Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Guidelines For Behavioral Performance Of Reference And Information Service Providers 2023, Melissa Del Castillo, Rebecca Graff, Kate Cordes, Rebecca Crawford, Liz Kocevar-Weidinger

Works of the FIU Libraries

These guidelines are intended for library workers in reference and information services, in all types of libraries, who answer informational questions or conduct reference interviews. The goal of these guidelines is to support excellent, user-centered service. Some guidelines might not prove applicable in all contexts. Where that is the case, the goal should be to adapt these guidelines as appropriate to your environment.

Soaring Into The Future Of Chat Reference: Assessing For Quality In Cooperative Chat Reference, Elise Ferer

Library Scholarship

Online reference allows for libraries to join cooperatives to provide chat reference when local librarians are not available, far extending the hours assistance is available to patrons. As the future brings more cross institutional collaboration, how do we know that cooperative chat is effective for our patrons? Librarians at one institution worked to develop a rubric to assess chat transcripts for the quality of services provided. Over one academic term, these librarians assessed chat transcripts answered by academic librarians from other libraries. This poster will share the rubric used to assess transcripts, research methods, and initial findings from collected data.

University Of New Hampshire: Renaissance In Action, Kathrine C. Aydelott

Faculty Publications

This chapter, from Association of College and Research Library's (ACRL) Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs, details the multi-year shift of service delivery and structure of the University of New Hampshire's Research & Learning Services department. The chapter further outlines plans to re-imagine the embedded liaison program and details the nascent rebirth of a unified library instruction program.

Short Staffed? Hire Alexa!, Christopher M. Jimenez, Ramces L. Marsilli

Works of the FIU Libraries

This demonstration uses the popularity and sophistication of voice recognition technology, and couples it with Springshare’s robust knowledge base software in order to create a powerful reference tool. The authors paired the Information and Research Services Department’s most popular FAQ’s with an Alexa Skill using the LibAnswers Application Programming Interface (API), and preloaded it onto six Alexa Show devices to increase engagement with our patrons.

The Myth Of The Declining Reference Statistic: Revealing Dynamic Reference Services Through Digital Analytics, Melissa Del Castillo, Marissa C. Ball

Works of the FIU Libraries

It seems customary practice now that there is a need for libraries to “justify” their relevance, impact, contributions, and more. Traditionally, we do this by looking at some basics - how many people walk through our doors, how many classes/workshops are we teaching, and how many people did we help at the reference desk? It is hard to deny when looking at these statistics that there are some obvious trends. In the reference realm, this traditionally translates to decreasing statistics - but are these statistics telling the whole story? Are our reference desk statistics really going down? Are there other …

Personal Research Sessions: A Consultation-Based Program For Research Support, Jennifer L.A. Whelan

Staff publications

A gradual decline in reference questions at the Holy Cross Libraries prompted research librarians to offer Personal Research Sessions. The PRS program allows students to meet one-on-one with a research librarian by appointment. Established in 2011, the PRS program has become increasingly popular and successful.

Adult Learners In The Library–Are They Being Served?, Makiba Foster, Kristine Helbling

University Libraries Publications

Like many academic librarians, after completing the marathon of the traditional school year, we often use the summer semester to reflect, revise, and plan for the upcoming fall. In the summer of 2012, during a casual conversation in which we shared stories about rewarding reference interactions, we stumbled upon an “aha moment,” discovering an opportunity to connect targeted library outreach with an underserved user group. During this exchange, we realized how much we both enjoy working with adult learners and how they always seem genuinely interested in gaining skills to make themselves better library users, and therefore better students. This …

Helping The Adult Learner Succeed: How Community College Libraries In Massachusetts Are Serving This Growing Population, Katherine A. Turcotte

Librarian Publications

Education is something that is valued more each and every day. A growing number of people in today’s society realize the importance of education and the increasing need to return to school. As the number of adult learners continues to rise, so too does the need to reach out to this population to make sure they are being presented with the appropriate tools and resources needed to succeed. Because it is theorized that adults (those age 25+) who return to school are likely to enroll in a community college, rather than a four year university, this study looks specifically at …

Teaching Students To Fish: Creating A Sustainable Student Peer Research Program, Mallory R. Jallas, Meggan D. Smith

All Musselman Library Staff Works

A Peer Research Mentor (PRM) program was developed at Musselman Library, Gettysburg College to augment traditional reference services and expand library outreach. Goals included enhancing these students’ information literacy skills helping them become better researchers, as well as sharing that knowledge with peers. This poster will highlight the initial and on-going training, their involvement at the reference desk, and outreach projects to date.

Reference Resilience: Balancing Sustainability With Customized And Effective Research Support, Jennifer Adams, Laura Hibbler

Staff publications

As we see fewer "walk-up" questions at the reference desk, our librarians faced difficult questions about how best to focus research support for Holy Cross students. While so-called 'ready-reference' information is now available online, the expanse of information on the Internet combined with the increasing complexity of tools like research databases, pointed to a need for a different kind of research assistance which is more in-depth and focuses on effective search strategies. For many libraries, including ours, this calls for shifting our priorities and hours from traditional time at the reference desk to other, more-personalized activities such as meeting with …

Crowdsourcing Reference Help: Using Technology To Help Users Help Each Other, Ilana Stonebraker, Tao Zhang

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Librarians developed a crowdsourced web-based help system (“CrowdAsk”) which allows users (particularly undergraduates) to ask and answer questions related to library resources and services. This talk will describe CrowdAsk crowdsourcing project as well as how and why crowdsourcing can be powerful method for student engagement. Learn about a new open source technology you can implement at your library and explore new paradigms for reference focusing on users as an active and vital participant in help systems.

On The Same Page: Combining Service Desks For A Single Point Of Contact, Sally Neal, Susan Anderson, Brian Bunnett, William Weare Jr.

Scholarship and Professional Work

No abstract provided.

Beyond A Common Approach: Teaching Students The Ethical Practice Of Reference, Lisa A. Ellis

Publications and Research

This article describes the creation and use of case studies to help teach the ethical practice of reference. There are considerations for applying the case study method in reference which require cumulative preparation through the study and reinforcement of reference values, functions, behaviors, and ethical codes. The strategies for writing ethical case studies in reference are detailed. Overall, case studies on the ethical practice of reference are valued for promoting reflection and active learning in library science students through analysis and discussion.

Why Some Students Continue To Value Individual, Face-To-Face Research Consultations In A Technology-Rich World, Trina J. Magi, Patricia E. Mardeusz

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

For decades, academic librarians have provided individual research consultations for students. There is little information, however, about why students schedule consultations, the kinds of assistance students feel are provided by librarians during consultations, and what students find valuable about face-to-face consultations, even with the availability of online research help. This exploratory, qualitative study of individual research consultations at the University of Vermont gathered students’ views on these questions. The findings will help librarians better understand how individual consultations serve students and what role consultations should play in the mix of reference services offered.

What Students Need From Reference Librarians: Exploring The Complexity Of The Individual Consultation, Trina J. Magi, Patricia E. Mardeusz

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

The article reports on an exploratory study that identified the skills used by reference librarians during individual research consultations with undergraduate and graduate students in a wide range of disciplines. The skills fell into eight categories. As expected, librarians needed knowledge about information sources and their effective use, but the project revealed that consultations often involve higher-order skills, as well, such as knowing how to approach and organize the research endeavor, shaping a topic appropriate for the scope of a project, making connections among various pieces of information and applying them to the problem at hand, and identifying alternative research …

Review Of Sociology: A Guide To Reference And Information Sources, By Stephen H. Aby, James Nalen, And Lori Fielding, Rebecca Tolley

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Photomicrographs, The Npr 100, And Student Teaching: Library Liaison Ideas That Really Work, Katherine Furlong, Janelle L. Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In 1997, Gettysburg College's Musselman Library revived a dormant liaison program. Librarians were assigned to each department and program on campus and expected to serve as the first point of library contact for the teaching faculty.

Some core communications and activities emerged that we now encourage every liaison to practice; attending department meetings, sending reviews of new materials, tracking faculty book orders, and visiting faculty offices are seen as standard liaison activities.

We were delighted to find that almost every librarian had some unique and interesting experiences to report. The authors collected these experiences so that they could be shared …