By Lisa DeLuca
Last fall in New Brunswick future librarians were busy with teambuilding drills, lightning rounds to showcase new library technology and numerous ILS implementations.   This was not a conference or consortia meeting, but Rutgers MLIS graduate students getting hands-on experience in their Understanding Library Systems and Software Applications with Professor Kurt Wagner.
 
Kurt Wagner is an Assistant Director and Head of Library Information Systems at Cheng Library at William Paterson University (WPU).   His course taught students how to evaluate library systems and how to communicate relevant information to systems librarians.  Most students were halfway through their MLIS program; some had taken courses in databases, archiving, and/or digitization.  “While these students may not be focused on becoming systems librarians,” Wagner emphasized, “they will certainly all be interacting with one.”
 
Wagner’s previous teaching experience includes teaching Information Technology at Pratt Institute and Freshman Seminar and Communication Research Methods at WPU.  He used a combination of Sakai and Dropbox as Course Management tools to share materials with students.
 
Teambuilding was a key tenet of the course.  Wagner taught students how to have a positive working relationship with technical librarians and IT and wanted his students to be aware of their activities and challenges.  It was important to teach how the systems librarian fits into the academic library workflow.  He emphasized managing teams and committees as critical skills for new librarians. 
 
He also encouraged students to consider who their key stakeholders were in the projects they worked on.  An important role of the systems librarian is to enable the use of technology and pull information from colleagues about while they might need in reference, technical services or circulation. 
 
Another focus of the course was stand-up presentations called Lightning Rounds.  Students gave 2-3 “elevator speeches” in these rounds to pitch a technology solution that they wanted funding approval for.  Again, Wagner emphasized that technology is not vested in a single person, all librarians and staff are stakeholders.
 
Students reviewed actual library technology plans, completed technology audits and selected solutions to improve library automation.  Final recommendations included VuFind implementations for enhanced searching/OPAC replacement and an upgrade of online presence that included chat, LibGuides and Drupal.
 
About 30% of the course allowed students hands-on experience with a real ILS system, KOHA.  KOHA is an open source integrated library system (ILS) maintained by and used by libraries all over the world. With the help of Nicole Engard at ByWater Solutions, students were able to install Evergreen, KOHA on a server.  They had a hosted, cloud, web-based version for instructional uses.  This mirrored a live system with 25,000 records and all modules including patrons, OPAC/public catalog, cataloging, reports, acquisitions, serials, circulation and administration.  Students loaded MARC records from LOC and downloaded them into their local databases.
 
Marie L. Radford, Chair, Department of Library and Information Science notes; “I have known Prof. Wagner for many years, and had the pleasure to work with him when I was a librarian at WPUNJ. I’m delighted that Prof. Wagner was able to teach the Library Systems course this fall at Rutgers, as he is a dynamic instructor who has had deep and broad experience in systems and applications. I hope that he will teach for us again in the near future. Prof. Wagner represents a model for librarians who are both managers of change and change agents, always looking for new and better ways to provide information to the students and faculty at WPUNJ, as well as to the larger academic library community.”
 
Lisa DeLuca is an Adjunct Reference Librarian at William Paterson University, delucal4@wpunj.edu.