Goals, objectives, and competencies for reference service: a training program at the UCLA Biomedical Library

The UCLA Biomedical Library, in cooperation with the UCLA Graduate School of Library and Information Science, offers a medical library internship program for second-year library school students. Goals, objectives, competencies, and training guidelines have been developed for the reference services section of the internship, including reference desk experience, online searching, group discussions, assigned readings, and training new staff members, allows flexibility in meeting the differing interests, needs, and abilities of trainees.     

Training and Retraining Reference Professionals

Summary

In the academic reference environment transformed by electronic technologies, budgetary constraints, and a vast array of new information resources, the author maintains that reference librarians need training and retraining in the following core competencies: reference skills and subject knowledge, communication and interpersonal abilities, technological skills and knowledge, analytic and critical thinking skills, supervisory and management skills, and commitment to user services. The author considers each core competency in the context of the most important factors responsible for continuing changes in the training and retraining of reference professionals. Although responsibility for providing continuing education opportunities resides with library managers, in the end, each reference librarian must assume responsibility for acquiring new knowledge and developing new skills. As librarianship moves towards the 21st century, librarians must educate themselves to survive in the evolving Information Society.     

The SPECTRAL project: a training needs analysis for providers of clinical question answering services

Purpose: To characterise the training needs of those providing clinical question answering services (CQAS). Participants: Seventeen specialist UK staff working in CQAS, 21 from general health library UK staff and eight international respondents. Methodology: A literature review examined documented training needs for CQAS staff. A follow‐up questionnaire examined prior training and experience and identified training needs for the surveyed staff. Results/outcomes: Ninety per cent of CQAS staff had worked in health services for 3 years or longer. Training received in preparation for the CQAS role comprised literature searching (including the PRECEPT/ADEPT and cochrane library courses) and critical appraisal. Skills considered ‘essential’ for clinical question answering were ‘literature searching’ (100%), ‘understanding the context of clinical questions’, ‘bibliographic databases’, ‘evidence‐based sources’ and ‘the Internet’ (all 93%). Main training needs for specialist CQAS staff include management and organisation of CQAS and technical skills in interpretation and presentation. Discussion/conclusion: CQAS staff require a formal training programme. Most CQAS staff considered that this should be a mandatory requirement.     

Integrating Digital Literacies into Outreach Services for Underserved Youth Populations

New competencies are required for communication in the digital environment. However, technology and training disparities prevent many young people from obtaining these competencies. Outreach services can help bridge technology and training gaps. This article describes outreach services for students who are underserved in information and digital literacy skills training. Services are provided by an academic library in an effort to provide students with a portable skills toolkit that, once developed, can travel with them in whatever space or place they may be—the home, library, school, or community center.     

Learning resource needs of UK NHS support staff

BACKGROUND: A report on the findings of research into the learning resource needs of support staff conducted at York Hospital. METHODS: A qualitative method of focus groups was used to explore the views and experiences of support staff. This provided a rich source of data and allowed an often overlooked group to give their own experiences of learning and libraries. This was supplemented by one-to-one interviews using more in-depth questions. A literacy and numeracy test gave a general picture of essential skill levels within the sample group. RESULTS: An improvement in communication to support staff needs to take place to ensure that all support staff know about the library, how and where to access training and obtain a network computer password. The project confirmed the need to expand library resources for support staff. It was found that there were no obvious essential skills resources within the Trust and a lack of awareness of essential skill issues. CONCLUSION: The learning needs of support staff need to be addressed sensitively. Many have had unfavourable experiences. Lack of access to computers and information technology (IT) training contributed to the group favouring written communication. More work needs to be done on essential skills for all staff.     

Developing Teaching Competencies for Instructors in the Academic Library

Abstract

A university library developed a list of teaching competencies with three goals in mind: (1) to improve the quality of teaching in the information literacy program, (2) to create an outline for training in pedagogy, and (3) to provide a mechanism for self and peer assessment in library instruction. The authors describe the development process and discuss the rationale for each set of skills and behaviors. The article includes the list of competencies.     

Implementing and Assessing Library Reference Training Programs

Comprehensive assessments have shown that academic library users prefer a welcoming environment that provides the opportunity for self-sufficiency. Libraries need to meet these expectations and improve the quality of library reference by creating a comprehensive training program for librarians, staff, and students. This article will review standards for reference training in academic libraries with a focus on one-desk service points and consider best practices for planning, implementing, and assessing training programs for staff, students, and librarians.     

A Reflection on the Development of an Erasmus Mundus Digital Library Learning (DILL) Programme

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the development of an Erasmus Mundus Digital Library Learning (DILL) program to understand the impact of the changes in technology on the role, skills and competencies of the digital librarian in contemporary society. This reflective article is based on the writer’s experience as a participant observer of the DILL program on its 10?years of development. A literature review was also employed to gather information from scholarly articles that were analyzed to help answer the research questions. Analysis of data followed a thematic approach where key ideas were identified and grouped together into themes that have been used to structure the discussions in the article. The discussions in this article have implications for further developments of education for information, particularly relating to the development of digital library learning programs in different contexts. Any effective digital library program should focus on content within a specific context, with required technology and a unique digital library education curriculum that is separate from LIS syllabi. The program may also be more effective if its curriculum content is designed to evenly assess the professional knowledge, generic skills and specific personal competencies of today’s digital librarians.     

LIFENET/INTERNET and the health science librarian

The Medical Library Center of New York, a cooperative library agency for the health sciences, developed a program to offer an electronic communications system (LIFENET) with access to the Internet for its members. Information on documentation and training as well as statistics on the subsequent use of the system and of the Internet are discussed in the article. Specific examples of how health science librarians are using the system include bibliographic verification, reference, research on integrated library systems, production of duplicate journal lists, and professional activities such as electronic mail and discussion groups (listservs).     

美国《电子资源图书馆员核心能力》标准及其应用案例解析

[目的/意义] 美国《电子资源图书馆员核心能力》标准是专门针对电子资源图书馆员的管理和工作能力而制定的相关标准,内容涵盖了电子资源全生命周期管理中所需要具备的技能和知识,对其内容及实践应用进行研究对我国实现高水平的电子资源管理极具意义。[方法/过程] 对美国《电子资源图书馆员核心能力》标准的内容进行解析,介绍和分析其在学生专业培训、图书馆机构重组、图书馆人员继续教育、图书馆部门及个人工作的评估和图书馆服务平台的迁移和流程重组等案例中的应用方式及效果。[结果/结论] 美国《电子资源图书馆员核心能力》标准可以在图书馆的多个领域发挥作用,图书馆需灵活掌握,根据本馆实际情况借鉴应用,支持电子资源管理领域的深入拓展和人才培养,更好地应对图书馆的动态发展环境。     

Promotion and Knowledge of Online Patent Literature Search to Enhance Scientific Output in Tanzania: Case of Two Universities in Zanzibar

Abstract

This study examines the promotion and knowledge of online patent literature search among students, librarians, and instructors to enhance university scientific output in Zanzibar. The study was guided by four key questions: What is the level of awareness of students, instructors and library staff about patent documents as source of information? To what extent do students and instructors access online patent databases? What is the library experience in training students about online patent literature searching?, and what are the challenges facing library and instructors in promoting patent literature search? The study used survey approach whereby questionnaire and interview were used to collect data. The recent literatures regarding online patent literature searching were also critically reviewed. A survey was conducted at two Universities in Zanzibar namely the State University of Zanzibar and Zanzibar University, whereby 20 library staff, 10 instructors and 140 undergraduate students from the School of Computing and the Faculty of Engineering were involved in this study. The findings show that more than three quarters of respondents were either partially aware or not aware at all about the existence of free online patent databases. Likewise, the majority of students had no enough skills of patent literature searching. However, usually the library organizes training on general online literature searching skills but patent literature searching was not effectively taught and a big challenge observed in this study regarding promotion of patent literature searching is inadequate patent searching skills among library and instructors. Based on the findings, the study proposed several recommendations to rectify the existing problem.     

E-struction

Summary

During the fall of 1999, the libraries at the University of New Orleans (UNO) and Louisiana State University (LSU) embarked on a collaborative effort to instruct faculty members to access and use electronic library resources. The libraries, both members of the “Louisiana Library Network” and the LSU System, coordinated the instruction program and implemented it at the respective institutions. The program was successful at both universities, receiving positive feedback from the participants. At LSU, the program has expanded to include student and staff participants as well as faculty. Moreover, the program is available for implementation by other libraries through the Internet.     

Chat It Up! Extending Reference Services to Assist Off-Campus Students

Abstract

A virtual reference service is likely to attract both on-campus and off-campus students and providing one service for all users can extend the hours of availability to all students. The needs of these two student populations may differ and off-campus users may present some specific challenges to the reference staff. While some libraries do have a specified distance education librarian, it is unlikely at many institutions that there will be reference staff dedicated only to answering questions from off-campus students. Reference services for off-campus students do present special issues about which general reference staff may not be aware. With awareness of these challenges and proper training, an existing virtual reference service can be extended (or improved) to help off-campus students, or a new chat service can be developed with the objective to assist all user groups with equal success.     

Current Trends in the Continuing Education and Training of Reference Staff

Changes in the library's environment and in the expectations of its clientele are related to trends in reference training. Those changes include less time for reference managers to prepare training packages for staff; more initial library contact of clientele with paraprofessional staff; increased expectations of users that library service will be the same in rural areas as in urban areas; and an increased need for non-traditional approaches to reference continuing education and training. This article describes continuing education and training programs that help library staff adapt to these changes, such as the California Opportunities in Reference Excellence project, Maryland's reference training based on unobtrusive reference research, peer evaluation of reference staff in Minnesota, and several other programs specifically for training paraprofessionals in reference.     

The Difficult Patron Situation

Summary

Problem/difficult patron incidents that occur in libraries are on the rise. Library administrators and library employees have attempted to decrease the number of incidents by providing staff training and formulating policies and rules to control the situation. The purpose of this article is to share the proactive steps that the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library, Penn State University Libraries, took to prevent or decrease the incidences of difficult patrons as the library prepares to relocate. The focus was on assisting the frontline staff members, who work on the reference desk, to acquire the competencies they need to provide consistent quality reference services to patrons, and to reduce incidences of unsatisfied, difficult, and problem patrons.     

Managing Reference Services in an Electronic Environment

The increasingly electronic environment in today's academic library is placing new demands on managing reference services. Staff are faced with selecting, implementing, and servicing a wide range of services and resources. This necessitates learning the new and integrating it into the established. At the same time, users are becoming more varied. Not only is their demographic profile changing, but more users with interdisciplinary interests are seeking assistance. Reference librarians are also working to establish new interfaces with the increasing number of users who wish to access resources without coming into the library. This article addresses the management of reference services in a medium-sized research library to meet these needs. A model for planning reference services is presented along with a staff organizational structure to meet agreed upon objectives.     

Graduate LIS Students' Attitude Toward University Libraries and Personnel

This is an attitudinal survey that profiles Kuwait University Library and Information Science (KULIS) students' attitudes concerning Kuwait University's (KU's) libraries. It uses the phenomenological approach to analyze respondents' data regarding confidence in their skills and the effect on attitude toward KU's resources. It furthermore explores the attitudes of KU staff and the level of assistance offered to KULIS students. The results show that most of the respondents visited the library to access electronic resources. Some respondents disagreed that the staff had treated the KULIS suspiciously, yet a majority disagreed that the KU library staff was professionally trained to help KULIS students. Several respondents strongly agreed that they were confident in their searching skills. The results of the survey are used to recommend curriculum changes and ways to improve library and other academic support services at academic institutions generally.     

高校图书馆发展数字资源馆藏的调查研究

本研究调查了三种不同类型的群体（学生、教师、馆员）对图书馆发展数字资源馆藏的看法。结果显示:高校图书馆应积极发展数字资源馆藏;应加大力度整理网络可检索资源;资料类型是选择电子资源的重要参考因素。分析结果还表明:读者与图书馆员在“获取”与“收藏”、馆藏量大小以及付费利用数字资源等方面的看法有明显差异。     

Training and Retaining Student Employees

Abstract

Like most academic libraries, Purdue University Calumet depends heavily on student workers for its daily operations. After the investment of time and effort involved in training student workers, it is important to retain them from one year to the next. This case study examines training procedures that are designed to cultivate a sense of mutual respect between library staff and student workers, with the goal of keeping those whose skills and work experience prove valuable. A training program developed with retention as a goal yields benefits to the student and the library. It can also be a recruitment tool for the profession.