Huntington University RichLyn Library and (Academic Writing and Research) Discussion Group

Please join RichLyn Library in cooperation with Dr. Tamara O’Hearn’s Academic Writing and Research class, in an experiment.

Dr. O’Hearn is currently doing research on the spiritual crisis in America and is teaching her class the value of problem/solution research. I (Anita) have been reading the book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman. Though written in 1986 the book is still timely. In the 20th anniversary introduction the books “Brave New World” and Orwell’s “1984” are also referenced, and are fascinating regarding their [prophetic?] ideas pertaining to our culture’s obsession with consumerism and technology and in many instances, our apathy.

While talking about the best ways for the library and the class to collaborate on a problem/solution research project we realized that the traditional “one shot” library instruction would not suffice. I had the brainstorm this past summer that it would be interesting to host an interdisciplinary discussion for the entire campus; students, faculty and staff (we could involve alumni later). Tamera and I talked about how this could work with her class as the primary audience and she was very enthusiastic about inviting the campus to join in the discussion.

I have created a Facebook group that you are invited to join if you are interested. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1379684045594014/

We do have to set some ground rules:
• Please no soapboxes. I enjoy a great political debate as much as the next person but that is not the purpose of this group.
• We will add questions and comments as necessary if we need to keep the discussion moving or if we need (for the sake of the class) to move in a different direction.
• Please keep on topic; we are the examples to our students in the way we handle the discussion.
• This is a problem/solution exercise; we can talk about the problem but it might be more beneficial to discuss possible solutions.
• Please be civil while answering the questions. Use complete sentences and explain your reasoning and or give examples.
• Everyone has an opinion, you do not want to flame a reasoned response, you might be next.
• If at any time you feel the need to discuss an issue face-to-face with the group let us know. We can have a “Brown Bag” in the library. If we need to do some research we can use the library instruction lab or we can just gather tables and chairs around and have a good old chat/discussion.

Please remember, this is a totally new experience for us. I am sure there will be hiccups along the way. Be patient and please, if you have suggestions (or criticisms) contact us right away so we can tweak the experiment.