My Seven Steps for Successfully Publishing your MLIS Thesis

Guest post by Saoirse De Paor, Maynooth University Library. Saoirse is currently working as a Teaching and Learning Librarian. She received her Masters in Library and Information Studies in 2018 from University College Dublin. Her professional interests include Information Literacy, Teaching & Learning/Pedagogical Study, Student/User Engagement, and Social Media. 

This blog draws on my experience of writing a peer-reviewed journal article from my MLIS thesis. I completed my MLIS at UCD in 2018 and my final piece of work included a 10,000-word thesis. My thesis centred on the popular topic of fake news and the importance of information literacy to counteract this. Two years later,  in 2020, I published my first journal article titled “Information Literacy and Fake News: How the Field of Librarianship can help combat the epidemic of Fake News”, in Elsevier’s peer-reviewed Journal of Academic Librarianship My MLIS supervisor Dr Bahareh Heravi was second author. 

MLIS students are required to write a thesis, however very few go on to publish their work. 

The idea of publishing an article from a thesis may appear daunting, yet most of the hard work is completed before the thesis is submitted.  Having experienced this process first-hand, and as an early career librarian, I am eager to share my seven “successful” steps for publishing your thesis. I hope these steps will encourage students to publish their theses and share their research with the professional community! 

  

Photo sourced from Canva.com

Step 1: The Writing Process – Be selective and be strict! 

Writing and editing the article was ultimately the most time-consuming and challenging step in the publication process. Journals generally have a specific word count for articles. In this case it was 7,000 words, while my thesis had been 10,000. Luckily, I was not alone with this gruelling task of revising according to the journal stipulations!

While working with my supervisor Dr Heravi, it was vital that we recorded all changes made within the document for discussion before finalising and moving on. Whether working alone or with a colleague, I highly recommend using tools to track changes and edits within your live document. We used the “Comment tool” within Word to track changes, make observations or comments, and resolve any discrepancies throughout the writing process. 

Much of the writing process involved shortening sections of my literature review and removing lengthy paragraphs that covered broad themes or extensive research. This proved to be challenging at times since I believed everything needed to be included (it did not!). However, it soon became clear that the function of the paper was to clearly state and summarise the overall key themes and findings of the original literature review. For me, this meant being selective and being strict in my approach. Not all paragraphs and points will make the final cut, therefore you must ask yourself whether they are essential and whether they add to the overall purpose of your paper.  

Step 2: Writing Practices – Routine is key 

They say routine is key and I believe it is essential when writing any piece of work. 

During the writing process, I was working as a Teaching and Learning Librarian at Maynooth University Library. This meant that I had to schedule my writing outside of working hours and within my spare time, while also facilitating some downtime to recharge. I found it difficult to apply myself to writing after working for a full day, therefore most of my writing took place in the morning and on my days off. I had to manage this time well. I dedicated specific days of the week and specific hours of the day to work on the paper. This ensured that I never worked beyond my scheduled times.  

When writing, you need to be aware, engaged and focused at all times. Creating a routine and dedicating efficient time to work on your paper helps to maintain a high standard of writing and avoids “burnout” or becoming overwhelmed. 

 

Photo sourced from UnSplash.com 

Step 3: Writing with another author – Teamwork makes the dream work!

It is certainly possible to publish your thesis alone, especially since there are a multitude of supports available online and within the professional community. However, in my experience, working alongside a colleague or researcher with both the experience and knowledge of the publication process was hugely beneficial, in more ways than one! 

Dr Heravi was a fantastic mentor who explained everything and provided excellent advice when I encountered challenges or was uncertain of how to progress. This facilitated a supportive and encouraging environment, and ultimately increased my confidence. In my case, teamwork did in fact, make the dream work! 

Step 4: Selecting a Journal – It might not be your first preference, but that’s ok!

As I had little experience evaluating and selecting journals, Dr Heravi helped to narrow down the most appropriate journals that centred on the topic and theme of the paper. This included information literacy, journalism (fake news) and librarianship. It was also extremely important that the journal was peer reviewed and open access. 

We submitted the paper to two well-established journals before it was accepted by the Journal of Academic Librarianship. The reason for a paper being rejected can depend on various factors and this should never discourage you from trying again. Your paper may not be accepted the first time, but that’s ok. 

Journals have guidelines on the topics they cover, the approaches they favour, their citation style and other factors. It’s really important to read the journal guidelines before submitting. If unsuccessful, you can learn a lot from the submission process which may result in helpful feedback and an opportunity to strengthen and improve your paper all while moving closer to acceptance!

Photo sourced from Canva.com

Step 5: Set those deadlines! 

Setting deadlines allowed us to prioritise, organise and focus on the goal. 

Since I was working with Dr Heravi over a period of seven months, it was vital that we set deadlines every few weeks to ensure that we were making progress and prioritising the work. It can be easy to fall into those “back and forth” e-mail exchanges throughout the process, therefore setting deadlines helps to minimise those unnecessary encounters! 

After the paper was accepted to the Journal of Academic Librarianship we were met with another deadline which is discussed further in Step 6.  

Step 6: The Stages of Submission and the Moment of Truth

We were required to submit the anonymised manuscript (the completed paper), the abstract, keywords, the title page which included author names and affiliations, and the full version of the paper with authors’ tracked edits and comments. This isn’t always required, but for this journal the editors were keen to review our writing process. 

To demonstrate the submission process clearly, I’ve included a timeline which illustrates the various stages we encountered when submitting the paper; 

24th March: We submitted the paper to the Journal of Academic Librarianship in a PDF format which contained all necessary documentation listed in the Journal Guidelines. The submission was acknowledged by the journal via e-mail and we were informed that it would be sent out for peer review. When a paper is sent for peer review, the reviewers recommend one of the following: accept as is (this is very rare); accept with major revisions (this involves a rewrite); accept with minor revisions or reject.

27th May: The paper was accepted and returned to us with reviewers’ comments. Reviewers comments are observations or constructive critiques of the paper made by the reviewers assigned to the paper by the journal. Our feedback included minimal revisions, and we were given a new deadline and a month to resubmit. Three individual reviewers provided three separate sets of comments regarding our paper. 

18th June: We were given a month to respond to the reviewers’ comments and edit the paper where necessary. This involved minor editing and composing a response letter stating the changes we had made to the paper. On the 18th of June, we submitted the revised paper with tracked changes and our response letter. 

19th June: A day later, we received an e-mail stating that the reviewers had accepted our response letter and the changes made. We were then asked by the reviewers to accept all tracked changes made within the paper and resubmit the final version for publication. 

23rd of July: In late July, we finally received an e-mail from the journal to confirm that the paper was officially published and now accessible online as an open access peer reviewed article. Disclaimer: Dr Heravi sent me an e-mail to share the amazing news while I was out on a walk and I remember beaming with excitement and feeling a great sense of achievement! 

The timeline above illustrates how the submission process can be lengthy and can often require authors to make changes to the paper. However, the feedback from reviewers strengthened our paper and provided us with valuable recommendations. 

A successful submission means including all the necessary documentation required by the journal, making a commitment to work on additional changes if needed, and waiting patiently for the paper to be accepted. It can be a long road, but it is most certainly worth the time and effort.  

 

Photo sourced from Canva.com

Step 7: Publicising your Publication – Share, Share, and Share!

On receiving the excellent news that our paper had been published in a peer-reviewed journal, I set out to share my achievement with my family, friends, colleagues and of course, the professional community. 

I shared the article on as many platforms as possible. I tweeted about it. I pinned the link to my Twitter account. I shared it on my Instagram (a peer-review paper does not get half as many likes as your smiley dog, let me tell you!) and included it in my LinkedIn profile. Twitter was particularly important to me as many Librarians share their ideas, research, and conversations there. It was also where the article received the most traction. 

Publishing any piece of work is a fantastic achievement and I highly recommend that you share your newly published article on as many platforms as possible! Who knows who might end up reading it!   You might even be invited to talk on the topic at a seminar or conference.

Conclusion:

My seven steps for successfully getting your MLIS thesis (or any thesis) to publication will hopefully give you an insight into the different stages of the publication process and show you how any student can do this with the right support and determination. While I knew very little about publishing papers at the beginning, I am now confident enough to sit at my PC and write a blog on that very topic! 

If I can do it, you can too. 

And finally, here’s a link to the article. Enjoy! 

 

Photo taken by Saoirse de Paor 

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The Fresh Librarian: Concrete Steps for Standing out in a Competitive Field

Guest Post by David Rinehart. David grew up in Florida and moved to Ireland with his partner and daughter in 2018. He received an M.A. in Latin American Studies in 2018. He is currently a Library Assistant at Maynooth University Library’s Special Collections and Archives Department and is undertaking a Master’s degree in Information and Library Studies from Robert Gordon University.

Introduction:

The library job market in Ireland for an immigrant is difficult and daunting to say the least. The first thing I quickly realized when I arrived here in August of 2018 was that my professional training for job seeking in the US was not designed for Ireland. To catch up, I sought help from others. With fantastic guides along the way, I learned how to completely revamp my CV, the way I think about and write cover letters, and the way I thought about the job application process. All of this pushed me out of my comfort zone and propelled me forward. It’s comparable to when you take on a new language and learn grammar in a way you never learned in your native tongue. I learned the job search culture and processes in Ireland which are very different to my home country, the US. 

I grew up in Florida to an American dad and a Venezuelan immigrant mom.  I studied for an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, where I also worked as a graduate assistant in the University’s Latin American and Caribbean Collection Library. It was from this work experience that I found my passion and career path towards librarianship. I moved to Ireland in 2018 when my wife accepted a post as lecturer at Maynooth University. Since arriving to Ireland I have worked as a Library Assistant at the Dundalk Institute of Technology and now at Maynooth University in the Special Collections and Archives department. I am currently undergoing a Masters of Information and Library Studies from Robert Gordon University online. 

Courtesy of Author 

The Application

Initially, when I applied for library posts, I wasn’t getting called to interview. So, I asked for help. My partner’s department head at Maynooth University agreed to meet with me to look over my CV and cover letter. She was very experienced having been on copious interview panels. She gave me some pointers on how to tidy up my CV, but the most important advice she gave me was how to write the cover letter. Back home, I had been trained to write a cover letter that reads like an essay or a pitch for a product – the product being me. It’s verbose and quite embarrassingly arrogant. She explained to me that the panel selects their candidates based on criteria that are matched to the job description. She recommended that I literally copy and paste the job requirements, both essential and desirable, into a word document and bullet point my relevant experience for each requirement. She explained that this made it far easier on the panel to award points towards being chosen as a candidate. It felt wrong and strange, but I did it, and I started receiving invite after invite to interview. 

Courtesy of Author 

The Interview

One of the things I do to prepare for an interview is to get as much background information as possible. I consider anything and everything I can find online about the job and the library. In the case of an academic library, this includes the institution’s Strategic Guide, the library’s Strategic Guide; I scour the LibGuides to understand their collections; I note recent events and exhibitions; I research several of the librarians, etc. The next step I take is to write up a list of questions. Then, I request a tour or visit to the library and spend some time walking around the stacks and getting a feel for the library, asking questions from my list when relevant or appropriate. I spend days, weeks even, imagining myself working there, and before you know it, I’ve created a narrative in which I have worked there for years, get along with my colleagues, and have a life built around this new post. This gives me great courage and confidence going into the interview, which is incredibly important and comes off quite well I’ve been told. But as a fair warning, it also creates a massive hurt when you don’t receive good news. The rejection hits me like a ton of bricks and I grieve the life that I had imagined for myself. 

So, I had figured out how to get my foot in the door, and how to feel confident and prepared for an interview, what more did I need to do to actually get the job?

Networking

After reading dozens of articles online and thinking through my candidacy, I recognized I was missing an important piece for increased chance of success. I was missing a network. Back home in Florida, I had built a network through community, through education, through professional opportunities and jobs. The most dramatic shift for me was that I no longer had a network. 

After a rejection, once I got the crying and grief out of my system, I emailed each person on the interview panel to see if they would meet with me for feedback and professional advice to improve my chances on future applications. Believe it or not, in nearly every single instance, they graciously emailed me back to invite me out for a cup of coffee or tea. I met so many library professionals this way. They would buy me a cup of coffee and tell me about their careers while giving me a few pointers on how to improve as a candidate. They also often introduced me to other library professionals. I was networking! I was getting to know people in the field, and we were making connections. Soon, I was interviewing with people who were no longer strangers, they were people I had sat down for a cup of coffee with. 

Courtesy of Author 

Some further advice I would give to jobseekers is to attend as many library-related events as you can. Talk to people. For me, this is one of the most exhausting parts of the job search. It’s all about going out of your comfort zone and showing your interest in the field. I am not saying that you should go to events just to network so that you can “get the job,” you need to be going to events that interest you. Your interest is key to being more active, involved, and enjoying your career. Don’t stop there, follow librarians and institutions on Twitter, read blog posts and journal articles, stay active and alert to what is happening in the field, even if you are not yet working in a library.

Conclusion

After a year and a half looking for that first job, the permanent library assistant position that would kick-off my career, I found not one, but two at the same time! I accepted the permanent library assistant post in Maynooth University Library’s Special Collections and Archives department. In the meantime, in addition to my studies at RGU, I’m trying to build up a portfolio of skills and experience that will be useful in this job and afterwards when I qualify and look for a job as a librarian.

The process is long and arduous, and at many times frustrating, but it is the reality of the job market. If you are patient, let yourself feel your emotions, and take these steps, I am certain that you are going to find your job! 

I warmly welcome anyone to reach out to me with any questions or for more advice at david.rinehart@mu.ie.

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Reflections from a late-career librarian

Beach outside Freetown courtesy of author

Guest post from Helen Fallon Helen began her library career as a student shelver over 40 years ago. She is currently Deputy Librarian at Maynooth University. Her professional interests include libraries and access to information in the Global South, professional development, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and academic writing. 

James Barnett’s blog post The Accidental Librarian: Career Progression Advice for Early Career Librarians offers lots of useful advice. I’ve used his themes/topics as a framework for this blog post and added suggestions and additional themes, from my perspective as a late career librarian. 

To Qualify or Not to Qualify
James started working in libraries in 2008 and began studying part-time via distance learning for his library qualification in 2015. He notes the value of this work experience for his studies and the development of his awareness of the library profession and the higher education sector. I began working as a part-time student shelver at what is now Maynooth University (MU) in 1978. After graduating, I worked fulltime as a library assistant for one year in the Acquisitions section, before undertaking a fulltime postgraduate diploma in librarianship at University College Dublin (UCD). I worked in a branch of the University library in the evenings.  I graduated in 1982, 33 years before James. 

Vary Your Experience
James is now an Academic Liaison Librarian at Coventry University. He advises changing roles and gaining as much experience as possible in the early years. After qualifying in 1982, in an economically depressed Ireland, I worked for two years as an Assistant Librarian in health science libraries in Saudi Arabia, followed by a year in Bord na Mona (Irish Peat Authority), before I took up what was to be my first permanent post as a Subject Librarian in what is now Dublin City University (DCU) in January 1986. During the first ten years of my career at DCU, I made sideways moves and took on extra responsibilities to build up my work experience.  I also availed of a two-year career break, when I worked with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) lecturing in librarianship at the University of Sierra Leone.  I learned a lot from these experiences and am glad that I didn’t restrict myself to Health Sciences Librarianship, the sector where I first worked as librarian, much as I enjoyed the area. In 1996 I was promoted in DCU and took on the role of leading a team of 16. This experience helped me when I applied for the post of Deputy Librarian at Maynooth University in 2000. I’ve remained in that post for twenty years and it has been an ongoing learning experience.

University of Sierra Leone courtesy of author

Consult Job Descriptions of Roles You find interesting

James suggests consulting job descriptions of posts that you think are potentially interesting and identifying the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience needed. As a Librarian who regularly interviews, I notice applicants frequently use a standard CV, rather than preparing a CV for a specific post. The process of looking at the requirements of the post and working out what in your work experience or education is relevant to each of the specified requirements, is in itself a useful exercise in identifying your strengths and your skills gaps. I suggest updating your CV every year, even if you are not applying for a post. If nothing has changed, apart from the date, consider why that might be and what you would like to learn in the coming year.

Embrace CPD Opportunities
James suggests getting involved in projects and activities at work, that are outside your regular day-to-day duties.  This is sound advice. In addition to learning new skills by working in cross sectional teams, you get to know your colleagues better and to learn from them.  If attending courses or conferences share the knowledge gained with others. The process of writing up key learning points soon after an event is a good discipline.  In addition to encouraging you to reflect on your learning, it offers a way of sharing your learning with others and this is very much in keeping with the spirit of librarianship.  There are CPD opportunities in reading library journals, in writing and in participating in events that don’t require extensive investment. An example that comes to mind is the Library Ireland Job Swap scheme. This takes place during Library Ireland Week in November each year.  MU Library staff have gone on one-day exchanges to local libraries and facilitated return visits. In addition to gaining new insights some have published about their experience (Gardiner, 2013; Finn et al, 2016).

Change is constant in the world of work and the library landscape has totally transformed since I began work as a student assistant 42 years ago.  The skillset required for librarians is now different to what it was then and there are new and emerging roles. Two articles by John Cox, Librarian at NUI Galway, are illuminating in that regard (Cox, J. 2016, Cox, J. 2017).   Consider asking more senior members of library staff questions like What skills do you think I need to develop in order to progress my career?

courtesy of author 

Get involved with your Professional Association
I’ve changed James’ title to “professional association” rather than CILIP and here I focus on the Library Association of Ireland (LAI).  This voluntary body represents all library sectors. Serving on an LAI committee, you can gain valuable skills, including minute taking, budget management, project and event planning and enhanced communication skills.  Being on a committee, and perhaps having a role such as secretary or Treasurer, will also look good on your CV.

The LAI now offers three  professional awards: Associate, Senior Associate and Fellow.  I undertook the Fellowship in 2010 and found it a really useful way to reflect on my career to date and to consider going forward and to publish an article on the topic (Burns & Fallon, 2012). The LAI also offers the Professional Knowledge Skills Base (PKSB), developed by CILIP, to help you identify skills gaps. Laura Connaughton’s article offers useful insights on the programme (Connaughton, 2016).

Beyond James’ six areas of advice, I would add the following, particularly for mid-career librarians.

Get experience managing people
This is key to advancing your library career. In the early stages, it may be quite basic management experience, such as managing work experience students or an ERASMUS or Transition Year placement. Grab those opportunities. If you can’t get the opportunity to manage people, take on the management of projects, particularly cross-sectional projects, where you get to co-ordinate and perhaps lead activities and deal with issues which will arise from time to time. 

Network
Move out of your comfort zone, invite people for coffee/lunch. If you are in a University, meet with academic colleagues and ask about their teaching/research.  Get their opinions on matters of mutual concern, such as reading lists and information skills. In addition to being on committees within the Library, participate in committees relating to the wider organisation. Try to contribute something at every meeting, though this may be daunting at first. Committees are a great way to market the Library as well as increasing your visibility in the organisation.  Sometimes, if you are new to a committee, it can be useful to take on a very specific role, such as secretary/note taker.  I find that helps me learn quickly about what is going on.

Undertake Further Formal Qualifications
As you move further into your career think about what additional qualifications might be of benefit for career progression.  In 1996, I completed a part-time Master’s degree in Women’s Studies at UCD. I was able to align parts of the course with my work. My thesis was on gender and the internet, a timely topic as the internet was in its infancy. The department published the thesis as the book Wow: Women on the Web (Fallon, 1998.) Having the MA and the book enhanced my CV substantially and I believe helped me, in 1996, to progress to a more senior post in DCU. Later, in 2015, I completed a certificate in Adult & Community Education at MU.  This had a strong focus on group work and the adult learning principles of Paulo Freire. I run occasional world cafés and other group activities and again was able to align my projects to my day-to-day work. My main presentation was on using social media effectively. 

Doing further formal education programmes can be a great learning experience. It also demonstrates to prospective employers that you are motivated and have the commitment and drive to complete a programme, and by thinking creatively you can generally align your learning with aspects of your work.  

Be Visible
In addition to being visible in your organisation, be visible nationally and if possible internationally. Be active in your professional body, present at conferences, have a social media presence, publish. As you progress through your career it is likely you will specialise in certain areas. Develop expertise and a reputation in those areas and keep up to date with new developments.

Ideally move library
I’m immensely grateful I have had the opportunity to work in a number of different libraries. The longest periods were twelve years in DCU and twenty years (so far) at Maynooth University. The former had its origins in the 1980s, the latter in 1796 and have very different cultures.

It’s Your Career!
Don’t forget that. Your Library can offer opportunities, both formal and informal, to help you learn and develop in your career, but ultimately it’s up to you to take ownership of your career development.

Finally, enjoy work. I feel enormously privileged to belong to such an interesting and transforming profession in a time, and in a part of the world, where there is so much opportunity.

Burns, Jane and Fallon, Helen (2012). The Fellowship of the Library Association of Ireland (FLAI): Reflections and Guidelines. An Leabharlann. The Irish Library, 21 (2). pp. 6-9
http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/4269/
Connaughton, Laura (2016). Library Association of Ireland launches Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB). An Leabharlann. The Irish Library, 25 (2), pp. 34-35
http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/7599/
Cox, J. (2016). Communicating New Library Roles to Enable Digital Scholarship: A Review Article.  New Review of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 22 (2-3), pp. 132-147
https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2016.1181665
Cox, J. (2017). New Directions for Academic Libraries in Research Staffing: A Case Study at National University of Ireland Galway. New Review of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 23(2-3), pp. 110-124
https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2017.1316748
Fallon, H. (1998 ). Women on the Web. Dublin: UCD
Gardiner, B. (2013)  Library Ireland Week Staff Exchange Scheme: Diary of an Exchange. An Leabharlann. The Irish Library, 22 (1). pp. 23-24
http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/4315/
Finn, M. et al. (2016) The Library Ireland Week (LIW) job swop initiative Experiences from Maynooth University Library. Sconul Focus, 67. pp. 68-74
http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/8615/

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From my home to yours: showing off our manuscript collections in a virtual world.

Guest Post by Sophie Evans, Royal Irish Academy Library

 

For many years, the Library has welcomed Readers and visitors into its beautiful hushed nineteenth-century Reading Room. Every morning, before the doors opened, staff would carefully place a manuscript in the display case. A daily task which never became mundane; it is always a joy and a privilege to handle such old precious books, sure isn’t that what most librarians dream of! Then the Covid crisis hit; the manuscripts were safely locked away and library staff were sent home, scattered across Dublin and beyond. So, as manuscripts, library and librarians are locked away, how would we show off our wonderful collections? More importantly, would people be interested in our collections during a global pandemic?

 

As the member of staff responsible for the Library’s social media accounts, it was up to me to invite people to visit and learn about our collections virtually. Granted, this isn’t the same as visiting and seeing the manuscript in person but it does allow us to engage with more people and provide more in-depth information. Also, in a display case, you can only see the pages which are open, online you can see however many pages you want. My plan, alone and holed up in my Dublin city apartment, was to look at a different manuscript each week in detail and present this on our Twitter and Instagram feeds. This could not be done without the Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) project, which for over 20 years have been digitising Irish manuscripts from across Europe. Almost a hundred Academy manuscripts are freely available to view on ISOS and the majority have detailed catalogue records included. This really is a wonderfully important resource for researchers and librarians. The importance of digitisation has become even more apparent in 2020 as we have been separated from our physical collections.

 

Along with the images and information from ISOS, I also took advantage of the Special Collections pages on our website. My colleague Dr Bernadette Cunningham has been very busy updating and writing new pages for our website, providing detailed information on many of our manuscripts and other collections. For additional information on manuscripts I used the Library’s publication ‘Treasures of the Academy’ and Tim O’Neill’s Book ‘The Irish Hand’, and various articles located via JSTOR. When posting on social media I try to make the information accessible, informative, visually interesting and fun and also to provide links to further reading and resources. Here are some examples of Twitter threads on some of our older manuscripts.

 

Leabhar Breac 

Book of Ui Maine 

Book of Lecan 

B ii 1 Astronomical and Medical tract 

The Lebor ha hUidre is my favourite manuscript and for this one I experimented with iMovie and dusted off my guitar! 

 

Engagement on our social media accounts has increased and the feedback has been encouraging. We have all had to adapt to a different way of working and living and connecting to each other. Maybe ancient manuscripts on a modern medium are a welcome distraction. I very much hope that we will be able to welcome visitors into the Reading Room soon but for now, as the Academy motto goes, we will endeavour.

 

 

Sophie Evans

Assistant Librarian

Royal Irish Academy

 

(Title in homage to Bruce Springsteen’s recent lockdown radio show, From My home to yours.)

 

 

 

 

 

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Supporting Integration and Diversity

                              

Guest post by Helen O’Connor, Maynooth University Library

Staff at Maynooth University library attended a day long CDP programme on ‘Supporting Integration and Diversity’. There were three facilitators – Camilla Fitzsimons, Philomena Obasi and Veronica Akinborewa. All three are attached to the Department of Adult and Community Education at Maynooth University.

The aim of the workshop was to give an opportunity to think and talk about the impact of increased diversity across the Irish university sector. In recent years, there has been an increase in migrant students, some of whom are international students, and some who have moved to Ireland to work, or to seek asylum from another jurisdiction.   As well as an increase in migrant students, there is also greater diversity in terms of the Irish ethnicity which has contributed to a growing number of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) students on campus.

The workshop was held over two days to give all library staff an opportunity to attend.

There was 25 people in each group. Handouts were given out at the beginning of the workshop and staff were invited to introduce themselves and say something about their name. Staff were then divided into smaller groups to discuss a range of topics, using flip charts. Each group then gave a short presentation to the bigger group. I thought this was really good as it gave people time to think and discuss the different topics.

Conversation topics helped library staff to explore their own cultural identity, to consider the implications of working in intercultural settings, to understand the origins and impacts of racism and to reflect on our own beliefs and theories of interculturalism and diversity.

Evaluation forms were handed out at the end of the day and feedback was very positive.

A lot of people liked the group discussions and several found the session informative, people found the atmosphere relaxed and informal. People thought the facilitators were very clear and informative in their presentation.  

I discovered the word BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic), I had not come across this term before. The University has students and staff from many different ethnic backgrounds and we in the library encounter these staff and students on a day to day basis. I think the workshop brought home to me that we are all the same and just because we might have different colour skin or speak a different language, we should treat each other the same. 

The University and the library have a lot in place for students from many different backgrounds.  Perhaps we could expand this and hold a celebration event for all of these groups for them to showcase their different cultures.

Signage is also something that could be broadened to be more inclusive.

One of the highlights of the day was the beautiful ethnic lunch which was enjoyed by everyone.

Below is a listing of some articles on diversity and multiculturalism that I’ve been working on with colleagues.  Hope you find it useful.

ACRL (2012) Cultural Competency for Academic Libraries http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/diversity

ACRL (1990) Academic libraries and the culturally diverse student population

https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/19446/22803   

ALA (2013)   Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Academic and Research Libraries: Past, Present, and Future

http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/Chang_Ethnic.pdf

CILIP (2017) Equalities and Diversity Action Plan

https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/EqualitiesandDiversityActionPlan 

Groarke, Sarah (2019) Attracting and Retaining International Higher Education Students: Ireland. Dublin: ESRI.
https://www.esri.ie/publications/attracting-and-retaining-international-higher-education-students-ireland 

C&RL (2007) Achieving racial and ethnic diversity among academic and research librarians

https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/viewFile/7869/7869

Fallon, Helen and Connaughton, Laura and Cosgrave, Edel (2020) Promoting a Culture of Equality: Diversity Training at Maynooth University Library. An Leabharlann. The Irish Library, 29 (1) Pages 20 - 27

http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/12804/

Higher Education Authority (2018) Key Facts and Figures: Higher Education 2017/2018.
https://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2019/01/Higher-Education-Authority-Key-Facts-Figures-2017-18.pdf 

Higher Education Authority Key Facts and Figures: Higher Education 2016/2017.

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Higher Education Authority5 Key Facts and Figures: Higher Education 2015/2016.

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IFLA/UNESCO (2018) Multicultural Library Manifesto

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HE4u2 (2017) Creating Intercultural Learning Environments: Guidelines for Staff within Higher Education Institutions.

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HEA (2017)  National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2015-2019

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Library Trends 2019.   Low Morale in Ethnic and Racial Minority Academic Librarians: An Experiential Study Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, Ione T. Damasco

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Mannion, David & Thornley, Clare (2011) The Experience of Chinese students in Irish third level libraries: an investigation of current challenges and an analysis of possible solutions.  An Leabharlann: The Irish Library,  20 (2), pp. 19-27. https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/handle/10197/3607  

Mellon, Bernadette, Cullen, Marie, Fallon, Helen (2013)  Implementing an online training course in disability awareness for frontline staff - Experiences at National University of Ireland Maynooth. Sconul Focus, 58. pp. 27-31.

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Mestre. L. (2010) Librarians Working with Diverse Populations: What impact does Cultural Competency Training have on their efforts? Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(6), pp. 479-488

O’Connor, M. & Kerrigan, C. (2013) Cultural Revolution: Reflections on an exchange. An Leabharlann: The Irish Library, 22(2), pp. 11-19.
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Parkinson, Orla (1994) Do Irish public libraries have a role in engaging the host society in integrating immigrants. An Leabharlann: The Irish Library, Vol. 20(1), pp. 14-18
http://www.libraryassociation.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/20_1_AnLeabharlann.pdf  Stokes, D. & Molly, J. (2019) The Innocents Abroad: The Experience of two Irish librarians teaching information literacy in China. An Leabharlann: The Irish Library, Vol. 28(2), pp. 4-10.  https://www.libraryassociation.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/An_Leabharlann_28-2_Full.pdf
UUK, NUS (2019) Black, Asian and Minority ethnic student attainment at UK Universities: Closing the gap
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Migrating into the Freelance Consultancy Library Space

Guest post by Marie Jennings 

I was always drawn to the idea of becoming a freelance librarian. In my past career I was involved in a lot of projects including: 

• Cataloguing several special collections at various heritage houses throughout Ireland with the OPW. 
• I was part of a retrospective cataloguing project with the Houses of the Oireachtas. 
• Cataloguing a pre-1800 collection for DCU of several thousand books. 
• Assessing the cataloguing needs of the Franciscan book collection in UCD Special Collections. 
• A large-scale project comprising a Pre-1900, Irish Studies and a Moral Theology collection for the Redemptorists. 

Having spent nearly twenty years working as a professional librarian on a diverse range of projects, I decided to fulfil a key personal and professional goal to work as a freelance librarian where the skills and experience that I have acquired to date could be utilised. 

Since becoming a freelancer in June of last year, I have already been involved in a lot of interesting projects including compiling a User Experience report and a languages toolkit for librarians in Dublin City Libraries, creating a reference library for the Redemptorists in Dundalk, cataloguing a special collection for the Dominican Order and developing a secondary school library for Manor House School in Dublin. 

Working freelance is a very fulfilling experience and has exposed me to very interesting projects. There are other enjoyable aspects to becoming a freelance librarian such as website design, liaising with your customers and the promotion of your services. 

Even though I have worked in the library and information sector for twenty years, I am passionate about CPD, which is particularly helpful as a freelance librarian as my skills are always relevant and up to date. I have recently completed a “Metadata Design and Implementation” course with the Library Juice Academy. Another course I’ve recently undertaken is “The History of the Book” with Trinity College Dublin. I found this course beneficial as I learned about new tools that are useful for cataloguers of rare books. I also undertook the “Rare Book Curatorship” course many years ago in UCD as part of my postgraduate studies and I have been fortunate to have catalogued large collections of antiquarian books. 

I was planning to have this article published in March to officially launch my website and services and then Covid-19 struck, and I had put these plans on hold. At the time of writing we are still in the midst of the pandemic and increasing numbers are working from home. I myself am currently working from home to finish a cataloguing project for the Dominicans. I decided to publish this article anyway as I offer remote services in addition to onsite services, so it is business as usual for me as a freelance librarian. 

I am delighted to join the freelance librarian space. This is a growing space within the library and information management community due to the constantly expanding skillset of the modern librarian. Please go to https://freelancelibrarianmj.com/ to see my newly launched website called The Freelance Librarian. If you have queries, please do get in touch. My email is mariejenningslibrarian@gmail.com. 

In the meantime I hope that you all keep safe and well.

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