IPAL 2014 Preview

Yes, we are still alive and are beyond excited to have the opportunity to meet again, face to face, with the Information Literacy Discussion Group at this year's IPAL conference! The theme is "Say Something: A Great Big World of Academic Libraries." (It looks like someone on the conference committee is a great big Christina Aguilera fan...P.S. If you cry easily, don't watch that music video.)

This year's conference will be held May 1, 2014 at Grand View University in Des Moines. If you're looking for registration information, follow this link: http://www.ipalgroup.org/IPAL_conferences.html

We have some great activities planned, with plenty of time for discussion and sharing. Only have 30 seconds? Check out this brief "commercial" (inspired by the swap meet commercials on late night TV from the 80s):

We'll start out with an "Instruction Swap." Have you ever heard of a clothing swap or a book swap? It’s where you bring something you've used to a get-together and trade it for something someone else has brought. We’d like to get the discussion started with something similar.

In preparation for the IPAL IL Discussion Group gathering, we’d like for attendees to bring a physical copy something you've used in your IL instruction to share (it can be an activity description, a whole lesson or a chunk of a lesson plan, a reflective piece, a concept map, manipulatives or learning objects you use, etc.). Whatever it is, be prepared to share it with someone you meet at the session and they’ll swap their idea with yours! (It doesn't have to be anything fancy, jewel encrusted, laminated, earth-shattering, or super-formal. Just something you that has worked well for you that you would enjoy sharing & you think might also be helpful to another librarian who does instruction.)

After the "Swap" we'll break out into smaller, themed discussion groups for “Circuit Training” to share ideas, then rotate to another station that interests you. We'll conclude the morning with a few rounds of "Solution or Sympathy" where attendees write down instruction/library-related questions or concerns they have which will then be shared anonymously to see if the group has experienced something similar, can offer up possible solutions, or sympathize, and let the person who submitted the question know that at least they're not alone. We hope this range of activities will allow attendees the flexibility to focus the discussions on their instruction needs, making it as relevant as possible.

We hope to see you there!