Margeaux Johnson

Librarians as Part of Cross-Disciplinary, Multi-institutional Team Projects: Experiences from the VIVO Collaboration

Cross-disciplinary, team-based collaboration is essential for addressing todays complex research questions, and librarians are increasingly entering into such collaborations. This study identifies skills needed as librarians integrate into cross-disciplinary teams, based on the experiences of librarians involved in the development and implementation of VIVO, a research discovery and collaboration platform. Participants discussed the challenges, skills gained, and lessons learned throughout the project. Their responses were analyzed in the light of the science of team science literature, and factors affecting collaboration on the VIVO team were identified. Skills in inclusive thinking, communication, perseverance, adaptability, and leadership were found to be essential.

Innovation in the Academy: Creating an Online Information Literacy Course

This article describes the instructional design and development of an online, for-credit information literacy course for distance students at a large research university. The course was accepted for the universitys Innovation Academy which is a new educational model where students blend on- and off-campus learning. Course development and sample assignments called “Literacy Labs” are described in detail, demonstrating how the course supports the American Library Association standards of information literacy, while acknowledging the role of students as content creators.

Playing Games in School: Video Games and Simulations for Primary and Secondary Education

Playing Games in School collects the best current research on using games and simulations in education. Atsusi “2c” Hirumi compiled this book because he strongly believes that interactive games have the potential to capture student engagement, encouraging them not only to learn, but to be excited about learning. Hirumi and the other contributors provide in-depth analysis on why games should be a part of education, the availability of games in four core subjects and physical education, the selection and integration of games in school, and alternate perspectives on game-based learning.

Enabling a Network of Scientists: 2010 VIVO Conference

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the 2010 VIVO Conference.Design/methodology/approach – Conference report.Findings – VIVO is an open source, semantic web discovery platform for hosting information about researchers, their interests, activities, and accomplishments. The first annual VIVO Conference brought together a diverse group of researchers, developers, publishers, information system vendors, government agencies, and librarians – all united by the common goal of enabling research discovery and supporting collaboration among researchers.Originality/value – This conference report is of interest to information professionals in academia, corporate, and governmental information centers and libraries.