Yesterday afternoon I observed an appointment between the Subject Librarian (A&L) and a second year undergraduate student who was apparently looking for a general introduction to using the library.
To clarify exactly what the student wanted from the session, the SL (A&L) started by asking her how she currently uses the library. Her library account had previously been checked and a clear circulation record seemed to suggest that she had not used the library at all. However, this initial discussion revealed that she has in fact used our digital resources, but the books she has used have either been bought or borrowed from the university where her mother studies. As the student is about to start researching her dissertation, what she actually wanted from the session was to learn more about the resources on offer. This clearly demonstrates the importance of establishing the reader's previous experience and learning objectives without making assumptions.
Having established the aim of the session, the SL (A&L) went on to give an overview of the library catalogue, My Library Account, e-books, the digital library and inter-library loans. Throughout the appointment the librarian's tone was informal and friendly which seemed to put the student at her ease and encouraged her to talk openly and ask questions. Although on the surface the appointment seemed to progress quite casually and spontaneously it soon became apparent that the librarian was actually skillfully extracting the necessary details to tailor the session to the student's particular needs.
For instance, at each step she asked the student which resources she uses and why to establish her preferred learning style. This also enabled the librarian to discover what the student already knew. In the case of the digital library, this allowed her to focus on using the advanced search facility rather than spending lots of time on the quick search option which was already familiar. As the librarian went through the various databases on offer and demonstrated how they work, she encouraged the student to think of her own search terms to keep the session meaningful and memorable. She also paused at appropriate intervals to check that the student had understood and wasn't being overloaded with too much information. This also provided an opportunity for the student to ask more questions and to go over things again.
Throughout the appointment the librarian also gave her some specific tips and advice to take away and to consolidate what she had learnt. For example, she advised starting her research by searching different databases to ascertain which are the key texts, authors and themes. This would also help her to become familiar with the way each database looks and works. As the student seemed to prefer using online resources, the librarian also stressed the importance of using quality sources rather than relying too heavily on the internet.
Towards the end of the appointment she checked whether there was anything else that the student needed that hadn't already been covered. She wanted some help with referencing and so the librarian directed her to the Guide to Harvard Referencing which is available on our website and briefly explained how Refworks can be used to compile a bibliography. As the appointment time was almost up and the librarian had not personally used Refworks to any great extent, she advised the student to look at the online guide and to make an appointment with the FLL if she needed further help. This helped to remind and reassure the student that although the session was over, the library staff can be called upon again if needed.
As with the user education session I observed, it was useful to focus on the interaction between the librarian and the student and to analyse the underlying teaching and learning processes at work. I suspect that many students feel a little nervous about asking for help and admitting that there are things that they don't know. I was therefore particularly impressed with the skill with which the librarian used her friendly and informal style to make the student feel secure enough to open up and get what she wanted from the session. I am sure that the strategies that I observed during this appointment will certainly prove useful in my future career.
Showing posts with label best_practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best_practice. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Extended Shadowing Programme: Interim Review Meeting
This afternoon I met with the ALL (A&L) who has been co-ordinating my shadowing programme to discuss progress to date and whether my original aims and objectives are being met.
My main reason for participating in the programme is to gain a deeper insight into the role of the professional librarian before fully commiting to a Masters course in September. At our preliminary meeting we identified the following core activities to be included in the schedule as a means of fulfilling this goal:
Observation of the Enquiry Desk
So far I have observed four different librarians at the desk and have compared their different styles and ways of working. Although most of the enquiries have been fairly routine, I have still been able to collect a number of useful tips for working at the Enquiry Desk. As described in earlier posts, there were even a couple of ocassions where I was able to put some of these into practice to directly assist one or two of our readers. These sessions have therefore increased my confidence in dealing with routine enquiries at the Reception Desk and have equipped me with some valuable examples of best practice for use in my future career.
Assisting a User Education Session
Although I have assisted with several user education sessions in the past, I wanted to learn more about what goes into planning and delivering this type of training. I was therefore able to focus on the various factors that need to be considered such as: the type of students involved and the level of detail required (undergraduate or postgraduate? 1st, 2nd or 3rd year?); their previous experience (are they likely to have used the library before?, what resources might they already be familiar with?); the timing of the session (are they completely new students already overwhelmed with information?, have they already completed assignments and are more aware of the help they might need?).
It was also interesting to observe how the smaller group size and venue elicited a more relaxed atmosphere and a less formal style of delivery. This made it easier for me to get involved and help those students who needed further one-to-one support.
Visit from Graduate Trainees
When I first considered applying to Library School, I was worried not having followed a graduate traineeship might put me at a disadvantage to those who have. Talking to the trainees, however, I was soon reassured that I have had an equivalent, if not a richer experience working as a Library Assistant.
Comparing our roles it was apparent that most of our daily tasks, such as shelving and reception duties, are much the same. Although some of the trainees have been given additional para-professional tasks such as basic cataloguing and classification, my involvement in the Inter-library Loans Team and special projects, such as the stock edit, have given me a similar insight into professional tasks. Also, although the trainees participate in a programme of group training sessions and visits to other libraries, the Library's own Learning Hour programme and summer visits to other libraries have given me similar opportunities to learn more about libraries and librarianship in general.
I was equally reassured to learn that, although they were mostly recent graduates, many of the trainees shared my apprehensions about returning to study and my worries about finding a professinal post in the future. Through talking to other people with similar aspirations and concerns I was therefore able to re-evaluate the value of my experience and to rationalise some of my fears and insecurities about returning to study as a mature student.
Academic Liaison - Attending the Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Faculty Board Meeting and Course Validations
After shadowing the ALL (A&L) in the summer (see my Summer Shadowing Report), I was keen to learn more about what the role involves in practice. It was therefore suggested that I observe a Faculty Board Meeting which would also allow me to see the course validation process in action.
As mentioned in my earlier post, I was particularly interested in the comments made by the student representatives as these helped to explain some of the negative, even aggressive behaviour we frequently encounter in the library. The students aired their frustrations with issues such as IT network outages, changes to student e-mail and teething problems resulting from the restructure of the Student Information Centres. This seemed to suggest that tensions don't necessarily originate from within the library itself but from an accumulation of perceived failiures with our university's systems and procedures generally. These perceptions also seem to stem from the increasingly high expectations which are bred by increasingly expensive tuition fees.
The discussions surrounding these issues also suggested that frustrations can occur when students have not fully understood what is expected of them. This is a common problem especially when it comes to library fines. Often our readers feel aggrieved when we explain that the fines stand because it is their responsibility to check their library accounts regularly and renew their loans online. As one of the academic staff suggested, perhaps this highlights a need for our university as a whole to do more to make our informal expectations of students more explicit.
The other aspect of the meeting which drew my attention was the consideration of proposed new academic pathways as part of the course validation process. As discussed in my earlier post, I was surprised that some academic staff proposing these new courses feel able to judge the extent of their impact on the library's resources without actually consulting the ALLs. I think this highlights a need to raise the profile of the library and the value of the services that we provide which unfortunately seems to be generally true of all libraries.
Remaining schedule
The second half of my shadowing programme will cover the other areas that were identified as being core to the profressional librarian's role. These include sessions on cataloguing, ordering and collection development as well as more sessions observing the Enquiry Desk. I also plan to accompany the ALL (A&L) to the cross-site Staff Learning and Development Group meeting but as this requires additional time to travel to another site, it may not be possible if any other Library Assistants are absent on that day. If this is the case then the time will be given to additional sessions observing the Enquiry Desk and possibly observing a one-to-one appointment between a Subject Librarian and a student.
Another factor which may disrupt the planned schedule is the current restructure of library staff which initially comes into effect on 1 April. This means that most of the ALLs will become Faculty Liaison Librarians (FLLs) with cross-site responsibility for their respective subject areas. The ALL (A&L) is likely to become the Staff Learning and Development Manager which means that, like the FLLs, she will no longer be staffing the Enquiry Desk. As my final shadowing session was planned to be with the ALL (A&L) this is therefore likely to have to be changed.
Conclusions
So far the shadowing programme has certainly met and, in some respects exceeded, my expectations. I had anticipated that my involvement in the various activities would be purely as an observer but was delighted to be given the opportunity to get actively involved where appropriate. This hands-on experience combined with the enthusiasm and encouragement of those people I have shadowed has certainly boosted my confidence and helped to confirm that librarianship is the career for me.
My main reason for participating in the programme is to gain a deeper insight into the role of the professional librarian before fully commiting to a Masters course in September. At our preliminary meeting we identified the following core activities to be included in the schedule as a means of fulfilling this goal:
Observation of the Enquiry Desk
So far I have observed four different librarians at the desk and have compared their different styles and ways of working. Although most of the enquiries have been fairly routine, I have still been able to collect a number of useful tips for working at the Enquiry Desk. As described in earlier posts, there were even a couple of ocassions where I was able to put some of these into practice to directly assist one or two of our readers. These sessions have therefore increased my confidence in dealing with routine enquiries at the Reception Desk and have equipped me with some valuable examples of best practice for use in my future career.
Assisting a User Education Session
Although I have assisted with several user education sessions in the past, I wanted to learn more about what goes into planning and delivering this type of training. I was therefore able to focus on the various factors that need to be considered such as: the type of students involved and the level of detail required (undergraduate or postgraduate? 1st, 2nd or 3rd year?); their previous experience (are they likely to have used the library before?, what resources might they already be familiar with?); the timing of the session (are they completely new students already overwhelmed with information?, have they already completed assignments and are more aware of the help they might need?).
It was also interesting to observe how the smaller group size and venue elicited a more relaxed atmosphere and a less formal style of delivery. This made it easier for me to get involved and help those students who needed further one-to-one support.
Visit from Graduate Trainees
When I first considered applying to Library School, I was worried not having followed a graduate traineeship might put me at a disadvantage to those who have. Talking to the trainees, however, I was soon reassured that I have had an equivalent, if not a richer experience working as a Library Assistant.
Comparing our roles it was apparent that most of our daily tasks, such as shelving and reception duties, are much the same. Although some of the trainees have been given additional para-professional tasks such as basic cataloguing and classification, my involvement in the Inter-library Loans Team and special projects, such as the stock edit, have given me a similar insight into professional tasks. Also, although the trainees participate in a programme of group training sessions and visits to other libraries, the Library's own Learning Hour programme and summer visits to other libraries have given me similar opportunities to learn more about libraries and librarianship in general.
I was equally reassured to learn that, although they were mostly recent graduates, many of the trainees shared my apprehensions about returning to study and my worries about finding a professinal post in the future. Through talking to other people with similar aspirations and concerns I was therefore able to re-evaluate the value of my experience and to rationalise some of my fears and insecurities about returning to study as a mature student.
Academic Liaison - Attending the Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Faculty Board Meeting and Course Validations
After shadowing the ALL (A&L) in the summer (see my Summer Shadowing Report), I was keen to learn more about what the role involves in practice. It was therefore suggested that I observe a Faculty Board Meeting which would also allow me to see the course validation process in action.
As mentioned in my earlier post, I was particularly interested in the comments made by the student representatives as these helped to explain some of the negative, even aggressive behaviour we frequently encounter in the library. The students aired their frustrations with issues such as IT network outages, changes to student e-mail and teething problems resulting from the restructure of the Student Information Centres. This seemed to suggest that tensions don't necessarily originate from within the library itself but from an accumulation of perceived failiures with our university's systems and procedures generally. These perceptions also seem to stem from the increasingly high expectations which are bred by increasingly expensive tuition fees.
The discussions surrounding these issues also suggested that frustrations can occur when students have not fully understood what is expected of them. This is a common problem especially when it comes to library fines. Often our readers feel aggrieved when we explain that the fines stand because it is their responsibility to check their library accounts regularly and renew their loans online. As one of the academic staff suggested, perhaps this highlights a need for our university as a whole to do more to make our informal expectations of students more explicit.
The other aspect of the meeting which drew my attention was the consideration of proposed new academic pathways as part of the course validation process. As discussed in my earlier post, I was surprised that some academic staff proposing these new courses feel able to judge the extent of their impact on the library's resources without actually consulting the ALLs. I think this highlights a need to raise the profile of the library and the value of the services that we provide which unfortunately seems to be generally true of all libraries.
Remaining schedule
The second half of my shadowing programme will cover the other areas that were identified as being core to the profressional librarian's role. These include sessions on cataloguing, ordering and collection development as well as more sessions observing the Enquiry Desk. I also plan to accompany the ALL (A&L) to the cross-site Staff Learning and Development Group meeting but as this requires additional time to travel to another site, it may not be possible if any other Library Assistants are absent on that day. If this is the case then the time will be given to additional sessions observing the Enquiry Desk and possibly observing a one-to-one appointment between a Subject Librarian and a student.
Another factor which may disrupt the planned schedule is the current restructure of library staff which initially comes into effect on 1 April. This means that most of the ALLs will become Faculty Liaison Librarians (FLLs) with cross-site responsibility for their respective subject areas. The ALL (A&L) is likely to become the Staff Learning and Development Manager which means that, like the FLLs, she will no longer be staffing the Enquiry Desk. As my final shadowing session was planned to be with the ALL (A&L) this is therefore likely to have to be changed.
Conclusions
So far the shadowing programme has certainly met and, in some respects exceeded, my expectations. I had anticipated that my involvement in the various activities would be purely as an observer but was delighted to be given the opportunity to get actively involved where appropriate. This hands-on experience combined with the enthusiasm and encouragement of those people I have shadowed has certainly boosted my confidence and helped to confirm that librarianship is the career for me.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Extended Shadowing Programme: Session Seven - Observing the Enquiry Desk
This morning I observed the Reader Services Librarian and the Subject Librarian (Arts, Law and Social Sciences) at the Enquiry Desk. I was due to observe the Subject Librarian (Health and Business) but unfortunately she was called away to another meeting.
Online enquiries
The online enquiries are checked by whoever is on duty at the desk at 09:00 and 17:00 each day. Many of the e-mails received relate to fine/account queries, problems with the library facilities or other reader services issues. The Reader Services Librarian therefore tries to check the inbox at quiet intervals throughout the day to pick up any issues before they are referred to her.
One of today's messages was from an oversees student who was trying to access an item that had been included on her reading list. The Library Catalogue and Digital Library were checked to find that it is only available in hard copy. An e-mail was sent to the reader to explain that the enquiry would therefore be referred to the appropriate Subject Librarian as it may be possible to have the relevant sections digitised and made available electronically. Although the Subject Team request copies of reading lists from the course tutors to allow them to check them and ensure that the appropriate resources are readily available, not all of them do so. Unfortunately, this frequently results in students coming to the Enquiry Desk for help to find items, either because we don't have them in stock or because the details on the reading lists are inaccurate.
Hands-on experience
During the slot with the Subject Librarian (ALSS) a reader came to the Desk as she was having some problems submitting an inter-library loan request using the OPAC. As a member of the inter-library loans team this presented an ideal opportunity to gain more hands-on experience at the Desk. The reader had received an error message to say that she was over her inter-library loan limit. There is currently no limit to the number of requests a student can submit and I was able to explain that in the past this message has been prompted because the need by date has been entered in the wrong format, i.e. DD/MM/YY instead of DD/MM/YYYY. As the student couldn't remember which format she used I took her through the whole process of submitting a request step by step to ensure that she hadn't input any other details incorrectly. It gave me a real sense of satisfaction to be able to resolve the reader's query and to hopefully leave her more confident in her ability to use the library.
User education and best practice
Like all the librarians I have observed to date, the Subject Librarian (ALSS) uses every available opportunity to educate our readers so that they can use the library independently. For instance, if a student says that they can't find a book she asks them for the shelf location to ascertain whether or not they have checked the Library Catalogue. If they haven't she will take them to the OPAC and tell them how to search the catalogue but will ask them to do the searching themselves. She then takes them over to the shelves, points out the shelf-end labels and helps them to find the item they are looking for. If the reader has already searched the catalogue for a book and has searched the shelf themselves, the Subject Librarian (ALSS) will check the full catalogue record to see how many pages it has. This gives an indication as to how big the book is likely to be. If it is a very slim volume, she therefore knows to check that it isn't hidden between two larger books or hasn't been pushed to the back of the shelf.
At all my sessions at the Enquiry Desk it has been extremely useful to pick up best practice tips such as these. During the remaining observation sessions I hope to pick up others that will help in my future career and to gain more hands-on experience.
Online enquiries
The online enquiries are checked by whoever is on duty at the desk at 09:00 and 17:00 each day. Many of the e-mails received relate to fine/account queries, problems with the library facilities or other reader services issues. The Reader Services Librarian therefore tries to check the inbox at quiet intervals throughout the day to pick up any issues before they are referred to her.
One of today's messages was from an oversees student who was trying to access an item that had been included on her reading list. The Library Catalogue and Digital Library were checked to find that it is only available in hard copy. An e-mail was sent to the reader to explain that the enquiry would therefore be referred to the appropriate Subject Librarian as it may be possible to have the relevant sections digitised and made available electronically. Although the Subject Team request copies of reading lists from the course tutors to allow them to check them and ensure that the appropriate resources are readily available, not all of them do so. Unfortunately, this frequently results in students coming to the Enquiry Desk for help to find items, either because we don't have them in stock or because the details on the reading lists are inaccurate.
Hands-on experience
During the slot with the Subject Librarian (ALSS) a reader came to the Desk as she was having some problems submitting an inter-library loan request using the OPAC. As a member of the inter-library loans team this presented an ideal opportunity to gain more hands-on experience at the Desk. The reader had received an error message to say that she was over her inter-library loan limit. There is currently no limit to the number of requests a student can submit and I was able to explain that in the past this message has been prompted because the need by date has been entered in the wrong format, i.e. DD/MM/YY instead of DD/MM/YYYY. As the student couldn't remember which format she used I took her through the whole process of submitting a request step by step to ensure that she hadn't input any other details incorrectly. It gave me a real sense of satisfaction to be able to resolve the reader's query and to hopefully leave her more confident in her ability to use the library.
User education and best practice
Like all the librarians I have observed to date, the Subject Librarian (ALSS) uses every available opportunity to educate our readers so that they can use the library independently. For instance, if a student says that they can't find a book she asks them for the shelf location to ascertain whether or not they have checked the Library Catalogue. If they haven't she will take them to the OPAC and tell them how to search the catalogue but will ask them to do the searching themselves. She then takes them over to the shelves, points out the shelf-end labels and helps them to find the item they are looking for. If the reader has already searched the catalogue for a book and has searched the shelf themselves, the Subject Librarian (ALSS) will check the full catalogue record to see how many pages it has. This gives an indication as to how big the book is likely to be. If it is a very slim volume, she therefore knows to check that it isn't hidden between two larger books or hasn't been pushed to the back of the shelf.
At all my sessions at the Enquiry Desk it has been extremely useful to pick up best practice tips such as these. During the remaining observation sessions I hope to pick up others that will help in my future career and to gain more hands-on experience.
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