Classroom Observation

Besides lots of practice for the Book Cart Drill Team (we zombified shirts yesterday, get excited to see) the past few weeks have been mostly working at the Reference Desk and observing classroom sessions lead by other reference librarians. The desk has become more interesting as the semester goes on, and a lot harder. Students and faculty are asking me questions that I do not quite have the answer to yet, which is very challenging but I also like. I learn something myself trying to answer their questions, and it makes me feel smart when I do find information for them. They are usually really grateful too, which makes working at the desk even more fun. Also being a student while doing this internship is interesting as well. Sometimes my friends come to ask for help at the desk which is kind of odd but enjoyable. In terms of my own work, this internship is helping me a great deal. I have a better understanding of where to look for material for my courses, and all of my research assignments are a little more manageable than they used to be. [excerpt

Categorizing History

Since my last blog post, I have become more familiar with the desk and have begun to answer questions that are more in depth and make use of the reference skills that I have been learning. This week, I have even started working the desk by myself! I was a little nervous at first, but once I had my first patron, I realized that I felt confident in what I had learned in my training and I was able to help! [excerpt

My First Weeks!

I am very excited to work in the Reference Department this semester! I have completed my first two weeks, which I spent training with different members of the Reference staff. I really enjoyed being able to learn from each of them, to see what their strengths were and hearing their pieces of advice. Now that my training is over, I get to start working the reference desk and handling questions on my own! [excerpt

On the Web-WorldCat, Digital Publications, and New Editions

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the warmer weather! Despite the real arrival of spring and sun, the Reference Desk is expecting a huge pick-up in the library and in citation and research questions as we move towards the end of the semester and the due dates for final research papers. Apart from regular work at the Desk, I am still working on the Collection Development Project, now in the online section of the project. I’ve been working a lot with MUSCAT and WorldCat, trying to discover how many copies of the Parkin books are available in other libraries and to see how rare each book is. Some of the books could only be found in ten or so other libraries worldwide! [excerpt

Who Is Sitting at the Reference Desk?: The Ever-Changing Concept of Staffing the Reference Desk at the Bio-Medical Library

Providing excellent reference service at the University of Minnesota’s Bio-Medical Library has always been a source of pride and a goal to those of us who work at the reference desk. With tightening budgets and shrinking staff numbers, who works at the reference desk is drastically changing. The Bio-Medical Library has always been in a unique position to offer the opportunity of working at the reference desk to staff members across all departments, including those who at other libraries would not normally be given the option to staff the desk. From circulation staff to technical services staff to our fee-based services staff (InfoNOW) to our current project of training a few undergraduate student workers, the Bio-Medical Library staff has created a unique reference desk environment. This article will discuss the many different ways the Bio-Medical Library keeps the reference desk functioning with its unique and multi-departmental staff

At the Desk

During the past few weeks of my internship, I\u27ve spent time providing research consultations at the Reference Desk. I initially sat with a librarian during my shift, but I’m now working independently. Since then, I have fielded questions about gender roles in high school guidance offices, the invasive nature of the lionfish species, and the causes of industrialization in early modern Spain. [excerpt

All Together Now: Using an Internal Google Site to Streamline Workflows

During the 2011–2012 academic year, the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library merged the Student Computing Support Desk and the Reference Desk into a single Information Desk service point in the center of the first floor of the library. At the newly combined desk, students could receive research assistance as well as computer assistance in one centralized location. Workers at the newly combined desk included library staff, IT staff, and student peer staff. This innovation session demonstrated how an internal Information Desk Google site was used to streamline workflows and get everyone working together

A New Service Model for the Reference Desk: The Student Research Center

There is no doubt that reference services are changing and that the reference desk needs to change also, in response. In this article, Julie Middlemas argues that the foundations of the reference interaction remain the same regardless of this shift: that a successful reference interview and the need to save the time of the reader/researcher remain the primary functions of that interaction. Steven Deineh then puts forth his case for student-centered reference, which offers the service of intensive collaborative research working with students behind the reference desk. Students will learn hands-on because, although millennials and others of the digital generation have a perceived comprehensive understanding of technology, there is much they do not understand nor use to full advantage. And millennials learn by doing. Finally, Patty Morrison argues that “information up-sell” needs to be part of every reference desk encounter, whether the student is merely asking for directions or has a more in-depth research need. Why this promotion? Simply because, as Steven points out, there is only a perceived knowledge of technology. In sum, this article recommends the following as a new reference service model: conduct an effective and comprehensive reference interview and invite the student behind the desk for an empowering, hands-on, in-depth research experience when appropriate. For those scenarios when it is not appropriate, up-sell or promote what the library has to uniquely offer students that Google cannot

Exploring Library Room 20 - The Library Instruction Lair

For the last couple of weeks, in addition to working behind the Reference Desk, I have also been further investigating the Instruction part of the Reference & Instruction Department. While some instruction necessarily happens at the desk, the librarians have a chance to get more in-depth into teaching research skills when professors bring their students into the computer lab classroom in the basement. In the past couple weeks I have observed an English 101 and a 200-level Psych class, and my own Environmental Issues class was also brought in to meet with a librarian. [excerpt

Tiered Reference: The New Landscape of the Frontlines

Introduction When one walks into a typical academic library today, he or she is hard-pressed to see a reference librarian in plain view working at a public services desk. The well marked “reference desk” of yore, staffed by a smiling librarian and once a staple of every traditional academic library, has evolved into a less visible, more amorphous facility. Most libraries now use a new service strategy called “tiered reference,” whereby the initial reference contact point is with trained students or paraprofessionals at a general service desk. These non-librarians field all manner of questions, including directional, computing, and occasionally reference. They answer any “basic” reference questions they can, and refer advanced questions to an actual librarian. What happened to the reference librarian and her service domain? Can we trust students to be the main gatekeepers? Even the best student worker has occasional lapses where his or her eyes are laden from a 2am outing, and they proceed to give a less than informed answer to a faculty member without bothering to make a referral. Do we really want our public image to be imprinted in the minds of faculty coming to the library as such? Are we selling out by valuing our expertise so little to think that students can effectively fill our shoes