Category Archives: School of Library and Information Science

Social Workers in the Library program gets high marks

Peter Allen Lee, a professor with the School of Social Work and Lili Luo, a professor with the School of Library and Information Sciences, received a College of Applied Sciences and Arts Incentive Grant for 2011-12 to evaluate a program created in 2007 that connects residents with social workers at public libraries. The San José State University professors’ evaluation of the program has been published as a journal article

(http://www.qqml.net/papers/July_Issue/8QQML_Journal_2012_Luo_Estreicher_Lee_Thomas_Thomas_1_73-82.pdf)

Lee and Luo set out to look at the efficacy of the program started in 2007 by local Librarian Deborah Estreicher and Lee. The goal of the program is to seek ways to increase access to information about social service programs and to look for ways the program can be improved. For the last few years, professional social workers, with the support of the National Association of Social Workers, have been volunteering to meet one-on-one twice a month with those seeking information about social services.  The program is not intended to provide an ongoing relationship between the patrons and social workers, but to help connect patrons with services in the community.

In questionnaires from those using the services, Lee and Luo found that they reported the service to be helpful or very helpful. The main areas in which people sought advice was in finding services for housing, food, health and mental  health services, and employment. In 20-minute sessions, social workers offered referral information to patrons to connect them with such services. Other services patrons sought included grief support, family counseling and legal advice.  The evaluation found that seeing patrons in the library, which included a waiting area and private room was rated well. Patrons also liked the undivided attention in the private session as well as the system of screening and appointment scheduling.

For a longer summary of the evaluation of the Social Work in the Libraries, see the attached PDF Social Workers in the Library. For the journal article, visit http://www.qqml.net/papers/July_Issue/8QQML_Journal_2012_Luo_Estreicher_Lee_Thomas_Thomas_1_73-82.pdf

Researchers look at how libraries can increase health literacy

San José State University professors are trying to improve access to health information for members of our community by researching how public librarians may be able to help in filling the gaps. Their study, “Preparing public librarians for consumer health information services,” has been completed.

Dr. Lili Luo, of the School of Library Information Sciences, and Dr. Van Ta Park, of Health Science and Recreation, set out to answer four main questions with a research grant from the College of Applied Sciences and Arts:

  1. What are the types of health information needs fulfilled by reference services at public libraries?
  2. What are the challenges encountered by public librarians when assisting patrons with health information needs?
  3. What are public librarians’ desired content and delivery options of training on providing consumer health information service?
  4. To elicit thoughts and suggestions from health care professionals about areas of health literacy needs, and ways public librarians can help to improve the public’s health literacy.

According to the Institute of Medicine, nearly half of all American adults, or 90 million people, have difficulty understanding and using health information. The findings from Luo and Park’s research will help in increasing health literacy, or “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”

The pair focused on public libraries because they believed them to be a no-cost, convenient way to share health information resources. In their research, they surveyed public librarians to see what inquiries they get from library visitors and how comfortable librarians are with directing people to health information.

Through their study they found people most often seek “factual information about the human body, a medical/health condition, a disease, or a medical concept, questions about fitness/diet/nutrition, and questions about the treatment options/healing process of a medical/health condition or a disease, including complementary and alternative therapies,” according to a summary of the research. But the researchers also found the biggest challenges to librarians in connecting visitors to health-related information was difficulty in interpreting their questions and in persuading patrons to use more up-to-date materials such as those available online versus print materials. They also found some librarians were not comfortable, confident or competent in providing reference service to health information seekers due to concerns such as an inadequate understanding of health literacy, provision of misinformation and possible intrusion on patron privacy.

In addition to the information about the questions they have received and the challenges in getting information to clients, the researchers asked librarians how they would want to receive training to improve their ability to share health information. They found the overwhelming response was to use self-paced, online tutorials.

For the last part of their research, they shared some examples of answers librarians had given to health information inquiries with healthcare professions to get their input on the responses. They found health care professionals thought public libraries should be used as part of the solution in addressing health literacy needs. Some health care professionals noted that librarians should be cautious in their responses so as not to provide medical advice or personal comments. They recommended reputable websites and training as a resource for librarians to improve their own and community member’s health literacy.

To read more on the findings of the study, view the attached PDF: Preparing public librarians for consumer health information service

SLIS awarded for innovation

San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science has received the 2013 Sloan Consortium Effective Practice Award for its innovation in online education. The school, part of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, offers

Debbie Faires receives the Sloan-C award in Florida.

completely online degree programs and has faculty who teach remotely from as far away as London.

According to the SLIS website, the award recognizes the school’s effective use of the Sloan-C Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Education Programs, which the school uses to measure the quality of its fully online graduate programs. The award also acknowledges the school’s efforts to share results transparently with all stakeholders by posting scorecard results (http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/about-slis/scorecard) on the school’s website.

The 2013 award winners were announced on Nov. 4. Winners will be honored Nov. 21 during the Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning in Lake Buena Vista, Fl.

The Sloan Consortium is nonprofit group of individuals, institutions and organizations that are committed to quality online education, started in 1992.

For more on the award, visit the SLIS website at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/about-slis/news/detail/sjsu-slis-receives-sloan-c-award-honoring-innovation-online-learning.

CASA staff recognized for long-time service

At the 46thAnnual Spartan Service Celebration on Oct. 30, three staff members from the College of Applied Sciences and Arts were recognized along with more than 80 staff members campus-wide for serving San José State University for 15 to 35 years.

Stanley Laufer stands during the Spartan Service Celebration. He has worked on campus for 15 years.

Stanley Laufer and Kristina Luna, who work in the School of Library and Information Science, were recognized for 15 years of service while Curt Sennewald, who works in Kinesiology, was recognized for 20 years of service.  Staff members are first recognized when they reach the milestone of 15 years of service and then again at 5-year increments.

Laufer is a network administrator for SLIS, a program that is completely online. Luna is the administrative services manager and works closely with SLIS Director Sandy Hirsh to manage the budget for the college.  Sennewald is an instructional support assistant II with Kinesiology.

“The staff are the backbone of the university,” said Shawn Bibb, the vice president for Administration and Finance, who was himself honored for 25 years of service.

During the presentation of awards, different AVPs took the opportunity to touch on some of the goals set by President Mohammad Qayoumi in the strategic plan for the university.

“Thank you to all of you who make the university a better place to work by helping and caring,” said Bill Nance, the vice president of student affairs, noting that staff members play a large part in welcoming students and other visitors to the university.

At the recent celebration, five staff members were recognized for 35 years of service.

Provost Ellen Junn acknowledged in a fast-paced business environment it is becoming increasingly rare for employees to stay at the same company or organization for 30 or 35 years. She referenced a short video that gave voice to a handful of the long-time employees who talked about their experience on campus.

“They talk about love of the community,” she said. “…Staff represents the heart of the campus.”

The format for the service celebration was updated this year from a luncheon in past years to an afternoon recognition ceremony followed by a reception that allowed honorees to mingle with others from campus.

Four Applied Sciences and Arts authors recognized

More than two dozen published authors and editors were recognized at the San José State University Annual Author Awards Monday at Martin Luther King Library. The annual event recognizes the scholarly works of faculty and administrators and this year four members of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts will be honored.

In the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, the publications include a book on the changing face of journalism, ways to manage information, epidemiology and leadership in social work.

Richard Craig, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, wrote “News Writing and Reporting: The Complete Guide for Today’s Journalist,”  published by Oxford Press. The book includes information on news gathering, reporting and writing in a world with changing technology for collecting and gathering information as well as an audience that is tech savvy.

Patricia Franks, a professor in the School of Library and Information Sciences, wrote “Records and Information Management,” published by ALA/Neal-Schuman. The book looks at ways to handle records on paper, in electronic form, in new media form such as blogs and wikis, as well as information in ‘the cloud’ from creation to preservation.

B. Burt Gerstman, a professor in the department of Health Science, wrote “Epidemiology Kept Simple,” published by Wiley-Blackwell. The book is an introduction to the epidemiological principles and methods, with chapters devoted to the infectious disease process, outbreak investigation and screening for disease.

Roger Volker, a professor in Health Science and Recreation, wrote “Facilitative Leadership in Social Work Practice,” published by Springer Publishing Company. The book is focused on helping social work students and practitioners become more effective agents of change through understanding the principles of facilitative leadership.