It just occurred to me that for almost all of the reference questions I've been answering for/with patrons I've located the answers in books in the check-our section. Almost nothing has actually come from Reference itself. It occurs to me that the patron wants to take something home, in hand, and they really want something more than just to look at it in the library. All the more reason to reduce the size of the Reference collection and place items so they are available for patrons to take home where they are more comfortable.
Another thought, then, is to redesign the library to more emulate a homey environment rather than a sterile steel and structured table location setting so patrons are happy to stay. I know a lot of libraries already do this or are attempting to do so, but perhaps a whole rethinking is necessary. Then there is simply the option of forwarding all information to a patron's home computer so they can access everything from home. That's what databases are all about but even more user casual items might be in order.
I think I will have more thoughts on this.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Bunch of fun
It was back to the Practicum library again today. Goody.
And, as it turned out, it was a day full of interesting and fun questions and some really fun people, including an adorable little girl in all pink and very pleased with herself. First was a patron trying to look for an old book entitled A Pail of Oysters, a disturbing book of war and atrocity that he hasn't been able to locate -- nor forget from the past. Never located it in a library. Did find it on Amazon. Amazin', huh!
Car care -- and though there weren't exactly the books he wanted, he was able to adapt what was available to his needs. What a lovely young man he was!
A gluten-free child's diet book was next and we found the perfect book for her! She was SO pleased.
A delightful lady asked for books on Access and Excel -- and turned out to really want the formulas for Excel. Online there is a great and easily accessible list.
Various holds for titles.
And a fascinating young man came in asking for information on the changes in corn/bean fields in the Plainfield area (a burgeoning area) measuring land use change from just before the 1990 horrendous tornado that ripped through areas of Plainfield, Joliet and Crest Hill to the years after it. He has to turn in a draft on Monday and he has to go to work on Monday, too. Last minute. No surprise. Plat books really helped to show how land usage has changed and changed hands over the years. He started to get excited about his assignment. I think he had been floundering with no direction to go -- and he needs 25 resources! We found a few items he could copy that helped him to synthesize the information he needed.
I also got to practice my Spanish skills with the charming lady who spoke not one word of English. We managed -- surprisingly well as I don't often get to use my language skills (which, alas, are really French, and, ready?, Latin - *sigh* Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est. Need I go on?)
Found out too that their microfilm machine is a bit of a trick -- not to mention the maze of wires and procedural steps to make a copy of the desired resource. Egads. But at least the patron interested in the obituary from the local tiny newspaper from Feb. 10, 1957 was able to have it. A relative. I think we whizzed the microfilm off the roll just twice. The machine had two speeds: slow and HOLY COW - wait a minute!!! Have you ever tried to catch flying microfilm?
Also have a recommendation for a great restaurant (of sorts) in Balltown, Iowa called Breitbach's. Anyone been there? Well, if not, I was advised that that is THE place to go. The patron simply wanted their phone number so he could call ahead to make sure they are open when he and his family arrive in the area. That's planning!
It's such a great thing to hear a huge thank-you from several patrons in a day. Makes you feel as though it IS worthwhile. And besides, finding all this information might help someone else even better. This is fun. A smiling face and a thank-you are great rewards. And that darned microfilm zinging by....
And, as it turned out, it was a day full of interesting and fun questions and some really fun people, including an adorable little girl in all pink and very pleased with herself. First was a patron trying to look for an old book entitled A Pail of Oysters, a disturbing book of war and atrocity that he hasn't been able to locate -- nor forget from the past. Never located it in a library. Did find it on Amazon. Amazin', huh!
Car care -- and though there weren't exactly the books he wanted, he was able to adapt what was available to his needs. What a lovely young man he was!
A gluten-free child's diet book was next and we found the perfect book for her! She was SO pleased.
A delightful lady asked for books on Access and Excel -- and turned out to really want the formulas for Excel. Online there is a great and easily accessible list.
Various holds for titles.
And a fascinating young man came in asking for information on the changes in corn/bean fields in the Plainfield area (a burgeoning area) measuring land use change from just before the 1990 horrendous tornado that ripped through areas of Plainfield, Joliet and Crest Hill to the years after it. He has to turn in a draft on Monday and he has to go to work on Monday, too. Last minute. No surprise. Plat books really helped to show how land usage has changed and changed hands over the years. He started to get excited about his assignment. I think he had been floundering with no direction to go -- and he needs 25 resources! We found a few items he could copy that helped him to synthesize the information he needed.
I also got to practice my Spanish skills with the charming lady who spoke not one word of English. We managed -- surprisingly well as I don't often get to use my language skills (which, alas, are really French, and, ready?, Latin - *sigh* Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est. Need I go on?)
Found out too that their microfilm machine is a bit of a trick -- not to mention the maze of wires and procedural steps to make a copy of the desired resource. Egads. But at least the patron interested in the obituary from the local tiny newspaper from Feb. 10, 1957 was able to have it. A relative. I think we whizzed the microfilm off the roll just twice. The machine had two speeds: slow and HOLY COW - wait a minute!!! Have you ever tried to catch flying microfilm?
Also have a recommendation for a great restaurant (of sorts) in Balltown, Iowa called Breitbach's. Anyone been there? Well, if not, I was advised that that is THE place to go. The patron simply wanted their phone number so he could call ahead to make sure they are open when he and his family arrive in the area. That's planning!
It's such a great thing to hear a huge thank-you from several patrons in a day. Makes you feel as though it IS worthwhile. And besides, finding all this information might help someone else even better. This is fun. A smiling face and a thank-you are great rewards. And that darned microfilm zinging by....
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Less and more
This past Saturday, I was at my home library working and so did not go to the library where I'm doing my Practicum. The first thing I noticed was that there were so few -- or on this day, no -- reference questions asked. I tried to think back to other Saturdays and how many real Reference questions are customarily asked. Couldn't recall too many at all. Granted my home library is primarily a popular fiction (a la Evanovich, Cussler, Patterson) library, but the difference in function was even more pronounced/noticeable because I've become accustomed, now, to having a busy reference-question-filled Saturday. Directional questions, yes. A substantive question? None for the day. (I had one question (a medical concern) on Monday afternoon and one (on the Dred Scott case) last night. I was able to find information in books in-house on the check-out shelves for both questions.) My home library doesn't have a defined Reference Desk; we all answer Reference questions at the present. We log the reference questions at my home library for the annual report but I hadn't really paid that much attention to how few questions are asked until recently. Does library size have anything to do with reference question volume? I was a little concerned that my home library is not apparently perceived as a library for answering reference questions. It was a different kind of Saturday...and I'm kind of thinking I like the busier question-filled version, even if I haven't a clue about the subject, although I do afterwards. Makes me feel as though I'm doing something useful and valuable -- and, after all, isn't that why most of us are in libraryland? To be useful?
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Questions, Questions!
This Saturday there wasn't the traffic issue that I ran into last week. No detours. No closed streets. No homecoming. Ahh! So, I was able to get to the practicum location unimpeded... un-redirected or otherwise stopped. How cool is that!? Even had a few minutes to read part of a book while in the parking lot before opening. (I started out early just in case....)
On the other hand, as the day went on there were more questions. School related questions. And other kinds of questions -- starting with Symphony of the Brain. That turned out to be a book title a patron wanted about a brain disorder.
A (beginning to become a bit distraught) mom of a couple of bored early teenagers called to see if there weren't any festivals or Harvests of some sort in the village, today. We found a few possibilities but she dispaired of the girls being interested in any of them. Following the phone call the Head Ref Librarian and I got into a great conversation about a couple of other Harvest Fests in neighboring communities.
A patron wanted to learn to speak Spanish. She preferred tapes, so of course what was mainly on shelf were cds. She relented and took two sets of cds.
As the day went on and there were questions concerning monarchs (kings and queens or butterflies? -- turned out to be kings and queens), hearing loss; Mayan civilization - everything! about it. Yikes! One of the more interesting questions was about the Battle of Marathon. Thermopylae and things like that for her husband. He wanted everything. Greek history, you know. Ok, so that generated some questions to find out what her husband really wanted. Apparently he wanted to have everything about Thermopylae.
A list of bed and breakfasts in Illinois, well, nearby, well, maybe an inn. There's supposed to be this book that lists all the bed and breakfasts, the couple told me. Locating a few books later, they decided that wasn't what they wanted at all but they didn't really know what they did want.
And where is the Sheriff's department in this town. Well, there is a Police Department but the Sheriff is not in this town...Oh, said the patron, there's no Sheriff? No, but I can tell you where the Police Department is. Would that help? I guess so,....
And someone else,...I need information on replacement windows. You know, replacement windows. (Consumer Reports online, here I come!) He was so pleasantly surprised I found what he wanted. And a genealogy/local history question. Well, we couldn't locate that item yet, thoughthe search isn't completed.
In the mean time and in and around all these fun questions one of the other Ref & RA workers had a fun project for me to work on for/with her. She wanted to create and display a brochure on current Horror (but not vampires) authors/titles. Annotated. So, as time permitted, I added authors/titles to the list she is going to work from to create her brochure. What fun! It always surprises me how long it can take to do this. I've created lists like this in the past for all sorts of things. Not annotated, though. Spent a lot of time in NoveList...a favorite site.
Toward the end of the day at around 4:45 (the library closed at 5), the kids were in full pre-paper/assignment-is-due mode...and it's only Saturday!
On the other hand, as the day went on there were more questions. School related questions. And other kinds of questions -- starting with Symphony of the Brain. That turned out to be a book title a patron wanted about a brain disorder.
A (beginning to become a bit distraught) mom of a couple of bored early teenagers called to see if there weren't any festivals or Harvests of some sort in the village, today. We found a few possibilities but she dispaired of the girls being interested in any of them. Following the phone call the Head Ref Librarian and I got into a great conversation about a couple of other Harvest Fests in neighboring communities.
A patron wanted to learn to speak Spanish. She preferred tapes, so of course what was mainly on shelf were cds. She relented and took two sets of cds.
As the day went on and there were questions concerning monarchs (kings and queens or butterflies? -- turned out to be kings and queens), hearing loss; Mayan civilization - everything! about it. Yikes! One of the more interesting questions was about the Battle of Marathon. Thermopylae and things like that for her husband. He wanted everything. Greek history, you know. Ok, so that generated some questions to find out what her husband really wanted. Apparently he wanted to have everything about Thermopylae.
A list of bed and breakfasts in Illinois, well, nearby, well, maybe an inn. There's supposed to be this book that lists all the bed and breakfasts, the couple told me. Locating a few books later, they decided that wasn't what they wanted at all but they didn't really know what they did want.
And where is the Sheriff's department in this town. Well, there is a Police Department but the Sheriff is not in this town...Oh, said the patron, there's no Sheriff? No, but I can tell you where the Police Department is. Would that help? I guess so,....
And someone else,...I need information on replacement windows. You know, replacement windows. (Consumer Reports online, here I come!) He was so pleasantly surprised I found what he wanted. And a genealogy/local history question. Well, we couldn't locate that item yet, thoughthe search isn't completed.
In the mean time and in and around all these fun questions one of the other Ref & RA workers had a fun project for me to work on for/with her. She wanted to create and display a brochure on current Horror (but not vampires) authors/titles. Annotated. So, as time permitted, I added authors/titles to the list she is going to work from to create her brochure. What fun! It always surprises me how long it can take to do this. I've created lists like this in the past for all sorts of things. Not annotated, though. Spent a lot of time in NoveList...a favorite site.
Toward the end of the day at around 4:45 (the library closed at 5), the kids were in full pre-paper/assignment-is-due mode...and it's only Saturday!
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