Hi there. I’ve
created a new Public Calendar in the Library folder, called Reference Desk. It’s
in the same place as the Library Schedule and Personnel Calendar. All librarians
should be able to add entries and edit existing ones, which is the primary
function here.
The reason
we’ve got this calendar is so that we can more easily plan meetings and track
subs. Sally is another of our librarians who likes to use the Outlook calendar
to schedule meetings and by having the Reference Desk calendar listing who’s
working the desk, it’s easier to see if someone’s free.
If you
cannot work a shift and you have gotten a sub, please edit that shift’s entry
on the calendar and replace your name with your sub’s name. Be sure to edit
JUST THE OCCURRENCE, not the SERIES. Unless they’re subbing for you on that
shift for the rest of the semester. 🙂
If you have
any questions or problems using this calendar, please let me know.
Thanks.
Scott
The Reference Desk is now set up to use Meebo. Meebo does the same thing that Gaim does (which is what we’ve been using), namely combining multiple IM accounts into one interface, so we only have to run one program to allow people with different IM programs to contact us.
BUT (and that’s a big but), there’s a very special thing that Meebo does that programs like Gaim and Trillian do NOT, and that is providing an embedded “widget” allowing people to IM us without having any IM program installed. I’ve already set up a widget for Meebo on our Ask A Librarian page, so give it a click and see what it looks like.
The only thing that Meebo requires is logging into it through a web page and keeping that web page open. If you use Firefox, it’s just an extra tab and I’ve already configured Firefox to open the library website AND Meebo in two different tabs when Firefox is launched. Internet Explorer 6 doesn’t have tabs (and IE7 cannot run on Windows 2000 machines), so if you use Internet Explorer you’ll need to have two browser windows open–one for the library website/catalog and one for Meebo. I’m keeping the library website as the Home Page in IE and have added a link on the toolbar for Meebo. Since we’ve gotten used to having a separate application running with Gaim, it won’t be much different except that both windows will be Internet Explorer. My recommendation: use Firefox. 🙂
(For what it’s worth, Meebo widgets can also be seamlessly used in LibGuides, as you’ll be able to see by looking at my profile.)
(See http://meebo.com for more information about it.)
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.
The old Lexis-Nexis had a nice box where you could input relevant pieces of a case citation. The new and improved version does not.
I had a student come to the desk with note that said: Texas v Johnson 491 V.(unreadable) 397 (1989)
The Legal tab was of no help. Nor was the Help. After talking to Dan for about 10 minutes we found this case by doing the following:
Go to “easy search”.
Type in “Texas vs. Johnson” and use the “s” in vs.
Select the legal box.
Leave year range to “Previous 2”
The actual case is: Texas vs. Johnson, 491 US 397 (1989).
Now to test the Dan method I found Johnson v. Quarterman in Lexis and tried to search for it.
Usign the “vs.” I could not bring it up. However, if I used just “v.” it will appear in the list.
So, when students start coming to the reference desk for legal cases you’ll have to try both methods.
-Brad
Reference Desk
I had a community patron inquiring about translation assistance for a newspaper article written in German. While I directed him to the Modern Languages department here, in a subsequent telephone conversation with Fred Yaniga, he said that they are not always able to directly help with such requests – due to the time it takes to properly translate materials. Also, students usually don’t have the proficiency needed to do an adequate translation. So, while it is okay to occasionally direct such patrons to their department, they may only be able to recommend local translation services – which we, at the desk, can help the patron to locate as well.
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