
The RPC was very pleased to host a second round of our research grant award program this past spring, and we are very excited to announce two grant award recipients! Our award winners are:
Heidi Gauder – Coordinator of Instruction and Reference, The University of Dayton
A grant of $250 in support of her proposed research project, Seeking Sources: A Citation Analysis of Honors Student Theses
Fran Mentch – Social and Behavioral Sciences Librarian, Cleveland State University
A grant of $250 in support of her proposed research project, Not Your Mother’s Social Work Profession: Content Analysis of Generational Change in the Field of Social Work

2011/2012 Research Grant Award Program
This coming year there will be a total of $1000 available for our grant award program. This expansion of research grant award funding will enable the committee to offer additional research support to ALAO members with a first round during the fall months. An optional second round, to be determined by the committee, will take place in the spring if sufficient remaining funds are available after the first round. Look for upcoming announcements and deadlines for this year’s program on our ALAO RPC web page, Facebook and Twitter, and on the ALAO listservs!

Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG)

(Jennifer Bazeley, Miami University)
TEDSIG will be sponsoring the presentation “Conflict and consensus: clusters of opinions on e-books” at the 2011 ALAO conference, to be presented by Andy Revelle and colleagues. This presentation will present the results of an ALA grant-funded two part study on user opinions about e-books. The first part of the study employed Q methodology to identify four clusters of opinions related to e-books across the campus community. The second part used the results of the Q study to create a large-n survey to learn the demographic make-up of each group. Andy and his colleagues have also published this research in the March 2011 issue of College and Research Libraries (v. 72, no. 2).

TEDSIG will be sending out a call for nominations for the annual TEDDY award, which recognizes distinguished service by an ALAO member in the fields of Technical, Electronic and Digital Services. If you have a nominee in mind, keep an eye on the ALAO and TEDSIG listservs for instructions on how to nominate a candidate.