My book has a cover! And a title! And a release date! And my name is on it!
Using Context in Information Literacy Instruction: Coming January 2022–pre-order now!
Month: July 2021
What I’m reading: July 2021
Some bite-sized thoughts and reflections on the items I’ve been reading, listening to, or watching this month.
Also: Did you read, watch, listen to, play something this month that you particularly enjoyed? Feel free to share in the comments! I’m always looking for recommendations.
Note: The following post contains spoilers for Monument Valley, In Treatment, Love, Victor, All That Glitters, Never Have I Ever, and an old episode of The New Girl.
Gone fishing: Summer edition
I’m on vacation this week so I won’t be posting any new content, but below is a list of some favorite posts from this year so far in case you’d like to check out any you might have missed. Enjoy and see you in a few weeks!
Guest post: Jesi Buell on how to use research in creative writing
Dear students: Citing your sources incorrectly is not plagiarism
Research in fiction writing: What problem is this investigation trying to solve (for librarians)?
Reference desk interactions: Helping “library users” versus helping “information creators”
Research in fiction writing: What problems is this investigation trying to solve (for writers)?
Reflecting on Being a (Former) First Generation Student
My Online Teaching Persona is a Major Introvert
Why I Start My Freshman Seminar with a Game Called “Category Die”
Dear AWP: Research is Not Just for Nonfiction
In Search of Borders Between Research Contexts
That Time I Tried Using a Tom Lehrer Song to Teach Plagiarism
Basics of Creative Research: A totally random Zoom event
Hey everybody,
On July 20, I’ll be giving a short talk on the basics of creative research, based on the findings of some of the studies I’ve talked about here, to a creative writing Meetup group I started a few weeks ago. I decided to post it here too in case there is any interest. The event will take place on Zoom at 7 p.m. Eastern. The information in this talk will be of interest to both creative writers and librarians looking to learn more about creative research.
If you’re interested, click the link to register below and I’ll send you the Zoom link the day of the event. The talk is free and you do not need to join the Meetup group to participate.
Basics of Creative Research
Date: Tuesday, July 20
Time: 7 p.m. Eastern
Location: Zoom (link will be sent the day of the event)
Description: A talk about some research basics based on a study of popular and academic writing books as well as published author interviews. What types of research do published authors talk about most? What recommendations do they give for going about the research process? What advice do they have for using research as part of a creative work? The talk will last about 30 minutes with time afterward for Q&A.
Library faculty and the myth of protected time
A few weeks back, a survey went out to all the librarians in my state university system asking us about “protected time.” Did we have adequate time to produce the research and publications that, for many of us, are a required part of our job? Also: did we want such time written into the librarian-specific portion of our revised union contract?
I don’t know how other librarians in my state felt about this survey but my reaction was basically: ugh.
On going back to the office
Like a lot of people, I’ve spent the last year or so working from home but now, starting next week, that time is coming to an end. Everyone on my campus (or, well, the people who are actually there during the summer) is being called back as of July 6 and, as you can, imagine some people are happier about it than others.
Personally, I’m a lot less unhappy about it than I expected to be.
Studying Research 