“Information Fluency in Classics. A Workshop for Undergraduates” is organised by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC and will take place on July 7-16, 2015. Application deadline is May 1, 2015.

The workshop will introduce undergraduates to important sources of information for the study of classics and develop their ability to access, evaluate, and manage resources in a variety of formats. Workshop participants will also explore the broader landscape of scholarly communication and how it is currently evolving. Through work as individuals and as a team, the participants develop research guides for use by other undergraduates in a variety of academic contexts. Ultimately, the workshop provides students with the necessary background and skills to play a supportive role in the work of their departments and to help build cooperative relationships between faculty members and librarians.

Over the course of the workshop, students planning to write a senior thesis in the fall or considering library science as a career option will learn skills essential for any researcher or librarian. Sessions will include:

-What is Information Fluency

-How Libraries Organize Information

-Resources for Citation Zotero: Nuts and Bolts

-Research Process and the Critical Assessment of Sources

-Using (Print) Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Digital Resources

-Indexes: L’Annee Philologique and Dyabola

-JStor, Google Scholar, and Full-text Searching

-Perseus and Working with Digital Texts

-Wikipedia and Crowdsourcing

-Using WordPress

-Linked Open Data

-Images and Copyright Basics

-Social Media and Scholarly Research

Taking advantage of the setting in Washington, DC, participants will visit the Library of Congress and the National Archives. The workshop will also feature contributions from guest speakers. The previous workshops included conversations with Deb Brown, Librarian in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Neil Coffee, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Buffalo, Deanna Marcum, the managing director of Ithaka S+R, and Tim O’Reilly, the founder of O’Reilly Media.

Phoebe Acheson, who maintains Becoming a Classics Librarian, will lead the workshop. She has worked at the University of Georgia Library as a Reference Associate and liaison to the Classics department. Phoebe has an M.A. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Cincinnati and an M.L.S. from North Carolina Central University. She is currently the Grants Resource Librarian at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

There is no program fee or cost for housing on campus. Participants will receive housing on the CHS campus, located near Dupont Circle and Embassy Row in Washington, DC. Participants should plan to arrive Tuesday, July 7. The workshop will begin on Wednesday, July 8. Departures are Thursday, July 16. The CHS will also provide breakfast and lunch everyday (except on the free day) and two dinners. Participants are responsible for their transportation costs and for some meals.

Eligibility

Applicants should be rising juniors or seniors majoring in Classics, Classical Studies, or related fields. They should have at least some college-level research experience and be planning to write senior/honors theses.

Application

Deadline: May 1, 2015

Students interested in applying should complete the online application. The application requests PDF copies of the student’s transcript and resume as well as contact information for two references. The references should be faculty members or librarians who can speak to the applicant’s academic work and evaluate the applicant’s plans for participating in the workshop. The CHS will contact references directly for their recommendations.