Teaching Code
It has become fashionable of late to insist that all librarians need to learn how to code. My opinion is however that all librarians do not need to become expert computer programmers, but rather that gaining some understanding of the concepts of software engineering has the potential of making them better prepared when they interact with vendors and developers. I make a parallel with learning basic carpentry skills to complete minor repairs in a house, and more importantly, gaining sufficient knowledge of this type of work so as to recognize when a task needs to be delegated to a professional, and be able to interact with contractors to ensure a satisfactory result. Two-days workshops that are led by the Software Carpentry organization and its volunteers are in my opinion a good way to introduce librarians to practical programming skills. Presented at code4lib North, St. Catharines, Ontario, June 4 & 5, 2015.
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Teaching Code
- 1. < teaching code > Thomas Guignard @timtomch tom@timtom.ca code4lib north St. Catharines ON, June 4-5, 2015
- 4. motivation
- 7. what next
- 8. references • software-carpentry.org • Yeldon, Andromeda. Coding for Librarians: Learning by Example, Library Technology Reports (vol. 51, no. 3) • librarycarpentry.github.io/city-november-2015/ • groups.google.com/d/forum/libraries-learning- code @timtomch tom@timtom.ca
Editor's Notes
- Bought a house recently I like tinkering, real-world problems So happy to patch walls, paint, repair deck But I also need to realize when I’m in over my head
- in no clue zone, danger, at the mercy of others (dependency on consultants/contractors) once we leave the no clue zone, we quickly gain power know what’s possible know how to do it (theoretically) know how to actually do it have experience doing it
- having an actual project to work with is important don’t minimize effort and difficulty
- YOU CAN DO IT accessible approach to DIY importance of mentors (cf Andromeda) DIY, my dad taught me community (cf maker space) online + IRL, teaching what you can do, nonexperts teaching, show and tell go as far as possible from the old boys club, don’t make it hard to join, sensitive to diversity, safe space combination of factors, same for coding
- carpentry ----> engineering Mainly grad students / researchers, but now aiming for librarians too 2 days bash / python / git / sql or other free / cheap volunteer instructors, not experts Based on ed research We strive to be inclusive no “actually…” no “it’s easy” no badmouthing OS, programming languages, etc. helpers, instructors = peers small classes link with actual problems work with local orgs Upcoming workshops Access Ottawa Library Carpentry in London
- Andromeda points out often issue for new learners is to find what to do next after workshop, hackathon, course, etc. importance of real projects mentors groups (code4lib, code club, libcode?) Still working out what works best for librarians Motivation important, what can we teach that librarians can use right away adapt swc curriculum ideas? pymarc instead of numpy, pycounter? ex library carpentry in London ex lunch&learn excel, openrefine, etc. Help us come to workshop come work at workshop organise workshop contribute to discussion