It’s a fact – Irwin Library is a popular place in the evenings for group study, and we welcome this. However, if you are looking for more individualized, quite study spaces, check out the study carrels on the west side of the Irwin Library basement. Or, inquire at one of the Service Desks and staff can direct you to areas of the Library that are more conducive to quiet study. We are a small space with multiple needs, accommodating both group study and quiet study, so please be courteous of the study needs of others around you.
Thanks!
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
9:00 am
Results of Meeting with Rachel Applegate
- Rachel asked that we continue to gather reference area statistics for her study. The data that we are providing her – number of questions, types of questions, number of people occupying the referene area, including the music reference area and small periodical stack area, is fine. She is drawing statistics from a wide range (seven or eight) other institutions, and, while she hasn’t done any definitive analysis yet, the statistics are comparable to the other institutions, taking into considering such things as instution size, etc.
- Teresa and Rachel will be moving forward with conducting the second Butler Library Student Survey using some MG101 courses and a MG320 course. If you haven’t taken a look at the results of this survey, ask Teresa for a copy, it provides some interesting insights into how students are using the library and how much faculty encouragement plays a role in how students use our resources. Because this survey is short and is tied to a class, Rachel may be willing to supporting addtional studies with classes in this same fashion.
Meebo
- Some of the quirks are being worked out with this tool. We will continue to monitor it this semester for useability. While new technologies by there very nature are disruptive, we will want to continue to work on planning ahead for these these types of transitions to go as smoothly as possible.
Information Commons
- To keep you abreast on what Lewis is reading, Lewis currently has “The Information Commons Handbook” by Donald Robert Beagle on his desk. It has some interesting analysis concerning how the Information Commons concept is more then just the physical structure but also delves into the virtual and cultural layers of such an environment. Just an FYI to keep you abreast on what our Dean is reading!
Public Services Meeting
October 2, 2007
Using Meebo to handle Instant Messaging at the Reference Desk
- Please be aware that students, faculty, and staff can go to the Ask a Librarian page to instantly chat with the Reference Desk – end users do not need a specific IM account.
- There is a learning curve with using Meebo on the Reference Desk staff side. Here are some tips:
Pay attention to the tab that you are in; if you want to click on the “quick tabs” such as BU mail, for example, you need to be in a tab other then the Meebo tab.
To avoid opening up multiple Meebo pages, do not click on the traditional “home” picture button to go to the Library’s homepage. Scott has created a ‘home’ quick tab that will always take you to the Library’s homepage (not open another Meebo page).
Work with Scott if you need assistance with using this or are experiencing problems; Scott is also trying to tweak things to make this work more seamlessly.
LibGuides
As a point of clarification, while all are welcome to experiment with creating LibGuide pages, our vision in using this tool, at first, is to move over the Subject Guides. While a unit or service area may want to eventually create a LibGuide (ex. ILL), our first foray into this is with the Subject Guides.
There is now a Reference Calendar under Public Folders in Outlook. If you are subbing for someone, please indicate it there. This calendar also provides the opportunity to utilize Group Schedules better.
Announcements/Comments
Donor luncheon is Oct. 15
Sally N. is attending INCOLSA circ. Training Oct. 3
Fall break is coming up; we discussed reduced hours; questioned whether Emily needs to work Wednesday evening (Sally N. will talk to Lewis about)
Sally N. noted that as we start with these PS meetings, she is cognizant that some topics lend themselves more to circ. or reference; she will try to be aware of this and place the topics in the appropriate meetings (reference meetings, PS meetings, etc.); however, there will be times when this demarcation is difficult.
Again, as a reminder from our Reference Team meeting last week, the list in BIP to place interdisciplinary reference titles is: GenRef.
Reference Team Meeting
Sept. 19, 2007
Present: Dan Roose, Sheri Stormes, Teresa Williams, Scott (the Pirate) Pfitzinger, Sally Neal, Renee Reed
Topics covered:
- Head count for reference area – do we need to keep doing?
Rachel Applegate studyGroup agreed to continue counting at the every half-hour – this helps with determining service hours.
Sally N. will contact Rachel Applegate to inquire about where Rachel is at with her study, clarify what we are counting.
For the time being (waiting for clarification from Rachel), count everyone in the east end of the building, including:
Reference area
Index area
Reference music area
119 (when open as a lab)
Where to count printer issues within statistics – be sure to count these using the ‘Computer’ category.
- Looking at statistics for 9:30 – 10:00 pm vs. 9:30 – 10:00 pm reference transactions
Statistics confirm that we need to be here until 10:00.
- Reference collection development – who oversees or is it a team effort?
Dan reminded the group that it was agreed upon this past summer that liaisons would be responsible for reference collection development within their liaison areas.
To handle interdisciplinary reference titles, librarians can add titles to the General Reference List in BIP.
Sally N. will convene the Reference Team group a couple times a year to review the titles within the BIP General Reference List for purchase.
Concerning non-print reference titles:
Requests can come from individual librarians
Will want to request trial – share this with librarians
Lewis has to sign-off on for purchase
- Using the blog to communicate helpful reference information that we want to keep
If it would be helpful to have a record of it, write it up on the staff blog; if it is fleeting information like, the printer is broken tonight, an e-mail will do.
Remember to categorize reference blog posts under “Reference” for easy browseability (it’s an ‘Advanced’ option within the blog editor).
- How often to meet
We will meet at least once a month in the fall, perhaps more infrequently in the spring semester.
Concerning attendance, again, please know that all who work the desk are welcome and encouraged to attend, to be a part of our conversations and decisions; however, if you work few hours and have other pressing commitments, you can use your judgment concerning attendance.
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