Developing Communities of Practice: Reference, Instruction, and Outreach (RIO) Librarians with the NCICU Library Collaborative
Type of Presentation
Panel (1 hour and 15 minutes presentation total for two or more presenters)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
PARB 127
Abstract
In 2016, library directors within the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) system elected to start a collaboration; they called it the NCICU Library Collaborative (NLC). As part of this collaborative, they wanted to form inter-institutional affinity groups among professionals with similar responsibilities. Our group is RIO, an affinity group for reference, instruction, and outreach professionals. Our mission is building a community of sharing information, developing best-practices, reducing duplicate work, and networking. This presentation will focus on the challenges faced as we learned how to work with multiple libraries in the NCICU system to launch an information literacy project. Challenges include establishing a practical method of communication, developing traction for the group via consistent structure, and advocating for the value of collaborative work.
After a “failed first start,” our cohort hosted a meeting at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC, on June 2018. The goal was to gain traction for our multi-institutional collaborative effort to choose an information literacy project. Several project proposals were accepted at this initial meeting, but we decided to streamline our efforts towards one project. A recurrent theme in the submitted proposals was the application of ACRL’s Information Literacy framework and the creation of instructional materials. The group voted to combine several proposed projects into one multi-part endeavor focused on interpreting the framework and developing shared instructional materials in various formats. We are currently preparing to launch our lesson plan repository, based on RIO’s interpretation of the ACRL Framework.
Presentation Description
Do you want to gain new knowledge from other libraries without attending a conference every month? Discover how the Reference Instruction Outreach (RIO) affinity group of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities created an inter-institutional collaboration to work on an information literacy project. We will discuss RIO’s background, challenges, best practices, and how collaboration has benefited both us professionally and institutionally.
Keywords
Inter-institutional collaboration, NCICU Library Collaborative, Private colleges, Reference, Research, Outreach, Instruction, Special projects, Information Literacy, ACRL Framework
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Bonner, Sarah; Bishop, Natalie; Chandler, Kelsey; Paulus, Kory A.; and Smith, Heather Pierce, "Developing Communities of Practice: Reference, Instruction, and Outreach (RIO) Librarians with the NCICU Library Collaborative" (2020). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2020/2020/5
Developing Communities of Practice: Reference, Instruction, and Outreach (RIO) Librarians with the NCICU Library Collaborative
PARB 127
In 2016, library directors within the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) system elected to start a collaboration; they called it the NCICU Library Collaborative (NLC). As part of this collaborative, they wanted to form inter-institutional affinity groups among professionals with similar responsibilities. Our group is RIO, an affinity group for reference, instruction, and outreach professionals. Our mission is building a community of sharing information, developing best-practices, reducing duplicate work, and networking. This presentation will focus on the challenges faced as we learned how to work with multiple libraries in the NCICU system to launch an information literacy project. Challenges include establishing a practical method of communication, developing traction for the group via consistent structure, and advocating for the value of collaborative work.
After a “failed first start,” our cohort hosted a meeting at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC, on June 2018. The goal was to gain traction for our multi-institutional collaborative effort to choose an information literacy project. Several project proposals were accepted at this initial meeting, but we decided to streamline our efforts towards one project. A recurrent theme in the submitted proposals was the application of ACRL’s Information Literacy framework and the creation of instructional materials. The group voted to combine several proposed projects into one multi-part endeavor focused on interpreting the framework and developing shared instructional materials in various formats. We are currently preparing to launch our lesson plan repository, based on RIO’s interpretation of the ACRL Framework.
