SUNYLA 2009

Pre-Conference Sessions:
Scott Nicholson (Syracuse University)
1:00 - 3:00
Gaming in Libraries: A presentation on what academic libraries are currently doing related to gaming and research findings on how these experiences are working for academic libraries and how many academic libraries are offering this type of programming.

Ken Fujiuchi and Lisa Forrest (Buffalo State College)
3:00 - 5:00
Up, Up in the Clouds: Harnessing the Power of Google Applications: At EH Butler Library (Buffalo State College), librarians utilize freely available Google Applications to coordinate documents for committees and meetings, organize reference desk schedules, maintain reference desks statistics, and collaborate with partners across campus.Join instructors Ken Fujiuchi and Lisa Forrest as they explore how libraries and librarians can creatively use Google Services both as educational and productivity tools. Expand past basic "Gmail" and "iGoogle" knowledge to create meaningful collaborative environments using Advanced Google Applications.

Natalie Sturr (SUNY Oswego), Timothy Yager (SUNY Oswego)
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Excel 2007 for Librarians: “Just put the data in Excel to manipulate it”. Do those words make you cringe? If so, this session is for you. Learn how easy it is to get data into Excel and make a useful spreadsheet. We will cover the basics of formatting both numerical and text data; modifying cells, rows and columns for an attractive and usable presentation; creating totals for rows and columns; and sorting data. This session will give you the tools, tips and tricks you need to let Excel work for you.

Sara Rofofsky Marcus (Queensborough Community College)
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Serve the Student or Serve the Student's Needs? Today, students want it faster, easier, and brought to them. However, librarians are trained to teach students to find information. How do we balance between patron satisfaction and teaching patrons how to do it themselves? Through this session, the question will be answered - fish or fishing lessons? Participants will brainstorm, role-play, and examine ways to deal with these issues. Varying needs and wants based on the individual's learning style and definition as 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' student will also be explored.

Michael V. Daly (Fulton-Montgomery Community College), Ellen Bahr (Alfred University), Michelle Costello (Geneseo), Kim Davies Hoffman (Geneseo), Laura Dumuhosky (Genesee Community College), and Brian Sullivan (Alfred University)
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Passing The Torch: Instruction Librarians Keeping The Flames Of Active Learning Alive: Following a rich Indian tradition of oral history and a transfer of cultural practice and knowledge, instruction librarians aim to pass on their collective words of wisdom to the next generation of librarian teachers. This pre-conference workshop continues the topicsand theories covered at the January 2009 WGIL workshop “Library Instruction: Teaching Tips from the Trenches.” Modeling active learning strategies currently in practice this workshop allows new(er) instruction librarians a chance to see how other new(er) librarians have incorporated various aspects of active learning pedagogies into their information literacy curricula. Through structured practice participants will design and implement their own active learning strategies aimed to be “classroom ready.”