May 5, 2003 Meeting of User Education Committee

1. Statement on Learning Goals

The Committee discussed the modifications that were suggested at the User Education luncheon and then the committee adopted a final version of the statement. The statement will be sent to the Executive Committee with a request for faculty review and approval.

2. LSTA Grant Ideas

Illinois State Library receives federal monies and creates LSTA grant programs. Libraries within Illinois can apply for these grants. Lisa asked the committee to review grant categories published by the Illinois State Library and make suggestions for possible grant proposals.

3. Brainstorming Grant Ideas

Value of Libraries Grant: Usability studies, Cognitive mapping of what people are doing when searching catalogs, i.e. “speak-alouds”

4. BIG Grant

• Classroom on a Cart (cart of laptops)
• Purchase mobile partitions to create instructional space and integrate wireless technologies
• Wireless prompts individuals to question the usage of computer/learning labs; but having instructional space and technologies is always vital.
• Perhaps having larger monitors for group work or demonstration would be beneficial. Buying larger monitors for public spaces would allow individuals to work in groups and instruct more individuals at once. It would be relatively easy to designate who receives the monitors. This option would be both visible and immediate.
• Complete a study on electronic resources and how individuals access them
• Large posters depicting research cycles and processes and post them in key places as a permanent fixture
• Would we like to have faculty instruction or target a certain type of instructors? Are there others ways we could provide programming to campus faculty or TAs?
• TA training has been happening in past years. Could we conduct workshops on research for scholarship within the disciplines?
• Web pages or online tutorials for TAs (using the library and teaching orientation with TAs). -Use past studies to inform future applications for user outcomes.
• Partnerships with the Graduate School of Library and Information Science?

Lisa will review possible grant stipulations to clarify application procedures and discuss possibilities with Bob Burger, Associate University Librarian for Services.

5. User Education Statistics

Lisa distributed and explained the web-based form that will be used to gather instruction statistics. This underlying database will also provide units with a system to track instructional sessions by unit or by library instructor.

6. Open Discussion

Committee members wished Paul good luck in his new position as Director of the Law Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and expressed their thanks for his contributions to the Committee.

The next User Education meeting will be July 14, 2003 from 9:00-10:30.

Respectfully Submitted,
Ely Anderson