Telephone Calls Received at an Academic Library's Reference Desk: A New Analysis

ABSTRACT

It has been established that much of the assistance provided to library patrons at reference desks does not require the knowledge and expertise of a professional librarian. Is the same thing true of the telephone calls received at reference desks in academic libraries? This article reports the results of one academic librarian's reference desk transaction log analysis which focuses on the categories of assistance provided to patrons who called the library's reference desk.     

论现代高校图书馆专职咨询馆员制度的建立

从专职咨询馆员的概念和素质要求、参考咨询服务方式和专职咨询馆员选拔等方面探讨高校图书馆如何建立专职咨询馆员制度。     

The Structure of the Biblioblogosphere: An Examination of the Linking Practices of Institutional and Personal Library Blogs

The biblioblogosphere is comprised of the institutional publication of blogs of libraries and the personal, professionally-oriented publication of blogs by librarians. Since introduction of this neologism in 2004, a number of researchers have examined this particular class of bloggers and blogging. However, there is limited investigation into the structure and connectivity of blogs within the biblioblogosphere. This article reports a study of interlinkage patterns within a sample of 1,604 biblioblogs. Findings suggest the biblioblogosphere conforms to the locally dense, globally sparse structure of blog networks established by previous studies of other blog types. The majority of blogs within the sample did not link to any other sampled blog. Those that did tended to cluster according to library type, blog subject, or geographical proximity. About one-third of the interlinked blogs were located within a single, massive component (that is, a networked group of blogs), while the rest were in smaller networks of two or three nodes. Personal biblioblogs, characterized as blogs published by individuals independently of an institution, are more likely to be located within a more densely populated network than institutional blogs. These findings indicate that “personal-professional” bibliobloggers are actively shaping the structure of the library blogosphere, while institutional blogs demonstrate much less overall connectivity.     

Being a Librarian Isn't Enough: The Importance of a Nonlibrary Research Agenda for the Academic Librarian: A Case Study

Subject specialist college librarians can become producers and disseminators of knowledge by pursuing an active research agenda in their nonlibrary field. Research in an academic discipline can inform and enhance the college librarian's teaching, research, and collection development practices. Through such research, college librarians can elevate their personal status among their nonlibrary colleagues and students, as well as the prestige of their library and the library profession. Suggestions for managing traditional librarian duties and pursuing a nonlibrary research agenda are included.     

Meeting Evolving Research and Curriculum Needs: A Survey of Interlibrary Loan and OhioLINK Borrowing at an Academic Law Library

The research goal was to study the law faculty's interlibrary loan and OhioLINK borrowing activity to assess current subject gaps in the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library's collection. The authors analyzed and collated faculty research interests. The results indicate that additional purchases are required to support international law and health law, two curriculum areas currently under development at Cleveland-Marshall.     

高校图书馆参考咨询服务现状与发展的再思考

本文较细致地分析了高校图书馆参考咨询服务的现状和发展趋势,探讨了高校图书馆的参考咨询服务的发展对策。     

The Reference Interview as Partnership: An Examination of Librarian,Library User,and Social Interaction

SUMMARY

The reflections penned in this article began as a single paragraph contributed several years ago to Charles Anderson's “The Exchange,” a column in RQ (now Reference & User Services Quarterly) (Anderson, 1995). I elaborated upon the concept through further reflection and augmented the ideas through a literature review. These ideas are meant to spark interest among library school students, new reference librarians, and veteran reference librarians who perhaps need new reason to show up with a positive attitude at that next reference shift. The thesis is that this moment in time within a given reference interview occurs only once, regardless of how many times a librarian has heard the question. We as librarians must always be alert to respond appropriately to the distinct contributions that the given library user brings to that question. In the process, we are equals in that the librarian knows more of the research technique to uncover the appropriate sources, but the library user knows more of what his specific slant on the topic will be. We would be wise to stay diligent, to listen well, and to take nothing for granted. The reference interview then becomes a lively, energetic, and stimulating discussion meant to lead to library research at its best.     

Undergraduate Perceptions of the Reference Collection and the Reference Librarian in an Academic Library

Abstract

Many undergraduate students have no clear idea of the purpose and function of the reference collection and the services offered by the reference librarian. Uncertainty about these resources may cause students to overlook their usefulness, unsatisfactorily complete assignments, and develop a negative attitude concerning libraries. Through a survey, students related their perceptions of the reference collection and reference librarian. The results are intended to give the reference team insight into the students' conceptions and perhaps improve and enhance reference services to undergraduates.     

学术交流新生态与高校图书馆进化研究

[目的/意义]信息技术的飞速发展,重塑了学术交流的世界。研究学术交流的新生态,促使高校图书馆回到原点思考服务的进化,并最终实现图书馆的升级换代。[方法/过程]对学术交流的发展趋势进行分析,对知识自动化服务的学术交流平台进行网上调查,对第三代图书馆的特征进行多维研究。[结果/结论]第三代图书馆即将到来,新一代的图书馆适应性更强,更为关注人的成长,可以支撑图书馆的多样化服务和持续再利用。     

Beyond Circulation: The Evolution of Access Services and Its Relationship to Reference Librarianship

Academic libraries have undergone a variety of organizational changes in the last two decades. One area that has evolved out of these changes is access services. Relationships between circulation, interlibrary loan, and reference have been explored though informal and formal organizational structures. Because of these types of interactions it is feasible for reference librarians to consider positions in access services.     

对师范大学图书馆网上参考咨询服务的调查与分析

网上参考咨询服务已成为图书馆满足读者对信息需求多样化的一项重要服务内容。通过对38所师范大学图书馆网上参考咨询服务情况的调查分析,揭示了服务的项目、方式和特点,并提出了注重栏目建设、加强合作数字参考咨询、强化教师教育信息服务等建议。     

The Home Stretch to the Next Deanship: Part V of the Education of a Law Librarian

ABSTRACT

This is the fifth installment in Robert C. Berring's autobiography, Education of a Twentieth-Century Law Librarian. The first installment is at 32 Legal References Services Quarterly 1 (2013).     

Targeted Evolution of Embedded Librarian Services: Providing Mobile Reference and Instruction Services Using iPads

The University at Buffalo Health Sciences Library provides reference and instructional services to support research, curricular, and clinical programs of the University at Buffalo. With funding from an NN/LM MAR Technology Improvement Award, the University at Buffalo Health Sciences Library (UBHSL) purchased iPads to develop embedded reference and educational services. Usage statistics were collected over a ten-month period to measure the frequency of iPad use for mobile services. While this experiment demonstrates that the iPad can be used to meet the library user's needs outside of the physical library space, this article will also offer advice for others who are considering implementing their own program.     

The Profile of a Modern Filipino Librarian: An Examination of Perceived Competencies

ABSTRACT

This research created a profile of a modern LIS professional by discussing the competencies and skills essential in successfully conducting one's duties. Through a series of focus group discussions and interviews, the researcher identified essential competencies modern LIS professionals should possess. Aside from traditional skills such as cataloging and classification; indexing and abstracting; and library management, non-traditional competencies such as communication skills, advocacy skills, teaching skills, and technological skills were revealed to be vital competencies. These were identified and further supported by discussions of actual library work experiences. In the end, a profile was created it was concluded that a modern LIS professional should be pro-active; an effective communicator; well-informed; adaptable; and should advocate causes relevant to the practice of librarianship.     

The Low Morale Experience of Academic Librarians: A Phenomenological Study

A dynamic body of knowledge about workplace bullying and burnout in academic libraries exists; however, there is a significant shortage of library and information science (LIS) literature regarding the related problem of low morale in any library environment; additionally, literature focusing on workplace bullying and burnout is quantitative, limiting insight into the animate experience of these events and inquiry into associated long-term effects. A phenomenological study was conducted to understand academic librarians' experience of low morale. Emergent themes connected workplace abuse, mental and physical health impacts, systemic influences, and the long-term consequences of low morale on LIS career trajectories.     

Incorporating Reference into A Unified Service Point at an Academic Library: A Case Study

This paper aims to discuss the incorporation of reference services into a trending service point model called the Unified Service Point (USP). Driven by organizational shift, the model was recently adopted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library of San Jose State University. An anonymous survey was conducted to understand student perspectives on reference services, including the USP. The survey also asked questions about student motivation for seeking help from a librarian, and their level of satisfaction with the reference services. The authors offer recommendations to improve reference services at the USP based on the results of the study.     

Reference and Liaison Librarians: Endangered Species or “Vital Partners?” Views of Academic Library Administrators

Abstract

Reference, liaison, subject librarianship: all of these terms traditionally describe a combination of research assistance, instruction, and collection management. This study used structured interviews with 15 librarians at 14 geographically dispersed, medium to large academic institutions to investigate the current state of reference and liaison librarianship. Library administrators’ views are important to understanding the future of this work since they advocate for resources if they see the necessity. Findings included agreement on the goals of the work and the urgent need to communicate its value in the current higher education landscape; however, the specific means of communication and the types of work that being a partner could include varied.     

A Library and a Radio Show: The Story of a Successful Partnership at 10 Years and Counting

Your Health® Radio is a weekly one-hour radio show about consumer health produced by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Family Medicine. It provides practical, health-related news and information to listeners in an easy to understand style. Hosted by a family medicine physician faculty member and co-hosted by other health professionals, it airs on a local radio station. Since 2009, Health Sciences librarians have collaborated on the show, bringing their expertise in information discovery and organization, consumer health, and health literacy to this consumer health endeavor. In the process, the librarians and libraries have also benefitted.     

Standing at the Gates: A New Law Librarian Wonders About the Future Role of the Profession in Legal Research Education

ABSTRACT

There have long been complaints about the legal research skills of law school students and recent graduates. In this article the author focuses on the period between the release of two important reports on legal education, the MacCrate Report in 1992 and the Carnegie Report in 2007, examining how law librarians and other professionals involved were engaged in responding to the problem. The author concludes that if law librarians want to be involved more fully in legal research education, some changes or reexamination of our professional culture and positions may be necessary.