Building a Participatory Culture: Collaborating with Student Organizations for Twenty-First Century Library Instruction

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Collaborative Librarianship

Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 2

2011

Building a Participatory Culture: Collaborating with Student Organizations for Twenty-first Century Library Instruction

Margeaux Johnson Marston Science Library, University of Florida, [email protected]

Melissa J. Clapp Humanities & Social Sciences Library West, University of Florida, [email protected]

Stacey R. Ewing University of Florida, Humanities & Social Sciences Library West, [email protected]

Amy G. Buhler University of Florida, Marston Science Library, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/collaborativelibrarianship

Part of the Information Literacy Commons

Recommended Citation Johnson, Margeaux; Clapp, Melissa J.; Ewing, Stacey R.; and Buhler, Amy G. (2011) "Building a Participatory Culture: Collaborating with Student Organizations for Twenty-first Century Library Instruction," Collaborative Librarianship: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29087/2011.3.1.06 Available at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/collaborativelibrarianship/vol3/iss1/2

This Scholarly Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Collaborative Librarianship by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture

Building a Participatory Culture: Collaborating with Student Organizations for Twenty-first Century Library Instruction

Margeaux Johnson ([email protected]) Science & Technology Librarian and Instruction Coordinator, Assistant University Librarian, Marston Science Library, University of Florida

Melissa J. Clapp ([email protected]) Instruction & Outreach Coordinator, Assistant University Librarian, Humanities & Social Sciences Library West, University of Florida

Stacey R. Ewing ([email protected]) Information Commons Coordinator, Assistant University Librarian, University of Florida, Hu- manities & Social Sciences Library West

Amy Buhler ([email protected]) Associate Chair & Engineering Librarian, Assistant University Librarian, University of Florida, Marston Science Library

Abstract

Today’s students are critical thinkers, collaborators, and creators. They expect to participate in twenty-first century learning environments not as passive information consumers (think lec- tures), but as active contributors (think team-based problem-solving). There are opportunities for instruction librarians to collaborate directly with student-led organizations. These partnerships have the potential to increase attendance at library events and provide platforms for students to engage in richer forms of exploratory learning that incorporate twenty-first century skills. This article will discuss the literature surrounding library instruction collaborations, identify “Libra- rian–Student Organization Collaborations” as an important form of partnership, and supply specific case studies of successful library instruction events based on these collaborations.

Introduction mount not only for students, but also for instruction librarians. Twenty-first century students are not passive consumers of information; rather, their This article reviews the literature about learning experiences must involve active campus partnerships surrounding library participation. Current pedagogies call for instruction programs. It makes a case for creative learning partnerships that engage directing focus towards engaging student- students in a participatory culture. 1 In terms led groups and participating alongside stu- of information literacy (IL) instruction, these dents in collaborative activities. Discussion collaborative relationships must include of three successful case studies of librarian- learner-librarian, learner-content, and learn- student alliances demonstrates the full po- er-learner interactions. The Partnership for tential of this type of learning experience: twenty-first Century Skills, a national organ- inviting a student organization to peer-teach ization in the United States that promotes in the library, embedding directly into a quality education at all levels with a special campus-wide Alternate Reality Game, and focus on a “Framework for 21st Century partnering with a student-led branch of stu- Learning,” recognizes collaboration and dent government for successful program- communication skills as an essential com- ming. ponent of education. 2 These skills are para-

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Literature Review The term “information literacy” (IL) is pre- valent in articles discussing these partner- Almost no literature exists documenting ships. 14 One important partnership, howev- collaboration with student-led groups for er, commonly seems to be excluded: on- library instruction, especially referring to campus partnerships with student-led or- high volume turnout. To build a case for ganizations (Librarian – Student Organiza- why collaboration with student-led groups tion Collaboration). One author hints that works, this literature review demonstrates student-led groups could be explored for that collaboration has established value and collaboration opportunities, 15 but no actual recorded successes in a variety of existing relationship is described outside of estab- collaborative relationships and that libra- lished avenues of contact with administra- rians eagerly seek new partnership oppor- tion-run university programs such as resi- tunities. This literature review also places dence hall life, athletics, Dean of Students library instruction in the context of twenty- offices, religious organizations, etc. (Libra- first century learning paradigms, including rian – Campus Organization Collabora- the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, 3 the Partner- tion). 16 This article begins to fill the void in ship for 21st Century Skills, 4 and the new me- library literature by adding three case stu- dia literacies required for participatory cul- dies of partnerships with student-led groups ture. 5 at a large university.

Library partnerships are well documented, Many authors express a general interest in not necessarily as a kind of underwriter to expanding instruction endeavors beyond success, but as a fairly reliable mechanism academic divisions. 17 There is also interest for better results and as a means to spread in moving library instruction beyond tradi- limited resources further. The conventional tional methods as librarians find that the old process is to include partners in activities, modes of teaching no longer work. 18 Peer- and then success usually follows. As de- learning and the success of programming scribed in the literature, library instruction that utilizes methods of peer-learning are collaborations usually include the following: documented in library literature. 19 Many librarians seem to be employing and even • Librarian – Course Collaboration anticipating some of the components of This vector includes traditional course- twenty-first century learning and models for integrated instruction and the current considering digital media literacy, although trend toward embedded librarianship. 6 a clear connection to the educational foun- • Librarian – Community Collaboration dations for these literacies is often lacking. 20 Both public and academic libraries have Bloom's taxonomy, perhaps the most well a history of reaching out community- known foundation for developing educa- wide to a variety of groups including tional objectives, has been an established senior citizens, 7 youths, 8 multicultural criterion for framing IL programming, 21 groups, 9 correctional facilities, 10 school- however librarians have not widely em- s 11 and other groups. 12 braced the revised taxonomy. • Librarian – Librarian Collaboration 13 Librarian–Student Organization Collabora- While these are perhaps the most common tion partnerships described in the field, librarians also regularly engage in collaborative Student-led organizations prepare learners instruction relationships, including refer- to enter the “real world.” Through active ence consultations (librarian – learner colla- engagement in affiliations of their choice, boration), subject specialization (librarian – students learn skills—such as collaboration department collaboration), and librarian – and communication skills—that will help faculty collaboration. them succeed beyond graduation. In other words, universities exist as a platform for

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 3 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture building chances for students to participate brarians must allow student leaders to be- in activities, both academic and social. Uni- come fully involved in the process. By en- versities embrace a participatory culture, gaging the students in the planning, libra- one in which students form new affiliations, rians reap the benefits of the endless energy try on new identities, and explore new and enthusiasm, creativity and innovation, forms of expression. Students are expected productivity and social leadership embo- to contribute and create through a variety of died in twenty-first century learners. They collaborative activities both inside and out- also open possibilities for peer-led instruc- side of class. Libraries must fit into the par- tion. When students are given ownership of ticipatory culture as well by moving from the process, they will participate in the event individually-based content consumption in surprising and even extraordinary num- modes of instruction to more collaborative, bers, as the three case studies from a large team-based, and creation-centered library university, below, demonstrate. instruction activities. One way to shift this focus is by working directly with student- Twenty-first Century Skills: An Overview led organizations to develop library instruction that meets their needs. Over the past decade, academic librarians carved out an instruction niche by becoming Traditionally, the life cycle of a library in- leaders in IL instruction. The importance of struction event evolves totally within the IL as a twenty-first century skill is indisput- confines of the library. In most cases, a libra- able. Several educational theorists point to rian designs a class or workshop hoping for the library as the appropriate venue for success and really believing the event to be teaching information retrieval, evaluation, fun and original—surely students will come and application skills. In particular, the if the event is fun—until, sadly, the event is Partnership for 21st Century Skills applauds written off as a colossal failure considering the efforts of the American Association of the time expended on planning and running School Librarians (AASL) in their Intellectual the event. Librarians continue to lament and Policy Foundations: poor attendance at information literacy events. 22 Or, in the situation of a typical The promotion of information literacy is a bibliographic instruction session, students hallmark of the AASL, a long time advo- are forced to acquire information-seeking cate of traditional literacy in school libra- skills at a time that may not be optimal for ries. The Partnership shares their convic- them. tion, recognizing that the worlds of work, higher education, and personal life increa- Collaboration with student organizations singly demand the ability to 1) access in- harmonizes with the goals of instruction formation efficiently and effectively, 2) librarians. Librarians want to reach as many evaluate information critically and compe- students as possible and large numbers of tently, and 3) use information accurately students can be found within student organ- and creatively. 23 izations. Direct collaboration with student- led organizations increases student turnout In his flagship white paper on the new me- while reducing planning time for libra- dia literacies that twenty-first century learn- rians. The key is to identify student-led or- ers need in order to flourish, Jenkins specifi- ganizations that have information needs cally mentions the role of libraries and libra- aligned with the library’s mission—a rians: process that requires out-of-the-box thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit. To capitalize Beyond core literacy, students need re- on these opportunities, librarians must be search skills. Among other things, they flexible and adaptable. Above all, they must need to know how to access books and ar- work quickly with diverse student popula- ticles through a library; to take notes on tions. Once a partnership is established, li- and integrate secondary sources; to assess

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the reliability of data; to read maps and performing at the most complex cognitive charts; to make sense of scientific visuali- level would be able to take content and en- zations; to grasp what kinds of informa- gage in "evaluation” (appraisal, selection, tion are being conveyed by various sys- defense, etc.) of that information. Lorin An- tems of representation; to distinguish be- derson published a second revised edition tween fact and fiction, fact and opinion; to of the canonized work in 2001. 26 Most nota- construct arguments and marshal evi- bly, A Taxonomy For Learning, Teaching, and dence. If anything, these traditional skills Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of assume even greater importance as stu- Educational Objectives moved learners into an dents venture beyond collections that active content-creation role. In this current have been screened by librarians and into model, the highest cognitive level is "creat- the more open space of the web. Some of ing." Overall, the new Bloom's Taxonomy these skills have traditionally been taught consists of six divisions. From the lowest to by librarians who, in the modern era, are the highest order skill, they are as follows: 1) reconceptualizing their role less as cura- remembering, 2) understanding, 3) apply- tors of bounded collection and more as in- ing, 4) analyzing, 5) evaluating, and 6) creat- formation facilitators who can help users ing. 27 find what they need, online or off, and can cultivate good strategies for searching ma- As instruction librarians, there is an oppor- terial. 24 tunity to reach learners at the highest levels, going beyond the recall and understanding However, the librarian's role in the twenty- of content and into the higher-level skills of first century landscape should not end with evaluating information and creating new teaching IL skills. As instructors, librarians products. In the case studies below, the should be aware of the broad range of new “Mind Mashup” event stands as a successful literacies that will prepare learners to suc- example of library instruction that engages ceed in an increasingly interdisciplinary, students in the highest order skill, “creat- international, and collaborative world. ing.” Going beyond awareness, librarians should strive to incorporate a variety of twenty-first Participatory Culture century skills and pedagogies into instruction. There are three frameworks that stand Just as the revision of Bloom's Taxonomy as invaluable tools for librarians who wish conceptualized the learner as a creator ra- to integrate a broad range of literacies into ther than a consumer of content, Jenkins’ instruction: the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, white paper on participatory culture con- Jenkins’ New Media Literacies, and the ceptualized learning as a collaborative activ- Partnership for 21st Century Skills’ “Frame- ity rather than an individual activity: "Parti- work for 21st Century Learning.” In the case cipatory culture shifts the focus of literacy studies section of this article, these frame- from one of individual expression to com- works are used to analyze specific instances munity involvement." 28 Twenty-first cen- of information literacy collaborations with tury learners not only create content, but student-led organizations at a large academ- they also contribute content to their com- ic library. munity. This practice of community mem- bership, creation, and collaboration can be Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy seen as building a participatory culture. Jen- kins identifies four types of participatory Mid-twentieth century pedagogies like cultures: “(1) ‘Affiliations’ or community Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives memberships, (2) ‘Expressions’ or creative positioned students in a role as consumers output, (3) ‘Collaborative Problem Solving’ of content. The highest order skills that stu- or team-based development of knowledge, dents could achieve were "evaluation," "syn- and (4) ‘Circulations’ or methods for pub- thesis," and "analysis." 25 That is, students lishing expressions.” 29

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exemplifies the utilization of a variety of In order to build participatory cultures, ac- new media literacies during a short event. cording to Jenkins, students will need these eleven new media literacies: Framework for Twenty-first Century Learning 1. Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of Noted earlier, the Partnership for 21st Cen- problem-solving. tury Skills is an organization that strives to 2. Performance — the ability to adopt al- build "collaborative partnerships among ternative identities for the purpose of education, business, community and gov- improvisation and discovery. ernment leaders." 31 Esteemed members in- 3. Simulation — the ability to interpret clude Adobe, Apple, Cisco Systems, the and construct dynamic models of real- Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and world processes. Microsoft. The Framework for 21st Learning 4. Appropriation — the ability to mea- advocates for a foundation of core subjects ningfully sample and remix media con- with an overarching layer of twenty-first tent. century skills. 32 These skills fall into three 5. Multitasking — the ability to scan categories with additional subclasses: one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details. • Learning & Innovation Skills 6. Distributed Cognition — the ability to o Creativity & Innovation interact meaningfully with tools that o Critical Thinking & Problem Solving expand mental capacities. o Communication & Collaboration 7. Collective Intelligence — the ability to • Information, Media, and Technology pool knowledge and compare notes Skills with others toward a common goal. o Information Literacy 8. Judgment — the ability to evaluate the o Media Literacy reliability and credibility of different o ICT Literacy information sources. • Life and Career Skills 9. Transmedia Navigation — the ability o Flexibility and Adaptability to follow the flow of stories and infor- o Initiative and Self–Direction mation across multiple modalities. o Social and Cross Cultural Skills 10. Networking — the ability to search for, o Productivity and Accountability synthesize, and disseminate informa- o Leadership and Responsibility tion. 11. Negotiation — the ability to travel As mentioned above, the core subject in li- across diverse communities, discern brary instruction is “information literacy.” and respect multiple perspectives, and Librarians must begin integrating comple- grasp and follow alternative norms. 30 mentary twenty-first century skills into library instruction programs. Library research Libraries can tap into existing participatory is often a form of critical thinking and prob- cultures such as student organizations and lem solving; therefore librarians should take participate alongside students in practicing advantage of this chance to develop non- new media literacy skills. As informal learn- traditional library instruction. The case ing environments, libraries should be pri- study of “Capture the Info Flag” is an ex- mary testing grounds for new informal ample of utilizing several “learning & inno- ways of learning such as play, transmedia vation” skills to reach out to undergra- navigation, and networking. Students en- duates. gaged in Alternate Reality Games on campus are actively involved in a highly parti- Case Studies cipatory culture. The case study of the “Feed Your Brains” zombie game, presented later,

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“Mind Mashup:” Peer Teaching Led by a animation), Audacity (sound editing), and Small Student Group Inkscape (vector drawing). Alternatives to Student Organization: Students for Free copyright and media that could be freely Culture reused became integral parts of the session. As free culture advocates, the students Students for Free Culture is a small student passed out creative commons buttons and organization with a mission closely aligned gave an overview of where students could with library values. The group strives "to find multimedia creations that they could advance cultural participation, especially in mash up into new creative products. areas of new technology" and "to promote intellectual property policy in the public Since it was student-initiated and peer- interest" (http://uf.freeculture.org). They taught, the two-hour workshop required a are highly tech-savvy students with clear relatively low time investment from libra- understandings of intellectual property rians. Librarians reserved the space, collabo- rights and media literacy principles. Fur- rated with students in content planning, thermore, they are leaders on campus in the worked with the IT department to load the use and development of open source soft- software programs, and requested a re- ware. freshment budget from the library PR & Marketing Committee. The Free Culture Partnership Formation: Student-initiated students selected the open source software Nationally, the Students for Free Culture programs, found expert peer-teachers, de- organization is working towards an Open veloped session lesson plans, and helped to University concept. A part of their approach advertise the events. involves promoting open access. The student organization initiated meetings with Learning Objectives science librarians to discuss the state of open access on campus and learn how they could Learners attending the “Mind Mashup” help. They agreed to work with librarians to workshop will be able to do the following: raise visibility about scholarly communication issues and promote the libraries' Open 1. Select Creative Commons licensed im- Access Week 2009 events ages, movies, and music to reuse, remix, (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/oa/2009/index. and construct new creative products. html). This included a local, library- 2. Identify Gimp, Blender, Audacity, and sponsored, SPARKY awards contest in Inkscape as high quality open source which students created video shorts about software programs available for media the value of information sharing creation. (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/sparkyawards). 3. Recognize the library Information Commons as a place for high-tech learn- Activity Overview ing and play. 4. Create their own multimedia projects Realizing that many fellow undergraduates using images, video, and sound clips. did not have expensive software or the media editing knowledge to create videos for Publicity/Marketing the SPARKY awards, members of Students for Free Culture proposed a one night work- Advertising came in the form of traditional shop to share open source software pro- marketing techniques. The library graphic grams. Along with a Science & Technology designer used SPARC's pre-designed, reus- Librarian and the Information Commons able “Mind Mashup” header to create small Librarian, the students brainstormed open flyers and posters. The Students for Free source media creation programs to peer- Culture passed out flyers on campus and teach. They selected four software pro- librarians hung up posters in the libraries. grams: Gimp (image editing), Blender (3-D Announcements on the library blog and in

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 7 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture the local student paper generated interest in ; Distributed Cognition the event. Prior to the event the library held Collective Intelligence a Technology Showcase in the Information ; Judgment Commons. A high volume of students came, Transmedia Navigation toured the space, and visited booths. This Networking was the perfect opportunity to inform stu- Negotiation dents of the upcoming workshop. Partnership for 21st Century Skills Frame- work Outcomes Learning and Innovation Skills ; Creativity & Innovation On the night of the event, forty-five students ; Critical Thinking & Problem Solving came with laptops in hand ready to learn ; Communication & Collaboration about media creation software. The students Information, Media, & Technology Litera- spanned a variety of disciplines: journalism, cy Skills computer science engineering, anthropolo- Information Literacy gy, and more. Every seat in the Information ; Media Literacy Commons presentation area filled up and ; Information, Communication, & Technol- students were actively engaged in demon- ogy Literacy strations of the software programs. Learners Life & Career Skills enthusiastically thanked the presenters and ; Flexibility & Adaptability librarians and asked follow-up questions ; Initiative & Self-Direction about creative commons, open access, and Social & Cross-Cultural Skills open source software. One student wrote a ; Productivity & Accountability thank-you letter to the dean of libraries, say- ; Leadership & Responsibility ing the experience was invaluable and the software was a much-needed addition to the “Feed Your Brains:” Embedding in a Cam- Information Commons workstations. Stu- pus-wide Alternate Reality Game dent reporters jumped on the story and published a highly positive review of the work- Student Organization: The alternate reality shop (and the library) in the newspaper. game, Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) Most importantly, a lasting alliance formed (http://humansvszombies.org) was created between the Students for Free Culture and in 2005 and is played on more than two the libraries. During following semesters, hundred college campuses across the United the group has continued to collaborate with States as well as in several other coun- librarians to further these shared values. tries. This game of moderated tag invaded the case-study campus in early 2010 with 21st Century Skills Checklist for “Mind the first official session in mid-April. The Mashup:” organizers spread the word through cryptic flyers, a zombie flash mob in the main quad The New Bloom’s Taxonomy on campus, Facebook, YouTube, Google, ; Creating and Tumblr. The local student group, which ; Evaluating was officially recognized as a student organ- ; Analyzing ization by student government, had over ; Applying 1,800 followers on Facebook and just fewer ; Understanding than one thousand registered players. ; Remembering Participatory Culture Skills Partnership formation: Librarian-initiated Play Librarians noticed viral marketing flyers Performance that warned of a campus-wide quarantine. Simulation Wanting to participate in campus culture, a ; Appropriation group of librarians decided to create a fun Multitasking and fast-paced information scavenger hunt

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 8 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture to complement HvZ. It was essential to call number to a cell phone. Find the move quickly through the planning process, book in the stacks and show your cell since the game was slated to begin in eight for certification. days. A team of librarians created a Zombie Survival LibGuide They could progress through the tasks in (http://libguides.uflib.ufl.edu/zombie) and any order they chose. Once they completed posted it to the HvZ Facebook page. This the four tasks, they were directed to the cer- post created an immediate and unexpected tification checkpoint where they received response. The HvZ organizers contacted the authorization as “library certified” and a Library and invited librarians to design the cupcake that looked like a bloody brain. first official mission – or shared event – within the game. Publicity/Marketing

Learning Objectives The quick turnaround time required creative marketing techniques including cryptic Upon completing the HvZ library mission, Zombie masks posted on library doors, learners will be able to do the following: small flyers posted alongside the HvZ marketing campaign, and social networking 1. Access the libraries electronic collections outreach including Facebook and Twitter. including maps, course reserves, the li- The Zombie Survival LibGuide served as an brary catalog, and project starter data- excellent way to market the event and in- bases. form users about the library's collections 2. Recognize that the library is a fun, ap- and services as they related to a zombie out- proachable place. break. The most effective form of publicity, by far, was working with the established Activity Overview community on the HvZ Facebook page.

The “Feed Your Brains” mission ran from Outcomes 5:00-6:30 p.m. on the second day of the campus-wide game and was the first shared ex- Nearly two-hundred HvZ players attended perience within the game. Players were not “Feed Your Brains.” The participants were required to attend missions, but the HvZ primarily undergraduates, with juniors community was very active. Upon register- composing the largest portion of the popula- ing, gamers received a mission overview tion. Players' majors ran the gamut from consisting of four basic tasks cleverly dis- anthropology to environmental engineering guised as ways of surviving in the event of a to math to telecommunications. At the certi- zombie outbreak: fication checkpoint, students were enthu- siastic about completing their first mission 1. Locating online maps - Look at histori- and appreciated the sweet re- cal maps of Haiti and identify a mystical wards. Students were exposed to library city. Find electronic maps of that city. resources that they would be able to use 2. Using electronic reserves - Create an e- again and again. In addition, the event was res account and add a class, download covered by two student reporters which the reading and provide a citation from provided buzz for future related events. within that article. 3. Using a database and locating an elec- 21st Century Skills Checklist for “Feed tronic article - Search Web of Science for a Your Brains:” specific article about chemical com- pounds used to induce zombie trances The New Bloom’s Taxonomy in Haiti. Report the compound. Creating 4. Using the Catalog - Find a survival Evaluating handbook in the catalog then “txt” the Analyzing

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; Applying SG. FLC serves as an avenue for new stu- ; Understanding dents to build leadership, collaboration, and ; Remembering communication skills. Participatory Culture Skills ; Play Partnership Formation: Student-initiated ; Performance Simulation FLC decided to plan a large recruiting event, Appropriation social in nature, called “Party in the Plaza.” ; Multitasking The primary goal was to promote camara- ; Distributed Cognition derie among freshmen while recruiting new ; Collective Intelligence members for FLC. They wanted to include Judgment an academic experience to commingle scho- ; Transmedia Navigation larship with fellowship. Facing the wide- ; Networking open, grassy quad is the Humanities & So- ; Negotiation cial Sciences Library. The FLC representa- Partnership for 21st Century Skills Frame- tives considered both the Library’s close work proximity to the event locale and its dual Learning and Innovation Skills nature (as a place to study and for meeting ; Creativity & Innovation one’s friends) as the ideal place for the aca- ; Critical Thinking & Problem Solving demic part of Party in the Plaza. The FLC ; Communication & Collaboration representatives approached the Instruction Information, Media, & Technology Litera- & Outreach Librarian with the idea of pro- cy Skills viding a tour or scavenger hunt in the li- ; Information Literacy brary. The academic experience developed Media Literacy by the librarian became the team-based, in- ; Information, Communication, & Technol- teractive “Capture the Info Flag” game. ogy Literacy Life & Career Skills Learning Objectives ; Flexibility & Adaptability ; Initiative & Self-Direction At the completion of “Capture the Info ; Social & Cross-Cultural Skills Flag,” learners will be able to do the follow- ; Productivity & Accountability ing: Leadership & Responsibility 1. Identify important services offered at “Capture the Info Flag”: Partnering with the library (reference, circulation, in- Student Government struction, etc.). 2. Recognize the areas and equipment Student Organization: Freshmen Leader- available to them at the library. ship Council (FLC) 3. Understand how to search for and phys- ically locate an item within the library. Student Government (SG) operates with a legislative branch, an executive branch, and Activity Overview a judicial branch. The legislative branch is composed of ninety-four student senators “Capture the Info Flag” mixed fun, team- who work on committees and divisions to work, critical thinking, communication, and allocate the university activity fees each year leadership with information literacy. While (among many other responsibilities) which envisioning the event, the librarian worked amount to more than thirteen million dol- with FLC representatives to determine po- lars. With this budget SG offers services and tential number of participants (which, at the programming for the student body in a time, was two-hundred and fifty) and an wide array of student interests. The FLC of ideal day and time for the event. The event SG recruits freshmen to become members of was held in the evening on a Thursday,

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 10 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Considering the A bucket of numbered and color-coded flags lengthy duration of the Party in the Plaza, were positioned at each task-fulfillment the library event would need to be flexible, area. The groups were free to take one flag to be spread out across the entire building to per team per task. When the teams com- avoid concentrated areas of congestion as pleted the four tasks, they returned to the the library was still open for regular busi- Plaza of the Americas and presented their ness and, finally, to be able to recycle easily flags at the ticket booth to receive their pizza throughout the evening. vouchers.

Party in the Plaza was an open event where Publicity/Marketing students could come at any time during the evening. However, in order to participate in Student government funds paid for a DJ and the social events held in the Plaza of the pizza. Library funds paid for supplies for Americas, students first had to complete “Capture the Info Flag,” including materials “Capture the Info Flag” inside the library. and printing to make two hundred SG volunteers and members of FLC were on flags. The student government created post- hand to organize students into teams in the ers and flyers to advertise Party in the Plaza, Plaza of the Americas, to explain the rules of and much of the marketing occurred online the game, and to present each team with a and in the residence halls. The Dean of Stu- task list bookmark. These tasks involved dents Office’s New Student Programs holds performing actual examples of common li- events for new students during the begin- brary transactions needed by freshmen and ning of each fall term called “Weeks of Wel- were written in relaxed, 18-year-old-friendly come,” and Party on the Plaza was listed on diction to help make the event fun and easy this event calendar. Members of FLC for the freshmen to relate to: dressed up in superhero costumes to per- form on-site marketing, which piqued the FLC and the Library Present “Capture the curiosity of many freshmen. No publicity Info Flag” appeared in the library except for noise warning signs the day of the event. Directions: Go where the clue leads you. Pick up a flag. Collect four flags and Outcomes return to the Plaza of the Americas. More than five hundred students partici- 1. Booo, you have to write a research pa- pated in “Capture the Info Flag.” This num- per! Grab your first flag at the desk ber is unprecedented at the campus libraries where you go to get help finding books for an information literacy event and is and articles. counted as a huge success by libra- 2. Log on to a computer and find the call rians. Earlier in the day, two FLC event or- number for Great Military Battles by Cy- ganizers met with the instruction librarian ril Falls. What collection is it in? You’ll in the library to run through “Capture the find your second flag near the book. Info Flag.” These two students were so im- 3. Well hey! You can go to a library orien- pressed by the game itself and, importantly, tation this summer. Your next flag is in by what they learned in the game that they the classroom where orientations take brought the rest of the event organizers to place. Hint: the library’s home page the library an hour later so they could com- knows all… plete the game as well. The run-through 4. “Books…reading…what?! These books also helped the organizers explain the game smell dusty. Don’t you have anything better to the participants. new to read?” Sure we do! Grab your fourth and final flag in the new books Verbal feedback from the library employees area. who worked at the public service points was encouraging. Students were not afraid to ask

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 11 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture for help or for directions and they were even Life & Career Skills more determined to solve the tasks when ;Flexibility & Adaptability library staff refused to provide them with ;Initiative & Self-Direction the answers. The Assistant Dean of Students ;Social & Cross-Cultural Skills who was Director of New Student Programs ;Productivity & Accountability visited the library during the course of the ;Leadership & Responsibility event and provided the instruction librarian with excellent feedback about the multitude Conclusion of students attracted to the library and how much fun they were having while learning Librarians must possess collaboration and important library skills. The instruction li- communication skills in order to remain re- brarian took pictures inside and outside of levant in the twenty-first century. To aug- the library throughout the evening, captur- ment library instruction, a wide range of ing images of happy students waving their collaborative relationships should be used flags, costumed super-heroes interacting including the traditional Librarian–Learner with freshmen, and of FLC members proud (reference), Librarian–Faculty, and Libra- of their successful event. rian–Department (Subject Specialist or Liai- son model) partnerships. Newer forms of 21st Century Skills Checklist for “Capture connections should also be explored, such as the Info Flag:” the Librarian–Course cooperation used in embedded librarianship and the Librarian– The New Bloom’s Taxonomy Community mutualism (outreach) common- Creating ly used in public libraries. Among the my- Evaluating riad potential collaborations in academic Analyzing libraries, Librarian–Student Organization ;Applying Collaborations are an underused but highly ;Understanding valuable form of partnership that enhances ;Remembering library instruction. Developing collaborative Participatory Culture Skills experiences with student-led organizations ;Play not only increases turnout at events, but also ;Performance creates opportunities for students to devel- ;Simulation op twenty-first century skills, practice new Appropriation media literacies, and attain higher levels of ;Multitasking cognitive engagement. ;Distributed Cognition ;Collective Intelligence Endnotes ;Judgment ;Transmedia Navigation ;Networking 1 Henry Jenkins. Confronting the Challenges of Negotiation Participatory Culture: Media Education for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Frame- 21st century (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, work 2009). Learning and Innovation Skills 2 Partnership for 21st Century Skills,"The ;Creativity & Innovation Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the ;Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 21st Century Skills Framework," Partnership ;Communication & Collaboration for 21st Century Skills, 2007, Information, Media, & Technology Literacy http://www.p21.org/route21/images/stori Skills es/epapers/skills_foundations_final.pdf ;Information Literacy 3 Lorin W. Anderson, David R. Krathwohl, Media Literacy and Benjamin Samuel Bloom. A Taxonomy ;Information, Communication, & Technol- for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revi- ogy Literacy

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1): 2-15 (2011) 12 Johnson, Clapp, Ewing & Buhler: Building a Participatory Culture

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Bridge: Testing a Library Workshop for a "What Students Want: Generation Y and the Summer Bridge Learning Communi- Changing Function of the Academic Li- ty," Research Strategies 20 (2007): 257-270; brary," portal: Libraries and the Academy 5, no. Hine et al., 102; Scott Walter and Michele 3 (2005): 405-420; Barbara MacAdam and Eodice, "Meeting the Student Learning Im- Darlene P. Nichols, "Peer Information Coun- perative: Supporting and Sustaining Colla- seling: An Academic Library Program for boration Between Academic Libraries and Minority Students," Journal of Academic Li- Student Services Programs," Research Strate- brarianship 15, no. 4 (1989): 257– 270. gies 20 (2007): 219-225; Chelsea Dinsmore, 20Schmidt and Kaufman, 243; Eileen E. Al- "Small Grants Can Have Big Re- len, "Active Learning and Teach- wards" in Librarians as Community Partners: ing: Improving Postsecondary Li- An Outreach Handbook, ed. Carol Smallwood brary Instruction," The Reference Librarian 24, (Chicago: American Library Association, no. 51 (1995): 89-103; Laura Urbanski For- 2010), pp. 17-19; Sylvia Tag, Stefanie Buck, rest, "Academic Librarians and Student Af- and Martha N. Mautino, "Creating Connec- fairs Professionals: An Ethical Collaboration tions: Library Instruction Across Cam- for Higher Education," Education Libraries 21, pus," Research Strategies 20, no. 4 (2005): 226- no. 1 (2005): 11-5; Hine et al., 104-105; Walter 241; Tenofsky, 285; Pauline S. Swartz, Brian and Eodice, 221. A. Carlisle, E. ChisatoUyeki, "Libraries and 21 Allen, 94; Hook, 32. Student Affairs Partners for Student Suc- 22 Love, 8; Mackey and Jacobson, 143. cess," Reference Services Review 35, no. 1 23 Partnership for 21st Century Skills,"The (2007): 109-122; Mackey and Jacobson, 140- Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the 144; Emily Love and Margaret B. Edwards, 21st Century Skills Framework," 18. "Forging Inroads Between Libraries and 24 Jenkins, Confronting the Challenges of Parti- Academic, Multicultural and Student Ser- cipatory Culture,19. vices," Reference Services Review 37, no. 1 25 Benjamin Samuel Bloom, Taxonomy of Edu- (2009): 20-29; Emily Love, "A Simple Step: cational Objectives: The Classification of Educa- Integrating Library Reference and Instruc- tional Goals. (New York: Longmans, Green, tion Into Previously Established Academic 1956). Programs for Minority Students," The Refer- 26 Lorin W. Anderson, David R. Krathwohl, ence Librarian 50, no. 1 (2009): 4-13; Trudi and Benjamin Samuel Bloom. A Taxonomy Jacobson, "Partnerships Between Library for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revi- Instruction Units and Campus Teaching sion of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objec- Centers," The Journal of Academic Librarian- tives. (New York: Longman, 2001). ship, (2001): 311-316; Cummings, 288; James 27 Ibid. K. Elmborg and Sheril Hook, eds., Centers for 28 Jenkins, Confronting the Challenges of Parti- Learning: Writing Centers and Libraries in Col- cipatory Culture, 4. laboration (Chicago: Association of College 29 Ibid. and Research Libraries, 2005). 30 Ibid. 17 Scales, Matthews and Johnson, 229; Dahl, 31 Partnership for 21st Century Skills,"The 1; Dewey, 10; Tenofsky, 285; Love and Ed- Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the wards, 21; Cummings, 294; Elmborg and 21st Century Skills Framework." Hook. 32 Ibid. 18 Schmidt and Kaufman, 244; Cummings, 294. 19 Parton and Fleming, 82; Schmidt and Kaufman, 249; Dewey, 13; Haras and McE- voy, 259; Susan Deese-Roberts and Kathleen Keating, Library Instruction: A Peer Tutoring Model (Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, 2000), 27; Susanna Gardner and Susan Eng,

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