Reference and Outreach

First of all, I've asked a former student Lindsay Greenawalt to be a guest blogger this week. She's going to write about her new job as reference librarian. Feel free to post comments.

This week we are actually beginning to tackle some practical issues in library & information science. Outreach is so important for the longevity of cultural institutions. The web provides so many opportunities to provide outreach and I think libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums take advantage of the benefits of the web to make their collections available and accessible to a diverse audience. But outreach is more than that. It’s getting out into the community and learning what our patrons need and want. It’s helping the disadvantaged, homeless, and isolated individuals take advantage of what the library has and can offer to them. Ms Wong’s presentation was very inspiring.

Reference is near and dear to my heart and my love of librarianship. Reference is the aspect of librarianship that was the focus of my studies and continues to be an interest. While I may not be as interested in its philosophical underpinnings, I’ve seen them change and grow over the decades as reference morphed from print to digital and electronic. Evaluating reference tools, teaching reference sources, and understanding how they work is one of my true interests. In fact, I am even interested in how these major types of reference sources are created. Understanding how reference tools work, records are organized, and information is disseminated is so important. How does that database work? What does it search? How does it search? What types of answers are retrieved? How can I narrow or broaden my approach? All these are questions that you should be able to answer for yourself and your patron when you help them search for information. Learning how indices work and the types of information retrieved is part of the skills you should hone as you work at the reference desk, as you search a catalogue or database.

While I found all the readings interesting this week, Morris provides the philosophy, Weigand the story, and Elmborg brings it all together. Rubin will give you the underpinning as usual. Over and over, I kept asking myself, what’s changed over the years? Has anything changed? And how can we bridge that gap between what the articles teach us and the reality of 2012?

There are two main topics this week that fall under user services. The first is outreach to our patrons to help them see and use the benefits of the library, common examples being book mobiles and services to the visually handicapped, and literacy programs. The second is actually providing reference services at the desk in and through all types of cultural institutions.

Outreach

The podcast by Wong does a great job of describing the programs her library instituted, in cooperation with other organizations, to bring literacy and libraries / books to the public. The lesson you want to take away from that talk is you need to get out into the community, learn what they need, and help provide those services. This form of outreach is so very important for keeping the library visible within communities and constituencies. What types of outreach programs does your library offer? What are some you think are missing?

Bell & Deane are two articles that also focus on bringing customer service to the user and making our services useful and useable to the public. Deane’s lesson is the same, that librarians need to get out of the library to learn what patrons want. Bell emphasizes working to open up the library to all users and serve their needs. Even more important, librarians and archivists need to stand on the ‘other side’ of the desk, on the patron side, as a patron doing research to see where service and access is lacking. As a librarian who engages in research for hire, I’m constantly on the user side of the reference desk. The quality of reference service really varies depending upon who is on the desk and the institution where you as the questions. Since there’s no “standard” except excellence, you, as budding librarians, need to be cognizant of the needs of your patrons and provide the best assistance possible. One question to keep in mind is “Why come to the library, real or virtual?” What do our patrons gain by asking questions of the librarian or using our resources? 

www.atyourlibrary.org is an interesting, generic library outreach site. Does it work for your library and your community?

Reference

The other topic is reference and the rest of the articles really focus on a wide variety of aspects surrounding reference.

Morris’ article is the theoretical article that homes in on database design and asks “what types of researchers really need from this set of data or citations?” It is important to consider the needs of the user. The more you work with databases and search engines, the more you hone your ability to research using a wide variety of resources, the more you will understand how important that question is. Many databases were created for the librarian and the expert researcher with little concern for the skills and needs of the novice. This is particularly true of early databases, before the web was available to just about everyone. Yet, many databases are still difficult to use and master.

Some questions you should ask yourself while reading Morris are: how have databases and search capabilities changed in the past 15 years? How has the ability to search using natural language changed the types of results databases provide? Who are these databases created for? And how easily and comfortably do researchers find what they seek?

Kuhlthau’s various stages of research (Morris, 26 and Rubin, 278) should help the reference librarian understand the types of information researchers seek. As the research project progresses, the types of information sought are more refined, exacting, and often more difficult to locate. Asking good reference questions, conducting an effective reference interview is key to assisting the patron in their search, whether they want a good book or a specific piece of research, or an exact title.

Today we find that many of these questions are considered by practitioners of Information Architecture and Usability Studies. Of course, the design of websites and databases affect our ability to find information sought by ourselves and our users.

Morris and Rubin provide excellent examples of the types of reference questions do ask during an interview (Morris, 28 and Rubin, 276).

Elmborg’s article focuses on teaching at the reference, particularly in academic institutions, but these suggestions also apply to public libraries. His article talks about the two different philosophies of reference; doing the work for a patron and teaching a patron how to do the reference or search. The latter is the type of reference we should strive to provide.

His definition of different types of researchers / learning styles on pg 456 goes well with Weigand’s article. Can you think of other examples of learners? More importantly, what happens if we always provide the answer for our patrons instead of teaching them to be successful researchers? What are the exceptions to this philosophy of reference?

Censorship & Information

You all continue to ruminate about censorship, filtering the internet, and the meaning of information. Some of you actually come to a decision about how you feel about balanced collections, filtering the web, and limiting access.

I think by now you've realized that I believe in balanced collections, access to collections and materials, and few limitations to access. There are always reasons to limit access. Since I do a lot of my work in preservation and think lots about special collections, we often limit access to the physical object, because it's in poor or fragile shape, and give the user a facsimile or today point them toward digital facsimiles. Of course, researchers and patrons can always ask for the original, if the copy still exists in the system. 

Some of you asked about balanced collections, or collection development. I am assuming that you learn more about that in acquisitions and also in access?? There are books in the profession that provide lists of books for various subject areas, by Dewey or LC number. The books usually include Reference Tools, Basic or Care titles, and then Subject specific titles. Books for collection development help us create broad and deep collections, and make certain we aren't missing an important title. There are also collection development books for fiction and for various reading levels (Children's, YA, Hi/Low).  ALA and the other library science publishers publish these types of books.

Filtering is just too contentious to talk about here. I've made comments in your reflective journals. Suffice it to say, some filtering is tied to funding, others to CIPA and COPA laws. I'm not for it. I'm for using your own judgment and being respectful of other people. Enough said.

And Information, well, most of you tackled Debons and Buckland and have a better idea of how the theory works. 

Next week we'll tackle users. That's Monday for all of you reading this post tonight (Friday night).  I'm working on the video podcasts and my blog so they are ready for you on Sunday night.

The Profession and its quirks

Week 5 – what’s on your minds?

I just took a quick peak at the discussion boards for this week. You’ll notice I posted some responses also, because I just had to chime in.  Here are the major themes of your queries this week; distance education and learning; continuing education and the LIS curriculum; technology; and the profession.

My response has to be that yes these are all serious issues to ruminate about, but don’t get stuck on the problems. There are many points of view in the profession. You can see it when you read Dr. Rubin and my comments. I’m certain they diverge, and will diverge from your other professors. The diversity is part of the beauty and challenge of this field, the smaller and broader aspects of the field.

As you continue to learn and apply what you learn, you’ll see that this is a never ending task. I learn from you every time I read a discussion thread and every time I tackle the readings. You will also learn from your colleagues, young and old, technologically challenged and experienced. Take advantage of the challenge to learn something new every day and you’ll flourish in this program and in the profession.

After re-reading this post, it seems a little thin. It must be my focus on next week's readings about user services by librarians. Get ready for more heady readings.

Okay, I’ll get off my soap box and go read reflective journals.

reactions to Week 4 discussion topics

 

2/9/2012

I’m running late this week as I had to get my third course prepared.  Now I can focus on your concerns and issues. 

A major discussion point was censorship and filtering. We, librarians and archivists, walk a fine line between providing solid, reputable materials for our patrons and censorship. It is not easy to strike that balance, especially when you, personally, have strong feelings about a subject. There is literature in our profession that will help you select materials and even provide reference in those tricky subject areas. A well rounded collection serves our public and our basic mission as librarians.

Filtering is a lot more complicated. Some of it is invisible, handled by the IT people; some is obvious. Fortunately, some of the passion about filtering has died down. Again, the subject is touchy, especially as libraries are seen as safe havens and even in loco parentis, protecting children from the real world. I do not have a good answer for you about how to handle the subject except to say that it is out there and definitely contentious and controversial. When the internet was first introduced into libraries, some actually selected the sites their patrons could visit. I do not relish a return to those days.

Career as a librarian or archivist is also a topic you dwelt upon. It is good and appropriate to question your career choice. My advice is to become as well rounded as you can. I sound like a broken record, but that’s the truth. You wand to be able to handle jobs and responsibilities in addition to those specialties you’ve honed before you attain the MLIS or through your coursework. Take courses that are interesting to you and engage in the literature and the discussion. Participation is one way of engaging. Set up some meetings with others who live nearby. I’m always happy to have you come and see me.

At the same time, many of you raised questions about marketing the library, its place in the community and the role of libraries promoting education of some sort. These are great questions to ask and continue to ponder. Where do you see yourself in the picture? What type of energy do you expend promoting the library, taking advantage of those “teachable moments”? The profession has many roles and many faces. You will find your role within librarianship as you grow into your positions.

The final sticking point was “Information as Document,” that mind boggling article and video. It was a difficult article to understand and apply to your knowledge or skill set. A few of you had great explanations of how to break down the article. Thanks for sharing. The theoretical concepts within the article should make you ponder the nuances of word and their meanings within a discipline. I always err on the practical side and try to find simpler, more universal concepts to convey to patrons. Librarians and archivists use lots of jargon as do many other professionals. It is important to be able to explain what you mean without using jargon. Thanks again to the students who provided examples and explanations about information, data, and documents.

On to week 5!

Reactions to reflective journals 2/2/2012

I just finished reading all your journals. You have such wonderful ideas and questions.

Overall, you were intrigued by special libraries, interested in my experiences as a librarian, thinking hard about what you want to do when you graduate.

I spent a lot more time writing personal answers back, trying to answer your questions.  

Lots of you were disappointed by Dr. Byerly’s talk about Special Librarians and his comment about needing additional degrees.  That’s a very generalized statement, and not all require more education. All libraries are different and have different requirements.

Since many of you are ruminating about what type of library you want to work in, take advantage of the two assignments #2 & 4 and observe one type and interview another. 

Visiting libraries is the best way to get to know what they have to offer you and their patrons. That’s the whole point of your observation and interview assignments. Think about how the library you visit is similar or different from those you are familiar with. The same will hold true of your interview with a librarian or information professional.

As to my background and opportunities, well I mentioned I’ve worked lots of places. Here’s what I wrote in response to one of you.

I was very lucky and had a broad set of experiences as a librarian.  When I was finishing my library degree, I was actually an intern at the college library. My mentor had me work for two weeks in each department. Then when I worked at NYPL, my supervisors moved us all around. We worked in the various departments, and even at different branches in our 6 region section. I even volunteered to go outside the region a few times.  Then at Mid-Manhattan (NYPL) my supervisor rotated all of us around in different jobs. He felt that every new librarian should have a broad set of experiences and be able to move on in 2 years to a new job. And I did just that.  I was very lucky. Not all supervisors were as broad minded. If you want a lot of experience, work in a large library system in a large city.

Oh how I wish this was an in person course, I’d love to take you all on field trips and introduce you to interesting libraries and librarians. I’ll have to see if I can find some virtual tours of libraries on YouTube.

Again, if you want to come see me, meet me in person, that's great. We can always talk over skype, phone or chat. 

Credentials for Librarians & more about varieties of libraries

PhD’s in Libraries

There is / was an interesting trend to hire 'scholar librarians' in academic libraries. The idea is to have PhD's who are active in their academic field (not LIS) working in the library and as liaisons with the academic department. The hope is the PhD will strengthen the rapport between the library and the department. At OSU the idea was hire a subject specialist, and if they don't have an MLS give them a few years to acquire the degree.  I don't know if it is still a trend after the economic downturn in 2008.

Multiple degrees – should not be a surprise – have an MLIS and a subject masters, just as school librarians need a teaching certificate. While academic libraries do not require a second degree (masters in a subject), they are either looking for one, or hope you'll get one. Some universities hire librarians with only one degree at a lower rank than if you have 2 degrees, so it may take longer to get promoted and tenure.  That said, it's not a hard and fast rule, it depends upon the institution.  Don't let that second degree stop you from applying for academic positions. What better way to get a second degree than to have the institution pay for it!

Archives / genealogy collections

Genealogy collections fit within archives and public libraries. You'll also find them in historical societies, which could be considered special libraries.  Mostly I see genealogy collections as special collections in public libraries.  There are large collections in the big public libraries, smaller ones in the rural communities. Some large genealogy collections in Ohio are at Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, at Cleveland PL, Dayton Metro, Columbus Metro, Toledo PL, and Akron Summit County PL. The second largest in the country is in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Allen County PL.

Archives are usually found in university libraries but you'll find them again in public libraries. In the case of the latter, the archives document the history of the library or the institution, and usually do not house the records of local businesses or organizations.

While the American Memory project has wonderful examples of materials found in the Library of Congress http://memory.loc.gov  so does the National Archive www.archives.gov look at the collections under ARC (Archival Research Collection) http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/

These are great examples of collections that were digitized and are now available for researchers, librarians, and teachers to use. There are images, documents, and audiovisual materials in these collections.

Archives is an excellent career for a librarian. Many archivists have a second degree or specialty in history, political science, or whatever the focus of the archives might be. Some archivists have PhDs; that depends upon the organization and the age of the professional. If you are interested in archives, there are two courses offered at Kent, and one on the Columbus campus, and you should probably take my genealogy course also.

Visiting libraries is the best way to get to know what they have to offer you and their patrons. That’s the whole point of your observation assignment. Think about how the library you visit is similar or different from those you are familiar with. The same will hold true of your interview with a librarian or information professional.

Careers as librarians

After reading your discussion from last week, I noticed you are all concerned about the type of library you want to work it.  My first reaction is that it’s much too early to worry about where you will find a job. You still need to learn what it is to be a librarian and how libraries work. Yet, many of you are already working in libraries or have careers and see this degree as the next move in your life.

When I’m asked about planning a career, I often feel at a disadvantage for my career just happened. I stumbled into librarianship, love the field, and then moved from job to job as they came along. There was no purposeful planning as to what I wanted to achieve in my career. Maybe that’s why I’ve had so many interesting experiences. Maybe it’s why I learned so much about libraries, books, and research.

My usual response to up and coming librarians and library science students is to get a broad education, learn all you can about the core skills and, today, about technology. These will provide the basis for your first job.  In many instances, that first job is where you actually train to become a librarian.  Library school is where you learn the ‘theory’ and the concepts. And I’m old school, where I think that library science is a practical degree and my colleagues often tell me the field has lots of theory. I think that’s a generational difference. How do I know? I mentioned the Buckland article today to a colleague who said it’s important to get the theory, because the MLIS is not just an apprenticeship. If the MLIS was an apprenticeship, you would all come out of the degree with all the practical skills you need for your new jobs, and that’s also not the case.

Anyway, I ramble. So to continue with my advice, learn about cataloging and technology; learn about reference tools, print & online; learn to reason and analyze materials, questions, and answers. All these skills will stand you in good stead. Learn about the history and ask “why” often to have a background and grounding in the field. Remember, my focus is reference and research, so I want to know why and I want to think about how to find sources, information, and answers that are complete and to the point.

Enough on this topic for now.  I have snippets of things to say about academic credentials for librarians and archivists in my next blog posting tomorrow.