Luther Seminary Library

What's the Big Idea?

This was one of the questions posed by our Learning Design and Technology team at a recent workshop on campus.  It's a component of a larger instructional strategy called Backward Design, developed by educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design, 2nd. ed. (2005).  Backward Design counter-intuitively asserts that when planning a course, a lecture, or any kind of instructional session, begin at the end. In other words, decide in advance what "big ideas" students need to understand and then design the course or session in a way that will achieve these objectives.

Another aspect of backward design involves making the distinction between essential concepts, that is, the core ideas that lead to understanding, versus concepts that have primarily to do with acquiring knowledge or skills, or simply those that are worth being familiar with.  Like planetary rings, the latter add to the shape of the whole, but are not the planet itself. 

I found the discussion around backward design to be very enlightening as the library considers ways to help students negotiate best research practices and the ever-expanding array of avenues to information that modern technologies make possible.  Backward design provides a framework for deciding and then staying focused on what is most important.  It is challenging work, but work worth doing -- backward!

BE

"I don't know Egyptian yet."

Michael Chan—2009 MA Graduate

Michael has been one of the library regulars ever since he and wife Katherine, moved from California to Minnesota to begin his MA studies in late 2006. After two and a half years of studying (and a little teaching at Northwestern Bible College), they'll move to Atlanta at the end of July. Michael will begin Ph.D. studies at Emory's Graduate School of Religion. Over the next month Michael will be researching a couple of projects. Since graduation he's been working steadily at Luther, though since losing his ILL privileges, he can be found at the University of Minnesota at least one day a week.

   Currently researching the lexical entry for "rejoice" (gyl) for the next edition of Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten (ThWQ), which is based on The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Michael is firmly in the data collection stage, exploring how the Hebrew root has been used in Qumranic material. He hopes to finish before the move. He's also involved with a comparative literature study of ornithologic imagery in Isaiah (10:14). He's working with Emory Professor Jacob Wright on an article about birds and the ancient Near Eastern Kings' use of this imagery that portrayed them as fowlers.

    Besides "basic" classes, Michael is looking forward to learning more about art history and iconography. He's very interested in the intersection of literature and royal centers of power in the ancient near east.

    We enjoy getting to know our students and helping with their studies. We'll miss Michael's search for interesting materials as he pursues his career goal of teaching and researching. Maybe one of these days we'll add his new book to our collection.

— Jennie Bartholomew, Electronic Services Librarian

Libraries: How Many Do We Need?

If there is a contemporary author who reflects more wisely on the intriguing relationships that exist between people and their books than Alberto Manguel, I'd like to know who s/he is.

An author of some renown himself, Manguel is also a connoisseur of books, and he has delved thoughtfully into how collections, whether personal or in libraries, work on behalf of owners and users in their various settings.

In his 2006 work, The Library at Night (available from our library – Level 8 – at Z665 .M36), for example, he explores several metaphors (the library as space, as workshop, as imagination, etc.) to describe some of the roles that books and libraries fulfill.

Two recent circumstances – the end of the semester, and being away from home a lot - have helped me think further about some of this. It occurs to me that our "libraries" – defined here as "the sources we have reason to interact with at a given time" – can have several horizons at once. In my case, I can think of three:

1. the books and resources I knew I would need during my current travels out of the country. These I carry either in my laptop bag (overstuffed even at the best of times), or (for shorter items such as articles or manuscripts for editing) loaded onto my laptop, or (this is an experiment) a few books loaded onto the library's Amazon Kindle (see entry from this blog back in February. )These constitute the essentials for my situation at present, the items I'd immediately feel the lack of had I forgotten them;
2. resources which are less critical, but which can be conveniently accessed if and when I have a wifi connection. These might be considered as backup resources, for providing background or fact-checking for the first category. Wikipedia, for example.
3. the actual physical library, which is for most of us the most familiar horizon. This library can be thought of as the place where there is everything I need. But its usefulness, even now, with more and better resources available online, depends heavily on my actually being in-the-building.

I'm guessing that my situation, my relationship to these three "libraries" at the same time, is not so unusual: as we travel, as we spend more and more of our time within reach of some network or other, and as we move through various phases of education and life in general (end of semester, for example) each of us is constantly having to make decisions about what resources we can, and can't, do without.

Which leaves me with two timely reminders as we make the adjustment from end-of-term to the summer:

• libraries like ours need to get better and better at understanding and fostering these various horizons. The time has passed when people can, or should be expected to, get everything they need only by physically being in our library.
• there is no better time to remind yourself of what the library offers online, and what excellent resources you can still get to wherever you find yourself this summer.

DRS

 

The Library Breathes In

Back in library school, for my very first course, I read a book on the history of libraries entitled Libraries: An Unquiet History, which documented the long, hard struggle of librarians to banish the horrible sounds of conversation from within the sanctum of their temple of bookishness. Apparently, books truly thrive in an environment of continual shushing, and in fact emit a silent, psychological shush beam that our minds can pick up when there is a sufficient concentration (try going up to our rare books room, for instance). Actually, that wasn't exactly what it was about; it also covered the sacking and burning of libraries, the robbing of libraries, and the growth of the modern library, where we hope none of those calamities will occur (including the shushing).

The author, Mr. Battles, is a librarian at Harvard, and he begins by suggesting a very interesting image of the academic library exhaling books at the beginning of the semester, and inhaling at the end--almost as if it were a giant living, breathing being. Well, as many of you know, we recently celebrated the changing of our bookdrop, which will hopefully let the library inhale more freely and allow it to get a good night's sleep. All of this led me to wonder, though, what detritus the library inhales with it's returning books.

I found an interesting description in the New York Times of some rather unique items used for bookmarks, including bacon—that's right, bacon. Thankfully, it appears from their graphic above that they are in production on the all-new book x-ray machine, which will allow us to discover these items and eliminate them. The library breathes in, but remember, it isn't actually hungry. Thanks for a great semester, and for returning all your books!

Will Keillor, Acquisitions

Maxims to the Max

I've just begun reading Mary George's Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know (Princeton University Press, 2008), but in my thus far brief acquaintance I have discovered and enjoyed perusing the author's compilation of home grown snippets of advice which she intersperses throughout the text.  Mary's Maxims, as she calls them, are distilled bits of wisdom about the research process intended to reduce anxiety and increase enjoyment.  Here are several I particularly like:

+ Expect complexity
+ Don't settle for what's handy
+ Taking time will save time
+ One good thing will lead to another
+ When in doubt, document
+ Verify, verify, verify
+ If at first you don't succeed, read the research tips

To the last I would add, "or ask a library staff person for a little help."  Like proverbs everywhere, these maxims and others (she has 16 in all) point to some fundamental truths about research that, if taken to heart, will most certainly maxim-ize results achieved and satisfaction therein.

Bruce Eldevik

A TIME TO LAUGH!

I was watching an Adam Sandler movie ("Bedtime Stories") with my youngest daughter the other night, and there's one scene where the Sandler character is supposed to be reading a story to the two children of his way-too-earnest-and-sanctimonious sister.

The only two story books he can find in their bedroom are Rainbow Alligator Saves the Wetlands and Organic Squirrel Gets a Bike Helmet. 

Hah! It did us a world of good to laugh so hard, and I think (it never pays to analyze these things too closely) what made it so funny was the scene's tension between earnestness and absurdity. Which is something we need when studying a subject like theology: our study takes us, it is true, into deep subjects, but nobody benefits if our endeavors leave us humorless, ponderous, and blasé, cheerless casualties of our own scholarship. The end of the semester, with all its attendant deadlines and demands, is a very good time to keep the lighter side of things in view.

One little-known fact about the library's excellent collection is this: if you do a keyword search in MARTIN (the library's web catalog) using the single word "humor," you will get a list of 125 results. That speaks well of the people who have selected items over the years, don't you think? Examples: Zwingli's Humor, And the Laugh Shall Be First: A Treasury of Religious Humor, Jokes of Sigmund Freud (who knew?), Saints, Demons, and Asses: Southern Preacher Jokes, and many, many more.

Enjoy!

 

Doing a 360

A few months ago the library engaged the services of a link resolver.  No, it's not that we had to hire an outside person to help us with work-related interpersonal problems.  Much better!  A link resolver is a software protocol that establishes a link between a bibliographic citation, typically a journal or newspaper article, and the full text of the article from another source, typically a different database that contains full text content.  In most cases the link resolver places a button next to the citation.  Clicking the button takes the researcher to an intermediate screen which indicates whether the complete article is available online and, if so, another link to get there.  Our link resolver is called "360 Link" and its button looks like this--

So, what's the big deal, you say?  If I'm searching the ATLA database, I've always been able to go to the online text of the article if the "View Full Text" link is there.  True, but the 360 Link gives you the potential capability of linking to the text of an article online even if it is not carried by the ATLA database, significantly extending your reach for getting to the content you are looking for from another database subscribed to by the library.

In concrete terms, perhaps you come across a citation to what looks to be a very helpful article in the New York Times while searching in the Academic Search Premier database.  ASP does not provide full text access to the articles in the Times, BUT by clicking the 360 Link button you quickly see that there is a link to the article via another database we carry, ProQuest Newsstand Complete.  One more click and the article itself is at your disposal.

Thus, when next you find yourself searching in one of the library's main databases, think about doing a 360.  It's a small but powerful tool that can make getting your hands on the content you need that much easier and faster.

Bruce Eldevik

A Noble Task

The Library beyond Term Papers

As we enter the final stage of the semester, many of you, in between work on final projects, may be looking toward graduation and your future work. Others may be going on internships next year, or otherwise thinking about service in churches or elsewhere. All the buzz about these future activities got me thinking about what the library can offer to you as you prepare to engage in these "noble tasks," to use part of the title of a recently translated history of entry into the clergy by Lewis Patsavos (BV 664.P37).

There are many books in the BV 600's are that have information and suggestions for almost every conceivable aspect of entrance into the clergy, and the BV 4000's contain many practical resources for ministers. You can also try searching by subject using "Clergy" as a starting point. A few of the recent titles are listed below, but there are many more that you may find useful. 

A fact you may not know about our library is that we serve a great number of clergy and full-time church workers in the area, as well as mailing borrowed books out to Lutheran clergy across the country.  So, if you get in a tight spot out there, don't forget there might be someone who's been there before, whether that be a person in your life or church context, or someone who has written a library book about the experience.

You Might Also Try...

Some of you may also be considering activities for your spare time once the semester is over. If you want to combine gaming with preparation for ministry, you might consider becoming a warrior priest. From the description of these fearsome persons in the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning guide:

Warrior Priest Specialty
 For the Warrior Priest, faith is life […] With sufficient Righteous Fury, the divine power invested in their righteous litanies and sermons is extended beyond their immediate circle of Righteous Fury to all those who can hear their words.

 

Back to the real world, here is a list of new titles that may be of interest.

--Will, Acquisitions

	The pastor as minor poet : texts and subtexts in the ministerial life / M. Craig Barnes. BV4014 .B276
	Insights from the underside : an intergenerational conversation of ministers / edited by Neal D. Presa. BV660.2 .I574
	Travelers on the journey : pastors talk about their lives and commitments / Mark D. Constantine. BV4014 .C66
	Surviving your first year as pastor : what seminary couldn't teach you / Angie Best-Boss. BV652 .B47
	Letters to new pastors / Michael Jinkins. BV660.3 .J56

Defining Luther Seminary Library

In high school I was asked to come up with a list of words that describe who I am.  I don’t remember the list today, but it probably read (uncontroversially) something like the following: female, Caucasian, observant.  In thinking about this idea over the past week, I’ve attempted to identify a few more words that get at the very core of my being.  If I was born on the other side of the globe, would those traits still describe me?  The pleasure (or displeasure) of this exercise can depend upon the stage of life one is in, or even the mood du jour, but I think it can help center thoughts and actions the way a mission statement does for an organization.

My thoughts have also wandered to what words might describe a library, specifically Luther’s library.  The building?  I don’t think this is essential to the library’s essence since buildings come and go (some more swiftly than others).  The books?  Getting closer, but what about the internet and the prominent place digital resources hold?  What books represent is organized information, which is very central to the library.  What makes a library a library is its capacity to not only hold books and provide journal articles, but to make those items findable and usable.  That’s why Google is not called a library, and I think in the year 3000, when we are living on other planets, a library will still be a collection of organized information, in whatever means that information is presented (paper, pdf, or brainwaves). 

This simple exercise invites one person or one organization to focus on the central aspects of its existence, leading to a more focused life or mission.  In times of budget deficits and ever-increasing tools for research, study, and reading that are competing for library users’ attention, a mission statement driven from the steadfast qualities of the library will help guide decisions, focus staff energies, and hopefully ensure stability in the 21^st century and beyond.

What other words would you use to describe Luther’s library?  A few more ideas: community center, research assistance services, study space, research collection.

-Sophie Schottler, Luther Seminary Practicum Student

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Academia (and honor) demands that every student and researcher who uses the work of another tell us about it, and include enough information so anyone who is interested can find it. Citations vary a little with format (book, article, personal interview, online database) but cover the basics: Who created it, What is it called? Where it was published? Who published it? When was it published?

"Demonstrating that you have read what the experts have to say gives weight to your work. It also allows your instructor to look at the sources you used to further their understanding of the topic, as well as to evaluate your understanding of it." This is from the University of Georgia's web pages on academic research: http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/index.phtml

Whether you are writing a very basic paper or plugging along on your thesis, preparing an article or book for publication, the skill of citing properly can be mastered:

• Learn on your own (see Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers or the Chicago Manual of Style)
• The SBL Handbook of Style may help you through a tricky citation if you are working in Biblical or Early Christian studies.
• Databases now have citation information in the abstract area of your article. Look for "How to Cite this item" or similar text.
• Facebook has a widget that you can add to your profile. http://apps.facebook.com/citemeapp/ It was created by OCLC (the library giant that brings you WorldCat). I put it on my Facebook page and like the 5 style options it gives me: APA, Chicago (author-date), Harvard, MLA, and Turabian.
• Go directly to WorldCat and build your citations for your bibliography there.
• Learn how to use EndNote. Luther Seminary has a campus-wide site license for this great software. It is worth learning how to use if you are writing a thesis or some long papers with lots of footnotes.

Ask the library staff for help if you have a particularly tricky citation. Let us know if a workshop would be helpful.
—Jennie Bartholomew, Electronic Services Librarian