LibDay8: Library Day in the Life Project

This last week, I participated in the Library Day in the Life Project, which is coordinate by a Bobbi Newman.  I tweeted what I did on several days and read the #libday8 tweets from others.  I know...I don't work in a library, but I still felt that it would be worthwhile contributing what I do as a faculty member in a library and information science program.

So what did I do this past week?

• I recorded a lecture for my "Creating, Managing and Preserving Digital Assets" class, which is taught online (asynchronous).  I also answered emails from that class, read and contributed to the online discussion (this week about copyright), and loaned one student a copy of the textbook until hers arrives.  By the way, those students are posting their first blog posts about digitization programs at http://jahurst.mysite.syr.edu/ist677s2010/.  Feel free to read those posts and comment on them.  (I believe this class now has 37 students in it!)
• Barbara Stripling and I are co-teaching "Planning, Marketing and Assessing Library Services", a project-based class.  This week, I had to take care of some administrative details with that class, because prepare the lecture.  We have 46 students in this Thursday evening class!
• I am on two search committees and they generated several meetings this week.
• As the new director of the library and information service program at SU, I attended or ran a number of meetings that relate to the program.
• I worked on the course schedule for next fall and am even thinking ahead to the schedule for spring 2013.
• I met with current students and prospective students.
• I received, read and responded to a lot of email, but didn't get through all of the messages waiting for me.

• I helped with the public launch of the Little Free Library Project here in Syracuse.  We are following in the footsteps of Todd Bol and Rick Brooks in Wisconsin who see these as a way of sharing books and increasing literacy in a community.  The project here has been a collaborative effort that initially included members of the Near Westside community, design students from Visual and Performing Arts at SU, library and information design students from SU's iSchool, and a core project team.  Since our initial meeting in October, more collaborators have joined us, including the Onondaga County Public Library and ProLiteracy.
  
  Last night at 5 p.m., we filled the first Little Free Library (located on Gifford St.) with more than two dozen books.  Before 6 p.m, some of the books had already been borrowed!  We are anxious to see how this Little Free Library is accepted in the community and hope that it is not only accepted, but also adopted!  {This LFL does have a community member who will be its caretaker.}  Once we see how this structure has survived in our weather, we will gear up to put more on the Near Westside. {A photo of our first LFL is above!}
• Worked on a consulting project that has to do with digital literacy training that is given by public libraries.  I'm working with a team of people and it is a very interesting experience.  It is also a project that will make a difference across NYS.  (More about it after it launches.)

If you are associated with a library of any type OR work in the profession, what did you do this past week?  Take the time to let others know.  People cannot support us if they don't know what we do.