LUC 2024

David Kelley, co-founder of the design consultancy IDEO and the Stanford d.school, has been credited with the modern adage, “You need to fall in love with the problem to solve it.” Design thinking stresses the importance of deeply understanding and empathizing with the problem you are trying to solve before moving to solutions. The process acknowledges that many potential solutions exist. Focusing on the problem also sets teams up to move on from proposed solutions that fail and, perhaps most importantly, from problems we can’t or don’t need to solve.

In this keynote, Lindsay Cronk, Dean of Libraries at Tulane University, will describe her career-long work of developing high-performing teams focused on problem-solving. Since there is no shortage of problems in academic libraries and in the world today, this talk will provide practical insights for galvanizing collaborations within and across our organizations, including examples of solutions that worked and didn’t and what ensued. She will share her rubric for problem prioritization and lessons learned from her personal philosophy of doing the hard parts first while still having a good time.

The challenges of scaling and scoping projects, crafting multi-audience communications, and successfully navigating change are ones that all of us in academic libraries know well enough to love. Cronk notes that the choice to “love” a problem sets certain conditions for joy, including deep familiarity with a subject and opportunities for humor, experimentation, and shared experience. This model requires that we change our mindset, avoid deficit thinking by acknowledging our strengths and limits, release our grip on notions of expertise and expectation, and begin to work on the important problems we share.

Cronk will speak to how we can approach these challenges without creating burnout and disengagement. The key, in her assessment, is to emphasize enjoyment, play, and delight for our teams as well as our patrons. Setting a norm of moving from understanding to action also avoids a familiar pattern of long-standing problems becoming a source of resentment and low morale. Modeling this behavior as an organization has broad positive impacts, perhaps most importantly shifting assumptions of academic libraries for ourselves as much as our patrons.

As media and information landscapes change, so do the information seeking behaviors of the next generation. How do we meet students where they are and bridge the generational divide without being "cringe"? In our session, we will discuss how information seeking behavior is evolving, strategies for staying current (without losing your authentic self), and avoiding "the cringe." We will also provide real life examples from things we have tried in our programming and instruction sessions at LSU.

Three librarians and a member of each of their friends group will moderate and discuss best practices of having a friends of the libraries group as well as their experiences. Discussion will range from starting a friends groups to maintaining good working relationships over the years and their successes and challenges along the way.

I am proposing to equip the audience with essential tools and insights for selecting the ideal Archival Collections Management System (CMS). I'll explore key considerations, and discuss best practices to help someone make an informed decision tailored to their archival needs.

The session will equip librarians with advocacy skills, enabling them to promote their departments effectively. It emphasizes the importance of utilizing existing projects, institutional activities, and LOUIS opportunities to increase visibility and gain support from stakeholders. The session will give attendees practical solutions and share success stories from LDCC Library's advocacy efforts, including budget increases and remodeling initiatives.

This session would discuss the inspiration, goals, logistics, and outcomes of the special exhibition "Black Women's Biopics & Black Living Room Pedagogy," which was temporarily located on the second floor of LSU's main library. Inspired by Dr. Winfield's award-winning dissertation, LSU librarians, in addition to a collection development effort, recreated a 70's and 80's black living room and hosted two biopic screenings with corresponding panel discussions and archival displays.

We'll present a practical look at a major, ongoing project we've been working on to make our databases easier for users to find. The project centers on the process of creating a customized taxonomy of subject tags and type tags and applying them to our databases. We'll discuss project organization, division of labor, creation of taxonomies, and systematic application of changes to over 1,000 different databases. We'll also touch on challenges and future plans for rewriting database descriptions.

Each year the cost of databases increases, while library budgets lag. Can you continue to deliver peer-reviewed resources without sacrificing quality? CloudSource OA--a revolutionary discovery platform form SirsiDynix--aggregates and fully exposes the global body of OA content, including 60M+ open articles, eBooks, & OER with one click and no authentication. Provide a better user experience by leveraging the growing body of OA and OER, and transform your approach to collection development.

An adaptation of a 2024 ALA Annual Conference presentation, this new spin on a sharing session features 40 one-minute, rapid-fire tips delivered by library professionals across the state, covering topics from assessment collection development to marketing to weeding. The objective is to provide lessons learned, tips, and best practices from seasoned and new professional alike in a concise format. Topics will span all library services, but will be categorized by function. A brief Q&A will follow.

Now is the time think about how technology can help transform libraries to be a hub for student success. Through real-world client partner examples, our Clarivate session will feature several case studies around how library partners are leveraging cool tools to achieve results that align with the mission of their college and/or university. You’ll learn in this session how students at other colleges and/or universities are receiving a personalized library experience to improve research outcomes and efficiently access materials without delay. 

"Innovation in Times of Change"

Academic libraries face systemic challenges including budget pressures and evolving user expectations. Discover how Clarivate’s library software group has introduced innovations to boost efficiency and expand user services, showcasing the significant value libraries bring to their institutions. Also, learn about the latest advances in Clarivate’s GenAI services since our session at LUC 2023.

This quick talk will highlight the critical importance of collaboration in grant writing, especially for libraries with limited capacity or small staff. Several areas will be discussed: leveraging expertise, strengthening connections, sharing strategies, and increasing funding opportunities. Examples of successful collaborative proposals will be shared.

Learn how to find high quality templates for any project, customize graphics and documents with themes, master layers to make images pop, and share a Canva workspace with your team. All for the low, low price of zero dollars.

Join me for a case study as I attempt to improve student engagement in my asynchronous, 1-credit, online information literacy course (LIBS 1011). Students' engagement levels with the required class discussion boards vary from one semester to another, and poor participation in discussions can make it impossible for students to succeed in the course. I'll share an overview of the problem, my attempted solutions, and whether I'm able to move the needle on discussion board participation.

Do you conduct high volume one-on-one research consultations? You may find it useful to use a structured search strategy worksheet. In Summer 2023 I built and implemented a search strategy worksheet to guide graduate research consultations and provide a scaffold for student research. In this session, I'll discuss the institutional context and implementation of the worksheet, reflect on a year of use, and discuss challenges and plans for the future.

In February 2023 at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Library, we were told we had to clear out one-third of our print journals stacks to make way for an IT server room. We ultimately withdrew over 33,000 bound journals and an additional 2,300 items after weeding our reference monographs. We will describe our projects, how we coordinated with various institutional departments, and how we developed a new methodology for reporting withdrawn items.

Today’s students face complex access to resources and unprecedented stress levels while navigating the ever-changing AI landscape. In this session, we’ll explore how the library can embed library support such as LibGuides, LibChat and AI guidance directly into research workflows, enabling students to unlock access to paywalled resources and receive AI guidance directly at the point-of-need. Consequently, reducing stress levels and ultimately improving research outcomes and retention.

Have you ever wanted to incorporate active learning in your instruction practice? Would you like an opportunity to share the amazing activities you've tried in the classroom? Do you want to meet other colleagues from around the state? If so, please join us for an in-person session of the Louisiana Instruction Community of Practice! In this interactive workshop, we'll explore various active learning techniques that can be utilized in your instruction and how this approach can benefit students.

In early 2024, I started the Nicholls Library's Twitch Channel. Through the process, I have learned a lot about streaming and outreach. Unlike the piece I wrote for Lagniappe, this presentation will be more focused on the logistics of streaming, the response to the streams, the many uses for streaming, and some general tips of starting new forms of outreach.

Join us on this highly informative retelling of the time when the presenter consulted with LOUIS on updating a print journal list collection within Holdings Management. THRILL! At the marvels of Excel spreadsheet formulas to summon up ancient serial title information! CHILL! As we chisel away at the old HM load using WF reports to reveal the true title list and coverage dates! SPILL! Your beverage and gasp in excitement as you discover how YOU TOO can reconcile PubFinder with your OPAC!

The key to living harmoniously with AI is teaching its responsible and ethical use. This presentation explores integrating responsible AI use into Library Information Literacy classes, providing librarians from all sectors with essential knowledge and practical tools. Attendees will delve into AI fundamentals, its applications in libraries, and critical ethical considerations like data privacy and ensuring fairness. Practical strategies for teaching AI ethics, including evaluating AI-generated c

Discover how the power of partnership can transform your library’ operations in this engaging presentation. This session will guide you in optimizing your existing OCLC services to simplify your workflow and gain insights into future enhancements designed to unlock your library’s full potential.

This session will focus on how libraries are rethinking their roles and priorities as higher education evolves to participate in an increasingly open scholarly communication system (including OA publishing but also Open Science, Open Data, OER, etc.). Are we changing our collecting, discovery, and/or teaching practices? Are we looking for ways to invest in open systems and infrastructure? Join us to share how we can support each other in exploring our changing role in an OA world.

In the beginning, Digital Commons at Louisiana Tech was mainly used to host electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) for the Graduate School, but the scope of available materials is ever expanding. This presentation will trace Tech's experience with Digital Commons, from the beginning to the present, as well as how it has grown under the Library's management and our plans for its future growth in the interest of using the platform to its full potential.

In Fall 2023, the Board of Regents appointed a team to participate in AAC&U's Institute on Digital Equity and develop a toolkit for higher education institutions to implement sustainable digital inclusion initiatives. Our presentation will explore the toolkit's creation, best practices, and partnership strategies. Learn how academic libraries can use this toolkit to address digital disparities, improve outcomes for students, faculty, staff, and communities, and prepare for grant opportunities.

This session explores how LGBTQ+ youth are coping (or not) in the current political climate and looks at recent legislation affecting libraries, LGBTQ+ youth, and the LGBTQ+ community in general. We'll also define some terms you may have heard but not understand and answer the questions of how can you support students and what to you do when you get it wrong.

At community and technical colleges, the populations we serve and the challenges we face often differ from those of 4-year institutions. In this session two CC librarians will discuss their experiences and explore the unique challenges and rewards of community college librarianship including supporting both academic and technical education programs, providing library services to multiple campuses, offering library and information literacy instruction, and building relationships across campus.

In this session, we will hear from clients who currently use Films on Demand. They will share their experiences using Films on Demand on their campus, and how it has helped them to engage students and improve learning outcomes. We will also discuss how Credo Reference and Films on Demand can be integrated to create a powerful learning environment.

Come catch up with everyone in the LOUIS community while enjoying some refreshments. Plus, Dr. Rob Stephens, who is a former professional trivia host, will be hosting a trivia game during this time to find out who are the smartest librarians!

This event will include an open bar sponsored by Infobase.