Final Thoughts on the Library at LCCC

I have been very pleased with my time at the LCCC Library. I have grown very close to the staff and the campus has always felt like home from the time I was a student here and worked with the Student Government. Working in the library has helped me develop into a better librarian. I can help people locate the information they are looking for, I understand how to locate the materials both physically in the library and those online. In addition, I have learned a little about collection development and about the funtion of the library to the student and how to plan a new library around them.

After this experience, I feel this library is a wonderful thing for the student body. It goes far beyond the role as a collection of information. This library is completely student oriented and the event that put on by the library are fun and bring the students together. It provides food, drinks, and candy that make studying more enjoyable...or at least not as miserable. :P

If I were going to change anything, it would be to bring parts of the library up to date. Wireless internet and study rooms are highly needed to make this a top notch library. Fortunately for the students this is in the works and this combined with this great staff will provide a superior resource for this campus.

Again, I would like to state how much I enjoyed this experience. It was a comfortable place to work and one I will never forget.

Kudos to Domino's Pizza

The Late Night Study Group at the LCCC Library would like to thank Walter Guy, Manager of Domino’s Pizza, for delivering the most delicious, SIZZLING HOT pizza, at an incredible price! Many of the students contributed what they could afford, but Walter chipped in the most, and fed about 40 students who were studying for tests, completing papers, taking tests online, and faxing information to their instructors.
In the past, the library and student activities have offered free pizza during gaming events, Late Nights, and other library events. This year, though, that is not possible, so we are very appreciative of Domino’s generosity.

We encourage LCCC students to continue giving Domino’s your business!

Late Nights at the Library

Tonight is one of the Late Nights at the Library. The semester is beginning to wind down and finals are on the way. Students are beginning to realize that the work is not going to do itself and there is a limited time to get it all done. We at the library understand this and we work hard to keep the panic at bay. So we open our doors for longer and have provided some brain food: Chocolate and Caffeine (nothing green for us thanks) !!!

The Gaming Event

One event that I participated in while at LCCC was the Gaming event hosted by the library in early November. There were huge screens and televisions set up all aound the library and different systems were playing many of the popular games. The place looked like an arcade it was really amazing. There was a pretty good turnout and all the systems remained in play for the entire night. The most popular tournamnet was the Halo 3 tournament and the most popular game of the entire evening was Dance Dance Revolution, which never stopped!

The event has its own blog and if interested you can go to it and learn more.

http://lcccpopculture.blogspot.com/

Collection Management

Collection Management was a particular project that I worked on during the month of November. I was asked to peruse the shelves and pick which titles in the collection should be updated. I focused my attention on the literature section. I noticed many of the titles had worn covers or else had those plastic covers that made all the books look just alike.

These were a particular concern to me because I felt they made the books look very unattractive and I figured this was making them less appealing to the student reader. I felt that If some of these titles had the newer covers on them they might be selected by the shelf browsing student.

With this thought in mind I began with some of the classics: Austen, Dickens, etc. I chose most of their more popular titles and pulled selections of the shelves. I then went to the computer and looked up how many we had in the collection and when they copies we had were published. Most of these were decades old. I documented the number and publishing dates and made a note to suggest a new copy be purchased.

While reading my shelves I came across a few authors who I felt should be better represented as well, I had just read Slaughterhouse V and felt that Vonnegut should have a newer selection on the shelves. I also knew that the library hosted a meeting place for several of the clubs on campus and thought about which titles they might just be interested in. Tolkien came to mind as a staple of the fantasy portion of the collection and went to examine those titles we might have. I was surprised to find that he was hugely misrepresented in the collection and decided to write down many of his titles to be acquired.

From there I created my list and submitted it and soon the new titles should be in circulation.

Blogging...

Today I worked on my blog. I wanted to add my resume to the blog so that it might become a more productive tool, that might be used in applying for various activities. It started out fine, I was leaning how the website was set up and thought I was working it corectly. Unfortunately the more I worked with it, the more things started to unravel. I believe I got it worked out, and while it is not set up exactlya as I planned, it looks good and I believe is ready to go.

My Resume can be seen at:

http://bunn1983.blogspot.com/

New Library Research

Monday, I went with Mrs. Vickie to look at a couple of libraries. My job was to take some photos and observe the way the other libraries were put together. These two libraries were very different in their set up and focus. Both were very pretty, and functional but I ended up preferring one over the other. After comparing and contrasting these two libraries, I realized that one important question to ask when planning to build your own library is what you want it to be. According to Thomas Augst in his introduction to Libraries as Agencies of Culture, "What a library is depends on what it does." Granted the two libraries we looked at, were two different types, the first was North Sarasota Public Library and the second was the library at Eckerd College. Obviously set up for different types of patrons, but it made me realize that personally I think a library should function as a student hub, accesible for both private study and group gatherings. A friendly relaxed atmosphere for learning. Those on the left are from North Sarasota Public Library and those on the right are from Eckerd College. I liked the friendly open atmosphere of the Public Library, and I liked the varying study areas that Eckerd had to offer. If I had my choice I would combine the two and make it more of a gathering place like the public library, but offer the quiter areas for study. Maybe throw in a coffee place to make it perfect. :)

New Labels.

One of my first projects at the Library, was to work on the book labels that contained the shelf number. Today, consisted of swapping out old labels for new ones. The old labels looked like they were made of something similar to Masking tape and when they peeled off they left behind a crusty spot that needed to be scraped off. Once the new labels were put on the appearance of the book looked completely different. These new labels made the collection look much nicer.

Portals, Databases, Microfilm...

Last time, I was given a book about the attack on paper and the underhanded private dumping of America's periodical resources. I have only read 2 or 3 of the chapters in Double Fold, and I find that so far this book addresses a very important issue. As I continue to read I find myself progressively more agitated at the thought of destroying the hard copies of news print. While the idea behind microfilm seems to be logical, the extent to which the Library system purged the hard copies seems a bit extreme. It seems a little planning would have saved space, time, money, and most importantly knowledge.

Everytime I learn more about what this job requires, I grow a little more apprehensive about my lack of knowledge. I find I know very little about how or where to look to find the information I am supposed to provide as I work the reference desk. In addition to this I also realize I know very little about the web and how it works. Things like portals and databases are somewhat foreign to me.

I have used databases at school and I have a very loose understanding of what they are and do. Unfortunately, I only know a couple of different ones. Today I was introduced to some new ones and told which ones are particularly useful to which fields. For example when a nursing student comes in to find information, one of the most important databases to use is CINAHL. I also discovered that the databases taylored for controversies (Issues and Contoversies and Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center) offer many hand links to not only provide the opposing view points, but also provide background and many other links to articles and journals to help flesh out the research.

I also recieved some information on what a portal is and an article on neutral questioning by Brenda Dervin. These I need to look over and see what I ca learn. One thing is for sure I need to get a folder to collect all of these things in, and possibly create my own reference tool.

Reference Interview

Web Research on:

• What the Reference Interview is.
• How to conduct a proper Reference Interview.

Website:

http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso/531_lec_interview.html

What is a Reference Interview?

The Reference Interview is the tool used to figure out specifically what the client needs.

It is used to locate what the client needs, rather than what the client wants.

How is a proper Reference Interview conducted?

Worf Method:
W = welcoming, open attitude and body language
O = open-ended questions that cannot be answered with yes or no
R = rephrasing and not repeating the user's query to clarify and confirm
F = follow up to insure user is satisfied [begins with "if this isn't satisfactory, please come back and we'll try something else" and ends by checking with user to insure satisfaction]

This model focuses on a dialog based upon thoughtful questions, responses, and acute listening. Focused listening and paying attention is crucial. You don't want to rush off to find material on "whales" when the user said "Wales. The "dolphin" question may be about the football team and not the mammal. Questions are open-ended and cannot be answered by yes or no. These questions begin with "who," "what," "why," "where," and "when."

Here are a few examples:

"What kind of information would you like to find?"
"Who is the information for?"
"Is there a deadline involved?"
"Do you want items to use here or to take home?"
"Are you looking for print or electronic content?"
"How detailed or technical should the information be?"
"How much information do you need?"
"Will you tell me where you have searched so I don't duplicate what you have already done"?
"How did you hear about this topic?"
"Would you prefer that the information be in particular format?"
"When do you need this information?"
"What have you already done (prior search history)?"
"What would you like this information to do for you?"
"What can you tell me about ....... ?"
"Is there a particular aspect of this topic that interests you?"
"How recent does the information need to be?"

Website:

http://www.olc.org/ore/2pieces.htm

This webite suggest the the reference interview boils down ot obtaining 6 crucial peices of information from the client. They are:

• Purpose
  
• Deadline
  
• Type and Amount
  
• Who
  
• Where
  
• The Basic Question

Now to PRACTICE!!