Bubble Popper and Bubble Blowing Opportunities

This article momentarily popped my bubble of happiness. However, after reflecting on it I see many new bubble blowing opportunites. What do you think?

http://www.cio.com/article/157050/In_Defense_of_Gen_Y_Workers/3

Relationships in libraries

Seriously, I am not writing this to toot my own horn, but I had an interaction with a former patron yesterday that really highlighted to me the importance of being available to patrons. I am part of a multi-city community that has borrowing agreements with one another (and over 200 other libraries.) Anyway, this is completely confusing to patrons as the cities sort of run together and the library service is seemless. They think we are all branches of one another. A patron from City A used my previous library heavily. (which was City B) She began coming to me with many types of questions. I am now in a completely different library system which she has never even been to, yet she hunted me down when she couldn't find an answer about her home library in City A. City A told her that access to Consumer Reports wasn't available online to her from home. She wanted to know if we had such access and if I could give her the number for it - after all we are all connected. Lo and behold, we did have access from EBSCO in our electronic subscriptions and because I told her how to use ours inhouse she was able to find it remotely on EBSCO at her home library. I thought that the fact that she would even contact me was a testament to the trust we can build with our patrons - I feel those relationships are remarkably important and should be fostered. In turn, our ability to provide that personal service should be advertised more.

Librarians 24/7

One of the fun things about this career is how many times I have been stopped outside of the library and asked some sort of reference question. This past weekend I rode our bookmobile. While on a lunch break, I happened to be wearing my name tag. I walked down the street to a small-town bar to grab a sandwich and when the bartender saw my nametag she exclaimed, "Oh, you're a librarian. Have you heard about this book my daughter is looking for?" I hadn't but went to the bookmobile - which thankfully has satelite internet acccess - and found the reference material she was looking for and was able walk back and give her the information about where to get it. How fun to be able to do that. Perhaps we should all have internet access on our phones so we can be on call on 24/7.

A rambling on constant learning

I've been thinking further on soon being one of the few MLS holders in my library system. While I still think that it doesn't necessarily take a MLS degree to adequately help patrons; I do think that having MLS staff is important. Coursework, and more importantly discourse with others about library related topics are one of the greatest experiences that I am bringing to my position. It is so imporant to have this background or prespective in the mix for libraries to grow and not become stagnant. Now that I face graduation I am thinking about to keep this strength up when making library decisions. Discourse afforded through involvement in associations, learning reading professional materials, and the general linformation gained by keeping my finger on the changes in information realm is how I intend to keep on learning. But, this will require work on my part, being an MLS student really allows you to be spoon-fed. I am happy for the start and look forward to feeding myself.

Using search terms correctly

One of the crucial skills of those who take to librarianship is the ability to go after a problem repeatedly in different ways. Patrons with low searching abilities do not have this skill. I cannot tell you the number of times I have helped a patron who keeps trying to use the same search terms over and over with no success. This problem of patrons not finding materials that we do have should an area where we as librarians should be continually working. We should be working with our systems to make possible suggestions for search terms when a search is unsuccessful. (I am sure there is software out there that already does this - i.e. Yahoo.) We should be working on the use of terminology that we use to catalog or materials, and we should be working with patrons on information literacy skills in the area of searching. We need to stop assuming the patron is broken and that somehow we are going to get them to use our system correctly. --end rant.

Information - Speed vs. Accuracy

This debate has popped up in many articles I've read in my coursework and professional life. Currently, I am working on an assignment for a reference course that is really shedding light on this issue of information retrieval. Answering reference questions using library resources usually brings about an exact, precise answer and this takes a bit of time to hunt down - especially if the information is in a physical format. Internet resources can bring about the speed, and the information is usually close - but is it sufficient? Is this quick information "good enough?" The instructor for this course once asked the class if we'd want our mechanic or surgeon to find the quick information that was good enough rather than the best information - of course the answer is a resounding, "No!" I even struggle with when "good enough" information would be adequate. The whole notion is very pluralistic - when in reality there can only be one true answer.

We are answering tough reference questions using both a library resource and an Internet resource. When I started this assignment, I was looking at physical books or databases from the library for information and then hunting around for Internet resources that had that same information - often I'd end up citing more than one Internet source to get there. The information available on the web is fast - and often "good enough" or close, but often it is not the best answer to the question. I have decided to change my strategy on this and look up the Internet resources to answer the given questions first and then go back and find the library resource. I think it will be very telling about my discernment as an information professional.

Who should answer reference questions?

Something that has been batted around in several classes I have taken and in my real life experiences is who among a library's staff should be answering reference questions? Having served in a support staff role for 7 years, I am a firm believer that every question does not need to be sent to a MLS librarian. The real heart of the issue is how well the library's staff at all levels are trained. Just this week I caught a high school page trying to help a patron with medical advice. In a perfect world, libraries would take great care in training all staff members that when they are approached with a question to do simple reference interviews and then when to transfer that question to someone with more training. When you hire good people at all levels, they are going to be likely to want to help those patrons with their questions - training the staff gives them the assurance and knowledge that it is OK to pass those questions on.