Happy Thanksgiving

Hello Readers,

I am wrapping up a very busy time for me - all but one of my major class projects are completed, and Jen and I are getting ready to head out of town to celebrate the holiday with our family. Before we go, though, allow me to share with you two things.

First, the text that follows is an interview which I had with staff members from the Amon Carter Museum Library. This was the conclusion of a project I had to complete for my reference class. I felt it was a nice dicsussion of the reference work we do at the Carter Library.

Second, I want to wish you and your families the best of Thanksgivings - I will post again on November 30th. Happy Thanksgiving!

Text of Interview:

What is your definition of “reference service”?

Assisting patrons in finding information which helps them with “projects.” These projects can be personal, educational, or academic in nature.

How do you provide reference service to your user population? In other words, what does reference service “look like” in your information environment?

The Carter library provides reference services in four ways - in-person, phone, email, or postal mail. These questions might provide a referral to an appraisal service, or copies/scans of a pertinent source. Also, interlibrary loan is, on some level, considered a reference service, as books are frequently requested through ILL to answer patrons questions.

What types of reference questions do you receive? What are some specific examples?

The most frequent type of reference question that the Carter library receives is the patron who has a print or work of art by an American artist, and is seeking valuation or authentication of that work. As a not for profit institution, it is illegal for the Carter to do either of those things, but we can provide them with auction catalogs, artist information, and contact information for appraisal services. Also frequently received are questions about the biographies of the more obscure American artists.

What kinds of patrons do you like working with the most? Why?

Patrons who come in seeking a specific piece of information (meaning their reference question is very specific) are easy to work with. Due to the nature of the library’s collection, if a patron says, “I need information on Frederic Remington,” there are literally hundreds of sources we can provide them with. However, if they are seeking information on a particular Remington artwork, and especially something about it, it makes answering their reference question well much easier. Also, the Carter frequently has reference questions that the patron has been seeking the answer to - and has consulted many other libraries before coming to us. These patrons have questions which we are uniquely disposed to answer - and that is extremely rewarding - to have patrons so thankful to finally find the information they are seeking.

Describe a recent reference transaction you had with a patron. What went well? What didn't? What would you change if you could?

A professor recently contacted the Carter seeking election information from south Texas during the late 1800’s. The professor was very specific in what they were seeking, and the staff had to search, but eventually the information needed was found. Better search-ability of the microfilm would have improved this transaction.

What are the reference resources you use most often?

The most frequently consulted reference resource are the artist bio files, followed by the catalogues raisonnés.

What are the reference resources you feel a "rookie" librarian must know to work at the reference desk alone?

A knowledge of the best searching practices for the local catalog is absolutely essential, as well as a good knowledge of searching and content areas of the electronic databases to which the library subscribes. Also, knowing the content of the reference books in the collection is essential.

By what modes do you typically deliver reference service (in-person, email, IM, chat, phone, etc.)?

Postal mail, email, in-person, and on the telephone.

How do you decide which reference resources are best for different types of users in your environment? That is, what criteria do you use to evaluate reference resources?

Make a judgment as to the depth of information that is required, which then leads to whether the person is best served by a reference source that provides basic information or something more scholarly. In the Carter library, we most patrons are seasoned researchers who are mainly interested in scholarly resources.

What are your goals for your reference service?

To exhaust all possible resources and possible avenue answering a reference question from a patron. To respond the their reference queries in a timely manner, as well as being pleasant and friendly in the course of the reference transaction.

What instructional strategies do you use at the reference desk?

Show patrons how to do something, with less and less help over time from the reference desk staff, until they are comfortable with what they have learned.

How do you evaluate your reference service overall? What statistics do you keep?

Due to the small nature of the Carter library, there is no formal evaluation system for reference services. Evaluation comes through feedback about reference transactions from patrons. Statistics are kept on the number of reference questions received, and in what format - be they in-person, phone, et cetera.

Why did you choose to become a librarian in this environment?

Sam’s response: “I have an interest in art, but in my case it was really just good fortune smiling on me. Before working at the museum in 1991, I had no idea that art museums had research libraries (like a lot of people). When I ran across the job ad for "reclassification cataloguer" that the museum posted, it immediately intrigued me. The rest is history. With the exception of a few short stints at two universities, I have been at the museum for the bulk of my professional career.”

I’m considering becoming a librarian in an environment similar to the one you work in. What do you think I should focus on as I complete my graduate program?

Copyright, cataloging, and administration.

Class Update

Next semester, I will take 9 hours of class credit. At the end of the semester, I will have 22 of 36 credit hours required for my MSLIS. It’s exciting to be over halfway through my degree program, and even though I don’t feel like I have learned a great deal, when I actually think about it and reflect upon it, I have learned so much. My classes so far, for the most part, have been great. So, let’s recap, shall we - as of December, here are the classes I have completed:

IST 601 - Introduction to the Library and Information Profession: A broad overview of the field and an orientation to the School of Information Studies. Describes the past, present, and future of information studies.
IST 511 - Information and Information Environments: Key components of the field and its relationship to other fields and professions. General structure, issues and problems, research, and literature.
IST 605 - Information Resources, Users, and Services: The discovery and use of print and electronic resources and delivery of services in libraries to meet information needs of varied patron communities in a broad range of contexts.
IST 600 - Library Budgeting
IST 600 - Library Marketing
IST 600 - Library Fundraising
IST 618 - Survey of Telecommunications and Information Policy - Public policy issues of the digital environment, including freedom of expression, intellectual property, economic regulations, privacy, security, access, standards, and dissemination of public information. Application of economic, legal, and political science concepts to policy analysis.

All in all, that’s 14 credit hours so far. Next semester, I will be taking:

IST 613 - Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment: User-focused planning, marketing, and assessment of activities that support core functions of libraries, such as collection development, systems, and public services.
IST 616 - Information Resources: Organization & Access: Introduction to theories, tools, and standards for information organization and access, including cataloging rules and formats, content analysis, indexing, classification, and fundamentals of information retrieval systems.
IST 604 - Cataloging of Information Resources: Cataloging rules, standards, and metadata schemes; bibliographic utilities; formats of print and nonprint materials; cataloging software; management issues.

I am thrilled about what I am going to learn next semester. In my work at the Amon Carter Museum Library, I have already done some assessment, as well as cataloging - two areas (especially cataloging) that interest me very much. 604 means I get to become very familiar with two things - MARC, and AACR2. I’ll explain more about these standards soon, so stay tuned.

The Social Media Revolution

It seems to me that one of the information needs that we librarians can help our patrons with is social media and social networking online. Before thinking about this more, I felt that social media is a pretty simple and straightforward topic, but then I watched this video, and I was quite wrong. Enjoy!

The Importance of Ephemera

Some time ago, the librarian at the Amon Carter Museum Library shared this article with me, which I found very interesting:

Gallery Card as Relic? By Roberta Smith

In my time at the library, it has become very evident to me just how important these ephemeral items (generally, information on paper with less than about 12 or 20 pages) are to researchers. At the Carter library, we use these ephemera to put in Bio Files for the artists. These files are generally our first line of reference when we are asked reference questions about a specific artist. Without these physical items, our bio files would not be the excellent (and rare) reference source they are today.

Of course, I can understand why galleries are changing to an email format - sending these gallery cards and announcements by email is almost free, while sending a physical card through the mail takes time, money, and extra effort. Also, sending an email is far better for the environment than a piece of postal mail is.

This highlights the oncoming crisis for libraries, especially ones like the Carter - what happens when paper starts to dwindle? I feel sure it won’t go away entirely, but what are we going to do with all this digital data? How is it going to integrate into our paper collection? These are some questions I want to look at in the second half of my MSLIS studies.

Where I’ve Been

Readers,

As I feel sure you have noticed, I have been posting a bit less frequently recently. Allow me to let you know on what I have been up to. As you all know I am a MSLIS student at Syracuse University, and I am enrolled in 9 class hours this semester. Recently, two of those classes, Reference, as well as Telecommunication Policy. In reference, I have been hard at work honing my reference skills, as well as making a pathfinder all about the history of photography. You can check it out here:

http://demo.libguides.com/historyofphotography

In Telecomm Policy, I have been working on a paper about a case. Really, that’s all I need to say about that, as the paper is too dry to share with you all. I won’t force you to read it. Also, I have updated our library, as of today, to show some recent acquisitions.

So, that being said, I should have more time to write and update here. Enjoy!

The Library at Night

I am re-reading a wonderful book by Alberto Manguel, titled The Library at Night. If you are interested in libraries, or bibliography, I would highly recommend this book to you. It’s a wonderful and thoughtful work on libraries and their many facets. Here are some quotes to get you “hooked.”



“There is nothing,” Naudé wrote, “that renders a Library more recommendable, than when every man finds in it that which he is looking for and cannot find anywhere else; therefore the perfect motto is, that there exists no book, however bad or badly reviewed, that may not be sought after in some future time by a certain reader.” These remarks demand from us an impossibility, since every library is, by needs, an incomplete creation, a work-in-progress, and every empty shelf announces the books to come. (81)



We dream of a library of literature created by everyone and belonging to no one, a library that is immortal and will mysteriously lend order to the universe, and yet we know that every orderly choice, every catalogued realm of the imagination, sets up a tyrannical hierarchy of exclusion. Every library is exclusionary, since its selection, however vast, leaves outside its walls endless shelves of writing that, for reasons of taste, knowledge, space and time, have not been included. Every library conjures up its own dark ghost; every ordering sets up, in its wake, a shadow library of absences. (107)

A Video Best Saved for Friday

Here is a wonderful TEDTalks video by my favorite author, Dave Eggers, about efforts to work with schools and improve student’s learning and academic experiences. Absolutely wonderful, and great that this is such an important part of his business model. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

A great idea for libraries, or any public space.

I saw this video recently, and thought I would share it with you all - I think this would be great in a library’s common area! What do you think?

Why we need Librarians.

I just finished up reading this article in The New Yorker, and I thought it was a wonderful illustration of why we need librarians. Many people cannot filter good information from bad - and with the massive amounts of information available on the internet, the filtering task becomes almost impossible. Librarians are trained to help with this. So, without further ado:

The Things People Say, by Elizabeth Kolbert