School of Information Resources and Library ScienceInformation Resource Evaluation
LIS 524
University of Arizona, Tucson
Summer Session I, 2005
Instructor: Julia Gelfand, Adjunct Faculty
Contact Information: Applied Sciences Librarian, University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92623-9556
E-mail: jgelfand@uci.edu
Office Phone: 949-824-4971; Office Fax: 949-824-3114
Home Phone: 949-786-4842; Home Fax: 949-559-5424
Cell Phone: 949-307-6630
Office Hours: Fridays from 10-12 am on days when class meets. Do NOT hesitate to contact me in between meetings by eMail or by phone. This is an intensive class & time passes quickly.
Course Meeting Room - SIRLS Conference Room
Class Meeting Schedule – This course will be taught as an intensive seminar on a hybrid in-class / distance model and will move at a pretty fast pace to cover the issues and provide the overview to reference services and evaluation. The course is scheduled to meet for a total of 45 hours but some of that will be conducted as a distance interval. Every student is expected to have access to eMail, and a course listserv will be established to support ongoing discussions about issues, assignments and provide a means to share information, submit assignments, etc. If there is consensus within the class we can meet longer some days than on others as long as we meet the minimum schedule and cover the content. I will be flexible.
Friday, July 1, 2005 from 1-5pm- with 15 min break
Saturday, July 2, 2005 from 8-12; 1-5 - a break in both morning & afternoon and lunch
Sunday, July 3, 2005 - from 8-4 with a morning , lunch & afternoon break
Friday, July 8, 2004 - from 1-5pm
Saturday, July 9, 2005 - from 8-12; 1-5
Sunday, July 10, 2005- from 8-4pm
You may want to bring cold drinks and lunch; as it is uneven what is open on weekends on campus.
Course Description : This course will serve as an introduction to reference work in all types of libraries and information exchange environments, including public, school, academic, special libraries, distance education, commercial electronic encounters, etc. An emphasis is on the variety of reference sources and evaluation methods. The course will be taught in a rather intensive seminar program with guest lecturers. It covers the identification and evaluation of a wide variety of reference materials issued in all formats, and the strategies and skills needed to answer questions asked by library users and information seekers. There is no doubt that the nature of reference has changed significantly, as information is produced and transmitted in digital formats; thus the skill set required to work in this increasingly digital environment has also changed. Not to be forgotten is the added expectations of our user populations in whatever environment they are for better, faster and more relevant assistance. The definition of information remains volatile and our sources & providers of information are in constant transition. We have new concerns about copyright, ethics in our practice, and keeping up with technology becomes a constant challenge in a 24/7 culture. This course will address those changes and upon successful completion of the course, all students should have developed the confidence to take more advanced bibliography courses and to function in a front-line reference capacity.
Students will be required to:
- participate in discussion
- keep up with course readings & assignments
- complete several short exercises
- submit a short seminar paper and participate in a small group in which each member shares the content of their research paper with the class that demonstrates an understanding of best practices for reference services and reference content evaluation
Course Objectives: The intensity of this course will drive the objectives that are:
- Students should learn what the major functions of reference service are in all library environments and what the current trends of service delivery models suggest.
- Students will develop a basic understanding of information seeking behavior.
- Students will learn strategies for identifying solutions to information queries and methods used in the evaluation of information resources.
- Students will develop proficiencies in interpersonal communications in order to participate in effective reference encounters.
- Students will consider methods of incorporating new and emerging technologies to achieve potential in launching a variety of digital reference services.
- Students will become aware of policy and management issues associated with the provision of reference and information services in different cultures.
Grading & Evaluation: The following grid will be the basis of successful completion of the course. Every student has the potential to earn the highest grade as no curve will be used. Class attendance is compulsory. All work must be submitted in grammatical English and typed in 12-font by the last day of the class, unless medical or personal emergency takes place. Students are expected to use standard and consistent citation practice for appropriate formats, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.
Students will be graded on the following scale based on a 100 point maximum. At the conclusion of the course, each student will get a full review of all completed work. When possible, assignments will be graded and evaluated and returned to the students during the course, in order that students can chart progress and know how well they are doing.
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
Academic Integrity – All students are expected to follow the guidelines as described in the University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity (http://w3arizona.edu/~studpubs/handbook/policyframe.html). All written work must be submitted in typed form with sufficient citations and references and can be delivered in person or sent electronically. All students should retain a copy of all submissions as backup.
Course Requirements & Assignments: This course will emphasize the intellectual and physical tool set librarians will need to engage in reference activities. The assignments are designed to meet student needs in order to become a proficient reference librarian and understand the traditional and digital reference environments. Each assignment will be fully explained in class. The instructor advocates that effective and active learning takes place when students are engaged in discussion and exchange.
- Library Observation/Interview –every student must visit a library of some sort, in which they currently do not work and spend at least an hour observing the reference functions and speak to the reference personnel to learn some operational details. A full list of questions and issues will be distributed to guide the engagement. Students will write up their observations in a 3pp maximum essay. Due to be sent to instructor by eMail ( jgelfand@uci.edu – please always state AZ05-524 -your last name & assignment # in the subject line – ex) AZ05-Gelfand-1) by 6pm Thurs., July 7 – (remember libraries will be closed over July 4) - 10 points
- Outside Reading Summaries – each student is expected to read 2 journal articles or book chapters published since 2002, the latest 3 years of the literature, and write a brief abstract on the article to share with the class on a theme related to the course content. Realizing that not everyone can read much in such a short course, this will expose the class to a broader slice of the literature. Topic or theme of reading selection should be evident in course coverage. However, there should not be any evidence that the submitted abstract is the same one that accompanies the article! A good abstract contains:
Hypothesis of article – what is studied
Methodology employed
Relevant environment or context of issues
Brief findings
Conclusion – about relevancy; can hypothesis be supported or refuted
What made this selection so interesting.
Use standard indexing tools, such as Library Literature, ERIC, ABI, Expanded Academic ASAP, EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Current Contents or Web of Science, LISA, Sociological Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts, PsycINFO, any of the course materials, etc to find interesting reading. Ideas may include information seeking behavior, digital reference experiences, reference publishing, etc. that captures your attention. Appropriate and interesting journals may include: Reference Services Review, Journal of Library Administration, Library Administration & Management, Internet Reference Services Quarterly, Reference Librarian, Reference and User Services Quarterly, College & Research Libraries, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Searcher, First Monday, Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, Issues in Science & Technology Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship and any host of many other journals. Conference Proceedings from the Virtual Reference Conference, National Online Meeting, etc.
Students will choose how to circulate and distribute their abstracts – probably via eMail - on a class listserv that I will create and distribute on Monday, July 4. Articles can come from the library/information science, business/management, education, consumer studies, organizational psychology, sociology, and related literatures in print or electronic format – but must include consistent standard citation.
If students choose, they can substitute one journal article by tracking a blog for a week on a relevant topic to the class. For directories of what blog may be of interest, consult
http://www.teachinglibrarian.org/digref.htm
http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html
http://www.unc.edu/~fergusje/lists/library_blogs.html
http://dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Weblogs/
http://stlq.info/archives/cat_related_blogs.html
http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/weblog/library_weblogs.html
introduce how you use a blog, what functionality it has, how much traffic did you experience, how is it maintained & organized, what is its mission & objective, will you continue to follow it?
Join and monitor a relevant listserv – such as Libref-L, etc.
DUE: Friday, July 8 in class. Also send instructor eMail copy to forward to students. 10 points – 5points per abstract.
- Participate in a digital library experience – Send the same reference question to two different ASK A Librarian services and compare the response. Send it to a public library or the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/) AND an academic library. Track the response time; what kind of answer you got, and write up a 1pp essay that describes the experience – how did you introduce yourself; was the source from which the question was answered provided for you to adequately cite; was “instruction” provided so that you could be more self-sufficient in the future with an analogous question; were you satisfied? DUE, Saturday, July 9, 5pm. 10 points – 5 points per question.
- Instruction Session – as instruction is so intrinsically integrated in the reference process, each student will be expected to prepare and offer a 5-8 minute maximum instruction on how to use a general reference tool. Tools may be in different formats and students should compare a print and online resource of the same utility. The tools will be randomly assigned so different types of materials are introduced - students can choose the specific resource in the family of products of: dictionaries, general encyclopedias, subject specific encyclopedia, gazetteer & atlas, literary criticism source, biographical resource, biblical concordance, statistical abstract, indexing & abstracting tools, datasets, source on quotations, etc. Students will be able to use a pc, PowerPoint, overhead transparencies and create handouts, or whatever method they think works to demonstrate the assigned product. Again, more information on this assignment will be shared in class. DUE: Sunday, July 10. – 10 points
- Pathfinder – This assignment will require students to choose a topic of their choice and build a bare yet core reference collection to support the subject. Students will select the scope of the collection, define and introduce the library environment and user community. Very brief annotations for each of 15 items that will cover electronic or print versions of atlas, handbook, 2 dictionaries, subject encyclopedia, almanac, yearbook, 2 statistical sources, biographical source, relevant quotation collection, 2 abstracting and indexing tools, and 2 general reference works. Emphasis is on the evaluation and selection criteria for each inclusion. Students can elect to prepare in electronic or print format. If done in e-format, submission of print copy is required. Students should collect examples from library visits to give them ideas as well as review some subject pages on library websites. DUE: no later than Wednesday, July 13 @ 6pm – 15 points. (Let me know if you are interested in sharing these with the class.)
- Group Assignment – Students will work in assigned groups of 3-4 students and will explore how to introduce a new digital reference service in a public or academic or special library. It should reflect a “best practices model.” Each group will do exploratory work, create a business model, put into a context why such a service is needed, survey the library field and demonstrate exactly how it will function. Examples of the technologies will be demonstrated as part of the group exercise to the entire class. Each student will write up his/her own part of the project in a 5-7 pp paper. Instructor will work closely with each group and direct the project. Some class time will be devoted to group meeting opportunities. 20 points will be individually assigned for the paper and 15/35 points will be the group grade that all members will get. DUE: Wednesday, July 20 @ 6pm – 35 points total. More information will be shared in class and D2L will be used to post project work.
- Classroom Participation – this is a key part of this course, because it gives you a forum in which to hear other people’s ideas and develop your own ideas. You should come prepared to class. Each class meeting will begin with a very brief pick-up on the last session. 10 points.
Textbooks and Recommended Readings – there are many recommended books and reading but no one volume will be used as a standard textbook.
The following titles form a current bibliography of text-like content and supplementary readings and most, if not all of these materials should be readily available at the University of Arizona Library. ** denotes what is an appropriate textbook.
The following titles will be used to guide discussions & if you were to invest in books you may consider:
Bopp, Richard E. and Smith, Linda C., Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000) - this book is scheduled for revision in late 2005 thus was not included as a text.
Janes, Joseph, Introduction to Reference Work in the Digital Age. (NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2003)
Rowley, Jennifer and Farrow, John, Organizing Knowledge: An Introduction to Managing Access to Information, 3 rd. ed., (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000)
Additional Recommended Readings:
American Library Association, Reference and User Services Association. Towards a New Vision of Reference: Kaleidoscopic Collections and Real Librarians. RUSA Occasional Papers, #23, 1997.
Association of College and Research Libraries, Institute for Information Literacy. Best Practices and Assessment of Information Literacy Programs: A Project Plan, 2000. http://www.earlham.edu/~libr/Plan.htm
Association of College & Research Libraries. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, 2000.http://www.ala.org/acrl.html *** will be useful for group project
Besser, Howard, “The Shape of the Twenty-First Century Library,” in Information Imagineering: Meeting at the Interface edited by Milton T. Wolf, et al. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1998: 133-146.
Buckland, Michael, Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1992.
Cassell, Kay Ann, Developing Reference Collections and Services in an Electronic Age. NY: Neal-Schuman, 1999.
Coffman, Steve, “To Chat or Not to Chat?” Searcher, July/August 2004 at
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul04/arret_coffman.shtml
Coffman, Steve, "We'll Take It from Here: Further Developments We'd Like to See in Virtual Reference Software," Information Technology & Libraries, Volume 20, Number 3, September 2001:149-153. Online at: http://www.lita.org/ital/2003_coffman.html/
Coffman, Steve and Susan McGlamery, “The Librarian and Mr. Jeeves,” American Libraries, 31, May 2000, 66-69.
**Curry, Evelyn L, ed., "Technological Advances in Reference: A Paradigm Shift?" Library Trends, vol. 50, #2, Fall 2001, 165-307.
Gibbons, Susan, et al, E-Book Functionality: What Libraries and Their Patrons Want and Expect from Electronic Books. LITA Guide #10. Chicago, IL: ALA, 2003.
Gorman, G.E., ed., Information Services in an Electronic Environment. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001.
Gorman, Michael, Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21 st Century. Chicago, IL: ALA, 2000. Chapter 3, “The Library as Place,” pp. 43-57.
Hadid, Peggy, Web Based Reference Services. http://multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/products/digref/resources.html
Hirko, Buff and Ross, Mary Bucker, Virtual Reference Training: The Complete Guide to Providing Anytime, Anywhere Answers. Chicago, IL: 2004.
Iannuzzi, Patricia, “We are Teaching, But are They Learning: Accountability, Productivity and Assessment,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 25(4) July 1999, 304-5. (on ScienceDirect via Elsevier)
Katz, Bill, ed., "New Technologies and Reference Services," (also published as Reference Librarian, vol. 33 #71.) NY: Haworth Press, 2000.
Katz, William A., Introduction to Reference Work, Vol. 1, 8 th ed., NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2001.
Kennedy, Scott E., ed., Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries, 6 th ed., Chicago, IL: ALA, 1999.
Lankes, R. David, Collins, John W., and Kasowitz, Abby S., eds., Digital Reference Service in the New Millenium: Planning, Management and Evaluation. NY: Neal-Schuman, 2000.
Leonardt, Thomas W., ed., “LOEX” of the West: Teaching and Learning in a Climate of Constant Change. Foundations in Library & Information Science, #34). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1996.
Lessick, Susan, et al, “Interactive Reference Service (IRS) at UC Irvine: Expanding Reference Service Beyond the Reference Desk.” Presented at ACRL, Detroit, 1999. http://www.ala.org/acrl/paperhtm/a10.html
Library of Congress. Collaborative Digital Reference Service.http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/digiref/papers.html
Libutti, Patricia O’Brien, ed, Librarians as Learners, Librarians as Teachers: The Diffusion of Internet Expertise in the Academic Library. Chicago, IL: ACRL, 1999.
Lipow, Anne, Serving the Remote User: Reference Service in the Digital Environment. 1999. http://www.csu.edu.au/special/online99/proceedings99/200.htm
Marchionini, Gary, Information Seeking in Electronic Environments. NY: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, A Place at the Table: Participating in Community Building. Chicago, IL: ALA, 2000.
McDougald, Dana and Bowie, Melvin, Information Services for Secondary Schools. Westport, CT: Greenwood press, 1998.
Miller, William, “Breaking the Pattern of Reference Work Burnout,” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 18, November 1992, 280-1.
Miller, William, “Logic and Passion at the Reference Desk,” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 11, May 1985, 73-74.
**Miller, William, “What’s Wrong with Reference?” American Libraries, May 1984, 303-306, 321-322.
Miller, William, “Causes and Cures for Inaccurate Reference Work,” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 13, May 1987, 71-73.
Montanelli, Dale S., and Stenstrom, Patricia, eds., People Come First: User-Centered Academic Library Service. Chicago, IL: ACRL, 1999.
**Nolan, Christopher W., Managing the Reference Collection. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1998. ISBN 0-8389-0748-2. $27.00
Pantry, Sheila, and Griffiths, Peter, Creating a Successful E-Information Service. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
Quinn, Mary Ellen, ed., Reference Books Bulletin, 2002-2003: A Compilation of Evaluations. Chicago, IL: ALA: BookList Publications, 2004.
Radford, Marie L., The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library. Chicago, IL: ACRL, 1999.
Raspa, Dick and Dane Ward, eds, The Collaborative Imperative: Librarians and Faculty Working Together in the Information Universe. Chicago, IL: ALA, 2000.
Richardson, John V., ed., Knowledge-Based Systems for General Reference Work. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1995.
Saricks, Joyce G., and Brown, Nancy, Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library, 2d ed.. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1997.
Sauers, Michael and Adkins, Denice, Using the Internet as a Reference Tool: A How To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. NY: Neal-Schuman, 2001.
Saxton, Matthew L. and Richardson, John V., Understanding Reference Transactions: Transforming an Art into a Science. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2002.
Sloan, Bernie, E-Mail Reference Sites. http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/e-mail.html
Stalker, John C., “Reference: Putting Users First,” in Montanelli, Dale S. and Patricia F. Stenstrom, People Come First: User Centered Academic Library Service. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1999.
Su, Di, "Evolution in Reference and Information Services: The Impact of the Internet." Also published as the Reference Librarian, vol. 35 #74. NY: Haworth, 2002.
Thomsen, Elizabeth, Rethinking Reference: The Reference Librarian’s Practical Guide for Surviving Constant Change. NY: Neal-Schuman, 1999.
**Tyckoson, David A., “What’s Right with Reference?” American Libraries, 30, 5, May 1999, 57-63 - available online via Expanded Academic
**Tyckoson, David A., “On the Desirableness of Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers: The Past and the Future of Reference Service,” Reference Services Review 31 (1):12-16, 2003 - available online via Emerald.
Weingand, Darlene E., Customer Service Excellence: A Concise Guide for Librarians. Chicago, IL: ALA, 1997.
Reading Assignments and Session Coverage – (subject to modest revision)
Friday , July 1– course overview; introduction of instructor & class members; review of expectations, assignments, glossary;
2:00 - Briefing with the Liaison Librarian to SIRLS, Mary Feeney from the University of Arizona Library at 2pm;
3:30 - Meet with Jennifer Sweeney, doctoral candidate from UCLA and have briefing about her research in new functions and skill-sets for reference librarians in different settings
Assignment: Read Miller (1984), Tyckoson (1999), Tyckoson (2003);
Saturday, July 2 – History of Reference Services; Nature of Reference Today; Ethics; Reference Tools: Bibliographies, Catalogs, Indexes, Databases, Encyclopedias.
Recap of Summer 2005 Professional Library Conferences, new information products and relevant technology applications
Reference Observation
Reference Interview
Group Time
Sunday, July 3 – Reference Interview & Interaction; Communication between Library Patron and Librarian; Role-playing exercise; Services to specialized & diverse populations; Recap of Radford; Group Time
Assignment : Homework assignments; review websites of library affiliations of guest speakers.
Friday, July 8 - Review of Reference Observation Assignment; Reference Services; beginning of Reference Collection analysis – overview, scope, content, evaluation; selection vs acquisition; space issues; format considerations; etc. Reference Tools: continued – Dictionaries, Biographical, Geographical Sources; Group Time
Assignment – work on Pathfinder
Saturday, July 9 – Electronic Age – Review of Cassell volume, Thomsen. Digital Reference; will show excerpts of video from DuPage experience; New Reference Products - ie) Reference Universe; XREFER.com; etc. Review Assignment #2 Readings.
10:00am Guest Lecturers: Romaine Ahlstrom, Head of Reader Services at the Huntington Library and Dan Strehl, Librarian Emeritus from the Hollywood Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library will explore “Reference Activities: Training, Outreach, and the Ambiguity of Roles with Services and Collections.”
1:30 pm Guest Lecturer - Tom Farmer, Reference Supervisor, Tucson Pima Public Library will address "Reference Collections & Services in the Public and School Library Environments."
Sunday, July 10 – Instruction, Information Literacy, Core Competencies, Building Communities; Instruction Sessions & Critiques; Review Assignment 3 Digital Reference Submission (Check out http://lii.org/, and Wasik, Joanne, M. “Digital Reference Resources” (retrieved July 13, 2004) - http://www.vrd.org/pubinfo/proceedings99_bib.shtml
and the influence of the Internet Public Library; Group time; Course De-briefing.
All work must be completed and submitted by Wednesday, July 20 @ 6pm.
