“Use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information”
Introduction
Librarians and information professionals provide information to users. This service can be provided in many different ways within many different settings. Public, school and academic librarians manage their collections, staff the reference desk and computer labs, answer patron questions while working in the stacks, and respond to emails, phone calls, other requests. They also create pathfinders and refer patrons to materials of appropriate age or interest levels, and some librarians specialize in providing these services to particular age groups.
Most every librarian spends considerable time in instructing users how to find, evaluate and use information effectively. This includes tasks such as a research librarian teaching a student how to determine if a source is appropriate for an assignment, how to tell if a website is trustworthy or useful as an information source, or how to find primary sources. Public branch librarians tell patrons how to use inter library loans (ILL) to gain access to a greater range of information documents, and frequently are asked to demonstrate new technologies. Librarians in schools and public libraries often provide computer and information media assistance and training.
Librarians who specialize in age groups, such as children’s or young adult literature, focus their attentions on providing appropriate and relevant information to these sometimes under-supported groups. A young adult librarian working in a public library would focus on providing a comfortable physical space, as well as a collection of documents that a typical young adult in the community would find relevant. This might consist of a selection that contains age appropriate materials, popular fiction, and other requested information resources. A children’s librarian plays a similar role when they select, arrange and prominently display books or media of interest to a variety of differently-aged children.
Some youth and reference librarians even assist in homework queries, further enabling their users to find accurate results and learn how to utilize information technologies. Workshops on effective search practices and instruction on how to determine if a source is authentic are also important resources for students. Some libraries support IM interfaces to interact with students for homework query assistance. Instruction in computer labs help students learn to utilize tools like word processing software, database and OPAC searches, and Google scholar.
Adult services librarians focus on supporting the needs of adult patrons, including providing access to desired books and computer classes. Public and school libraries offer computer labs where instructional classes can be held, and some feature open labs where patrons can come in and use a computer for information seeking or purely personal reasons. These computer classes are based on a variety of topics, from understanding or mastering new information technology to learning basic computer and Internet literacy or creating a social media profile, and are available to help educate library patrons of all ages.
Each time a librarian selects a new document to add to the collection they are taking into consideration both the collection’s and its users’ needs. These development librarians choose whether a physical document, like a book or magazine, joins the collection or not; similarly, they select appropriate electronic resources, like database subscriptions for access to journal archives. They consider questions like: how up to date the object is, whether it is redundant, is the price reasonable given the value, and ultimately how well it fulfills users’ information needs or wants.
Evidence
My first piece of evidence is a pathfinder assignment from LIBR 243 Systems Analysis. This assignment tasked me with creating a pathfinder on exploring a topic of my choice, but related to the class topic. I chose to explore the history of system analysis in the computer age. I selected several books that seemed useful for people interested in how system analysis has changed with the continued invention of new software, ranging from the 1960’s to contemporary times. I also selected subscription databases that focused on this area of scholarship, as well as website, online journal, and blog resources, and listed the search terms and keywords that I felt would be helpful in discovering further resources, along with advice to researchers.
My second piece of evidence is a moderated book discussion post on “Owly” from LIBR 271A. This assignment tasked me with leading a weekly class discussion on one of my chosen graphic novels. I provided background information about the author and the work as well as additional links to more information and created questions for my classmates to answer. The discussion focused on the intended age group for this graphic novel, whether or not the non-textual storytelling was age appropriate, and if this graphic novel belonged in a school setting. This demonstrates my ability to connect people with relevant information about a resource.
My third piece of evidence is a weekly discussion post called “Bone” from LIBR 268. This post asked me to describe and analyze my experience reading the graphic novel of this name. I provided bibliographic information, a description of the plot of the novel and a breakdown of the major characters. I also gave my personal feedback of the novel, as per the assignment. This shows my ability to discuss and elaborate on a resource for the benefit of others.
Conclusion
No matter the age group of our patrons, there are librarians working to provide services to connect them with the information resources they desire. The methodologies of how this is done will be different based on the library environment; an elementary school librarian in a computer lab will have certain technological resources and will be answering questions from a particular age group, whereas a college reference librarian will have a different set of tools and criteria to work with. Regardless of detail, the service of connecting people to the information they desire is a core function of our profession. Also of importance is providing education to users about what sort of resources are worth their attention and time to learn.