Writing Centers at the Center of Change

Joe Essid, Brian McTague, Joe Essid, Brian McTague

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429757143
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Creative Writing
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Writing Centers at the Center of Change looks at how eleven centers, internationally, adapted to change at their institutions, during a decade when their very success has become a valued commodity in a larger struggle for resources on many campuses.

Bringing together both US and international perspectives, this volume offers solutions for adapting to change in the world of writing centers, ranging from the logistical to the pedagogical, and even to the existential. Each author discusses the origins, appropriate responses, and partners to seek when change comes from within a school or outside it. Chapters document new programs being formed under changing circumstances, and suggest ways to navigate professional or pedagogical changes that may undermine the hard work of more than four decades of writing-center professionals.

The book's audience includes writing center and learning-commons administrators, university librarians, deans, department chairs affiliated with writing centers. It will also be useful for graduate students in composition, rhetoric, and academic writing.

Part I
New or Reimagined Spaces

1
Sharing Space and Finding Common Ground

A Practical Guide to Creating Effective Writing Center/Library Partnerships

Maggie M. Herb and Lindsay A. Sabatino

Introduction

With the rise of the “one-stop” academic service model, writing center directors more and more often find the trajectories of their units intersecting institutionally with other units whose academic culture and values may be unfamiliar or conflicting with their own. In addition to the long-standing administrative challenges that a center director must navigate—budgeting, hiring and training staff, working with faculty—the physical and/or institutional joining of another academic unit brings with it its own set of challenges—challenges for which, historically, there existed few resources on how to successfully navigate.

Even as it becomes increasingly clear that more writing centers are joining larger academic service units (in the 2013 National Census on Writing, 61% of respondents from four-year institutions reported that their center was part of another institutional unit such as a learning commons or an academic support center), until recently discussion of this trend within writing center studies has remained largely anecdotal. While informal, anecdotal discussions on WCenter or among conference attendees can help directors whose centers are becoming part of a larger unit to anticipate what they might expect, these anecdotal experiences may overemphasize the extremes—the successful mergers or the negative aftermath or “horror stories” related to such moves. Recently, though, more published scholarship on centers merging with learning commons has begun to appear; a recent issue of WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, focused in on this topic, with Choseed (2017) and Vincelette (2017) contributing nuanced perspectives that did not condemn or praise consolidation, but instead focused specifically on practical advice for those whose centers are becoming part of a learning commons or other “one stop” model.

Relocating to the Library: Stakes and Considerations

As awareness of the challenges associated with centers merging with other units increases, we have become particularly interested in this dynamic as it relates to writing centers moving into libraries, an apparent trend itself; the 2013 NCOW indicates that 45% of respondents from four-year institutions reported that their writing centers were located in a library, as compared to the 16% reported in the 2003–04 edition of the Writing Center Research Project, the only previous large-scale survey that asked this question (Griffin, Keller, Pandey, Pedersen, & Skinner, 2004). Our interest in this trend began pragmatically; as new center directors, we each were faced with the challenge of our centers relocating into our campus libraries. As we each attempted to effectively negotiate these moves and the subsequent changes and challenges they brought about, we increasingly found ourselves looking for scholarship and resources that examined writing centers and libraries and the effects of co-location to help us navigate the process and advocate for our centers.

Certainly many scholars—both those in writing center studies and even more in the library field—have taken up questions associated with writing center/library connections and interactions. Nadeau and Kennedy (2000) detail their writing center’s collaboration with their library on a series of workshops for students and advocate for strong alliances between centers and libraries, describing the similarities in their “service positions” and encouragement of student autonomy in research and writing. Brady, Singh-Corcoran, Dadisman, and Diamond (2009) also detail their collaborative work with librarians—a team teaching effort among writing center workers, writing faculty, and librarians to expand students’ information literacy practices. These researchers concluded their research with a call for writing centers, librarians and faculty to engage in more interdisciplinary work together to help students better understand the discursive nature of researching, reading, and writing. Library scholarship concerning writing center and library partnerships is similarly encouraging in its characterization of the possibilities of center/library collaborations. Cook and Bledsoe (2008) identify challenges that both writing center workers and librarians face separately and identify ways in which collaboration can help both units address those challenges. Montgomery and Robertshaw (2015) surveyed students to identify gaps in their research and writing practices and determine ways in which librarians and center workers can collaboratively work to support student learning. Elmborg and Hook’s (2005) collection is the most detailed and nuanced examination of center/library partnerships, and in its chapter case studies, most composed by both a librarian and a writing center administrator, authors are frank in their assessments of both the successes and challenges of their collaborative efforts. Overall, although existing scholarship is not completely uncritical of writing center/library partnerships, the general consensus seems to advocate for the strong potential for continued collaborative work. However, as Ferer (2012) suggests in her comprehensive literature review of library/writing center collaborations, more of this scholarship comes from library literature rather than writing center literature, resulting in “examples … weighted toward the side of libraries and librarians” (p. 545).

Thus, as we investigated scholarship on writing centers and libraries, we were surprised by this imbalance and in particular the lack of discussion related to the day-to-day, practical concerns of writing centers and libraries sharing space, particularly the process and associated challenges of a writing center physically relocating to a library from the writing center perspective. Although existing scholarship on library/writing center partnerships tends to characterize these units as natural allies (Elm-borg & Hook, 2005; Ferer, 2012; Nadeau & Kennedy, 2000), our own experiences pointed to significant differences between units in mission and institutional culture, which posed challenges to co-location. Eager to know if our own experiences were outliers, we set out to survey other directors whose centers were located in libraries. In particular, we wanted to know the benefits and challenges that these directors experienced, as well as what recommendations they would make for directors whose centers recently moved to a library or were poised to move to one.

We conducted an IRB approved, confidential survey in early 2015. We solicited participants via the WCenter and WPA-L listservs and posted a call on the IWCA blog, receiving responses from 104 participants—all of whom had an administrative role in a center located in a library. In this survey, participants shared potential challenges that arise from co-location, strategies to best meet those challenges, as well as recommendations for other centers/directors at the planning stages of negotiating a move into the library. In order to draw from our participants’ responses to present a practical guide with concrete approaches for writing center directors—especially those anticipating a move to a library, we focus here on the participants’ responses to two of our survey questions:

1. What do you think is necessary in order for there to be an effective partnership between centers and libraries?
2. What recommendations do you have for other centers/directors who are planning a move into a library?

Given the lack of previous scholarship that investigated these questions, grounded theory informed our approach to analysis, where we engaged in open coding with participants’ responses and then axial coding to discover themes, patterns, and trends. Through this process, we identified eight common themes that represented our participants’ recommendations for a successful relocation and partnership: (1) clear and thoughtful mission statements; (2) institutional planning, support, and buy-in; (3) the physical space of the center; (4) the director’s ability to advocate and the autonomy of the center; (5) communication between the writing center and library; (6) common goals between units; (7) collaborative projects and building relationships; and (8) establishing a “rhetoric of respect.”¹ Recalling our own concerns as new directors negotiating our centers’ relocation, we hope, in this chapter, to move beyond the anecdotal and offer data-supported suggestions and advice for those who may be considering or negotiating such a move.

For each theme, we describe and contextualize the concept, noting and categorizing the commonplaces among our participants’ responses and summarizing the overall conclusions based on these responses. All suggestions and recommendations are directly rooted in the participants’ responses, and we include representative quotes to support throughout. Where possible, we point to how these responses support, enhance, or call into question discussion of these themes in existing scholarship. Where appropriate, to illustrate these emergent themes, we share examples from our own experiences; over the last decade, between the two of us, we have served as directors of five centers located in libraries and have as a result experienced a range of institutional models and their accompanying benefits and challenges. Finally, we close the discussion of each theme with a series of questions that may be useful in helping our readers consider the theme in relation to their own context and prepare with eyes open for their centers’ futures. We organized the themes by considering their chronological order, starting with the more specific topics a director might encounter in the very early stages of a relocation to a library and concluding with “a rhetoric of respect,” which we recognized as an underlying theme that emerged in each of the other categories and ultimately, a foundational principle for building and sustaining effective collaboration. We recognize that for directors whose centers have already relocated, some of the suggestions and questions may not be applicable to their situation; still, we think it important that the themes herein represent the range of considerations that directors may encounter before, during, and after a relocation.

Clear and Thoughtful Mission Statement

A clear mission statement is a necessity for any writing center—and arguably any institutional department or unit—regardless of any impending physical or institutional relocations. But the existence of a clear and thoughtful mission statement is especially important for any unit that is about to undergo such changes. Its presence can guide and influence decisions big and small, from architectural to pedagogical. Furthermore, if a center’s move to a library is part of the creation of a new unit, for example a learning commons or an academic support center, discussion of the mission of this new unit should be determined and understood by stakeholders before any major changes are made. As one participant advised, “make sure that all who are involved can articulate to themselves and others the value of this move and the broader vision behind it.” On the other hand, if a center’s location changes, but it remains a freestanding unit that is not institutionally linked to the library, it is critical that those with whom the center shares space are able to understand and articulate the center’s mission. As one participant notes, “make sure library staff completely understand the work/purpose/goals of the center.” If centers and libraries have distinct mission statements, consider the ways in which these missions might overlap or align and the value of making that clear(er) in the statements themselves. For those who are creating or revising mission statements, Welch and Revels-Parker (2012) offer some thoughtful questions to guide the process, reiterating Lerner’s (2003) suggestion that a center consider its mission in terms of its broader connection and value to the institution.

Additionally, other participants observed the importance of the writing center administrators themselves keeping a clear understanding of their mission in mind when determining what changes to policy and procedure resulting from the move to accept or reject. For example, when a center Maggie directed was located in a classroom building, tutors were permitted to have keys to the space; when the center moved to the library, she discovered that a library-wide policy existed that prohibited student workers from having building keys. Though she initially felt that this policy was a rejection of the trust she placed in her tutors, she also had to acknowledge its practicality for a large building that employed a rotating group of new student workers every semester. Ultimately, she decided that the few minutes it took for tutors to grab and return a spare key from a library staff member wasn’t an issue worth contesting instead saving her battles for any disagreements that may have impacted the pedagogical work of the center. As one participant practically advised, “be ready to change policies and procedures—remember that we exist to help writers not maintain policies. Change your policies and procedures, but not your mission.”

Questions

• Where does the mission statement appear? (A website? In the physical space of the center? On promotional materials? Somewhere else?)
• Are you able to explain your mission in a succinct and understandable way to various audiences?
• Do your library colleagues understand the center’s mission? If not, what parts are not understood?
• How does your mission align/overlap with the library’s? Are your missions at all at odds? In what ways?

Institutional Planning, Support, and Buy-in

The relocation of an academic unit is not simply a question of campus geography, but a shift that can echo throughout the work of that division. As mentioned by the participant earlier, mission statements should be a driving factor during the planning stages. As much as possible, all the stakeholders involved in the relocation—particularly both the writing center administration and library administration—should have a seat at the table when discussing the impending move. Ideally, the move would be initiated with a grassroots approach, rather than a top-down decision by higher level administrators, which, unfortunately, happens all too often, as seen in Harbord’s (2006) account of the rector of the Central European University (CEU) attempting to close down the Center for Academic Writing. In their synthesis of composition scholarship on creating effective collaborations, Rendleman and Livingston (2017) note that a grassroots approach is one that is not only developed from the ground up, but one that arises organically to address “everyday problems” (p. 69). Thus, in the case of the writing center moving to a library, a grass-roots approach might look like the center director and library administration collaboratively deciding that moving the center to the library would be mutually beneficial and then, together, presenting their plan to upper administration.

While a grassroots approach may be the best scenario in launching the move, in many cases, it is more likely that the decision to move the center is a top-down one directly ordered from upper administration, a reality that can make those early planning stages more challenging, particularly if the library ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Notes on Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• List of Illustrations
• Foreword
• Introduction: A Light at the End of the Service Corridor?
• PART I New or Reimagined Spaces
• PART II New Missions
• PART III Contested Missions, Contested Spaces
• Index