Presenter: Rachel Milani

Practicum Location: Memorial CTS – Cataloging, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

The practice of using LCSH to assign subject access for topical, genre, form, and medium of performance terms has proven misleading and inadequate, failing to differentiate between what an item is about and what it actually is. LCGFT and LCMPT seek to remedy this issue. LCGFT (MARC 655) consists of genre and form terms that describe what a work is. Meanwhile, LCMPT (MARC 382) consists of medium of performance terms describing the type of performance methods for which a musical work is written. The implementation of these terms increases patron access to and discovery of musical works.

Presenter: Elizabeth Lampp

Practicum Location: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections, Madison, WI

Digital libraries have more to gain from social media than possibly any other type of library. Social media can promote collections and bring patrons, especially young patrons, to digital collections more effectively than physical advertisements. Tumblr is especially useful. Its format privileges short, pithy posts with large images, suitable for digital collections that are often made up of photographs and pictures. Also, the ability to tag and reblog posts means that a single item can quickly reach hundreds of users. Finally, Tumblr’s userbase is young, so adopting Tumblr means reaching an important demographic for libraries’ future.

Presenter: Scott Sobocinski

Practicum Location: McFarland Library of SMSU, Marshall, MN

Libraries across the U.S. are faced with the issue of relevancy in almost all aspects of their service. In academic libraries especially, the use of physical space (or lack thereof) is becoming a paramount issue. Academic libraries have to weed print resources and stacks in order to free up spaces that can be made relevant again. Additionally, librarians are increasingly reevaluating which spaces are being used, and why, which is based on students’ study habits, and how they perform research. Both of these point towards the desire for an academic commons – more computers, furniture, flexible study spaces, and privacy.

Presenter: Sasha Snyder

Practicum Location: University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, GA

The University of Georgia Libraries has a large social media presence. Each library has its own unofficial Facebook page and Twitter feed, and the combined libraries have a single official identity that is maintained by two reference librarians and falls under the heading @UGALibs. The large social media presence is not matched by a large following. The purpose of this project was to research current social media practices at academic institutions, and design a program to increase @UGALibs’ followers.

Presenter: Nichole Barnes

Practicum Location: Dictionary of American Regional English, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI

Over the course of the fall semester, I spent my 120 hours for the practicum working at the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), a long-term research project that documented the dialects and vocabularies of American English. At the project, I processed, arranged, and described eleven cubic feet of correspondence produced by DARE founder Frederic Cassidy and the staff over the course of five decades. I captured the work I completed and suggestions for future processing and access in a project plan that will help ensure the entirely of DARE’s papers are ready for deposit at the UW archives.

Presenter: Jacob Riehl

Practicum Location: Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI

The Wisconsin Historical Society serves as the repository for many of the state and local government records of Wisconsin. These types of records are unprocessed and require archival appraisal in order to determine their historical value. Archival appraisal practices can vary from institution to institution, which makes it difficult to generalize what the best practices are. My project had me survey and appraise a collection of unprocessed government records. It was through this project that I learned the importance of archival appraisal theory and how to apply it to my selection recommendations.

Presenter: Katherine Winiecki

Practicum Location: Wisconsin Historical Society Library Digital Lab, Madison, WI

The Wisconsin Historical Society Library’s online collections have been using a metadata schema comprised of both standardized and locally created metadata elements, much like the majority of digital libraries and repositories. However, this lack of standardization prevents interoperability between metadata schemas from different online collections, keeping these digital libraries from sharing their collections. This presents a problem both for librarians and users, who have a difficult time navigating the variety of metadata schemas of these numerous digital libraries. There are a few solutions available, but WHS chose to create a crosswalk in order to share its online collections.

Presenter: Jiayuan Zhang

Practicum Location: University of Wisconsin Archives Oral History Program (OHP), Madison, WI

The issue discussed here is around oral history and technology and skills it involves. The main objective is to describe history and development of oral history during the past fifty years, and to figure out opportunities and challenges it faces in digital age. Besides, the paper will discover oral history’s impact on multiple fields. In the process, I gathered information from scholarly articles, books, and professionals’ opinion. I will also discuss trend of some oral history software, such as OHMS, PopUp Archive, etc. This research succeeded in demonstrating oral history’s great compatibility in digital age.

Presenter: Brian Miller

Practicum Location: Minnesota State Archives, St. Paul, MN

The collapse of the Interstate 35E Mississippi River bridge on August 1, 2007 made national headlines and was an important moment in Minnesota history. In 2014, the Minnesota State Archives received a collection of digital records from the Minnesota Department of Transportation documenting the bridge before, during and after its collapse. Building on an initial assessment of these records by State Archives Digital Collection Assistant Sarah Barsness, I describe the collection in more detail, identify and assess preservation and access concerns and flag unnecessary duplicate files. I look particularly at ways to improve access through improving the collection’s folder structure.

Presenter: Lisa Peters

Practicum Location: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Library and Archives, Cleveland, OH

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Library and Archives generally separates 3D artifacts from the rest of the archival collection and transfers the artifacts to the Museum. I examine 1) whether artifacts should always be separated from a collection, and 2) whether archival bond provides additional context to researchers. My findings suggest that archival bond can allow a researcher to delve deeper into a subject. Artifacts, even those in a museum archives, should not always be separated from archival collections. Artifacts should be evaluated by the informational context they provide rather than their form.

Presenter: Alyssa Trevorrow

Practicum Location: Barneveld K-12 School Library, Barneveld, WI

This presentation will give you background knowledge over the controversy of adding graphic novels to a school library collection. The problem is addressed with following a four step procedure of how to successfully add graphic novels to the library collection. Also included is a bulleted list of the benefits that graphic novels have to offer for students, teachers, and the library. The presentation is to encourage school librarians to be confident when adding graphic novels to the school library collection.

Presenter: Shawn Vesely

Practicum Location: Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI

MARC has had a long run as a metadata standard. There are new schemes in development and use that have more applications in the online environment. Schemes that can be easily shared and harvested by search engines and linked to similar resources. This paper looks at how MARC records can be converted to a MARCXML and from there to other metadata formats. It also looks at the best options for oral histories to implement that can handle the complexities and level of description that will make oral histories more prevalent and discoverable to citizens around the globe.

Presenter: Maggie Mueller

Practicum Location: Oshkosh Public Library, Oshkosh, WI

Children’s librarians are taking on the roles of early educators and teaching early literacy skills to children to prepare them for school. However, many librarians have not had proper training to know what skills need to be developed and what would be developmentally-appropriate for children of a certain age. The research explores activities that develop early literacy skills and discusses why and how those skills prepare children for school. The research also discusses developmental milestones and the importance of using developmentally-appropriate activities to nurture early literacy skills.

Presenter: Teresa L. Schmidt

Practicum Location: Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland, WI

Well-designed and usable websites are more important than ever for small public libraries. Changes in website design trends, increasing patron use of mobile devices, and the growing importance of digital media create the need for public library websites to act as digital library branches. A review of the literature suggests three important features of quality library website design: information architecture, accessibility, and usability. Considering these concepts will help a library website go beyond good visual design, improve users’ ability to find information, and improve the library’s ability to engage with patrons in a digital environment.

Presenter: Jane Kaftan

Practicum Location: Sandusky Library, Erie County, OH

In my poster presentation I talk briefly about the lack of library services to school students in Ohio, specifically the 5 school districts served by the Sandusky Library. Using the results of a teacher survey I developed three action items to improve students’ library skills and improve communication between teachers and the library staff. In my research paper I discuss the many benefits of library services, to include better reading skills, better writing skills, and students who perform better on standardized testing. I also explore the many ways that other public libraries have collaborated with schools in their area.

Presenter: Sara Engler

Practicum Location: Grand Forks Public Library, Grand Forks, ND

I conducted my research on the importance of having a homework club at the Grand Forks Public Library. I found that there is a number of refugees entering the city of Grand Forks from Somalia and Nepal and in 2014 there were 351 English Language Learners in the schools. In one of my sources they mention the teacher-to-student ratio is becoming higher and those ELL students aren’t getting the one-on-one treatment they need. Having a Homework club at the library with in-person volunteers will help those students get the one-on-one attention they need. It will also provide the community to see that the library is supportive of the education of its youth.

Presenter: Megan Sobchuk

Practicum Location: Arizona State Library, Phoenix, AZ

This paper will focus on several components that came together in funding an early literacy program for libraries across Arizona State during my time at the Development Division. This project came right on the heels of a large push from Michele Reagan, Arizona Secretary of State, who strongly encouraged the AZLD to focus on a larger, more significant digital presence. This led me into my second research component regarding funding for public libraries in the face of the digital divide. A very real issue that I experienced first hand when evaluating so many different levels of libraries and the role digital advancement plays in youth programming.

Presenter: Jerissa Koenig

Practicum Location: Castro Valley Public Library—Children’s Services, Castro Valley, CA

The Common Core State Standards place an emphasis on nonfiction in order to prepare readers to be literate in the variety of texts to which they will be exposed as adults. Nonfiction for young readers has been largely ignored or underappreciated by children’s literature experts and reviewers for decades. However, the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik as well as the establishment of awards for nonfiction have influenced the development of this body of literature. In addition to helping students learn about the world around them, nonfiction can also help reluctant readers improve their reading skills and increase their interest in reading.

Presenter: Phillip Windsor

Practicum Location: Catholic Research Resources Alliance – Madison, WI (online)

In the paper, I examined assessment measures, especially surveys, in the context of information organizations. I looked at the process of developing such measures, and how an organization thinks about tailoring its assessment to the kind of information it is interested in obtaining. I also looked at how the information gained should be in the service of helping organizations to make decisions. I especially looked at how this information can and should help make decisions regarding operations and organizational expansion. I discussed my current practicum experience and how CRRA already practices some of these principles by surveying members about services that are integral to their mission, vision, and values.