2. Strategic Global Collaborations

Children with the suitcase full of toys and learning materials delivered to Wolmaranstad

IFLA WORLD LIBRARY and INFORMATION CONGRESS 2015 in CAPE TOWN

 

Lemonade stand at Rainbow Riders, the preschool where the book odyssey began.
Lemonade stand with hard-selling Rainbow Riders hugging their teacher Emma Lambertson at the Childcare Center where the book odyssey began. (Click on the picture to see a clearer version.)

RAINBOW RIDERS PRESCHOOL IN BLACKSBURG, VA, DELIVERS 50 LBS OF BOOKS & TOYS TO SOUTH AFRICAN FRIENDS 8,000 MILES AWAY

Monena and Nathan Hall, both librarians at Virginia Tech, asked Paul if he might know of a way to get toys and learning materials donated by the children in a daycare in Virginia to a remote pre-school in South Africa. Paul was able to check in one suitcase free, but how does one get the materials from Cape Town to Wolmaranstad, 1,188 kilometers (738 miles) away? By asking a librarian, of course! Paul contacted his hat-exchanging friend of a year earlier, Senovia Welman, Librarian at the University of the Free State, South Africa, for ideas. She was part of the awesome group of South African librarian volunteers assisting IFLA, and soon had it “sorted,” enlisting the help of librarians from the North West Province. For the complete story, please see the ALA’s American Libraries online story by George Eberhart entitled “Fifty Pounds of Books, Paper, and Toys Delivered to South African Preschoolers.”

IFLA 2015 Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section Report

For my official ALA ALCTS Delegate Report please see here.

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 3. International Events, 5. International Librarians • 0

Momma Johnson

Robert in South Africa (2)

Robert (featured image above) had a personal tour of a township close to Wellington, where he “went to the home of Momma Johnson, a longtime activist and caretaker… Great people doing good things.”

Library innovations (see photo gallery above) at the University of Cape Town, one of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s neighboring institutions

CPUT is not only “the largest university of technology in the Western Cape, boasting six campuses and four service points, which are located across the Cape Peninsula (http://www.cput.ac.za/about/visit), it also shares the area with other institutions of high quality education, of which UCT is one of the best.

 

Janine Lockhart, Google Scholar Citations
Janine Lockhart (Google Scholar Citations)

 Janine Lockhart, Robert’s main mentor at the CPUT, is picking the brain of “Our man in South Africa,” and he’s learning plenty along the way…

Here are screenshots of Robert’s 6 week schedule. (Click once to select a month, and then click it again to enlarge a clear view of his über-full calendar of branch visits, presentations, and learning sessions.)

Scene from the coast of South Africa
A view of the coast of South Africa, posted on Robert’s Facebook.

Robert is documenting his trip on Facebook–have a look, there is so much to see!

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 4. Global Opportunities, 5. International Librarians • 0

Cape Town Harbour

“I felt the rains down in Africa” Robert in South Africa (1)

ROBERT SEBEK: VT’S FIRST EXCHANGE LIBRARIAN TO SOUTH AFRICA’S CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

News from our man in South Africa!

Robert reports that he has “…met wonderful people in the library– Janine has gone over a lot of her instruction program–things I will share when I come back. I’ll be sitting in a class today and am scheduled for several more this week. I also met with library IT Friday and we talked EZproxy in detail. I hope I’ve helped them resolve a long-standing problem… Wandering around my neighborhood. Reminds me of San Francisco. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to looking the other way when crossing the street or 24 hour time notation.”

I felt the rains down in Africa
“I felt the rains down in Africa”

He also mentions that it’s fairly cold and the days are short, so he’s wondering if our next exchange librarian might be better off going down there during our winter or spring, their summer or fall. Also, he’s having some hiccups with his WiFi connection and needs a local telephone. He advises our next Hokie exchange librarian to get an international-enabled telephone before departure. Combining all the things Robert is learning with what Joanne experienced during her visit with us in June, we should have a good bit of prep advice based on real experience for people next round.

PLEASE NOTE: We’ll be calling for project proposals after Robert makes a presentation on his findings and adventures this September, but you can already start thinking about reviewing some of the CPUT’s areas of strength to base proposals on here. One of our findings is that a one month period seems quite OK, considering Joanne got “heaps and heaps” done, so those with family considerations may rest easy that a proposal for just a month (instead of the 6-8 weeks we originally envisioned) will be fine.

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 4. Global Opportunities, 5. International Librarians, 7. Emails from Abroad • 0

Joanne Presents on South Africa, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and her Libraries’ Vision

It was a busy week for CPUT’s Wellington Campus Head Librarian Joanne Arendse!

This is Joanne's shared Google calendar of her first week's visiting scholar activities. The agenda is the result of a collaboration of about 12 persons, including Rebecca Miller, Assistant Director, Learning Services; the International Outreach Committee, consisting of Collin Brittle, Kira Dietz, Ron Mechem, Leslie O'Brien, Steve Tatum, and Paul Hover; and Therese Walters and Inga Haugen.
This is Joanne’s shared Google calendar of her first week’s visiting scholar activities. The agenda is the result of a collaboration of about 12 persons, including Rebecca Miller, Assistant Director, Learning Services; the International Outreach Committee, consisting of Collin Brittle, Kira Dietz, Ron Mechem, Leslie O’Brien, Steve Tatum, and Paul Hover; and Therese Walters and Inga Haugen. (Please zoom in on the calendar to view details.)

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 4. Global Opportunities, 5. International Librarians, 9. Classes & Workshops • 0

Joanne and Tecla on the BRP

Blue Ridge Mountains & Blue Grass Music

Joanne Arendse begins her visit to Virginia Tech with a tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a jam session of Blue Grass Music in Floyd, and a cookout with Mexican tostadas.

“Just in case” Joanne was jet-lagged her first night in Blacksburg, Janna Doyle, University Libraries Metadata Workflow Coordinator and Joanne’s hostess, had prepared a fruit basket, bottled tea, and a tasty sandwich from Our Daily Bread Bakery. Good plan, Jana! Although Joanne was lively and talkative on her arrival, she would of course mainly be running on adrenalin after a 25 hour flight from South Africa, and went to sleep early. (Blogger’s note: “early” is a relative concept, considering that 9:00pm + 6 hours time difference = it was 3:00am for her!) She was wide awake at 2:00am local time… you do the math 🙂

Later that morning, Joanne, an avid walker, hiked to Kroger’s, the local grocery supermarket. She even discovered Oasis, our best international food store, located on the other side of South Main Street. The International Outreach Committee had appropriately labeled her first full day in Blacksburg “jet-lag day” on her calendar, and she was thankful to be able to stretch her legs and acclimate.

The next day Paul Hover and his wife Tecla picked Joanne up for a short tour of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The day was sunny with brilliant white clouds floating over this beautiful section of the Appalachian Range, and the photograph above makes it easy to understand why people call them blue.

Floyd, music capital of South-West Virginia

Joanne (pictured right) and Tecla Hover stop in to listen to some genuine Blue Grass music at the Floyd Country Store on their way back from a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Joanne (pictured right) and Tecla Hover stop in to listen to some genuine Blue Grass music at the Floyd Country Store on their way back from a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Joanne (pictured right) and Tecla Hover stop in to listen to some genuine Blue Grass music at the Floyd Country Store on their way back from a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Next stop was Floyd, where impromptu Blue Grass jam sessions occur every day of the week, but especially on Friday evenings. Click on the photograph to get a closer look: there are 8 musicians gathered around in the circle at the back of the country store. Between riffs there is a lot of friendly banter and good-natured kidding, both among themselves and with the audience, and then the music magic begins again.

We ended the day with a tostada dinner back in Blacksburg, cooked for us by Shantal, Tecla and Paul’s daughter and a recent alumnus of Virginia Tech, and her VT PhD student boyfriend, Taylor Jones.

 

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 4. Global Opportunities, 5. International Librarians • 0

Joannes arrival Roanoke Airport

Joanne’s arrival in the USA

From the Western Cape, South Africa, to Southwest Virginia

South African Joanne Arendse, Librarian at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa, arrived in the USA on Friday, May 31, 2015. She is the first exchange librarian-scholar to visit Virginia Tech as part of the strategic collaboration between the two academic libraries. Joanne will be assisted in her observational and research goals by Rebecca Miller, Assistant Director, Learning Division, here at the University Libraries.

Joanne will be following a full schedule during her month-long visit, so check back here for updates on her adventure in international librarianship.

 

A FAIR STRETCH OF ATLANTIC OCEAN: According to this Google map, it’s 25 hours by plane from Cape Town to Blacksburg. That’s 12,920.12 kilometers, 8,028.19 miles, or 6971.68 nautical miles.

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 5. International Librarians • 0

VTIC Julianne at Yellow Mountain

Virginia Tech in China 2015 Summer II Course: July 5–Aug. 12

VTIC CLASSROOM VISITS AND INFORMATION SESSIONS WEEKS OF FEBRUARY 9th–20th

• NEW DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: FEB. 25, 2015
• INFO SESSIONS:
o MONDAY FEB. 16, 5—7 pm in room 421 Major Williams
o TUESDAY FEB. 17, all day (9 am—5 pm) in room 100X Newman Library
o FRIDAY FEB. 20, 11 am—1 pm in room 100X Newman Library
• REGISTRATION here.
• COST of the study abroad course here.
• FINANCIAL AID information here.

Travel in CHINA while earning 9 CREDITS in 5½  weeks:

  1. Mandarin Chinese intensive language training taught by specially trained native speakers—3 credits
  2. Chinese culture—hands-on professional instruction covering a broad range of topics—3 credits
  3. Contemporary history of China—taught by Dr. Helen Schneider, VT Professor of History—3 credits
  4. Guaranteed short internships in Chinese businesses and organizations
  5. Excursions to four major cities and extraordinary manmade and natural wonders
  6. You will be enrolled at one of China’s “C9” top-ranked universities

Need help deciding? Listen to VT students who went before you here (scroll down to “Interviews with students of VT in China”).

Please feel free to contact any of the VTIC Faculty Guides as follows:
o Zhange “Nicole” Ni, Assistant Professor, Department of Religion and Culture (nizhange@vt.edu)
o Helen Schneider, Associate Professor, Department of History (hms@vt.edu)
o Paul Hover, Assistant Director for International Outreach, University Libraries (phover@vt.edu)

Kind regards,
Paul

VTIC students at Anhui Radio Broadcasting Corp
VTIC students and USTC faculty at Anhui Radio & TV Broadcasting Corporation

 

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 4. Global Opportunities, 6. Education Abroad, 9. Classes & Workshops • 0

CPUT Cape Town Campus is flanked by the city’s most notable landmark – Table Mountain. www.cput.ac.za

South Africa Exchange Funding: Guidelines, Application Form, and Areas of Strength

Call for Proposals

Virginia Tech (VT) University Libraries and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Libraries

Library Faculty and Staff Exchange Programme Grants

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 9, 2015

Funding Period:  February 1– June 1, 2015

NEW APPLICATION DEADLINE AND FUNDING PERIOD TO BE ANNOUNCED DURING SPRING SEMESTER, 2016

Introduction and background

The VT and CPUT libraries are providing funding to sustain and strengthen our international partnership. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and promote international librarianship, this exchange is part of a long-term strategic collaboration and globalization of our academic libraries.

Proposal criteria

Preference will be given to proposals that address a critical need in either the home or host institution, proposals that broaden the current scope and/or impact of the partnership, or proposals that advance international librarianship and/or the profession. Because this is the first iteration of a new program, proposals of all types will be considered. Please see the list “Areas of Strength at CPUT Libraries” (scroll down to the bottom of this blog post) to assist in identifying promising projects.

Who should apply?

Full-time employees, including academic librarians and non-academic staff members in the respective libraries, are eligible to apply.

Duration of exchange

The exchange will be for approximately 6-8 weeks. Permission from the appropriate supervisor is mandatory (a signature on the application form is required). If needed, the International Outreach Committees will work with the supervisor of the grant recipient to arrange for emergency hires in the affected department for a training period of one month and during the duration of the exchange.

Grant information:

The grant will include one round-trip airline ticket between CPUT and VT per year from each institution, with limited housing allowance. The grant will be up to $4,000 (the equivalent South African Rand amount will be determined).  Anything over and above this amount is the responsibility of the recipient of the grant.

Application procedure and review process

  • Complete the application form by the set deadline and submit to
    • CPUT: Janine Lockhart at lockhartj@cput.ac.za
    • VT: Paul Hover at phover@vt.edu.
  • Proposals for collaborative projects will be vetted by both institutions’ International Outreach Committees, with final approvals by the Dean/Director of both university libraries.
  • Both universities have similar application processes and requirements for applicants, but in order to ensure that the expertise in the requested field is available, the hosting university will look at the areas in which the applicants propose to work to evaluate plans before the applicants’ home university makes a final decision.
  • The chair of the respective committee will notify the applicants of the decision as soon as possible thereafter.

Reporting Requirement

The successful candidates will be expected to:

  • Make a presentation soon after arrival to the host library about the recipient’s home institution, her/his plans for activities during the exchange period, and expected outcomes.
  • Give a presentation on lessons learned and what could be implemented at the home institution within 2 months after recipient’s return.
  • Written progress reports 3-6 months after recipients’ return on areas that were selected and how they have been implemented, projects that were started because of the exchange, or other (planned) outcomes of the project.

Planning the exchange:

This will include the finalization of the dates, flights, passport/visa and accommodation arrangements. The International Outreach Committees will assist in preparations and arrangements throughout the program, and a contact person at the hosting university will be identified.

CPUT Cape Town Campus is flanked by the city’s most notable landmark – Table Mountain. www.cput.ac.za
CPUT Cape Town Campus is flanked by the city’s most notable landmark – Table Mountain. www.cput.ac.za

Application form:

(PLEASE NOTE APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 9, 2015)

VT-CPUT Exchange Application Form

Areas of strength at CPUT Libraries:

(PLEASE NOTE: The following list is to assist applicants in formulating projects and is NOT intended as the final word on what can and cannot be accomplished on this exchange. Both academic libraries have formulated lists to give an idea of strong departments, trends, and future aspirations that may be used as indicators of possible projects the host institutions feel capable of accommodating. Nevertheless, creative proposals–whether based on traditional library skill-sets or innovative ideas–are encouraged, and all will be considered.)

  • Information literacy (IL)

Structure in the university

The Information Literacy (IL) policy was approved by the CPUT Council in 2009.  It recommended that an Information Literacy Committee (ILC) be formed as a sub-committee of the Teaching and Learning Committee (STLC), which is a standing committee of the Senate. The work of the ILC is aligned with the mission and strategic plan of the institution. The Committee reports, makes recommendations and provides guidance to the STLC on all aspects relating to information literacy at the University. It promotes and coordinates the implementation of IL policy and strategies specifically concerned with improving the information literacy skills of our students at CPUT. Since the approval of the IL policy and the formation of the ILC, the ILC (together with faculty librarians across all the campuses) has worked hard to create awareness of IL integration within the curriculum across the university.

Curriculum and assessment

A short course called the Certificate of Information Literacy was registered in 2012 and implemented during 2013.  This certificate includes 5 modules over 5 weeks with sessions of one to one and a half hours per module and an online summative assessment via our Learning Management System, Blackboard.  Students who pass with 50% and more receive a formal CPUT short course certificate.  In 2013, over 2600 students registered for the certificate and just over 3000 registered in 2014. During 2014 a rubric was developed in collaboration with an academic at the University.  The rubric gives a 30% weighting for IL skills for an essay assignment.  This rubric is now used and circulated throughout the university to create an awareness of the importance of continual assessment of IL skills.

Training skills of librarians

All librarians who teach completed an accredited “Train-the-Trainer” qualification to ensure a high standard of teaching.  A “peer-observation” system was implemented during 2014 as another mechanism to improve the teaching skills of librarians.

  • QA and Statistical database

A statistical database for the recording of various library statistics was developed in 2011.  The database has been accepted by the directors of the academic libraries in South Africa as the tool for benchmarking and is being implemented by other university libraries in South Africa.  The benchmarking statistics are collected annually and are available to all participating libraries. Currently 13 of the 24 libraries in South Africa are contributing to the database.

At CPUT the database is used for the collecting of institutional statistics on a monthly basis. These statistics are only visible to staff at CPUT. An alert system has been implemented to remind staff to input statistics and to alert supervisors of outstanding statistics. Detailed training statistics are recorded monthly by each librarian involved with training of either students or academic staff.

A quality assurance process has been put in place to ensure well-documented library processes, the availability of statistics and statistical analysis and the preparation of library reports.   The library also produces reports for the faculty review process. Each report consists of a written report by the librarian (based on a template) for the faculty as well as a statistical analysis report outlining the number of items, age of collection and usage of the items per subject field.

  • Research Data Management (RDM)

The University is embarking on a RDM process under leadership of the library to provide a platform for all research data.  The library initiated policies on Open Access and Research Data Management that have been accepted by the University. The RDM project is being developed in collaboration with TUM, Germany using their platform, MediaTUM.  One research department is currently working with the library to pilot the project. The pilot will test the software and assist in developing a workflow before it is rolled-out within the university.  Work is also being done on the skills needed by librarians to support and assist researchers with RDM.

  • Library related research

Various research studies are currently being undertaken in the library.  Areas covered include: Information Literacy; Return on Investment; Value of CPUT libraries and Studying CPUT students.

  • Faculty liaison

The embedding of the library within the faculties has strengthened over the years.  The library is represented at faculty board meetings and various other forums within the faculties.  The library structure has been adapted to support and strengthened faculty liaison.   The marketing of library services and online resources such as e-books and databases has improved.

 

By • 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 3. International Events, 4. Global Opportunities, 5. International Librarians, 9. Classes & Workshops • 0

EVENT CAPTURE TEAM videos Dr. Du “Jean” Jin speaking on international academic integrity

On the same day we were going to make a video in Chinese…

… the Cranwell International Center’s Assistant Director Suzie Baker called to urge us to use English to ensure that the presentation felt inclusive to all of the students attending. She’s been on the front lines assisting VT’s international students a long time and is an authority on the subject, so we decided on the spot to follow her advice. That is no small task for a non-English native speaker, and we only had an hour to shift gears, but within that time Jean had composed and completely memorized our entire chat about academic integrity in the international context.

Pressley’s Pros

And the Event Capture and Outreach Teams are amazing. The video you see here is the result of some fancy splicing by the talented Liz, not to mention the actual capture by Therese using two cameras at different angles. Asked why they use two cameras, the latter politely explained that this would give the team more footage to play with when someone looks “awkward.” You wouldn’t believe some of the dorky stuff they audio-edited out of my lines… it’s like magic watching these talented people design flyers, posters, and film clips.

 

 

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 5. International Librarians, 9. Classes & Workshops • 0

Jin in Oasis

Chinese scholar from USTC (中国科学技术大学) visits VT’s University Libraries

 

Dr. Du Jin, Associate Director in the Instruction Section of the library of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), studies VT’s “subject specialist” College Librarian  system.

Jin (pronounced “Jean”) graduated from the USTC with a PhD in inorganic chemistry, and now works in the library of her alma mater, one of China’s C9 League of top universities. She’s visiting and studying the library system at Duke University for a semester, and wanted to expand her database with personal interviews with some of VT’s College Librarians. USTC funded her semester-long visit because it is switching to a subject focused instruction and reference system similar to Duke’s and VT’s. I met Jin in 2011 when I visited USTC to establish an education abroad Summer II course for the VT Language and Culture Institute in partnership with VT’s Department of Foreign  Languages and Literatures and the University Libraries, so this visit was one of a continuing collaboration.

Jin’s clear and informative presentation of her beloved USTC and culturally instructive  library practices was enthusiastically applauded by a cross-section of library folks. One interesting thing we share in common is the size and comprehensiveness of the databases they subscribe to, as attested by Ed Lener, our Associate Director for Collections. It was noted that the USTC, as host site of 2 of the 5 Chinese Academy of Sciences laboratories, was in a fortunate position as concerns funding for cutting edge scholarly journals compared to many Chinese universities. Ed was leaning forward in his chair checking the database names… now that’s serious scholarly dedication in action.

Jin also toured many other parts of the library, enjoying the hospitality of many people, for which she made me promise I’d mention her heartfelt thanks. Here’s a copy of her study agenda for future reference:  Read more…

By • 1. International Students & Faculty, 2. Strategic Global Collaborations, 5. International Librarians, 6. Education Abroad • 0

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