The DLF Digital Library Pedagogy professional development and resource sharing subgroup invites all interested digital library pedagogy practitioners to contribute to the creation of an online, open resource focused on lesson plans and concrete instructional strategies. The DLF Digital Library Pedagogy group is an informal community within the larger DLF community that is open to anyone interested in learning about or collaborating on digital library pedagogy. We use the hashtag #DLFteach to organize Twitter conversation, and we also hold open office hours via the Digital Humanities Slack.
Further information about the scope and planned work scheduled can be found below. We welcome practitioners from all digital library settings, roles, and career stages. Experience is less important than willingness to be involved in the process of creating this resource. Interested contributors should complete the Intent to Contribute form by May 31, 2018 at bit.ly/dlfteach-cookbook-contributors.
The Call for Participation can also be viewed at bit.ly/cfp-dlfteach-cookbook.
Scope
We seek to coordinate a collection of instructional resources that recognizes and reflects the diversity of context and practice within this broad field. We take as models the popular Library Instruction Cookbook (eds. Sittler and Cook) and Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook (eds. Pagowsky and McElroy).
We plan to adopt a template for submissions, as modeled by the Collections as Data Facets project. We envision that contributions will be lesson-plan like: while they won’t necessarily be full lesson plans, they should focus on providing examples of instructional goals and activities that can be put into practice.
Some example contributions might look like:
- 50-minute introduction to Early English Books Online for research on religious discourse
- A multi-session outline or description of embedded approach to combining archival research with a digital project
- A sample workflow preparing students to create metadata for a critical digital exhibit
- Introduction to data literacy in the context of seeking demographic data
- An outside-of-class preparatory activity evaluating the accessibility of a digital resource
- Exercise on determining the rights status of visual resources on museums’ and archives’ websites
- An annotated list of recommended resources for introducing a tool or topic with suggestions for instructional use
- An assignment development workshop for instructors
- Activities that foster a critical approach to digital library materials
- A workshop on critical digital humanities methods that intersect with the library in some way
Potential topics include but would not be limited to:
- Combining archival research with a digital project
- Creating critical digital exhibits or archives
- Embedded librarianship (and how it relates to the other two)
- Tool- or method-based workshops
- Assessing appropriate assignment scope
- Matching tools and methods with learning goals
- Critical digital library pedagogy
- Universal design principles
- Learner-centred teaching strategies
- Critical information literacy
- Critical digital humanities methods that intersect with the library in some way
The goal of this project is twofold: first, we want to gather resources for critical digital library instruction with a bent toward the practical and concrete; second, we want the process itself to be a form of community building and professional development.
In particular, we hope to encourage collaborations that connect participants with new areas of expertise, especially between practitioners of different levels of experience in different areas.
Prospective contributors may elect individual authorship, form their own collaborative pairs or groups, or request to be paired with a collaborator of complementary interest by an Editor. Authors will be connected with a Section Editor who will facilitate the process.
Next steps for participation
- Review the schedule, roles & responsibilities below and consider what you would like to contribute.
- Complete this Intent to Contribute form at bit.ly/dlfteach-cookbook-contributors to suggest topics and ideas and/or to volunteer for a particular role. If you contribute a topic or idea but do not want to volunteer in another capacity, you will receive acknowledgment credit.
- Completion of the form will also add you to a focused email group list for this project.
- Watch this thread for further general calls, announcements, and opportunities.
Work plan
To meet these goals, we propose a distributed, iterative, and collaborative process to unfold throughout the rest of 2018 along a rough target timeline:
- Planning phase 1: In progress. Template for contributions and peer review process developed in open subgroup meetings and weekly Slack chat (see instructions for joining).
- Planning phase 2: April 23–May 31. Potential contributors invited to submit topics of interest and indicate desire to author and/or review future entries.
- Assignment phase: Early June. Editors and Section Editors will finalize topic assignments to Contributors, group prospective Contributors as co-authors based on interest, and assign small groups of Contributors to a Facilitator.
- Drafting sprint: mid June–July. Co-authors draft initial version of submission, in consultation with Facilitators.
- Drafting and revision sprint: August. Co-authors revise or expand initial draft.
- Review sprint: September–October. Over a 1–2 week period, reviewers comment on submissions.
- Revision sprint: November–December. Co-authors respond to comments and select revisions.
- Formatting sprint: January–February. Subgroup leaders facilitate the organization and publication of reviewed content on Open Science Framework (likely platform).
Roles & responsibilities
The purpose of these descriptions is to facilitate your participation at any level that meets your interest and availability at this time. A willingness to show up and take part is more important than prior experience.
- Editor: Participate in scheduled planning meetings (anticipated 1–2 per month), help make decisions and problem solve via email or chat if necessary, follow through on agreed upon tasks that may relate to communication, content creation, content review, background research, promotion, or other project needs as they arise. Steady participation expected through first iteration of the cookbook.
- Section Editor: Communicate regularly with Facilitators, Reviewers, and Format/Copy Editors for one section of the cookbook. Work with Editors to generate review procedures for peer review and beta testing. Steady participation expected from Planning Phase 3 through first iteration.
- Facilitator: Work with a small group of contributors to organize the creation of content by setting meetings, sending reminders, communicating about when the next sprint will happen, helping to set goals and accountability checks for those goals. Communicate with Section Editors and Editors as needed. Bulk of participation would likely take place during summer of 2018.
- Contributor: Author, either individually or in groups, section(s) of the Cookbook. Respond to communications from Facilitator and meet drafting deadlines. Drafting and revision sprints will take place June-August, with the goal of having material ready for review prior to the start of the new academic year.
- Reviewer: Read, analyze, and provide feedback on the quality of submissions. Work within the guidelines provided by the Section Editor and/or Editors and meet deadlines. The bulk of participation will likely occur mid-fall 2018.
- Beta Tester: Complete short testing assignments that include specific tasks and procedures as provided by the Section Editor. Meet testing deadlines and provide feedback. The bulk of participation will likely occur in late 2018.
- Format/Copy Editor: Review and provide corrections to submissions re: grammar, punctuation, formatting, and other guidelines as provided by the Editorial group. Must have excellent written communication skills, the ability to conform to provided style guides, and the ability to meet deadlines. The bulk of participation will likely occur in early 2019.
Questions? Please contact Liz Rodrigues (rodrigue8@grinnell.edu) or Erin Pappas (ep7n@virginia.edu).
