Pathfinder

I started on my pathfinder right after we had class the other week ago. I knew I had to start it early because I had VBS this week and I was gone this past weekend too. I made a lot of notes in my notebook before ever putting anything to the wiki. Once I started working on it I just sat here at the computer and worked and worked and worked all day long. I was able to get a majority of it finished. I had a little trouble with the pictures, but I figured it out. I wanted to put an image of every NC lighthouse. You can't have one without the other! Everyone that I found was too big. I finally figured out that I shouldn't "click on the image" to see it. I just copied and pasted from where I googled it and it stayed small. If that makes any sense at all! I was hoping to not have to put descriptions on everything, but I emailed about it and Dr. Rob said it would probably be best. So I did. Some of things I just put the price..b/c I wasn't sure of what else to put. I sortive felt the titles were self-explanatory and really didn't need a description. This was a much more extensive and time consuming pathfinder from the one we did in Dr. Cat's class. I think this one will be much more helpful! It was a great learning experience with the use of Wiki's! It's making me start to like the use of Wiki's more and more! Who knew.... If only they would figure out a way to save the info and not delete if two people click save at the same time. That never happened to me everytime I worked on mine, but I would highlight the info and click copy, just in case. I'm glad I'm done!! NOw I have a few weeks to relax!!

S & D questions

I went to the library last MOnday to do my S & D questions. I was able to get most of them finished and I found some of them online as well. Most of the questions were not too hard. But some were really hard! This was an interesting project, but I'm glad I'm finish with it! Patrick Beaver Library to far to go to! I learned a lot about the different catergories of how reference materials are organized. One time I went to the PBL and I was looking for a book that I knew that they had there and half way through my search I realized that the book was a reference, not non-fiction! Non-fiction just has the numbers with authors, Reference will say reference above the number! I will remember each I look now!

Thursday's CPCP meeting

Well we had our last meeting for our CPCP group and I forgot to meet online. I have been so busy with VBS this week that I completely forgot. Usually it's meet and another lady at all of the other meetings. I think it's ok though, b/c I had my part finished a long time ago! All they talked about I'm sure is how everything looked once it was put together. I had already emailed my part to the head person of the group and she was going to make a word document with everyone's info. We had one person to do the introduction - I think he volunteered b/c he missed many of the meetings. We have the project finished and that's the main thing! It will be interesting to see everyone's projects tomorrow night. I'm not sure I would like doing this type of online learning. I guess this is how online learners have to do all of their projects. It's really hard not being able to know someone and meet with them face to face. I like online learning, but I like some meeting times too.

Live chat with reference dept. @appstate

Tonight I remembered I need to try out the Live Chat program that is through ASU. I really didn't have any questions to ask, but as soon as I got online someone was waiting there and said hello and how can I help you? I thought that was very nice. I asked the person how long do they stay available and they said usually till 10 or the hours of the library. During finals it's later, usually 12am. They told me there was a reference librarian there now if I needed to ask any questions. I asked them if they have any other responsibilities or do they just wait for someone to chat. And of course they have other things to take care of, mainly watching the circ. desk. They said they didn't get many people to use the Live Chat so far. I thought this was a neat way to get information. I'm thinking I may have wrote something about this type of interview in one of my papers/blogs. I'll have to remember this service!

Last night's class

Last night we had our last S&D presentations. They were given by Heather and Veronica and Jerry, Kim, and Rebecca. They gave their presentations on geographic sources (chapter 10) and special sources and government sources (chapter 9 and 12). All of these presentations were great! I have like doing this project because we have learned a lot of simple little things ...like interesting websites for various topics. Anyways, we also talked about what a pathfinder is and we looked at some examples of pathfinders. Our next assignment is to make a pathfinder from whatever topic that we choose. I think I'm going to keep my topic with lighthouses. We have to include the six source types plus ten additional catergories of resources. We are to find three different websites/print resources for each of these sources types. This project is going to take awhile!! I'm hoping to get a majority of it done this week because I have Bible school all next week and I just want to be able to focus on that. Plus I have my last set of S & D questions to do at the library. Hopefully I can meet with a group and get them done quickly!!

Third Article

Hisle, W. (2005, September 30). Reference Questions in the Library of the Future. Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(6), B6-B8. Retrieved June 29, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

This article describes how we are in a time of transition for academic libraries. Libraries are changing and rethinking how they deal with the core functions of the library. The reference services, collection development, and preservation are handled differently as things are moved from print based forms to online and digitized forms. The article states that reference work has been around since the 19th century helping people to increase literacy. Online and digitized services have taken away some of the reference work for librarians, but it has also brought about different types of questions and reference work among patrons. Many colleges and universities are changing their approach to learning. Students have to work in groups more and make presentations that require digital media. The role of the reference librarian changes with this style of teaching. It requires librarians to be experienced in virtual reference services, experienced in building websites, experienced in working with electronic course assignments, and experienced with online instructional materials. Reference librarians must continue to be teachers to patrons in order to be able to help others navigate information literacy programs. The article gives a couple of examples from various schools on how they are changing their style of reference work. Some schools are combining social and study space and creating an "information commons" where students can work in groups or alone and use digital technology. Other schools are completely going away with the reference desk entirely, and instead one desk offers general information, circulation and reference services, and basic technological support. If a student needs to see a librarian, an appointment has to be made. Another style of reference that is a little different is at the University of Florida. Librarians are going mobile by carrying laptops with wireless Internet around to dining halls, student centers, and residence halls.

I think that this is a great article on how reference is changing and will always continue to change. I do not think that reference work will ever go away. Students are always going to need help in some way and the librarian is hopefully where they will turn to. Google offers a lot of information, but it may not always be the correct information. Like the article said, the reference librarian is great to help sort through all 50 million hits on the topic. I think the convience of online services are wonderful, but I still think that it is important to not forget about important print resources as well. I agree with the article on that librarians need to be up to speed with more electronic services, because that is what most of the questions are going to be about from students.

CPCP Project

Tonight I had a scheduled meeting at 9pm to meet with my CPCP group. Well this time it was only myself and two others that remembered. That's one more than last time. I have my part finished and the other two that met are pretty close to being finished. I posted my points to our wiki that was created by one of the group members. The wiki has been pretty helpful and cuts down on all the emails that could be sent back and forth. We set another time and date, so hopefully they others will meet and get their part finished. It sounds like most of us just have to collaborate a vision and share with the class. I'm glad that's all that I have to do! Anyways, that's the update on that project.

S & D questions

This morning I went on a whim to the library to find the answers to my S & D questions. I was glad I did because I am finish with that assignment. I'm beginning to think I have a lot of "rabbit" in me instead of "pooh". I've been able to work with Jerri Sigmon quit a bit this summer and she is definitely a "rabbit". I like how she is organized and likes to get things done. I have had to be extremely organized this summer with everything else that I have going on. This set of S & D questions were a little bit harder to find. Some answers I'm not so sure if they are correct because I had to google them to find some type of answer. So we'll see on that. Many of the sources were not available to the Patrick Beaver Library like the last set of questions. I like having many of my classmates living in the hickory area because most of them end up at the Patrick Beaver library and we end up working together. It always helps when you have at least someone else to share the burden with.

2nd Article

Pattee, A (2008, Spring2008). What do You Know?. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Science to Children, 6(1), 30-39. Retrieved June 29, 2009, from Academic search Premier database.

What do You Know?

This article is about applying the K-W-L method, developed by Donna Ogle, to reference transactions with children. When children need to come to the library to find information on a topic, the topic is or the assignment is usually given by a teacher or adult. Finding information may be a little easier for adults, but for children, it can much more difficult. When children come into the library with their topic of research and with their cognitive level of thinking they have a harder time recognizing their own information needs and communicating their needs to an adult. The K-W-L Method is a guide that helps students articulate information and select the best materials to meet their needs. The K-W-L Method stands for : "What Do I Know", "What Do I Want to Know", and "What I Learned". If a children's reference librarian will keep these steps in mind when dealing with young people, it will allow the child to take more ownership to finding their information and will allow them to think on their own. The article compares Ogle's K-W-L Method to Kuhlthau's model of information-seeking process (ISP) and with Ross, Nilsen, and Dewdney reference transaction. The first step, "What Do I Know", the children's reference librarian will ask the child what he or she knows about the topic. This allows the librarian and the child focus and narrow down the topic. A librarian should not assume the child does not know anything about their topic just because they have come to the librarian for questions. The next step, "What Do I Want to Know", allows the student to tell the librarian what he or she wants as an end result. The librarian can ask open-ended questions that allows the child to point the way. During this time categories on the topic begin to emerge from these questions. The last step, "What I Learned", is an opportunity for librarian and the child to find materials and search for answers on the topic. The reference interview should not end once a child has the correct materials for the topic. Adults would probably not need the librarian at this point, but children need the librarian to help them navigate through the materials that are found. This is a time when the librarian should refer back to the original questions that the child had in the "What Do I Want to Know", stage. The reference librarian should be that bridge between helping them to understand their topic and locating the materials for their topic.

I think this is a great article about how to do reference with young children. Sometimes we forget that we need to take the reference interview a little further than just handing a child the correct book or material they need for their project. Librarians need to continually propose higher order thinking questions towards students. This allows them to take ownership of the interview and a sense of pride of finding, selecting, and evaluating the materials. This also allows them to grow in their cognitive thinking. The more that this happens to students, the better they will become at finding more information on their own. I like this method much better than the other two methods that were mentioned. This method is very short and sweet and to the point. The other methods had to many points and steps to remember. The acrnonym makes it easier to remember as well. I think referencing with children would be fun to do, because I think they would get much more excitement from finding and locating information. It's always exciting to see the little "light bulb" go off when they begin to understand something.

Last Class

Last class we reviewed over our search and discuss questions for Bibliographies and Encyclopedias/Dictionaries. I got all of them right except for one question. Dr. Rob took up our questions at the end of the class. After that we had our presentations on Indexes and Ready References and Biographies. Everyone did a great job on the presentations. We also discussed how the virtual reference assignment went for everyone. Dr. Rob thought they went great, but most of us thought we bombed it. We were a little confused and I personally thought I needed to learn the information gardens a little better. We ended up getting out early which was great! He didn't go over the pathfinder assignment which is on the syllabus, so I'm a little unsure on that project for the moment. Unless I zoned out while he went over it..I guess I'll have to email about that. Until next time...

CPCP Meeting

Tonight was not a very productive night for the CPCP group. Only Sheila and I were remembered about the meeting. But Sheila and I just made some executive decisions and we're going to share them with the rest of the group through email. We're going to come up with one broad or basic vision statement that collaborates all of our individual visions/goals. We're sortive going by the NCDPI vision statement to how we set ours up. We're to make a few goals for each of our areas. We're hoping to have all of this together and ready to put together in two weeks. Our next meeting is July 9th, at 9:00pm.

S & D answers

On Monday I was able to run over to the Patrick Beaver Library to look for my answers for the S & D project. I had previously found all of the answers to the questions that had websites, so that helped speed up the time. Well I see why we're doing this project. To learn the different styles of references. I actually looked up all the sources in the online catalog first and then I wrote down their catalog number. Silly me went looking for the sources and after not finding many of my sources I realized I was searching in the non fiction instead of the reference section. And I had actually wrote the call number down as REF. Oh well..I know for next time!! I don't get to go to the library when I'm at school much b/c I don't have a homeroom or a set group of kids. It's hard to schedule in a librarian or do projects with our librarian with only 45mins. of class time. Anyways, I wasn't able to find one question and that's b/c the book wasn't at the library. The online catalog said it was there, but it was no where to be found. So we'll see...

CPCP group

Last night I met with my CPCP group. I was late getting to our meeting time b/c we've had camp meeting all week. They scheduled it for 8 and I arrived at 9. They filled me in when I got in there though. We are dividing up different sections that we think needs to be our own personal vision for the 21st Century School. My focus is going to be on literacy. My first thoughts on this when I heard about this project was how we had so many student this year to fail the reading comprehension test. Something needs to be done in our schools today and at homes and with parents to help children learn to read and understand better. The 21st century schools are all about having a more hands on approach to learning. Teachers and parents need to be more active in their own childs ability to read. Children need to be read even while their in the mother's womb to feel the repetition of different sounds. Then the more children are read to out loud the better they will become at reading and comprehending later on. Other areas we are looking at for our CPCP project are technology, parent/community involvement, demographic shifts/the changing classroom, and economy. We've created a wiki to help post all of our information that we found. The NCDPI vision has a bulleted format for their vision and I'm hoping that my group will do something like that. Until next time...

Virtual Reference Librarian

Today I met with my group to do our virtual reference role playing. We were given three questions from Dr. Rob that we had to ask our reference person (our partner) how to find the answers for them. I went first as the reference librarian and Tina asked me her questions. It was really difficult, but I learned some new things. My first instinct was to ask them and tell them to google. After we did our interview, I found out that's what most reference librarians do no adays. That is their quickest ready reference material. Most of our questions dealt with finding things in the information garden in the AET zone. I am not very familiar with the gardens. The one I use the most is the English gardens and the library section. I am good at finding information, but I don't like to search and search and search. Anyways, I sortive feel like referencing is not my area. We'll see...I did learn that if you click on a mushroom then you can email a librarian you question!! We had a tour of the Information Gardens, but I couldn't remember everything. I guess I should have taken better notes! And another thing...my computer is soo slow trying to maneuver through the zone. I kept getting lost! Okay enough whining!

1st Article

Schmidt, A., & Stephens, M (2005, April). IM me. Library Journal, 130(6), 34-35. Retrieved June 17, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database

This article talks about the advantages of using Instant Messaging (IM) in libraries to help patrons with reference questions. Many people today use IM to get a quick answer to have conversations that do not leave some type of trail behind. We can already email our questions to reference librarians, but that may take hours before we ever get a response. Many libraries are hiring full and part time positions where the job description is to help any IM questions. This type of reference is often less formal and very convient if you are unable to get to the library right away. The best way to get people comfortable with using a IM program is to promote the program, and then train them on how to use it. One of the librarians from the article publicized their service through press realeases, local newspapers, distributing flyers, and business cards. Some of the challenges are that some libraries don't allow IM chat, some people don't type fast enough, some don't handle multi-tasking, and some just prefer face to face interaction. The article states that IM isn't going to take away from other forms of communication, but it will help to make reference services relevant to todays users.

I like the idea of using IM for libraries, because it will still be the reference librarian who does the main searches or gives ideas on where to find information. It just would not be a face to face interaction. This type of referencing would be very convient to today's face paced world.

S & D Questions

I was finally able to get to the Patrick Beaver Library in Hickory on Saturday. I spent all day there with Kecia. She just happened to show, thank goodness and we worked and worked all day on this project. Tina and Vern ended up showing up later in the day. I was so glad to see others there because I had done my Bibliography questions all wrong. We all had the worse reference librarian to work with on Saturday. Everytime we tried to explain our project to him, he would veer us in the wrong direction. He was an old man that needed to get up to speed on things! Then on Sunday night when I wanted to post my questions to the wiki, my computer freezes and we couldn't get it back up and running. Finally I get the bright idea to turn it off and unplug the cords. It finally came back on. Thank goodness I don't have to work today so I could get everything posted. This should be interesting trying to find everyone's answers for their topic.

Observation June 4, 2009

After interviewing Betty Riley at Valdese Library I decided to sit and observe around the circulation desk. Thursday afternoons are one of their busiest times, but I think the rainy weather kept it from being as busy as it could be! During the 2 hours that I were there, at least 40 patrons came through the doors to either check-in books, check-out books, or to work on the computers. Approximately the whole time that I was there all of the computers stayed filled. The computer use seems to be the biggest area that younger people come to the library. All ages and ethnicities came through the doors during my observation. There seem to be more of the Asian descent that comes to use the computers more. During half of the time that I was there, there were about 5 -6 people that were working for the public library. Two were working on the summer reading program projects. And two-three were working at the circulation desk. There was one question brought to the circulation desk about reference of a certain topic. The circ. lady did not ask any other questions or specifics to the patron's question. The circ. lady pointed the patron to the correct area. The patron ended up not finding what she was looking for, and ended up leaving. The circulation desk could have done more to help the patron find what she was looking for or ask more questions related to what she was looking for. Other questions were about checking to see if they had certain books available. The head librarian spoke to a parent with a young child and was able to get the parent to sign up for the summer reading program. Overall, the circulation desk operators were friendly and corgul to the patrons.

Librarian Interview

Yesterday, June 4, 2009 I conducted my interview with the librarian, Betty Riley at Valdese Public library. Betty currently does not have an MLS degree, but she does hold an educational masters. She has been the librarian for 11 years and has always been in and around the library because her mother was a librarian. She has not officially worked in a school library, but has helped out numerous times. The Valdese library does have a set of guidelines related to behavioral perfomance. Betty had not heard of the RUSA guidelines, but her guidelines were much like the RUSA guidelines. She does follow a set of steps that is layed out for her patrons and for staff to follow and their are steps to follow if these guidelines are broken. She said they get together about every 2 years to review and adjust the guidelines as needed. They look at each area to see if anything needs to be changed or taken out. If someone does not follow her guidelines they begin with a warning and then eventually to a write-up.

Some of the common questions that she receives the most are things on the computer, mapquest, job searches, financial help, NC Live, and novelist for searching authors. Her first major source for looking something up begins with a google search or NC Live. She does enjoy and directing other to print, but it is always according to what the patrons are looking for to determine the right resource.

I asked about the difficult patrons and how she deals with them. She said to always be corgul and nice, let them know that some information isn't going to be found here and she always tries to point them in the right direction. The most rewarding part of being a librarian for Betty is being able to help patrons and provide information to them. Making sure they have the correct resources to help them learn.

I enjoyed getting to know Betty a little more.

First Class

First post! Just setting up the blogger!