What I Did Last Summer…At Library Camp!

The Information Matrix Camp, 2007-2012 and Beyond

David D. Oberhelmand.oberhelman@okstate.eduOklahoma State University Library

History of the IM Camp

• Established in 2007 by

OLA (Career Recruitment &

Retention Committee) and Rose

State College co-sponsors

• 3-Year $100,000 IMLS grant,

Donations from libraries,

Friends groups, OLA

What Participants Learn

• Shortage of librarians • Many types of librarians with specialties

(including IT staff)• Other information professional careers• Role of libraries in lifelong learning• If they do not become librarians, they will be

great library users, Friends, advocates, or board members.

• Day in the life of a library

Camp Info & Schedule• ~30 campers for 1 week

• 12-14 Year-old campers,

• Recommended by librarian

• $50 only (to help with food)

• Counselors – librarians

(OLA and RSC), night help

• Medical forms, permissions, etc.

• Tour libraries, archives,

museums in OKC/Tulsa

• Computer activities

• Evening activities at a library, librarian talks, library fun!

Libraries, etc., Visited• Large, small, & medium public libraries• Oklahoma History Center• Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism• Oklahoma Library for the Blind• Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum• Will Rogers Memorial• Medical & law libraries• Corporate / special libraries (Devon Energy)• Academic libraries: college, medium-sized university,

large university• School libraries (help younger children w/ reading)

IM Camp Since 2007

• 2007-2009 camps based at Rose State, IMLS grant

• 2010 OLA Endowment money only; camp at University of Tulsa

• 2011-2012 camps at Rose State, 2nd IMLS grant• 2013 location TBD• New and repeat campers• Advanced camp for 15-16 year-old?

2012 Camp

IM Camp Visits OSU• March 2012 request for first visit to OSU

Library• OSU team assembled

(experience with school and

younger groups)• Challenge: How to introduce

middle-schoolers to a big academic library

and get them interested in a career (or

learn to love libraries)?

Planning and Logistics• Logistics:

– Tour schedule – ~30 minutes per area max– Keep campers entertained & informed– Moving campers from point A to point B– Parking for bus / pick-up and drop-off– Feeding them (funding from host library)

• Activities – scavenger hunt• “Why I became a librarian” talks• Goals of Tour:

– Prepare them for transition from school to college library settings– Introduce them to range of academic services and careers

ScheduleFriday, July 20

Breakfast in LobbyLeave 9:00 AM for Stillwater10:15: OSU Architecture Library10:45 Main Library(Photo scavenger hunt)11:15 Oklahoma Oral History Research Program

11:45 Box Lunches in Browsing Room

12:15 Room 206 Photos from scavenger hunt12:45 Gov Docs  1:15 Special Collections and University Archives1:45 Curriculum Materials Library2:15 Student Union2:45 Leave Stillwater for Rose State College

Architecture Library

• Special departmental / branch library

• Unique material (“pop-up

books” for architects)

• Learn about specialized

collections for different

areas of study and

careers (what kind of information does an

architect need? Design, codes, etc.)

Stress Test

• Materials Stress Test

with OSU School of

Architecture and

Civil Engineering faculty• Hands-on science activity• Learn how scientists depend

on libraries and information

(engineering handbooks, etc.) for their work and

value of STEM library collections

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Library Tour and Hunt

• Challenge: How to make tour fun

but also teach value of

libraries• Photo scavenger hunt• Combine with computer

time on using digital

images• Introduce them to a big library and university

environment (studying, etc.)

Oklahoma Oral History Research Program

• Oklahoma Oral History

Program overview

• Highlights from the O-

State Stories interviews

• What is an oral historian?

• Build upon what students

have learned in archives & museums

about the many ways to document past

Oral History Interview Transcript

Former Oklahoma Governor Henry Bellmon, interviewed by OSU President Burns Hargis, Nov. 2008

Special Collections & University Archives

• Introduce campers to

Special Collections

and archives (what

they do and what

they collect)

• Show the range of

materials in such a

library collection (books and much more!)

“Wow, OLD Books!”

• Incunabula and other

early books (and

MSS)

• Quick lesson in the

history of the book with visuals

and interesting facts (wormholes)

• Early print samples to show campers how

information was spread (school primer from

Colonial America, etc.)

Ephemera & “Cool Things”

• More the just books!

• Samples of the

different forms of

ephemera and how

they are cared for

• Discuss career

possibilities, including preservation and

conservation

Curriculum Materials Library

• Teaching collection

with YA books and

curriculum materials

• Learn how their

teachers learn!

• Time to look for their

favorite books or discover new authors

Final Group Shot

Future Visits

• 2013 camp plans underway• Possible repeat visit to OSU

and see other unique collections

(Veterinary Medicine Library

and teaching hospital, Agricultural

Experiment Station, Fire Protection)• Continue seeking new ways to

introduce students to libraries of all

varieties and create new library users/supporters