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IT Skills for SIRLS Graduates

Competencies in Information Technology (IT) are increasingly important for a career in the Information professions. I encourage my advisees to use this document and plan a course of self-study for increasing their IT competencies. Don't just believe me; read what others are saying - for example, Pew Internet and American Life, US News and World Report (2000), The Modern M.L.S. Degree [note this link no longer works] and The Digital Librarian Shortage in the Library Journal (2002).

Related pages for the IT SKills guide, that you should consult, are: 

1) Advising FAQ: This periodically updated faq provides general advising information and includes some course selection and sequencing for Library and Information Science track or specialization

2) IT Mentoring Activities: I used to provide some mentoring through AZ ASIST; now, it's primarily through the weblog, ASC Online and list, AdviseesAsc.

3) LIS-IT Connections: Check the initiative called DLIST (Digital Library of Information Science & Technology); we're always looking for interns. We hope to provide both practical and research experience through our DLIST Internships program to a wider community of SIRLS students.  Also, check out the KS Toolbox that I use in most courses I teach.

4) IT internships/projects onsite and remote:  Currently being investigated, primarily with Garry Forger in the Office of Learning Technologies, UA. [Garry's email is gforger@u.arizona.edu]

Important Note: While cataloging & classification, indexing & abstracting, thesauri creation/maintenance, technical services are not explicitly mentioned as tracks/specialization, principles and theories in these areas of knowledge organization, scholarly communication, and understanding information use behaviors (the three areas in which I teach) rest on IT skills, and form the heart and core of the new emerging roles for information professionals. BTW, I do not consider ebooks and other electronic reference and readings materials (for example, some documents in Cataloger's Desktop) to be tools that need special IT skills or training.

Preparing for SIRLS Online Courses

Note: this is also in My Advising FAQ

First, understand your learning style. URL: http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html (this is an online questionnaire and you can either take the test or just read it to understand about online learning styles) - You can also quickly use this checklist to find out if online learning is for you?

Second, understand your technology skill level. URL: http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_profile-912.html (as you read these performance indicators for Grades 9-12 students, ask yourself, do you have these skills and note your limitations?) OR use this easier checklist of skills to know your computer literacy, URL: http://www.waukeganschools.org/it/stories/storyReader$22

Third, take the tutorials as needed from the following websites.

Learn the Net - http://www.learnthenet.com/english/ - is a good source for developing web skills; it's available in other languages besides English (Spanish, French, Italian). Test your Net IQ by taking their quiz, http://www.learnthenet.com/english/quiz/01quiz.htm

WebMonkey How To Library (tutorials) are my favorite when I need to learn how to do something for the web (html tutorials, web-accessible databases, etc.) - http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/

Fourth, start following the directions on the D2L Student Tip Sheet.

Digital Information Behaviors

If you want to be a librarian or work in any sort of an information environment - you are trying to become a member of the digerati.  You need to develop your digital information behaviors.  What are digital information behaviors?   Forthcoming.

Technology Trends Readings

Surf the net, browse, read and reflect! Read, re-read, discuss and think, selectively, and avoid information overload!!!
  • LITA Top Technology Trends
  • Here's what the ALA LITA top technology experts read to stay on top of tech trends.

    Tutorials for Increasing Computer Software Skills

  • The following document contains an initial  list of the software and IT skills that I expect of SIRLS entry level graduate students. If you don't have the skills when you enter the program, you should at least have them by the time you graduate from SIRLS. So, pick a software or skill for each semester and try to incorporate this learning along with your content learning by taking the workshops or tutorials mentioned here.  Write your SIRLS Plan of Study explicitly integrating IT skills.

    Many of the SIRLS courses will also give you the opportunity to do some IT learning via special projects such as hands-on exercises, class presentations, poster sessions, besides integrating them into content/course learning materials, etc. A Matrix of IT in the SIRLS Curriculum has been proposed and may be forthcoming. Also, look over Mary Feeney's more general Competencies list. And, while you're there, make sure you check Mary's Portfolio recommendations as the EPortfolio is now here!  Visit the LIS Learning Showcase to see what students in my classes have produced. 

    First steps before you do anything else:

  • Join the AZ ASIST group - http://www.asis.org/Chapters/azasis/index.html - and get yourself a community for IT support at SIRLS 
  • UA Computing Guide - URL: Computing on Campus - UA Guide is an authoritative source. Print/browse and read it!
  • Get an UA email+shell+research account (graduate students qualify for a research account - so get this not just an email or shell account!): URL: https://account.arizona.edu/ - SIRLS has started requiring UA accounts for all students.
  • Download VPN software -  https://sitelicense.arizona.edu/vpn/vpn_dl.html - this will give you remote access to library databases and save you oodles of time.
  • Create your UA Personal Homepage: URL: http://www.arizona.edu/homepages/create_pages.html

  • Other activities that you should consider including as you draft a Plan of Study (that integrates IT) include:

    1. Library Orientation - online - URL: http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/users/mfeeney/sirlsorientation/sirlsorientation.htm
    2. UA Library (in-person free workshops and/or online handouts/tutorials): URL: http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/library/workshops/workshop.html
    3. UA CBT (online tutorials): URL: http://uacbt.arizona.edu/
    4. Netiquette - courtesy and electronic behavior dos and don'ts; the SIRLS LSO Handbook is a good place to start. URL: http://www.sir.arizona.edu/lso/handbook.html
    5. UA Web Resources - http://uaweb.arizona.edu/ - especially Creating Basic Web Sites tutorial

    IT Competencies

    Be able to define, understand, and minimally use the following categories (types) of software.

    1. Operating Systems

    1. UNIX (any flavor: LINUX, SUN Solaris)
      Minimum Skill: Learn the UNIX directory and file structure
    2. Windows (any flavor: Windows 2000, NT, 95, ME, etc.)
      Minimum Skills: Learn GUI metaphor, components and terminology (desktop, task bar, menu bar, etc.); what do operating systems do? learn to use the freebies that come with the OS such as NetMeeting, Notepad, Paint, HyperTerminal, etc.
    3. Macintosh
      Minimum Skill: as above for Windows

    2. General Purpose Software

    Some are commercial software; they cost $$$$. UA has site licenses to most of them, at very reasonable prices. Check to see availability and qualifications for purchase.

    1. Open Office Suite: Writer (wordprocessing), Calc (spreadsheet), Base(database), Impress (presentation), Draw (painting)
      Minimum Skill: This suite is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
    2. Microsoft Project: Project Management
      Minimum Skill: Gantt and PERT charts for project and time management
    3. Smartdraw: Drawing Tool
      Minimum Skill: Visual representations of narrative text; esp. flowcharts; Be aware that you can use the drawing tool in Microsoft Word and Powerpoint to do many of the same images.
    4. Bibliography management software: The UA Library teaches EndNotes, I believe. In the past I used Reference Manager, now I use ProCite.  Any or all are fine.
      Minimum skill: Download citation and lists from databases such as Library Literature, etc. into the bibliography software; create reference lists and bibliographies for papers automatically using the software.

    3. Networking, Communication, and Search Utilities

    1. SSH (remote shell login and file transfer) - https://sitelicense.arizona.edu/ssh/ssh.shtml
    2. Mozilla Firefox (the www browser I prefer and recommend)  
    3. Pine (UNIX email client I prefer and recommend; other clients are UA Webmail, Thunderbird)
    4. Listserv (traditional and web-based discussions) - URL: http://listserv.arizona.edu/
    5. Text editors (like Notepad, vi or emacs for UNIX)
    6. Downloadable search engines: Copernic; Keep abreast of web search engines, SearchEngine Watch
    7. Collaborative editing (virtual communities, communities of practice - content management, blogging) software - WikiWiki Flavors

    4. Browser Plug-ins and Utilities

    1. ACDC image browser
    2. Adobe Acrobat Reader
    3. Real Player
    4. Ghostscript (do not mix this with Ghost; this is *.ps and *.pdf reader)

    5. Multimedia

    1. Real Audio and Real Video (webcasting, audio or video streaming)
    2. ITunes (podcasting - you don't need an ipod, btw) - try IT Conversations at http://www.itconversations.com/index.html

    6. Web Publishing

    1. One of the simplest web authoring software: Netscape Composer - http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp (I require HTML to be created with Composer for all my courses) 
    2. CSS - a standard for stylesheets
    3. Javascript - a scripting language
    4. HTML (with a text editor like Notepad) - a markup language  - the NCSA Guide is still the best one for learning HTML
    5. XML (with an editor - costs $$$) - a standard
    6. Imagemaps (MapEdit)
    7. Dreamweaver (Advanced html editor)
    8. Web-accessible databases - MYSQL + PHP

    University of Arizona - Primary Tool for Distributed Learning

    1. D2L - URL:  http://d2l.arizona.edu/
    This is the distance learning software currently used at SIRLS; software such as these are often referred to as a VLE (virtual learning environment) or course management software.

    Hands-On  

  • Join AZ-ASIST and help build the SIRLS Virtual Community. Students in Spring/Summer 2002 experimented with three pieces of software, but nothing concrete really emerged at the end - you can watch a presentation about it (video is a bit more than an hour long and you must have Windows Media Player) or just browse the presentation given at the ASIS&T 2005 Conference. Software we experimented with include:

    • UseMod Wiki - collaborative editing (open source, thed simplest wiki)

    • MkDoc - content management (commercial UK-based then and open source now)

    • Slash code - news publishing and discussion software (Slashdot is an online community with a very specific sub-culture that uses it)

  • If you want to take a leadership role in SIRLS Online Communities or for more information about AZ ASIST, get in touch with Mary Gorman (mgorman@u.arizona.edu).

    Subscribe/read: ASC Online, OA Librarian, Digital Koans, Laughing Librarian, Corante

  • Experiment with social sofware (for organizing information): Del.icio.us. | Blogger | Flickr | Technorati - But before you do, get informed too - about privacy issues with regard to social software. (Although I've not pointed to social software such as Friendster or Facebook, this last link is to the CHI 2006 conference call which has some questions that you can research on your own). Enjoy!

    • Click here to visit the Radio UserLand website.
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    		© Copyright 2006 Anita S. Coleman.
    Last update: 3/4/2006; 6:05:01 PM.