Download building bridges for information literacy

Opportunities, Connections, and Synergy: Virtual
and Live Collaborations of Librarians, Students,
Departments, and Industry
Martin Kesselman, FNBI Team
Rutgers University Libraries
[email protected]
Why Should You Collaborate?
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Information is ubiquitous – libraries are no longer
the gate keepers
Visibility, demonstrates library roles in academic
research and teaching
Librarians viewed as integral partners and able to
bring together diverse expertise.
More opportunities for funding. Departments
have more experience and less red tape.
USDA Higher Education Grant:
Library Opportunity to Build Bridges
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Outreach by Library to Cook College (land grant)
Strategic alliances - moving beyond the library
Collaborative brainstorming is critical
BS/MS Degree in Food Business in planning stages
Cooperative Education program
Cook College relationships with small business
RUL infrastructure for digital library projects
Project Team
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Food Science Dept. & Center for Advanced Food
Technology (Geetha Ghai, Henryk Daun,
Mukund Karwe, Karen Schaich)
Nutritional Sciences Dept. (Adria Sherman)
Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics &
Food Policy Institute (Ramu Govindasamy )
Rutgers University Libraries (Martin Kesselman,
Patricia Libutti, Karen Wenk, Ryan Womack)
School of Communication, Information, and
Library Studies (Dan O’Connor)
Cooperative Education, Food Innovation and
Research Extension (FIRE)
Collaboration & Synergy
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Interdisciplinary course: “Food and Nutrition Business
Informatics and Communication.”
Virtual Collaboratory: a virtual collaborative learning
laboratory
Focus on information literacy & communication
Student teams collaborate with partners.
Builds bridges for departments, students, New Jersey
and for new opportunities.
New Ideas
Opportunities
Students
Partners
Virtual Collaboratory
*Collaboration Tools
*Conferencing/Chat Tools
*Course Tools
*Information Portal
*Library Resources
*Data Sets and Tools
Coursework
Teamwork
Informatics
Communicate
Virtual Collaboratory Features
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Collaborative writing through Sakai and
repurposed Open Journal System.
Virtual meetings – class/team forums,
chat, calendar.
Virtual Course Pack (textbook)
Information Resources – portals such as
AgNIC, data sets, library databases.
Virtual conference for all participants
Connections for Students
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Creates participatory learning communities
Cross-fertilization via collaborative work
Virtual Internships: active learning experience
with companies
Builds on Cook College cooperative
education program, funds for internships
Class conference with students and partners
FNBI Course in a Nutshell
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Develop project idea – business/marketing plans,
production plans, white paper, grant. Identify
problem to investigate with industry partner.
Effectively search databases and data sets: food
sciences, nutrition, & business; perform a
literature review and provide findings to partner.
Review and evaluate information
Develop Effective communication skills: graphic,
oral, and written – website, Powerpoint, poster
Participate in a live & virtual conference, students
make oral presentation referring to their website
or other graphic representation.
Connections for Rutgers,
New Jersey & Beyond
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Students provide industry partner with the most up to
date research and data they need.
Lead to more partnerships and opportunities for Cook
College departments and centers.
Soup to Jobs pilot with Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen
Keystone course for BS/MS Food Business program
All tools are web-based and virtual: potential to offer
this course through distance learning
Virtual student teams with other colleges/universities
Collaborate with remote and international partners
Collaboration Issues
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Individual is less important than the team – Leave
egos at the door
Need for common understanding. Each
discipline has unique perspectives & vocabulary
Keep your administrators in the loop.
Stay on track – momentum is critical. Be sure
everyone is on the same page.
Look for ways to promote your collaboration &
for ways your collaboration can lead to other
collaborations and/or serve as a model for others.