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Item 13 Things in Blackboard: A Course Facilitator's Guide(2020-06) Mattson, Janna13 Things in Blackboard is a self-paced extended learning opportunity designed to encourage library staff to experiment with unfamiliar learning technologies and foster understanding of best practices in online pedagogy in a collaborative space before implementing them in real time.This guide takes the course facilitator, or better yet, a facilitating group through the process of pitching this professional development program to administration, recruiting a cohort, building and facilitating the course, and post-course assessment. While this guide is specific to Blackboard and the learning activities that support typical IL teaching at George Mason University, activities can be modified to meet institution-specific learning needs and/or its learning management system (LMS).Item Academic Research Portals: Integrating Librarians and Academic Programs(2010-09-23) Grotophorst, WallyPresentation reports on the Research Portals project at University Libraries. Winner of a Campus Innovator award from Campus Techology magazine in August 2009, the origins of the program are discussed. Also covers the technology used. This presentation was given to the Library Advisory Committee of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia on September 24, 2010.Item Affirmative and Ironic Resonances from the Personal Sheet Music Collection of Julia Ward Howe(2015-12-02) Gerber, Steven K.Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), the prominent 19th-century poet and reformer who famously penned the lyrics to “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” collected and bound for personal use five volumes of music; three volumes bear labels stamped “Miss Julia Ward” and two are labeled “Julia Howe,” postdating her 1843 marriage. The collection includes two complete operas in vocal score: Rossini’s Il Mose in Egitto and Beethoven’s Fidelio. The other three volumes contain 76 individual songs, primarily Lieder in German editions, but also 28 American imprints that range from Anglo-American sentimental songs to translations of European art songs and arias; most date from the 1830s and early 1840s. Howe’s adolescent education included musical training, and her singing and piano-playing around domestic hearths before and after her marriage was admired. She quickly rose to prominence both for her literary work and for her activism in favor of abolitionism and other causes, while diligently performing duties as mother to six children and wife to a physician and writer (who did not appreciate her talents and actively opposed her career and her emerging feminism). Her choice to acquire Mose in Egitto, a drama about deliverance from slavery, seems congruent with her abolitionist positions, while her interest in Fidelio, a drama about a courageous and self-empowered wife who rescues a grateful and loving husband (a score acquired after her marriage), resonates ironically with her actual domestic situation. With exceptions, the contents are atypical of such American owner-bound music albums, and the individual songs mirror the cultivated tastes of an educated connoisseur; minstrelsy is conspicuously absent.Item Applying Census Data for Small Area Estimation in Community and Social Service Planning(DigitalCommons@WayneState, 2009-05-01) Wolf-Branigin, Michael; Suh, Hyon-Sook; Muir, Star; Ihara, Emily S.Small area estimation provides a tool for community analysis. A procedure for accessing, selecting, joining and analyzing US Census data is provided. Skills acquired while completing the procedure include accessing census data, downloading boundary files and displaying themes. Such skills are valuable tools for students to possess as they enter the workforce.Item Applying the Tiers of Assessment: A Holistic and Systematic Approach to Assessing Library Collections(Elsevier, 2014-11) Kelly, MadelineCollection assessment is a key component of collection development, budget allocation, and justification of library collections. Unfortunately, comprehensive collection assessment is daunting, subject to the weaknesses of individual tools and the overwhelming number of subject areas to assess. Few studies have attempted systematic assessment projects using multiple tools or methods, nor have many attempted to assess an entire collection subject-by-subject. This study implements an alternative to the single-tool model, combining multi-tool analysis with a systematic, subject-by-subject approach to the collection. The goal was to determine whether such a model of collection assessment was feasible in an academic library setting, providing usable data without overinvestment of manpower and resources. To this end, the method was tested in a pilot program at George Mason University (Mason), assessing three subjects at varying levels of depth. While there was concern that the methodology would prove too ambitious for full-scale implementation, the pilot yielded valuable, tangible results in a timely manner and provides a solid model for future assessment efforts at Mason and elsewhere.Item Architects, Renovators, Builders, and Fragmenters: A Model for First Year Students' Self-perceptions and Perceptions of Information Literacy(The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 2019-01) Kirker, Maoria J.; Stonebraker, IlanaThe transition from high school to college is fraught with academic, social, and emotional changes for first-year students. This year long qualitative study uses cognitive dissonance theory to examine first-year students' changing perceptions of their information literacy competencies throughout their freshman year. Through the examination of students' self-reflections and semi-structured interviews, the study produced cognitive dissonance in students, revealed four information literacy journeys, demonstrated the shifting of students' definitions of research, and shed light on the emotional labor involved in college-level research. Implications for information literacy instruction and future research are discussed.Item Behind the Benign: Reading and Contextualizing a Photograph of Girls Playing Recorders(2015-11-30) Gerber, Steven K.An unattributed black-and-white photograph in Special Collections at George Mason University Libraries shows a dozen young girls hiking in single file down a hillside while intently playing treble recorders. The annotation on the back simply states “Hitler Youth 1933.” With this information, the happy innocence of the image accrues more ominous implications. It illustrates a convergence of Carl Orff‘s and Gunild Keetman’s novel emphasis on recorder playing in German music education of the time, the immense popularity of hiking and similar outdoor activities among German youth clubs, and the calculated and sinister perversion of childhood‘s idealism, adventurousness, and camaraderie by Nazi leaders and propagandists. If the photograph‘s label is correct, these would likely be newly recruited 10- or 11-year-old girls in the Jungmädelbund (JM, or Young Girl‘s League) who have not yet passed the bravery and fitness challenge that entitled them to wear a special black neckerchief with leather knot over a white blouse (the typical uniform for JM). For the next few years they will attend twice-weekly meetings in which recreational activities and instruction in home economics will be mixed with lectures on German/Aryan racial supremacy and, especially, the girls‘ future duty to bear sons who will become Nazi soldiers. They will “graduate” to the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM, League of German Girls) as older teens. This conjectural reading is problematized by the lack of provenance for the photograph (which was obtained from a dealer in music iconography who could supply no additional information). What if its identification is spurious? If so, did the unknown annotator intend to orient the viewer‘s perception toward a complex socio-political irony and thus send a cautionary message about the malleability of children?Item Beyond Bibliometrics: Understanding Library Services in Multidisciplinary Research(Mason Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference, 2019-04-06) Mahapasuthanon, Pattiya; Hoffman, KimberlyBibliometric methods, using citations as data, are an alternate way to learn from the literature of science and technology. These statistical methods are used, with visualization tools, to determine the relationship between authors and papers, scientific subjects reflected in publishing, and word or frequency occurrence. Bibliometrics are used by libraries to get a broad view of the growth, structure, connections and productivity of a discipline reflected in literature. This research studies trends and multidisciplinary connections across university researchers and campuses. With a strategic initiative from George Mason University (GMU) to become excellent in multidisciplinary research, Mason Libraries support multidisciplinary research activities. This study completes an analysis on bibliometric and funding across five centers at the GMU Science and Technology campus (SciTech) to understand research activities and interactions. Bibliometric network graphs were created from Web of Science (WoS) citation datasets and VOSViewer, a visualization tool. Federal RePORTER [documentation and analysis of inputs, outputs, and outcomes resulting from federal investments in science available: https://www.starmetrics.nih.gov/Star/About] and WoS were used to generate funding charts. For research activities not captured by scientific literature, and involving ongoing library resources, the creation of a pilot version of an interactive visualization for experience mapping was tested to successfully identify and seek new service opportunities. The results obtained from the bibliometric analysis indicate that libraries must plan to reach researchers in those relatively young multidisciplinary research institutes. The research trends at SciTech have shifted towards applied health and biological medicine according to the keyword analysis. From the funding analysis, the SciTech campus accounted for 30 percent of the total funded projects to GMU from National Institutes of Health (NIH). With these preliminary results, understanding resources and services the SciTech researchers and multidisciplinary researchers need will increase research connections and productivity. Future research will seek to incorporate more sophisticated tools to further understand impactful resources and plan for future library collaborations.Item Bigamy Scandal Sinks Sacred Music Group! A Case Study of the Rise and Fall of the Church Music Association, 1869-1874(2015-12-18) Gerber, Steven K.Regular, series concerts of major choral-orchestral repertoire in 19th-century America were risky ventures, and promoters struggled to develop sustainable entrepreneurial models. Prominent Wall Street lawyer and diarist George Templeton Strong, a music connoisseur, devised an ingenious business plan for his part-volunteer, part-professional Church Music Association in 1869, one that relied on advance sale of private subscriptions to the affluent, who then shared their large allotments of tickets with personal guests. But after three successful seasons in Steinway Hall, culminating in the American premiere of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, the group lost its “star,” brilliant choral conductor James Pech, when he was found to be a bigamist who had deserted his first family in England. The subsequent demise of the demoralized organization illustrates the precariousness and vulnerability of concert infrastructure at this time.Item Book Reviews -- Monographic Musings: A Librarian’s Guide to Graphs, Data and the Semantic Web(Against the Grain, 2016-11) Polchow, MichelleBook review of James Powell and Matthew Hopkins, A Librarian’s Guide to Graphs, Data and the Semantic WebItem Building On Our Strengths: Final Report of Digital Archiving Task Force(2005-02-08T18:30:01Z) DAPA Task ForceFinal report of the Digital Archiving, Preservation and Access Task Force. Report surveys digital preservation needs and proposes to use the technical architecture of an “institutional repository” to meet digital archiving needs and also offer repository services at varying levels to members of the George Mason University community. Date on cover: March 25, 2004Item Building RPM with BibApp: Research Profiles @ Mason(ACRL 2011, 2011-04-01) Lee, Joanna; Holland, ClaudiaThe University Libraries at George Mason University are offering a new service to create faculty profiles using BibApp to highlight institutional scholarship. Learn more about the workflow developed to create faculty profiles and archive material in the institutional repository via SWORD and the quality control steps necessary to ensure consistent, accessible records.Item Carving Out a Space: Ambiguity and Librarian Teacher Identity in the Academy(ACRL, 2017-02) Mattson, Janna; Kirker, Maoria J.; Oberlies, Mary K.; Byrd, JasonBased on a desire to examine librarian teaching identity within the context of our institution, we sat down as colleagues to participate in a structured dialogue to explore the meaning of being a teacher-librarian. Our group is Janna Mattson, Social Sciences Librarian; Maoria Kirker, Instructional Services and Assessment Librarian; Mary Oberlies, Conflict and Peace Studies Librarian; and Jason Byrd, Head of Information Services. We are all professional faculty at George Mason University, a large, multi-campus, state, four-year institution located in Northern Virginia. Maoria, the University Libraries’ first assessment librarian, began the peer evaluation initiative in which we observe our colleagues during an instruction session and provide constructive feedback. Janna, Mary, and Jason together make up one of these peer evaluation groups, known as Teaching Squares. Maoria receives self-reflections from the librarians in each group as well as conducts her own observation of teaching librarians. This chapter is formatted to represent three separate narratives: - conversational, represented by the italicized, indented text; - analytical, represented in the traditional text body and supported by scholarly literature; - and, self-reflective, represented by the text box insets. On March 10, 2016 we sat down to record a conversation guided by co-constructed questions. This dialogue was then transcribed and edited for clarity. Additionally, all aspects of the conversation are not reflected in this chapter. Based on the themes identified within the selected dialogue, we researched scholarly literature surrounding our conversation. Three months later, in revising this text, we added self-reflective comments to the conversational dialogue, again noted in the text box insets.Item Citation Patterns of Engineering, Statistics, and Computer Science Researchers: An Internal and External Citation Analysis across Multiple Engineering Subfields(American Library Association, 2015-11) Kelly, MadelineThis study takes a multidimensional approach to citation analysis, examining citations in multiple subfields of engineering, from both scholarly journals and doctoral dissertations. The three major goals of the study are to determine whether there are differences between citations drawn from dissertations and those drawn from journal articles; to test a methodology incorporating both internal and external citation sources; and to explore the citation habits of researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subfields. The results reveal variations in how STEM subfields conduct research in career and academic settings and are more nuanced than internal or external citation data alone can provide. The results have practical collection development implications.Item Collaborative Initiatives in Error Handling and Bibliographic Maintenance: Use of Electronic Distribution Lists and Related Resources(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2012-09-24) Fairclough, IanOver the past decade, people working collaboratively have created several electronic distribution lists, each dedicated to notification about a specific issue in error handling for bibliographic and authority records, and other aspects of catalog maintenance. Librarians and others concerned for the accuracy of classification numbers, established headings, and series data can communicate among each other via these lists and related projects. This article documents their history and role in cataloging operations. Subscription information and frequently-used abbreviations are provided in Appendixes.Item Collection Development Insights Informed by Text Mining Virtual Reference(2018-03-06) Polchow, MichelleGeorge Mason University Libraries conducted research using both uniform data and conversation transcripts to text mine three years of virtual reference chats, investigating its applicability for business analytics. Traditional data management systems are not capable of providing this type of real-time intelligence, but transformative possibilities exist to better integrate library resources and services, identify misallocation of critical resources and to harvest authentic user conversations with compelling stories to build collaborative campus-wide relationships.Item Coloring inside the (Guide)Lines: New Goals, New Rules, New Marketing Challenges(2015-02-20) Coniglio, Jamie; Polchow, MichelleGeorge Mason University’s new president rolled out the 10 year strategic plan quickly followed by the University's Office of Strategic Communication's new Brand Profile: A Guide to Messaging and Visual Identity. Change is in the air, but how do University Libraries interpret this vision, create a brand that binds our accomplishments and strengths, affirm our identity, and increase our visibility? As the University sets its sights on achieving Carnegie Very High Research classification, could marketing be a critical tool for tighter integration within the university? In August, 2014, a new Libraries Marketing Team took up the challenge to translate these new visions and directions into practical objectives, and to define, chart and measure integration into this shared vision of tomorrow.Item Creating a Popular Romance Collection in an Academic Library(International Association for the Study of Popular Romance, 2015-08-29) Sheehan, Sarah; Stevens, JenOver the past few decades, there has been a growing critical mass of scholarly interest in the study of popular romance fiction as a literary form in its own right. While much of the scholarship is available in academic libraries, few of the actual romance novels are. In response to curricular and faculty demand, two librarians decided to start a collection of popular romance novels at their academic library. This article discusses their rationale, methods, and process in creating the collection. Future directions and recommendations for other libraries are also given.Item Creating a Popular Romance Collection in an Academic Library, PCA Presentation(2015-10-19) Sheehan, SarahOver the past few decades, there has been a growing critical mass of scholarly interest in the study of popular romance fiction as a literary form in its own right. While much of the scholarship is available in academic libraries, few of the actual romance novels are. In response to curricular and faculty demand, two librarians decided to start a collection of popular romance novels at their academic library. This article discusses their rationale, methods, and process in creating the collection. Future directions and recommendations for other libraries are also given.Item Cultivating Teacher-Librarians through a Community of Practice(Association of College and Research Libraries, 2019) Kirker, Maoria J.