Michael Hemment received his PhD in romance languages and literatures from Harvard in 2002. While completing his doctorate, he served as project director of the NEH-funded Decameron Web Project at Brown University. He has taught extensively at Harvard, Brown, and the Boston Conservatory, receiving several teaching awards from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. From 2002 to 2008, Hemment worked in Widener Library’s Research Services, first as research librarian and coordinator of e-texts in the humanities and then as head of scholarly research initiatives. He has recently been appointed as HCL’s head of Research and Learning Technology. He continues to serve as liaison to the Department of the Classics and the Committee on Medieval Studies, of which he is a member. He was interviewed for Library Notes on August 19.

LN

You have a new role as head of Research and Learning Technology. What does this signify within HCL?

MH

I think it signifies a new paradigm for our teaching, learning, and outreach initiatives. We are reevaluating the kinds of programs, services, and tools we provide researchers to ensure that they are optimally effective. We are rethinking our teaching spaces, our web presence, and how we train our librarians. We are investigating new forms of collaboration with education technology groups, teaching and learning centers, writing programs, and other instructional units on campus. Part of my new role is to assist in building these relationships and to make recommendations when new technologies are being evaluated and implemented.

Technology appears prominently in my title—it is something that has and will continue to transform libraries at Harvard and beyond. It is vitally important for us to be able to assimilate and teach an increasingly broad range of scholarly tools, from image databases and e-journals to browser plugins and citation managers. We must learn to better communicate with students on the platforms that they use, the devices they carry, and the web sites they browse. And we must use the latest technologies to innovate our library teaching, our reference work, and the research guides and tutorials we create.

The goal, I think, is not for librarians to try to replicate the search engine “experience” of generating millions of hits out of context, but rather to focus on better understanding what information students really need,how they intend to use it, and how they need it delivered. To this end, we are collaborating with the Academic Technology Group and iCommons to integrate library resources more directly into course web pages, designing a new environment for librarians to create and deliver course-related research guides to students, and exploring the potential of mobile devices for conducting library research.

My new role also includes implementing training programs for HCL librarians, coordinating the Presidential Instructional Technology Fellows within HCL, and leading our new iSites Management Team.

LN

What does your role as leader of the iSites Management Team entail?

MH

The iSites Management Team was formed in response to increased usage of the iSites platform within HCL, partly in response to the broader implementation it has had in FAS for developing course web sites. We are looking to iSites as a new way to publish and syndicate library content and to promote our activities. The iSites Management Team focuses on training librarians to use the platform, it maintains the “iSite for iSite authors in HCL” called iSiteopedia, and develops custom library tools for the platform. An example of a custom tool is an annotated bibliography application that one of our team members, Chris Jeris, is developing in collaboration with our librarians. This tool will allow us to create special collections databases and deliver them via the HCL Web and iSites. Other iSites Management Team members include Enrique Diaz, our designer and multimedia specialist in HCL Communications, and Kim Edelman, the iCommons liaison to HCL.

The iSites-based library apps that I find particularly exciting are those that help to connect students and faculty with librarians. We have one instant-messaging application, for example, that allows students to see if their library research contact is online and to begin a live-chat reference session. Another module allows librarian research contacts to create a video introducing themselves to students in a class.

LN

One of your projects is Plug and Play. What’s its inspiration?

MH

The inspiration is to bring together Harvard librarians, educational technologists, faculty, students, and external luminaries to discuss technology and how it relates to libraries, teaching, and research. Meetings are held every other month and focus on everything from innovative learning spaces to instructional design principles, e-books to social bookmarking sites. We also sponsor open labs or practicums where librarians can practice hands-on with tools like screen-capture software, image-editing apps, IM clients, iSites, blogs, wikis, and more. All of this is captured on our Plug and Play web site. So far, we’ve had a great response, with large diverse crowds attending our monthly meetings.

LN

You’re about to hire a librarian for e-learning and curricular design. Can you define the role of this new librarian and tell us about your expectations for the position?

MH

Sure. The first thing to say is that we’re not really looking for a traditional instructional technologist, but instead an education specialist who understands the role of technology in an academic environment. Our hope is that this unique librarian will, among other things, help us to investigate new pedagogical approaches and techniques and implement innovative assessment techniques for our library classes and research guides. A very important part of the job will also be to identify areas of collaboration with the Academic Technology Group and the Bok Center.

LN

With this much emphasis on pedagogical theory, is your ideal candidate a librarian?

MH

Perhaps not. Having an MLS degree would certainly be a plus, but it’s not a requirement in this case. The successful candidate must clearly demonstrate an understanding of the nature and complexity of library research and academic teaching. They must have a solid grounding in pedagogical theory, learning object design and development, and teaching and learning assessment techniques. We have a number of strong candidates from academic libraries, but also some with a master’s of education and an understanding of the exigencies of scholars, students, and librarians.

LN

Is there an analogous position anywhere else at Harvard?

MH

Not that I know of, and I think it’s not easy to find an analogous position at other academic libraries. It really focuses very much on pedagogy and teaching but also has a technology and outreach component to it as well. The challenge is finding someone who brings the right balance of expertise in teaching and learning and a deep understanding of libraries—and, of course, a solid grounding in new ways for using technology for teaching in all its forms.