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.
Showing posts with label graduate_trainee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graduate_trainee. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Extended Shadowing Programme: Sessions Two and Three - User Education Session for Film Studies Students and Visit from Graduate Trainees
Yesterday afternoon, my shadowing slot was split into sessions. The first was spent assisting the Subject Librarian (Arts & Letters) in a user education session showing first year Film Studies students how to make the best use of the Library Catalogue and the Digital Library. For the second session I joined the ALL (Arts & Letters) and a group of Graduate Library Trainees for an overview of our library's website and digital resources and an informal discussion over refreshments.
User Education Session with First Year Film Studies Students
This session was included in my shadowing programme to fulfil my objective of learning more about the librarian's role in preparing and delivering user education sessions. I have assisted in several of these before for both undergraduate and graduate students, lead by various members of the Subject Team. This involved setting up the PCs with guest logins, passing round handouts, helping anyone who is having problems keeping up get back to the correct screen, answering basic queries and helping to close down the PCs and tidy up the room afterwards.
The content covered in this particular session was very similar to the others including: basic and advanced searches using the Library Catalogue; using e-books; accessing My Library Account online to renew books, make reservations and book study rooms; conducting quick searches and subject searches using the Digital Library; looking at useful websites. The librarian also talked about using different search terms to broaden or narrow searches and trying alternative search terms, e.g. cinema instead of film. She also warned the students that while popular sources such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) where fine for gaining an overview of a film and checking castlists, etc. they should not be relied on too heavily. Instead, they should be ensuring that they use good quality, authoritative sources such as academic journals and broadsheet newspapers as well as books in order to gain good grades.
Although this session was essentially the same as the others I have assisted with in the past, in some respects it was also quite different. Previous sessions have mostly been held in a larger room with between 15 and 25 students whereas this one was held in a much smaller room with only around 13 students. This gave it a more intimate feel which was also reflected in the librarian's slightly less formal style of delivery. Compared to the larger groups, this seemed to make the students more attentive and engaged with the session with fewer people surfing the net and checking their e-mails instead of following the demonstrations. The timing of the session was also slightly unusual. Given the content it would appear logical to run this session, as the others have been, either at the beginning of the academic year or in preparation for a particular assignment. However, these students had already completed their first essays. The ALL and Subject Librarian involved in designing the session explained that waiting until the students had completed an assignment without this training might allow them to better appreciate the relevance of what they were being taught and to identify those aspects of their information searching they find more problematic.
Although my role in this session was the same as it has been in others, I was much more focussed on analysing why and how it had been put together and delivered in a particular way. The intimacy of the surroundings also gave me the confidence to be more hands on in helping the students, particularly one girl who after the session asked me to help her conduct a subject search using the Digital Library. This helped me to put myself in the audience's shoes and to think about what their expectations might be and whether the design of the session had been effective in meeting those needs. It also allowed me to imagine myself in the librarian's role and to appreciate more fully that as an information professional I will need to develop a number of new and different skills sets, not least presentation and teaching skills. Rather than finding this daunting, it leaves me with a sense of excitement as the satisfaction of teaching and the potential variety of the librarian's role are the things that first attracted me to the profession.
Visit from the Graduate Library Trainees
Immediately after the user education session, I joined the group of about six visitors who are currently participating in a Graduate Library Trainee scheme at Cambridge University. They had already been given a tour of the library by the ALL (Arts & Letters) who was now showing them the website and digital resources available to our staff and students. They seemed particularly impressed by this as their own college libraries are still very traditional with the provision of electronic resources remaining the responsibility the main Cambridge Univeristy Library at West Road. Afterwards we went to the staff room with other members of library staff to chat over refreshments.
I initially felt a little initimidated by the Graduate Trainees as they were all working in some of the most prestigious university college libraries and were all young recent graduates who appeared much more confident and articulate than me! However, having recently been accepted on the MA Information Services Management course at London Metropolitan University, I was determined to find out if any of them had applied for the same course and whether they shared some of my apprehensions about returning to study. Most of them had applied and been accepted on the course at UCL or courses elsewhere so I was a little disappointed that I hadn't found any potential college buddies amongst the group. However, I was reassured that I wasn't alone in my anxieties about funding the course and the uncertainty of finding a job at the end of it.
I was also keen to find out how their experiences as Graduate Trainees compared with mine working as a Library Assistant. Many of them had been given specific projects to do, had participated in trips to other libraries and had attended regular training sessions together as well as working as library assistants. This helped to confirm my belief that although I have not undertaken a formal Graduate Traineeship, through my role working at the library, attending the library's regular Learning Hour sessions, participating in visits to other libraries, undertaking the shadowing programme and making the most of opportunities to get involved in special projects, I have had an equivalent experience. Meeting the Graduate Trainnees has therefore made me appreciate the value of my experience in this and previous roles and made me feel more confident about returning to study as a mature student.
User Education Session with First Year Film Studies Students
This session was included in my shadowing programme to fulfil my objective of learning more about the librarian's role in preparing and delivering user education sessions. I have assisted in several of these before for both undergraduate and graduate students, lead by various members of the Subject Team. This involved setting up the PCs with guest logins, passing round handouts, helping anyone who is having problems keeping up get back to the correct screen, answering basic queries and helping to close down the PCs and tidy up the room afterwards.
The content covered in this particular session was very similar to the others including: basic and advanced searches using the Library Catalogue; using e-books; accessing My Library Account online to renew books, make reservations and book study rooms; conducting quick searches and subject searches using the Digital Library; looking at useful websites. The librarian also talked about using different search terms to broaden or narrow searches and trying alternative search terms, e.g. cinema instead of film. She also warned the students that while popular sources such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) where fine for gaining an overview of a film and checking castlists, etc. they should not be relied on too heavily. Instead, they should be ensuring that they use good quality, authoritative sources such as academic journals and broadsheet newspapers as well as books in order to gain good grades.
Although this session was essentially the same as the others I have assisted with in the past, in some respects it was also quite different. Previous sessions have mostly been held in a larger room with between 15 and 25 students whereas this one was held in a much smaller room with only around 13 students. This gave it a more intimate feel which was also reflected in the librarian's slightly less formal style of delivery. Compared to the larger groups, this seemed to make the students more attentive and engaged with the session with fewer people surfing the net and checking their e-mails instead of following the demonstrations. The timing of the session was also slightly unusual. Given the content it would appear logical to run this session, as the others have been, either at the beginning of the academic year or in preparation for a particular assignment. However, these students had already completed their first essays. The ALL and Subject Librarian involved in designing the session explained that waiting until the students had completed an assignment without this training might allow them to better appreciate the relevance of what they were being taught and to identify those aspects of their information searching they find more problematic.
Although my role in this session was the same as it has been in others, I was much more focussed on analysing why and how it had been put together and delivered in a particular way. The intimacy of the surroundings also gave me the confidence to be more hands on in helping the students, particularly one girl who after the session asked me to help her conduct a subject search using the Digital Library. This helped me to put myself in the audience's shoes and to think about what their expectations might be and whether the design of the session had been effective in meeting those needs. It also allowed me to imagine myself in the librarian's role and to appreciate more fully that as an information professional I will need to develop a number of new and different skills sets, not least presentation and teaching skills. Rather than finding this daunting, it leaves me with a sense of excitement as the satisfaction of teaching and the potential variety of the librarian's role are the things that first attracted me to the profession.
Visit from the Graduate Library Trainees
Immediately after the user education session, I joined the group of about six visitors who are currently participating in a Graduate Library Trainee scheme at Cambridge University. They had already been given a tour of the library by the ALL (Arts & Letters) who was now showing them the website and digital resources available to our staff and students. They seemed particularly impressed by this as their own college libraries are still very traditional with the provision of electronic resources remaining the responsibility the main Cambridge Univeristy Library at West Road. Afterwards we went to the staff room with other members of library staff to chat over refreshments.
I initially felt a little initimidated by the Graduate Trainees as they were all working in some of the most prestigious university college libraries and were all young recent graduates who appeared much more confident and articulate than me! However, having recently been accepted on the MA Information Services Management course at London Metropolitan University, I was determined to find out if any of them had applied for the same course and whether they shared some of my apprehensions about returning to study. Most of them had applied and been accepted on the course at UCL or courses elsewhere so I was a little disappointed that I hadn't found any potential college buddies amongst the group. However, I was reassured that I wasn't alone in my anxieties about funding the course and the uncertainty of finding a job at the end of it.
I was also keen to find out how their experiences as Graduate Trainees compared with mine working as a Library Assistant. Many of them had been given specific projects to do, had participated in trips to other libraries and had attended regular training sessions together as well as working as library assistants. This helped to confirm my belief that although I have not undertaken a formal Graduate Traineeship, through my role working at the library, attending the library's regular Learning Hour sessions, participating in visits to other libraries, undertaking the shadowing programme and making the most of opportunities to get involved in special projects, I have had an equivalent experience. Meeting the Graduate Trainnees has therefore made me appreciate the value of my experience in this and previous roles and made me feel more confident about returning to study as a mature student.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Job Swap with Graduate Trainee
For the last three days I have been working in the University Library at our other main site as part of a job swap with the Graduate Trainee based there. Although we are essentially one library, I thought it would be a good opportunity to work in a slightly different library environment and to compare the different ways of working. I was also curious to find out more about the work of the Acquistions and Electronic Services & Systems (ESS) Teams which are also based there.
Although the work of the two libraries is fundamentally the same, the ways in which routine tasks are allocated and the Library Assistants are managed are quite different. It was really interesting to compare the different ways of working and to weigh up the benefits of each. I came to the conclusion that neither way of working is perfect but each reflects the different staffing levels and culture of each site. I will be including some of my thoughts in a Job Swap Report which will be posted under the Learning and Development section of this blog in due course.
I will also include my personal thoughts and observations about the new entrance area which had been officially unveiled the day before my arrival. As you'll see from the photos, it has a very striking, bright and contemporary look. I do, however, wonder whether such a bold and "trendy" design is in danger of dating very quickly. Although I suspect that it will appeal to the taste of younger students, I question whether it will appeal so greatly to the large proportion of mature students. I'm also concerned that certain aspects of the design and layout have been at the cost of functionality and practicality. The yellow easy clean floor, for example, has replaced carpet which previously helped to absorb noise from the ground floor which now resonates up the central atrium to the other floors. The omission of the word "Library" in the sign hanging over the desk has also lead visitors to confuse it with the main University Reception. However, I'm sure that teething troubles such as these will be addressed in the coming weeks and months as library staff and readers become accustomed to the new design.
Overall, I throughly enjoyed the experience and was made to feel really welcome. Although it felt strange doing familiar work in an unfamiliar environment, this gave me a fresh perspective on my role and really made me appreciate the contribution that I and my fellow Library and Circulation Assistants make to our service.
Although the work of the two libraries is fundamentally the same, the ways in which routine tasks are allocated and the Library Assistants are managed are quite different. It was really interesting to compare the different ways of working and to weigh up the benefits of each. I came to the conclusion that neither way of working is perfect but each reflects the different staffing levels and culture of each site. I will be including some of my thoughts in a Job Swap Report which will be posted under the Learning and Development section of this blog in due course.
I will also include my personal thoughts and observations about the new entrance area which had been officially unveiled the day before my arrival. As you'll see from the photos, it has a very striking, bright and contemporary look. I do, however, wonder whether such a bold and "trendy" design is in danger of dating very quickly. Although I suspect that it will appeal to the taste of younger students, I question whether it will appeal so greatly to the large proportion of mature students. I'm also concerned that certain aspects of the design and layout have been at the cost of functionality and practicality. The yellow easy clean floor, for example, has replaced carpet which previously helped to absorb noise from the ground floor which now resonates up the central atrium to the other floors. The omission of the word "Library" in the sign hanging over the desk has also lead visitors to confuse it with the main University Reception. However, I'm sure that teething troubles such as these will be addressed in the coming weeks and months as library staff and readers become accustomed to the new design.
Overall, I throughly enjoyed the experience and was made to feel really welcome. Although it felt strange doing familiar work in an unfamiliar environment, this gave me a fresh perspective on my role and really made me appreciate the contribution that I and my fellow Library and Circulation Assistants make to our service.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
