[Asis-l] VRD's Clinical Teaching Initiative Wants Your Participation!

[Joann Wasik]

***This message has been cross-posted to several lists. Please excuse any
duplication***

Hello all,

At the VRD 2002 Digital Reference Conference in Chicago, a clinical
teaching initiative was proposed to address the need for comprehensive
digital reference training for LIS students and professionals alike. Lots
of ideas have been percolating since then, and we're envisioning the
clinical teaching initiative (CTI) as a consortial effort among LIS
schools, digital reference software vendors, libraries, and others to
create a virtual space where librarians, paraprofessionals, LIS students
and faculty, and other information providers can come to view curricular
materials, share ideas, test-drive software, browse dig ref job
opportunities and internships, and much more. 

Based loosely on the agora model (ancient Grecian marketplaces where
people gathered to exchange ideas and learn news), the CTI will act as a
clearinghouse for digital reference-related curricular materials and
tools. We're also hoping that the collective expertise of this community
can come to some consensus on core competencies for and educational
approaches to digital reference, and possibly even a certification process
down the road.

Your participation is vital for the CTI to realize its full potential, and
for it to be a valuable resource for the dig ref community. I welcome your
ideas about what you as a digital reference provider, LIS faculty member,
LIS student, etc. would like to see on this site -- what would help you to
perform your job best, help your students, etc? The CTI will be a resource
for YOU, so here's an opportunity to help sculpt it.

Also, I'm currently gathering content for the CTI Web site, which will be
launched next month. If you have any digital reference training materials,
policies, course descriptions (past or present), course syllabi, dig ref
internship and/or job opportunities, marketing plans, etc., please send
them my way. We want to make resources from a variety of organizations
available, including public libraries, academic and special libriaries,
government, etc. Materials do not have to be housed at the VRD site -- we
will gladly point to your resources, and you will always retain full
authorship credit for your materials.

We're very excited about the Clinical Teaching Initiative, and hope that
you'll help to contribute to this collaborative, dynamic resource. Please
e-mail me with any questions or materials, and to notify me of the URLs of
pertinent materials. For more information on the CTI, please see
<http://quartz.syr.edu/education/>.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Joann

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                        Joann M. Wasik
          Research Consultant & Communications Officer
                   The Virtual Reference Desk
                       jmwasik at vrd.org
                         www.vrd.org
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