October 02, 2023

Sponsored by the WRLC Sharing Expertise Committee*

Join us for an engaging and informative discussion on the cutting-edge world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the field of librarianship. Presented by Trevor Watkins, Teaching and Outreach Librarian at George Mason University, the SEC is excited to bring this presentation to the members of the WRLC.

Date: Friday, October 13th

Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Zoom - link: https://wrlc-org.zoom.us/j/81236965829?pwd=mUQLnAo005buP9MvoaBhsBflg4Sa77.1

Event Highlights:

1. Introduction to AI (5 minutes):

Get started with a brief introduction to the fascinating realm of artificial intelligence. Learn about its origins, evolution, and its growing importance in various fields, including libraries.

2. AI in Libraries (5 minutes):

Discover how AI is reshaping the landscape of libraries and information services. Explore its applications and the exciting possibilities it offers for enhancing library operations.

3. AI Hype and Generative AI (5-7 minutes):

Dive into the world of AI hype and understand why generative AI, particularly ChatGPT and other innovative tools, is currently at the forefront. Explore the impact of these technologies on libraries and beyond.

4. Ethics in AI (5-7 minutes):

Delve into the critical topic of ethics in AI. Explore the ethical considerations that librarians and AI practitioners must navigate in the ever-evolving world of technology.

5. AI in Research (10 minutes):

Uncover recommended methods and tools for leveraging AI in research. Learn about prompt engineering, the importance of subject specialty knowledge for subject librarians, and how to create multi-layered search strings.

6. AI in the Classroom (10 minutes):

Explore the integration of AI in educational settings. Discover effective lesson planning strategies, AI literacy initiatives, and the role of information literacy in preparing students for an AI-driven world.

7. Potential of AI and Common Myths (5 minutes):

Unmask the true potential of AI while debunking common myths and misconceptions. Gain insights into the strengths and limitations of AI technology.

8. Hands-on Exercise (20 minutes):

Participate in a hands-on exercise where you'll have the opportunity to interact with AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Bard, and more. Learn how to effectively prompt engineer generative AI tools and witness their capabilities firsthand.

9. Interactive Q&A (18-20 minutes):

Engage in a lively and interactive Q&A session with our expert speaker. Ask questions, address concerns, and explore the fascinating world of AI in depth.

This event promises to be an engaging journey into the world of AI and its significance for librarianship, research, and education. Whether you're a seasoned librarian, an AI enthusiast, or simply curious about the future, this discussion has something for everyone.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to explore the intersection of AI and libraries. Save the Zoom link to your calendar and join us for an insightful and thought-provoking discussion!

Note: For more details about the ALA panel discussion that inspired this event, you can read the full article here.

*Fun Fact: this article was completely written using AI.

In January 2023, the WRLC launched the first year of a two-year pilot Open Educational Resource (OER) program grant program. Across the WRLC, thirteen faculty received a $2,000 Open@WRLC Faculty Course Transformation grant to provide support as they worked to adopt OER courseware material into their curriculum and provide low to no-cost courses at their university.

The Textbook Affordability Working Group (TAWG) is thrilled to share that the  program is estimated to yield $124,018.00 in student textbook savings in the 2023-34 academic year. The second year of the pilot program will begin with a Call for Proposals this coming January 2024. Learn more here: Open@WRLC Faculty Course Transformation Program.

The following OER transformed courses will be offered, at zero cost, in the 2023-24 academic year:

American University

Dr. Krisztina Domjan

• ELTA 081 Intro to Grad Academic Writing
  Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

Dr. James Quirk

• GOVT 210 Public Policy and Public Policy Writing

  Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024

Catholic University of America

Dr. Kathryn Degnan

• PSY 705 Statistical Methods I and PSY 706 Statistical Methods II

  Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

Gallaudet University

Dr. Adebowale Ogunjirin

• BIO 233 Human Anatomy and Physiology and BIO 333 Human Anatomy & Physiology II

  Spring 2024

George Washington University

Dr. Elizabeth Chacko

• GEOG 1001 Introduction to Human Geography

  Spring 2024

Howard University

Dr. Roberto De Leo

• MATH 156 Calculus I and MATH 157 Calculus II

  Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

Dr. Jermaine Young

• POLS 003 Introduction to Comparative Politics

  Spring 2024

Dr. Sosanya Jones

• ELPS 606 Higher Education Administration & Governance

  Fall 2023

Marymount University

Dr. Larry Clay

• MGT 451 Strategic Management

  Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024

Dr. John Jamison

• MGT 304 Organizational Management

  Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

Dr. Judith Fruiterman

• NU 333 Health Promotion and Illness Management in the Childbearing Years

  Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024

Dr. Stephanie Chalk

• CE (TBD): Mental Health Treatment of Trauma and Violence

  Spring 2024 and Summer 2024

University of the District of Columbia

Dr. Ronnie Brown

• CCEN 101C Introduction to Engineering - Python Programming Text

  Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

Save the Date: TAWG $200 Open Textbook Library Review Stipend + Webinar Series

TAWG is ready to begin its Fall 2023 Open Textbook Library OER workshop schedule. As in previous years, the workshop series will cover a wide variety of OER topics and feature faculty from across the WRLC faculty, who have adopted OER into their courseware, and will join us to share their experiences and answer questions.

If you’re interested in how OER can inform retention efforts, improve classroom experiences, assist our most vulnerable students, and respond to DEI challenges, join us at one of our upcoming Fall 2023 presentations. And, of course, encourage your faculty to attend and take advantage of the $200 OpenTextbook Library Stipend Review opportunity! We look forward to seeing you there and are eager to hear how we can assist your campus’ OER advocacy efforts.

• October 11th, 2023 1:00 PM: Evaluating OER: Different Tools and Resources

• October 26th, 2023 12:00 PM: How OER Enables and Aligns with DEI Values

• November 8th, 2023 1:00 PM: OA vs. OER, and CC Licensing

Learn more and register here! Open@WRLC Upcoming Events

LibreTexts’ OER Collection Added to Primo

Last year, the Open Textbook Library, a peer-reviewed collection of post-secondary OER textbooks and courseware material, was added to Primo, making it even easier for WRLC faculty and students to find and access high quality OER material for their courseware and study needs.

This September, Libretexts, another collection of OER post-secondary courseware material, authored by faculty and published by colleges and universities, was added to Primo, as well. Libretexts provides an opportunity for faculty and subject experts to collaborate and build freely available OER and currently offers twelve widely accessed college-level disciplines from STEM to Humanities. Boasting 154 available courses, the Libretexts project  has supported over $31 million in textbooks savings to university and college students across the country.

Be sure to contact your TAWG representative or email open@wrlc.org with any questions about Open@WRLC programming or assistance with locating relevant OER material for your courseware needs.

Reparative Cataloging at the WRLC

Each month, members of the WRLC Reparative Cataloging Subgroup take turns sharing news related to reparative cataloging and recent updates to the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSHs). There were no new headings or updates from LCSH, but there were updates in the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT:

• Bisexual people, CHANGE from Bisexuals

• Gay people, CHANGE from Gays

• Gay men, UPDATED to include references to newly updated headings

• Lesbians, UPDATED to include references to newly updated headings

• Multiracial people (NEW)

• Orthodox Jews (NEW)

In other news, ExLibris is planning to add Homosaurus terms to CZ records. They hope to have this implemented no later than December 2023

Upcoming webinars and news related to reparative work:

• ACRL LDG: Maintenance as a Core Value: Recommendations for Increasing Gender Equity on Digital Scholarship Teams -- October 5, free

• Best of Core at ALA Annual Conference: Sustainable Reparative Description and You -- October 11, $

• ATLA: Less Talk, More Action: Adventures in Inclusive Metadata. October 11, 2023, free.

• “Getting Started with Accessible User Experience (UX) Research.” 2023. Choice 360 (blog). September 25, 2023. https://www.choice360.org/libtech-insight/getting-started-with-accessible-user-experience-ux-research/.

• “Making GW’s Library Catalog Express and Reflect Our Community’s Values | GW Today | The George Washington University.” n.d. GW Today. https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/making-gws-library-catalog-express-and-reflect-our-communitys-values.

As always, if you see headings or descriptions that you feel should be updated or changed, please submit the Reparative description heading reporting form created by the subgroup or join us at our next meeting on October 25, 2023.

At a Glance: Consortium Loan Service Savings

APAC's Idea of the Month

Add all Enumeration and Chronology fields to the Import Profile

The Alma/Primo Advisory Committee's (APAC) October Idea of the Month recommendation seeks to add all Item Enumeration and Chronology fields to an import profile.

Currently, only Enumeration A - C and Chronology I - K are listed in the Inventory Information tab of Import Profiles. The WRLC uses Enumeration A-D; Enumeration D specifically is used for free-text phrases that do not conveniently fit into the category of volume, number or issue; so "index", "part", "box", etc. are all written in EnumD. This is why it is frustrating that this enumeration field cannot be imported via an import profile.

This Idea Exchange post asks for the ability to import all of the enumeration fields that are available in the item record in Alma, not just a handful.

Ex Libris hosts the Idea Exchange to enable customers to influence the development of new features and solutions. Anyone with an Idea Exchange login can use their 25 votes to support their favorite ideas. Each month, the WRLC Alma/Primo Advisory Committee (APAC) highlights an idea and encourages you to vote for it to raise its visibility.

If you don't have an Idea Exchange account, just find the "New here? Create an account" link on the idea page. Then enter your email address to start the account creation process.

APAC welcomes nominations for future Ideas of the Month. Anyone can highlight an idea on the WRLC Idea Exchange Basecamp or you can submit ideas to your APAC representative.

- Jackie Saavedra (WRLC)

On behalf of the Alma/Primo Advisory Committee

Evaluating OER: Different Tools and Resources

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 : 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Webinar Via Zoom

Meghan Kowalski, UDC

Brianna Chatmon, Marymount University

Join the Washington Research Library Consortium Textbook Affordability Working Group for a brief introduction to open textbooks. Attendees will have the opportunity to earn a $200 stipend by posting a review of an open textbook!

This workshop includes:

• A brief overview of Open Educational Resources (OER)

• The benefits of adopting OER in your course

• A look at the Open Textbook Library

• Methods to evaluate OER to see if it is the right fit for your course

Gale Digital Scholar Lab

Friday, October 13, 2023 : 12:00 PM
Webinar Via Zoom

Instructor: Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship, CUA

Learn how to use the lab for locating, analyzing, and visualizing texts. Using Gale’s Primary Sources archive, we will demonstrate the workflow process in building, cleaning, and analyzing content. We will explore some of the tools including document clustering, Named Entity Recognition, Ngrams, parts of speech, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling. No previous experience necessary. Instructor: Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship

WRLC Fall Forum: Exploring the Future of AI in Libraries

Friday, October 13th : 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Webinar Via Zoom

Sponsored by the WRLC Sharing Expertise Committee

Join us for an engaging and informative discussion on the cutting-edge world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the field of librarianship. Presented by Trevor Watkins, Teaching and Outreach Librarian at George Mason University, the SEC is excited to bring this presentation to the members of the WRLC.

(See the article above for additional information)

Legal and Ethical Issues in Text Data Mining

Monday, October 23, 2023 : 12:00 PM

Webinar Via Zoom

Instructor: Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship, CUA

I am not sure if I can text data mine a particular dataset. How can I determine what my rights are? We will explore best practices in copyright, fair use, licensing agreements and terms of use, privacy and ethical issues, digital rights management, and other issues involving non-consumptive use of text for research.

How OER Enables and Aligns with DEI Values

Thursday, October 26th, 2023 : 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Webinar Via Zoom

Rachel Borchardt, American University

Tricia Clarke, UDC

One of the primary benefits of OER is their ability to save students money on classroom materials, but did you know that OER use can also have a variety of other benefits? The integration of OER in educational settings not only removes economic barriers to student engagement, fostering inclusive pedagogy, but also aligns with the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in several ways. In an upcoming session, Tricia Clarke from UDC and Rachel Borchardt from American University will delve into the multifaceted connections between OER use in the classroom and DEI values. This session will also provide an introduction to OER and offer guidance on locating OER materials for your specific course needs. There will be plenty of time for questions as well!

• Library Systems Coordinator - American University

• Cataloging Librarian - Jacob Burns Law Library

• Resource Sharing Technician - The Catholic University of America

• Metadata and Cataloging Management Librarian - American University

• Assistant Director for Resource Management Services - Jacob Burns Law Library

• Head of Legal Technology & Instructional Services - Jacob Burns Law Library

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