Thursday, December 11, 2008

Job at Ole Miss - Education Librarian

FYI

You should apply by Monday night if interested. I know the search committee is meeting on Tuesday.

Also it states that the secondary may be psychology but I know that won't happen. It will be Poly Sci.

contact me if interested.

jason

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Why I chose librarianship as a career...

I'm too tired to answer this question right now, but this is my blog subject for the week. I'm going to hunt you down and e-mail all of you so that I can hopefully get at least a few answers. I am interested in hearing why you have chosen librarianship as a profession, what other fields you considered working in, and how you think libraries (whether it be public, academic or special) impact our society.

Thanks for your participation!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Did that really just happen?

Did an undergrad really just say to me "So none of these staplers work honey buns?" in the most grotesque, condescending tone of voice ever?

Two months ago I might have let that slide, but not today.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The meat of the semester

This is what I've been waiting for all semester. Today, patron after patron approached me looking for assistance with research papers and assignments. I polished up on some reference interview techniques. One thing I've learned this semester is to take my time when answering reference questions. At first, I felt like the patron wanted the answer as quick as possible and I wasn't very skilled at making sure I knew exactly what they were looking for. As we all know, the patron doesn't always know exactly what they're looking for and it's our job to help guide them through a series of interactions to formulate the best search strategies possible. Another important skill I'm working on is how to draw the line between doing the search for the patron and giving them the skills to do the search on their own.

I'm nearly giddy with all the gratitude that was expressed to me today. One patron told me that she's had a lifelong admiration for the help and knowledge that librarians can provide and that I reinforced that admiration in her mind. Yeah!!!

During my miserable week in bed with the "bubonic plague", I missed reference interactions so much that I found myself hanging around Yahoo! Answers looking to spread the information wealth around (pun intended for the political junkies). It's oddly addictive, sort of like watching Jeopardy and screaming out the answers when there's no one around to hear.

But I'm back now, and it's a good time to be back.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Not so FAQs

If you happen to find yourself on the receiving end of a not-so-frequently asked question that you are able to find the answer to, please be so kind as to post the question and answer for the benefit of your friendly colleagues.

Thx.

Community Access at the UGL

As the police escorted out one of our community users this afternoon, a patron walked up to the desk and said, "You should talk to the Detroit Public Library about opening on Sunday and then the boogermen [sic] wouldn't come here."

Later today, a student from another college hoping to use our computers was visibly disappointed when I directed her to the Community Access terminals. Young, attractive, and well-dressed, she quickly garnered what was undoubtedly unwanted attention from her fellow computer users.

The presence of community members at the UGL is something I've thought about on many occasions. One of the reasons I have chosen librarianship as a career is my firm belief that equal access to information is a major contributing factor to our democracy. I feel passionately that people from all educational, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds should have the right to seek and obtain knowledge free of charge and have the right to do so in an environment in which they will be treated with respect and dignity. Public libraries and librarians are bound to uphold this ideal. But where does this leave the UGL?

As an academic library, the UGL's main purpose is to serve the students and faculty of the University. Therefore, public access to university computing services should be seen as a privilege that must be treated as such, not as a right to be abused.

Because of my strong convictions about open access to information, I do believe that the University has a responsibility to the community of Detroit, and providing valuable Internet connection to those who would otherwise have no access is an honorable service. Putting that conviction aside, allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment. First of all, don't tuition-paying students deserve to have a clean and safe environment in which to study and work? Panhandling, disruptive behavior, and blatant disregard for Library rules occur on a regular basis. Secondly, how necessary of a service is the Library providing if community members use the Internet largely to access pornography, play online games, or participate in other web-based activity of dubious value?

Of course, community members aren't the only patrons responsible for unruly behavior, noise, and disregard for library rules and property. Students hold their own in those arenas. And of course, if the Library is going to provide Internet access, it's certainly not appropriate for the Library to decide what content is appropriate or beneficial for patrons to view. Certainly not all community members prove to be problematic, but the few who do certainly leave an unfavorable impression at the expense of those who do not.

So again, let's discuss, shall we? I believe that the potential benefits for members of the community outweigh the negatives, and in light of the DPL's limited resources for the population served here, it is, if not an obligation of WSU, then at least a step towards maintaining a positive and supportive relationship with the community.

Et tu?

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Promoting library services

In both of my classes this semester, we've discussed at some length the problem of patrons or potential patrons not fully utilizing library resources and not even being aware of the resources that the library offers. I think it's safe to say that as future librarians and library science students, most of us are independent information seekers and have the ability and motivation to figure out for ourselves how to use available library services. It's easy to forget that not everyone shares this "information seeking behavior" (to use the parlance o' the profession) and unfortunately, it's also easy to blame patrons' inability or unwillingness to find things on their own on ignorance or laziness.

I find it to be mind boggling that libraries spend thousands of dollars on databases and resources that go virtually untouched. Much of the library literature bemoans the lack of understanding of these resources. Patrons are blamed. Faculty is blamed. Google is blamed. Rarely is the role of the librarian in teaching and promoting these resources addressed. In one of my classes we talked about how helpful it would be if the library curriculum included marketing and public relations. The instructor in my management class remarked that some librarians are getting their M.B.A's in order to have a better understanding of these areas, among others. However, today's job market in academic librarianship practically requires a second subject-area Master's in addition to the MLIS. Does a librarian's salary really justify a third Master's degree?

Wouldn't it be more helpful if library science coursework and the profession as a whole put an emphasis on our duty to promote the library's services? It's no secret that the public perceives the library in the 21st century as about as useful as a no-cable, no remote control console television. If we like our jobs and the places we work, it's about time to do something.

Just this week, I spoke with two graduate business students, one of whom had no idea that he could access Consumer Reports online through Wayne State, and another who wanted to know if she could check out the Wall Street Journal. Just as the former student was about to walk away disappointed in my answer, I showed her how she could access current and back editions of the WSJ through our databases. She was just as astounded and pleasantly surprised as the latter student. Neither of these students were incoming freshmen with little or no experience using the library's website. If the library had done its job correctly, both of these students would have already known that these titles were available for their use.

So if anyone is reading this out there, what are some specific ways librarians can inform patrons and potential patrons about our services? Providing links and information on departmental home pages? Changing our attitudes when patrons approach us asking for information about how to do things that we assume they should already know how to do?
Lothar talked about a librarian who made herself available in dorms and at campus events, armed with her laptop wherever she thought she might be able to reach students with information or research needs. Would it make more sense for library liasons to be in departmental buildings rather than in the library?

Discuss...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

For the love of all things good...

...please stop walking away from me while I'm in the middle of answering your question.

Thx.

Sweet!

Printers on the second floor are not functional, nor are the photocopiers in the computer lab.

Everyone hates me a little bit now. I'll take the flak. I'm bullet-proof.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

It's a record!

Five complaints in one day about the noise level in the library, even on the 2nd and 3rd floors. It's a library, people - Show some respect, please!

Removing yourself from an uncomfortable conversation

Today I handled a telephone reference call that went from odd to bizarre - so much so that I was convinced that it had to be a joke and someone was getting a great laugh at my expense on the other end of the line.

The female caller first explained to me that she was writing a three page paper on the topic "blondes have more fun." OK, let's see where she goes with this one. For the next several minutes, she proceeded to tell me that from her research she has determined that men marry brunettes and that blondes are promiscuous, blah blah blah, but what she urgently needed was a really good definition of the word "floozy" complete with origin.

Sure, I can do that. "Floozy" per the OED is a girl or a woman especially one of disreputable character. Origin unknown. That's too bad. She must not have liked that definition because she asked for two more, which I was happy to provide. I was starting to wonder what passing patrons must be imagining as the words "tawdry" and "promiscuous" came out of my mouth as they walked by the desk. But I'm a professional, I can handle it.

My phone friend, satisfied with her definitions, then began a lengthy discourse on the eroding sexual morals of our society and began wondering out loud if there shouldn't be some kind of law requiring prospective partners to disclose their medical history to each other because, according to the caller, infection with tuberculosis at one point was a matter of public knowledge that had to be clearly posted for all to see. (Where is this going???) Furthermore, she asked if I was aware that the responsibility for the widespread outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases lies in the hands of campus co-eds, not with people out in the streets?

This woman transitioned from one topic to the next with the speed of a seasoned auctioneer, leaving me no space to extricate myself from this increasingly stranger one-sided conversation. When at last she paused to take a breath, I said "Well, sounds like you've got some really interesting information for a three page paper. Good luck and let us know if there's anything else we can help you with."

Phew.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Path of Least Resistance

Every once in a while, just when I think that I can't possibly give directions to the Academic Success Center one more time, a student approaches the information desk with a real live reference question. You know the kind; the ones that we're going to school to be able to answer. Last week, two students approached me with some absolute gems: I need a newspaper article about Africa, the content has to be positive, can you help me?; I'm writing a paper about how to help little girls not think that they're Snow White and need a prince to rescue them, can you help me? And the answer is YES, YES, YES!!! I would LOVE to help you.

And then it happens. You start to explain in your most accessible everyday language about online databases with current journal and newspaper articles, and the glazed look of complete and utter disinterest takes over the patron's face. "I just want a book. Can you tell me where the books are?" O.K., I can get you a book. I found what looked to be several promising titles about self-esteem in young girls at the Purdy-Kresge. I explained to the patron that the books were located in our graduate library. "Oh no, I don't want to walk there, I just want a book that's in this library." Seriously? Not only are you not interested in articles, you aren't willing to take two minutes of your time to walk to P/K? Using my most persuasive librarian logic, I tried to convince said patron that these resources were her best bet if she only wanted to use books. She reluctantly took the call numbers and said she'd think about it. But I'm pretty sure she never made the walk, and I can't imagine what became of her essay.

Then there's the newspaper article patron.
Me: "Is there a specific topic or issue pertaining to Africa that you're interested in?"
Patron: "Nope, just has to be positive."
Me: "O.K., we can start there. Let me show you this database with access to current newspaper articles." (I've already lost her at this point.)

I pulled up a list of articles using only the term "Africa" and understandably came up with quite a hefty list. The patron looked at the screen, mentally crossing off the first four results because they pertained to H.I.V., and pointed to one with Ethiopia in the title and asked if she could have that one. I pulled up the full-text and it was an extremely brief, two paragraph article. I asked the patron if she was required to discuss or write about the article and suggested that we continue looking as this one didn't appear to have much substance.

Patron: "No, no, that'll work just fine. How can I get that one?"

These are but two examples of typical reference interactions here at the desk.

Is it just me or is there something very wrong here? How have we, as a nation, gotten to the point that even when we have instant access to an unlimited wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, we still want to complete a task while putting forth the least possible amount of effort? How does this bode for our future? What is going to happen to our critical thinking skills? How is this generation ever going to learn anything significant if they can't be bothered to read a list of article titles, let alone a full article itself? And how will this information-seeking behavior translate in the workplace when graduates who have never been forced to apply any real investigative or analytical skill find themselves in the position where the outcome of their work is no longer a grade on a paper or a degree, but the actual contribution of meaningful ideas or products that will carry us forward as a society?

Is anyone spending their time and money at a university to actually learn something? Whatever happened to intellectual curiosity? We have a great privilege in this country to have access to the educational resources we have, but with that privilege comes the responsibility to use the resources we have been given for improvement of self and society.

(Stepping down from the soapbox now.)

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Mission Accomplished

I haven't figured out if the warm fuzzies that I get when I help a patron who's really in a pickle come from the sheer joy of helping a fellow human being in need or from the selfish satisfaction that comes from the confirmation that I am indeed an information goddess who can find the answer to any inquiry. Whatever the reason, it's cool and I'm wishing I could give myself a big high-five right now.

A clearly flustered and sorta freaked out guy just came in looking for information about local bus schedules; while the specifics were unclear, he's been traveling across the country from San Diego for three months and somehow got separated from his gear and desperately needed to get to Cass and Lafayette and really didn't think he should go walking through the neighborhood anymore because he just figured out the hard way that Detroit isn't California.

My first thought was to panic. Crap, I know NOTHING about this - not even what the local bus line is called. (It's DDOT.) Then I remembered, hey, you ARE the information goddess, empowered with the means to tap into a vast network of information resources. After figuring out the difference between Smart and DDOT (you learn something new every day!) and coming to the realization that the DDOT bus schedule system works on Explorer, not Mozilla (f.y.i.), I was able to find the information, to the complete and utter relief of tired hippie dude in dire need of a serious bath and fingernail scrubbing.

Chances are, a few months from now I'll have dozens of stories like this and a minor information victory will seem just that - minor. But for now, I'll consider it a sort of newbie breaking-in. Welcome to the world of public service. I'm patting myself on the back and I'll go home knowing that my 8 hours here today made a difference to at least one person.

Updating the Blog

So this semester my job is to update the blog, which is great, because I occasionally convince myself that I have something witty enough to say that someone might find it mildly amusing. So expect the musings of a UGL newbie to start popping up here fairly frequently. I'm mulling over in my brain what direction I want to take this - since we rarely have a chance to see each other in person, hopefully the blog can promote a sense of camaraderie and allow us to share tips, ideas, and (of course) stories about what goes on in this house of fun they call the UGL.

It has been suggested to me that I also invite the GSAs from P/K and Science and Engineering to join our little online community, so that's on my list of blog-related things to do.

Hope everyone is off to a great start this semester!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Pay Phones Are Back! (and other things happening in or near the UGL)

There are pay phones in the library again. One is located in its usual spot down the hallway toward Lab A. The other is located in the 24-Hour Extended Study Center down the hallway that leads to the Women's restroom.

We now have access to a Patron Complaint Form. This is located on the desktop of the main Info Desk computer. This form can be given to patrons who wish to make a complaint. I gave one to a member of the Alumni Association this morning. She was disappointed that the only computer access she is allowed is at the Community Access Terminals.

Just an fyi: There will be a Farmers Market on campus at 5201 Cass Ave (in front of Prentice Hall) on Wednesday, August 27th and Wednesday, September 24th between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Local farmers will sell produce and other handmade/grown products.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A New Policy and a New Policy Tool

There's some new stuff brewing at Club UGL. First, a new Textbook and Reserve Policy will be in place starting this fall. Be sure to read this over. Questions by students should be directed to the Checkout Desk.

Also, Annette Healy and the GSAs over at the Sci & Eng Library created this awesome new Library Policy wiki. This should help us do our jobs more efficiently and effectively. Check it out. Send Annette suggestions for updates, or just kudos!

Here's wishing everyone a happy and productive fall semester at the Club.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Some thoughts post-ALA

I met a lot of wonderful people at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim a few weeks ago. I haven't written about my experience yet, because I've been sifting through it in my mind. Attending the conference made me think about why I chose librarianship and what I want to do in the profession. This post is, by no means, a complete account of my thoughts, interests, experiences. Just wanted to get something down.

Intellectual freedom is important to me. I knew this before I attended conference, but now it seems like a crucial issue for me. I am reading ALA's Intellectual Freedom Manual. Privacy, too, is a big issue. I hadn't thought much about it since my intro LIS class, but after attending the OIF presentation/panel discussion about privacy featuring Dan Roth of Wired, Corey Doctorow, Canadian sci fi writer, and Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, I now realize that this is an issue that librarians need to read and talk, and educate users about. Further, as a profession, we need to create systems that are private, but which also allow library users (and only library users) to access their own information. Want to know what book you read last year in July? Well, as a librarian I don't (and shouldn't) have access to that information. But as a patron, you should have access to it.

Attending the ALA conference cemented my desire to work with underserved populations. This may mean that I will need to look for public librarian positions instead of academic, but I'm not totally sure. Working in an urban or rural academic library may offer opportunities to work with the poor and working-class, also. I was annoyed that there weren't many sessions at ALA devoted to underserved populations. I managed to attend a few sessions that discussed these, but most sessions seemed to be about Library 2.0 stuff, gaming, or management/administrative issues, etc. I sometimes feel that technology issues have hijacked the profession. That isn't to say that I am against technology, far from it, but I think we need to be aware of the basic aspects of this profession. When approaching technology, shouldn't we be asking, "how can we use this to help our community?"

I attended a session about library user research that discussed millennials (of course) and then had an amazing researcher out of Texas, Lynn Westbrook, who discussed her research with the information needs and use of victims of intimate partner violence. Good stuff! What I really liked about her research was her comment that these women (primarily women) are suddenly forced to deal with large, often conflicting information systems at a time when they are particularly vulnerable. They need to figure out how to navigate the criminal justice system and the social services network (shelters, etc.) and these systems often give conflicting information. For example, if a woman has been abused by her partner, she is encouraged by the police to file a restraining order. Unfortunately, the shelter system knows that doing so often can lead to more violence. As librarians, how can we reach out to these vulnerable segments of our society? How can we find them, get them to trust us, and help them find and use the resources they need? Why aren't librarians working with social service agencies and organizations?

I also attended a great session--but had to leave early to work my Student-to-Staff gig--about ALA's Policy 61--Library Services to the Poor. I definitely want to work with OLOS, and I think that an outreach librarian position would be a great fit for me. Policy 61 has been around for awhile and yet librarians don't talk about it, much less create policies that support it. Are overdue fines really necessary? I understand that there is rampant theft in libraries, and I'm not naive about people gaming the system (using their kids' cards to check out more stuff that is never returned), but should we really fine people who can't afford to pay? Or who can't afford the transportation costs to get to the library on time to return the items?

So this is what I have been thinking about since ALA. Will post more later, probably.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

helping

On Saturday I spent about half an hour helping a patron register for a class, explained how to contact her department to ensure that her overrides were in the system so that she could register for two other classes, showed her the ins and outs of Blackboard, gave her the phone number for Computing so she could contact them to get her Blackboard account working, and printed off several screenshots of our class registration procedure to ensure that she could do it at home. I also showed her where the bookstores were located so that she could get her textbooks. She was an older student--by that I mean in her 40s. She's a new student, so she's unfamiliar with our "system". She mentioned that her teen sons are so "fast" with computers, but that it takes time for her. I told her that I understood and explained that the university's system can be clunky and frustrating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you're soon a pro. I later found that she is a Canadian student and that coming over here costs $12 dollars a trip.

I could have just directed her to our computer help desk located in the computer lab behind me, but I felt that wouldn't give her the service she needed. I went with her to the computer lab, sat down with her and explained everything patiently. The patron was genuinely appreciative and I hope that I left an excellent impression of the library. I'm confident that this student will come back to the library with other questions. This is what librarianship is all about. Helping people.

I know that showing someone how to use the computer or explain an extensive process (like registering for classes) can be tiresome, but it's important that librarians be willing to teach others how to do things for themselves. We can't just sit back and say, "Oh, go to the computer lab and the computer help desk folks will help you." Chances are the computer help desk folks won't spend the time to really assist the patron fully. The computer help desk staff is almost entirely composed of undergraduate students who have yet to cultivate a strong customer service philosophy. Our Information desk is staffed by librarians and library school students. We need to show patrons that we are dedicated to helping them--and helping them learn. Librarians are here to help. Sometimes we can't help with everything, but we must try.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Wow, it finally happened....

Today being my last day, I am now officially done with my LIS degree and with my time at the UGL. As far as last days go, this one was boring. The students are gone, the weather has warmed up so many of the homeless guys have found other places to go, most of the librarians were gone all morning. My questions were all directional-where is advising, a pay phone, etc., -but as an oddly fitting end to almost two years of fun, one of my least favorite callers was my last reference question. I put him on hold. For a long time. But at least I didn't do what I REALLY wanted to do and tell him to buy himself a bleepin' atlas and stop calling with his rude attitude. Okay, I am rambling here, and having a hard time concentrating with the constant interruptions I am experiencing here at home, so I will give a few highlights, etc. of my time here. You all will just have to pardon the (lack of) writing style.

Funny conversations: the pros and cons of owning a helper monkey, what we would REALLY like to say to the patrons, the patron who told me he was controlling the casino slot machines with his transistor radio (and was contemplating doing it to our security gates also).

Proudest moments: When I could find the impossible-to-find answer for someone and they were so appreciative. And when people would come back and thank me later for helping them, especially when they got a good grade.

Saddest moment: Helping a father find his son who is in prison and showing him a picture of him, which caused him to burst into tears. I had to leave the desk and have a cry after that one.

Times I've had patrons cry on me: 3

Funniest patrons/coworkers/people around campus: Howard (still miss that guy!), Typing Guy, Hurricane Lady (until she decided I must be as interested in hurricanes as she was), the guy who rides his bike with no hands blowing a whistle

Weirdest things found: clothes, canned food, two tire irons and a hack saw, all under the bottom shelves in the reference section. It was like Public Storage in there!

Scariest moment: being followed around by the paranoid schizophrenic in the evening just before closing. He was arrested the next day when he returned.

Grossest moment: the guy starting to masturbate right in front of me and a coworker. No, he didn't have his pants down, thank God!

A PIC and I were talking today about how nothing surprises us anymore after working here for a while. When I did a practicum in Royal Oak, the people there were talking about how much stuff goes on there, but I left them wide-eyed after telling them about the UGL. It gave me a crash course in human behavior, which was sometimes aggravating, but always interesting. To be honest, I am a little concerned about my future places of employment, and whether they will have enough action for me after working here.

So, all that said, I have left much more unsaid. There is no way to express how much I have learned on this job, or how much my coworkers have meant to me. Many of you have become great friends, and I will miss being able to work with you. Best wishes, peace and happiness to all of you.