Questions & Answers
Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of partnering with computing support staff?
A: Advantages were:Computer support personnel provided technical skills. Not all librarians wanted to assist in the workshops; staff from computing support ensured an adequate number of helpers. The head of our computing support organization was also the chair of the campus Web Committee-- she was therefore the best qualified to address issues about web design.
Q: How do you find people who WANT to teach for credit even though there's no money involved?
A: Some people WANT to teach because they enjoy teaching and consider credit instruction an important part of their library's mission. I chose to teach at WMC for this reason, not because I was asked to teach by an administrator.Since it can be difficult to make unwilling people take on credit instruction, perhaps the best answer is to aggressively seek out people with an interest in such instruction and make clear that it is part of their job. Miami University aggressively recruits librarians with a willingness to instruct. The Dean of the Libraries noted only minutes into our meeting that she considered credit instruction an important part of the library mission and that new librarians therefore would teach. During interviews, incoming librarians are required to teach a brief lesson in the library's electronic classroom.
It can be aggravating to realize that you are not getting paid for teaching something but adjunct instructors are. The easiest way to deal with this is to remember that we don't receive honoraria, bonuses or other perks for BI sessions, either.
More questions? Email Rob at rwithers@lib.muohio.edu.