Registration for all online seminars and Webcasts qualifies for the ACRL Frequent Learner Program. Register for three, get one free.

Keep up-to-date with upcoming ACRL e-Learning opportunities by subscribing to our RSS feed and visiting our events calendar. Don’t miss out on these exciting learning opportunities!

January

A Mobile Bridge: QR Codes and Libraries (Webcast: January 26, 2011): This Webcast will introduce this powerful yet simple mobile technology and will explore the many possible applications of QR Codes in academic libraries.

February

Developing a Comprehensive Critical Thinking Curriculum: From Goal-Setting to Assessment (Online Seminar: February 14 – March 11, 2011): This four-week course will model and teach the Learning Cycle, a method of instructional design based on the learning theories of prominent educational researchers. 

Deciding with Data (Online Seminar: February 21 – March 18, 2011): Learn about the lifecycle of library data from setting up its collection to making decisions using this information.

The Not-So-Distant Librarian: Online Library Instruction to Engage Students and Faculty (Webcast: February 22, 2011): Gain a better understanding of online teaching and will be able to design an online library instruction session that meets the needs of various learning styles.
  
Electronic Collection Development for the Academic E-Library (Online Seminar: February 28 – March 18, 2011): Learn to create an academic e-library collection development plan for free and fee-based Web-accessible resources for a patron community of your choice.

Complete details are available on the ACRL e-Learning Web site. For more information about ACRL e-Learning opportunities, contact Margot Conahan at (312) 280-2522 or mconahan@ala.org.

“Receiving an Excellence in Academic Libraries Award is a national tribute to a library and its staff for the outstanding services, programs and leadership they provide to their students, administrators, faculty and community,” said ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen K. Davis. “It is wonderful to learn of the innovative programs and services being offered by these three exemplary institutions.”

The Moraine Valley Community College Library, winner of the community college category, was recognized for creating an environment that fosters numerous relationships with partners outside those traditionally associated with libraries.

“The selection committee was impressed to read that a librarian co-chaired Moraine Valley’s Academic Quality Improvement Program committee,” said Pamela Snelson, chair of the 2009 Excellence in Academic Libraries Selection Committee and college librarian at Franklin & Marshall College. “The staff is exceptionally supportive of students – the staff raised money for a Library Student Scholarship for their student workers.”

“It is my pleasure to work with the great group of people at the Moraine Valley Community College library,” said Sylvia Jenkins, dean of Academic Development and Learning Resources. “We accomplish so much because of everyone’s dedication to student success. I’m honored that the hard work of the library staff is being recognized by ACRL and Blackwell’s Book Services.”

The staff of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University, winner of the college category, impressed the selection committee with its “can do” attitude that has resulted in many innovative and creative programs.

“The library’s Green program, an emphasis in the university’s strategic plan, displays forward thinking — far ahead of the curve both in content and partnership with student body,” Snelson said. “The campus dining hall book mobile program is a program members of the selection committee are eager to emulate at their libraries.”

“The entire staff of the Wyndham Robertson Library is deeply honored to receive this award,” said Joan D. Ruelle, University librarian. “It is especially delightful to be recognized for our sometimes unusual approaches to outreach; kickball and karaoke are not always perceived as direct pathways to more successful information literacy programs.

The University of Minnesota Libraries, winner of the university category, was praised for developing excellent strategies to successfully transform and rebrand the libraries to secure a highly valued position on campus.

“The libraries understand the importance of the process of conducting scholarship and have implemented programs to support behaviors rather than product,” said Snelson. “By ‘getting in the flow of users,’ the libraries have moved out of their comfort zone and shifted into an engagement-centered model for all library services and programs.”

“We’re immensely proud of the success we’ve had in integrating our expertise and resources into the life of the campus,” said Wendy Pradt Lougee, university librarian and McKnight presidential professor at the University of Minnesota. “To have our staff’s innovative work recognized by the ACRL community is quite simply wonderful.”

Each winning library will receive $3,000 and a plaque, to be presented at an award ceremony held on each recipient’s campus. The winners also will receive special recognition at the ACRL President’s Program during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, July 13, in Chicago.