MAC Fall 2018 Symposium

About the Symposium

Want to develop instruction services for your archive or special collections? Bring your collections from the stacks to the classroom. Join us in Iowa’s first capital and City of Literature for MAC’s 2018 Fall Symposium.

This year’s topic will focus on archival and special collection instruction, lesson planning, and assessment, hosted by The University of Iowa’s Special Collections and University Archives. Bring your questions, concerns, and instruction experiences to share at the workshops.

No matter what your teaching level is, these sessions will help you prepare your archive or special collections for developing and managing a successful instruction environment for faculty and students. Sessions include how to engage students with active learning, tips for growing your instruction program, ideas for using instructional technologies in the classroom, and methods for assessing instruction programs for further success.

Registration 

Registration is now closed.

Registration fees: 

MAC Members: $150.00

Non-members: $175.00

Students: $75.00

The registration fee includes two breakfasts, a lunch, and snacks during breaks.  

Travel and Accommodations

Graduate Iowa City Hotel
210 South Dubuque Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
319-337-4058 

Event Room Rate: $139.00 per night
Hotel Self-Parking: $14 per day 

Reserve your room with this special link for MAC members!

For more information on the hotel, please visit: https://www.graduatehotels.com/iowa-city/

 Schedule

The MAC Fall Symposium: From the Stacks to the Classroom will be an interactive, collaborative learning experience. Through group discussion, hands on activities, and an instructional design workshop, attendees of all experience levels and from a variety of institutions will develop new skills and techniques to apply to their own instruction programs.

Friday, October 12th , 2018
Location: 2520D University Capitol Centre, 201 S Clinton St, Iowa City, IA 52240-4034

8:00-9:00: Breakfast and Registration

9:00-10:00: Opening Remarks, Introductions, and Icebreaker
The symposium will begin with presenter introductions, opening remarks, and an
icebreaker activity designed to allow attendees to share their instruction obstacles and
solutions with the group.

10:00-11:15: Engaging Students with Active Learning/Collaborative Learning
Techniques
Educational studies and scholarship have verified the positive impact of active and
collaborative learning techniques for increasing student engagement and information
retention. Find ways to incorporate these strategies into your special collections
instruction.

11:15-12:00: Growing Your Instruction Program
Develop strategies for growing an instruction program by building relationships with
educators, students, and librarians and effectively marketing your program.

12:00-1:00: Lunch

1:00-1:30: Designing Special Collections Instruction Sessions Using a Social Justice
Framework
Utilizing a social justice framework in special collections instructional design can help
engage students and connect your holdings to broader historical themes and current
events. Learn how to apply this framework to your own instruction sessions.

1:30-2:00: Utilizing Instructional Technologies
Try out new instructional technologies and get ideas for how they can be used in the
classroom.

2:00-3:00: Assessing Your Instruction Program
Assessment is an essential element for growing, improving, and demonstrating the value
of your instruction program. Learn effective methods for instruction assessment and how
to apply them at your own institution.

3:00-5:00: Afternoon Workshop & Snacks
Grab a snack and a refreshment before breaking into groups that will work together to
apply the skills and techniques covered throughout the day, and design your own
instructional sessions and activities to share with the group.

Saturday, October 13th, 2018
Location: University of Iowa Special Collections, third floor of the University of Iowa
Main Library, 125 West Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52242-1420

8:00-9:00: Breakfast

9:00-10:30: U of I Special Collections Open House
View a selection of materials from Rare Books & Manuscripts, University Archives, and
the Iowa Women’s Archives that have been used in classes. Informally chat with staff
and graduate students about their instruction experiences and teaching methods while
using Iowa’s diverse collections.

10:30-10:45: Quick Break

10:45-12:00: Q&A Panel: Involving Graduate Students in Your Instruction
Program
The University of Iowa Special Collections recently begun formal instruction
training with graduate student employees from the School of Library and Information
Science. Hear from a panel of current SLIS students and recent grads about their
experiences teaching in a special collections environment. From students who are just
learning the ropes to staff members who started as students and are now full-time, enjoy
an informal panel about the logistics of instruction training and ask panelists
questions about their diverse experiences as a student instructor.

12:00pm -12:30pm: Wrap-Up and Parting Thoughts

Special Opportunities: Explore Iowa City

Iowa City and the surrounding areas have an almost endless supply of activities and attractions for visitors that cover a variety of interests. For more information, please visit the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Iowa City Downtown District.  Here are some of our favorite local spots.

• Basta Pizzeria Ristorante
• NODO
• Oasis
• Masala Indian Cuisine
• Java House
• Graze
• Bread Garden Market
• Sanctuary
• The Mill

• Old Capitol Museum
• University of Iowa Museum of Natural History
• Johnson County Historical Society
• Stanley Museum of Art

About the Presenters

Anna Trammell recently began a new position as the University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She was previously the Archival Operations and Reference Specialist at the University of Illinois Archives Research Center/Student Life and Culture Archives where she provided instruction and reference services and worked closely with student organizations to acquire, preserve, and share their records. Her work focuses on developing strategies for documenting student activism and designing archives instruction sessions using a social justice framework. She is a member of the Society of American Archivists Committee on Public Awareness and serves on the Advisory Board for Project STAND (Student Activism Now Documented). 

 Rachel Seale

Rachel Seale has worked at Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) as the Outreach Archivist since January 2016. She moved from Fairbanks, Alaska, where she worked for six years as an archivist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. At SCUA, Rachel coordinates outreach and education and oversees the reading room. In July of 2016, Rachel attended the Librarians Active Learning Institute- Archives Special Collections at Dartmouth College and applied what she learned to transition SCUA's instruction program into one that involved more active learning with primary sources and the research process, than show-and-tell.  

Cara B. Stone 

Cara B. Stone serves as Instruction Librarian at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Prior to that she worked as Coordinator of Information Literacy Instruction and User Experience Librarian at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. She currently serves on the Iowa Library Association Executive Board and has co-facilitated the Iowa Private Academic Library Consortium’s Information Literacy Interest Group meetings since 2013. She earned her MLS from Indiana University Bloomington and her BA in Music Education from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Symposium Sponsor 

The University of Iowa Libraries

Symposium Organizing Committee Co-Chairs