Author Archives: Precious Olalere

Graduation Interview with our Graduate Assistants

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Zhaneille Headshot
Zhaneille Green
Ryan's Headshot
Ryan Yoakum
Nora's Headshot
Nora Davies

It is the end of the Spring Semester, and for everyone in their final semester, it means Graduation! That is certainly what it means for three of our graduate assistants at the Scholarly Commons. While it is a bittersweet moment for us at the Scholarly Commons to see our colleagues go, we are happy and excited about the great things they will achieve in their chosen profession.  This week, we interviewed three of our graduating graduate assistants Zhaneille Green, Ryan Yoakum and Nora Davies who have been a major asset to the Scholarly Commons. Over the past two years they have added immeasurable value to our department and in our interview with them, they all had amazing things to say about their experience at the Scholarly Commons. Here are some highlights from our interview with them.

How would you describe your GA experience to others?

Zhaneille: My experience has been eclectic. I joined the Scholarly Commons during a time of change, and it continues to evolve. I’ve learned so much about instruction, media, collection development, and service and service-point communication.

Ryan: My role comprises of three major parts. First, I am responsible for supervising both the Help Desk in room 220 as well as the Loanable Technology desk and ensuring that the student employees have everything they need to support the library patrons. Outside those desk hours, I am also responsible for designing workshops, supporting events hosted in the space, and hosting consultations related to optical character recognition and ABBYY FineReader. The third aspect of my work are internal projects related to the unit. Without going into specifics, these basically require me to have a basic understanding of data analysis and library policy creation.

Nora: I’d describe it as a great opportunity to get experience working in an academic library. I had a great team to work with and I truly wish that I could stay longer. I learned a lot about library services beyond my experience with public libraries and I had fun collaborating on projects with my fellow GA’s.

What accomplishments are you most proud of working with Scholarly Commons?

Zhaneille: I am most proud of the GIS (Geographic Information Science) Savvy Researcher workshops I taught with my GIS supervisor. It led to members of the University of Illinois community reaching out to learn more and allowed me and a fellow GA to take on big projects. I’m even getting experience with grant writing because of my GIS expertise.

Ryan: I am really proud of the Image of Research competitions during my two years with the Scholarly Commons. The students who have taken their time and effort to participate do a really great job each year, and it is incredibly rewarding to help out with this event each year. I am also really proud of the ways I have gotten to help others in the unit internally, whether it was designing the training session for the undergraduate student workers or assisting a full-time staff member on one of their projects. 

Nora: I’m proud of running a Savvy Researcher Workshop on Accessible E-Learning with Zhaneille. I was able to broaden my instruction experience and practice lesson planning and it was great to be able to share our knowledge with others.

What do you believe is the next step in your career path?

Zhaneille: After two years as a GA in an academic library, I don’t want to leave academic librarianship, for now. I will continue to pursue a career in technical services, specifically e-resources.

Ryan: I am currently looking into positions related to instruction and digital technology. These two aspects of librarianship have played a key role in my development, so those positions are the most appealing to me in the job market. In the long term, I would love to focus on something more administrative and policy base, as it is an aspect of librarianship that has just started to grow on me.

Nora: I’ll still be here during the summer, so I don’t have that next step quite figured out yet. I’m beginning to apply in earnest to jobs that begin in the Fall and, because of my experience, I have a lot of different places I could go. I’ll be looking for positions in Archives & Special Collections or Reference Services, with a focus on my technology skills. I don’t have any particular preference between Academic and Public Libraries and I have the experience to apply for both.

Do you have any advice for any GA starting out?

Zhaneille: Take a moment to learn about what the department and the wider university needs and have to offer. A graduate assistantship is rewarding because even though your projects and duties are a part of the job, you learn so much in the process. I’m graduating and still wish I had taken more LinkedIn courses or met more people.

Ryan: Do not be intimidated by all of the technology if that is brand new to you. There are so many opportunities to grow in the Scholarly Commons to learn these tools naturally. I would also encourage exploring aspects of librarianship you are interested in during your GA’ship. Since collaboration is a crucial aspect of our identity, there are so many opportunities to work with colleagues in other units related to areas of librarianship you are curious about, and the Scholarly Commons GA’ship gives you that flexibility to do that.

Nora: Don’t be afraid to check in with your supervisors. They’re there to help you succeed! If you feel lost on a project, need more work, or want to get experience working with something specific your supervisor should have some ideas.

There you have it guys!  While goodbyes are hard, it is a necessity to welcome new beginnings. We are glad to see how the Scholarly Commons have impacted the growth of our graduate assistants. We know they are all going to continue to make outstanding contributions and change in their future endeavors. We celebrate you Zhaneille, Ryan and Nora and Congratulations on your graduation!

Visualizing your love for data

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This post is in celebration of the love data week between Feb-13-Feb 17, 2023. 

Analytics screen graph.
Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash 

What is Data visualization?  

For this author, it was love at first sight. Well, technically, it was love at first Visualization. So many say seeing is believing, and data visualization helps us accomplish that, especially at the rate at which data is increasing exponentially in our world. The truth is that data is everywhere, and for us to draw meaning from it, we need to present it in a clear and concise manner.  

Data visualization is the graphical representation of data. Data can be represented in various forms and shapes, such as maps, charts, infographics, graphs, heat maps, or sparklines. When data is presented through visual elements, it is easy to understand and analyze. It helps you to derive meaning from the data and make better decisions. Visualizing your data involves using certain tools; these tools help you fall more in love with data.  

Data Visualization tools are software that allow you to create graphical representations of your data.  

Here are some tools to help you get started. These have been selected based on their ease of use, features (such as capacity for large volumes of data), cost, and popularity.

  1. Data Wrapper: If you are just starting out with data Visualization and you are looking for a free tool to help you get started, Data wrapper is your plug. Data Wrapper is a beginner-friendly tool with a clean and intuitive user interface accessible online. It is straightforward to navigate and great for creating charts and maps that can be easily embedded into reports. It also allows you to upload your files in various formats such as CSV, .tsv, and .txt 

Pros: 

  • Great for beginners.
  • Free to use.
  • Accessible online tool.

Cons:  

  • It can be challenging to build complex charts. 
  • Limited features. 
  • Security is not guaranteed as it is an online tool.
  1. Infogram: If you are not super design-inclined, this visualization tool should be your best friend. It has an editor drag-and-drop feature that makes it super easy to create beautiful designs without having to worry about where you are with your design skills. Infographics, marketing reports, maps, social media posts, and many more are examples of what you can create with this powerful tool. In addition, your data output can be exported in various formats, such as. JPG, GIF, PNG, HTML, and . PDF.  

Pros:

  • Web-based. 
  • Drag-and-drop editor.
  • Easy to use.
  • Highly customizable.

Cons: 

  • Built-in data sources are limited.
  • Not suitable for complex visualization.
  1. Google charts: Google Charts is another free data visualization tool that is user-friendly and compatible with all browsers and platforms. If you like to play around with codes, then Google Charts provides you with that option. Google Charts are coded with SVG and HTML5, allowing it to produce several graphic and pictorial data visualizations, ranging from simple visualization such as pie charts, bars, charts, histograms, maps, and scatter graphs to more complex ones such as hierarchical tree maps, timelines, and gauges. Google fusion tables, spreadsheets, and SQL databases are examples of data sources that can be used with Google Charts.  

Pros:

  • It is free.
  • It is compatible with various browsers.
  • Compatible with google products.

Cons:

  • Technical support is limited.
  • It requires network connectivity for visualization. 
  • There is no room for customization. 
  1. Tableau: This is one of the most popular data visualization tools, mainly because of the free public version that this software provides. Tableau provides the option of a desktop app, server, and online versions. In addition, this software has several data importation options, such as CSV files for google ads. Similarly, if you are looking into presenting your data in various formats, such as multiple chart formats and mapping, then Tableau is the one for you.  

Pros:

  • Provides several options for data import. 
  • It is available for free (public version).

Cons:

  • Lack of Privacy in the public version. 
  • Paid versions are costly. 

5. Dundas BI: Although this is one of the oldest data visualization tools, it is still standing strong as one of the most powerful tools for visualizing data with interactive charts, tree maps, gauges, smart tables, and scorecards. This interactivity allows users to understand the data quickly. Dundas BI is also highly customizable. Dundas BI operates on the ground of responsive HTML5 web technology that allows users to connect, analyze and interact with their data on any device. This powerful tool also provides a built-in feature for extracting data from many data sources.  

Pros:

  • Highly flexible.
  • Provides a variety of visualization options.

Cons: 

  • It lacks predictive analysis. 
  • Does not support 3D charts.  

There you have it! Now you know the tools to ask out on a date when you are ready to visualize your data. As much as you love data, these tools can help make others fall in love with your data, too.   

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Precious Olalere

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Precious headshot

What is your educational and/or professional background? 

My undergraduate degree was in Library and Information Science at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, West Africa. In my prior experience, I worked in a research library where I was able to help researchers and students get access to the right information, I absolutely loved doing this and then I went on to work for Scholars Academy where I gathered some data analytics experience and helped students and researchers with data related questions. 

What led you to your field? 

One key factor that influenced my choice of this field is my ardent love for helping people. Connecting people to the information they are looking for has always been something I enjoyed. Then I realized the philosophies that libraries represent for the people in their communities and how they influence the success of people, which can, in turn, birth a strong nation; all of these are what drove me to the field. 

What are your research interests? 

While I have a broad interest, I am particularly interested in information organization and management, digital libraries, data, and learning analytics. 

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons? 

I will be focusing on the data side of things at the Scholarly Commons such as data analysis and data visualization. 

Describe a favorite project you’ve worked on.

This is a hard one because I have enjoyed all the projects I have worked on, particularly the one where I created a small database for a particular library collection. The library had a handwritten manual inventory book used to locate items. To save the amount of time in locating items; I designed a simple inventory database to make access to information faster and easier. 

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about?  

I am really looking forward to learning about room 308 studio booths, I have always loved music and so maybe I will get to record my imaginary music album in it – haha! 

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

While I am still undecided on what I would like to do after graduation, I am really interested in data librarianship and working in the academic sphere.