I do feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of resources we've used and experienced in this course. However, I am excited about all of the information I've come across that is so readily available (that I really didn't take the time to realize was there).
So, are the homework research questions driving me crazy? Kind of....ok, yes, but only the ones I have a hard time answering/finding. Sounds terrible, but it is the honest truth and way of my researching madness.
I find myself wanting to instantly Google the searches I am having difficulty with finding elsewhere, but I try to allow myself to at least look at 4 to 5 different sources (print and online) before I given to the Google temptation.
For instance, in the last homework assignment, I had some difficulty locating an answer to one of the biographic questions. All I had to go one was the person's name and the fact that it was a man (because it referred to the person as he in the "write what he is known for" statement). So, I looked at all the online encyclopedia sources I knew of, then the Fact Finder website, then I went to printed sources (again encyclopedias and biographical items)....and nothing. So, I gave into to Google... and behold, I found my answer. Did I think the source was reputable? Kind of, only because it was a historical society. Otherwise, my only other option was the infamous Wikipedia. lol
For the most part I do cringe at some of the searches we have to do, but I am really trying my best to make the most of the research and reference aspect of this course. I want to be able to be able to help patrons to the best of my ability in my line of work (and honestly, I want to know where to find things for myself as well).
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Project 2: Proposal to create Reference Library
Dear President of this proposal and Board Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the Creating New Libraries grant. I am sure you will find Joe Six Pack Library a wonderful place for the public to again enjoy reading. Our new library is a public library with the intended user to be the youth in the small, yet mighty town of Ada, Oklahoma. This library will allow expanded learning opportunities through programs and services for the youth of Ada that encourage reading, learning, and cultural diversity understanding; through a strong reference collection and services that will provide timely and accurate information in a variety of formats.
Since the nearest recognizable cities are Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (90 minutes away) and Dallas, Texas (3 hours away), the need for an innovative and new library in the small progressive City of Ada. Known as a great town for businesses to expand, (http://www.adaworks.org/Default.aspx) the residents of this small town passed a sales tax to help increase economic opportunities. This allowed the workforce competitive pay and new opportunities to grow and develop. With just over 16,500 residents (U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder, http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=ada&_state=04000US40&_county=ada&_cityTown=ada&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph), the population is primarily white (almost 74%) and American Indian (just at 15 %). Twenty five percent of Ada residents age 25 and older have a bachelor’s or advanced college degree, while 79% is a High School graduate or higher. (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=ada&_cityTown=ada&_state=04000US40&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y).
Though Ada is a hopeful city with many possibilities for businesses to one day expand, it is currently a home of industries such as manufacturing, service, and high-tech sectors (Ada’s city website: http://www.adaok.com/demographics.htm). The three main industries in Ada are: Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; manufacturing; Government workers (local, state, and/or federal). With a high desire to better educate themselves, Ada residents currently have two public libraries within the city limits: the East Central University Library (academic) and the Hugh Warren Memorial Library. The East Central University Library is housed at the four-year college (City of Ada website: http://www.adaok.com/demographics.htm) and thus is not all that beneficial to children. It is open Monday – Thursday from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. A special note is posted on the College’s website, http://www.ecok.edu/library/information/hours.asp, states that “there is no Reference help from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Thursdays or anytime on Saturdays.
The Hugh Warren Memorial Library is a great public library. It is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (http://www.adapl.okpls.org/) however, since it is the only library that is open to the public, there is a need for an additional public library due to the demands of the schools and increasing children’s population. There are 17 schools in Ada, (http://oklahoma.publicschoolsreport.com/schools/OK/Ada.html), ten elementary schools (only one serving Preschool to First grade students), three junior high schools, three high schools, and one college.
The Joe Six Pack Library will be a brand new, state of the art library in this town with expanded hours of operation to help not only school-aged children and any daytime users, but to also offer more study and research opportunities to students from middle school through college. The new library will be opened from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday – Friday, Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. These hours of operation should supplement the other two library’s hours and also be a little more inviting than the college library for the upper grade level students that may currently have to go to the college library for reference/research.
Some services that will be provided to the new library’s users will include a reference/research center, an interlibrary loan department to borrow and loan library materials to the other two libraries within in the town of Ada, and a professional and friendly support center that will be updated with accurate and timely reference sources.
The Joe Six Pack Library staff believe in the motto that the patron comes first with a strong emphasis on supplying great customer service. The reference staff, clerical staff, and shelving staff, as well as volunteers will be the best fit for the library visitors. The staff will be amiable and approachable to all library users.
The reference area of the Joe Six Pack Library will be located in the middle of the library and serve all library patrons. The central access point of the reference desk will be circular in shape instead of a traditional desk facing one direction. The design of the reference desk is to help welcome any users to take advantage of the services available at the desk and the surrounding reference collection. Typical reference materials will include the most recent True Value Summaries, consumer guides (i.e. Car and Driver books, Kelly Bluebooks), almanacs, encyclopedias, subject specific encyclopedias, statistical data books, dictionaries and thesauri, atlases & maps, yearbooks, local documents, library and information science items (i.e. Library Journals and The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes by Charles Seife), genealogy and family history items (The American Resting Place: 400 Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds by Marilyn Yalom), college catalogs, phonebooks, and much, much more.
Caddy corner to the reference desk will be various online public access computers for patrons to use to browse the library collections on their own and/or to take advantage of the online subscriptions to various databases available to library card holders. These public access computers will be separate from the internet stations/computer area of the library. The types of online databases will include Ebscohost, Grolier online, Worldbook Online Reference, Heritage Quest, Opposing Viewpoints, Novelist, etc. Another service that will also be available will be online homework help, an “Ask a Librarian” feature, and downloadable audiobooks for an overall library 2.0 experience.
With this grant, all of these amazing features would become reality and allow the wonderful residents of Ada an opportunity to continue to grow educationally and have additional resources for them at every level of necessity. From school-aged children to adults trying to sell their vehicle, all patrons will have a chance to enjoy this state-of-the-art library. Thank you for your consideration of this grant proposal. I and the residents of Ada, anxiously await your response.
Sincerely,
My First Name & Last Name
Library Designer Extraordinaire
Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the Creating New Libraries grant. I am sure you will find Joe Six Pack Library a wonderful place for the public to again enjoy reading. Our new library is a public library with the intended user to be the youth in the small, yet mighty town of Ada, Oklahoma. This library will allow expanded learning opportunities through programs and services for the youth of Ada that encourage reading, learning, and cultural diversity understanding; through a strong reference collection and services that will provide timely and accurate information in a variety of formats.
Since the nearest recognizable cities are Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (90 minutes away) and Dallas, Texas (3 hours away), the need for an innovative and new library in the small progressive City of Ada. Known as a great town for businesses to expand, (http://www.adaworks.org/Default.aspx) the residents of this small town passed a sales tax to help increase economic opportunities. This allowed the workforce competitive pay and new opportunities to grow and develop. With just over 16,500 residents (U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder, http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=ada&_state=04000US40&_county=ada&_cityTown=ada&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph), the population is primarily white (almost 74%) and American Indian (just at 15 %). Twenty five percent of Ada residents age 25 and older have a bachelor’s or advanced college degree, while 79% is a High School graduate or higher. (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=ada&_cityTown=ada&_state=04000US40&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y).
Though Ada is a hopeful city with many possibilities for businesses to one day expand, it is currently a home of industries such as manufacturing, service, and high-tech sectors (Ada’s city website: http://www.adaok.com/demographics.htm). The three main industries in Ada are: Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; manufacturing; Government workers (local, state, and/or federal). With a high desire to better educate themselves, Ada residents currently have two public libraries within the city limits: the East Central University Library (academic) and the Hugh Warren Memorial Library. The East Central University Library is housed at the four-year college (City of Ada website: http://www.adaok.com/demographics.htm) and thus is not all that beneficial to children. It is open Monday – Thursday from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. A special note is posted on the College’s website, http://www.ecok.edu/library/information/hours.asp, states that “there is no Reference help from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Thursdays or anytime on Saturdays.
The Hugh Warren Memorial Library is a great public library. It is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (http://www.adapl.okpls.org/) however, since it is the only library that is open to the public, there is a need for an additional public library due to the demands of the schools and increasing children’s population. There are 17 schools in Ada, (http://oklahoma.publicschoolsreport.com/schools/OK/Ada.html), ten elementary schools (only one serving Preschool to First grade students), three junior high schools, three high schools, and one college.
The Joe Six Pack Library will be a brand new, state of the art library in this town with expanded hours of operation to help not only school-aged children and any daytime users, but to also offer more study and research opportunities to students from middle school through college. The new library will be opened from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday – Friday, Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. These hours of operation should supplement the other two library’s hours and also be a little more inviting than the college library for the upper grade level students that may currently have to go to the college library for reference/research.
Some services that will be provided to the new library’s users will include a reference/research center, an interlibrary loan department to borrow and loan library materials to the other two libraries within in the town of Ada, and a professional and friendly support center that will be updated with accurate and timely reference sources.
The Joe Six Pack Library staff believe in the motto that the patron comes first with a strong emphasis on supplying great customer service. The reference staff, clerical staff, and shelving staff, as well as volunteers will be the best fit for the library visitors. The staff will be amiable and approachable to all library users.
The reference area of the Joe Six Pack Library will be located in the middle of the library and serve all library patrons. The central access point of the reference desk will be circular in shape instead of a traditional desk facing one direction. The design of the reference desk is to help welcome any users to take advantage of the services available at the desk and the surrounding reference collection. Typical reference materials will include the most recent True Value Summaries, consumer guides (i.e. Car and Driver books, Kelly Bluebooks), almanacs, encyclopedias, subject specific encyclopedias, statistical data books, dictionaries and thesauri, atlases & maps, yearbooks, local documents, library and information science items (i.e. Library Journals and The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes by Charles Seife), genealogy and family history items (The American Resting Place: 400 Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds by Marilyn Yalom), college catalogs, phonebooks, and much, much more.
Caddy corner to the reference desk will be various online public access computers for patrons to use to browse the library collections on their own and/or to take advantage of the online subscriptions to various databases available to library card holders. These public access computers will be separate from the internet stations/computer area of the library. The types of online databases will include Ebscohost, Grolier online, Worldbook Online Reference, Heritage Quest, Opposing Viewpoints, Novelist, etc. Another service that will also be available will be online homework help, an “Ask a Librarian” feature, and downloadable audiobooks for an overall library 2.0 experience.
With this grant, all of these amazing features would become reality and allow the wonderful residents of Ada an opportunity to continue to grow educationally and have additional resources for them at every level of necessity. From school-aged children to adults trying to sell their vehicle, all patrons will have a chance to enjoy this state-of-the-art library. Thank you for your consideration of this grant proposal. I and the residents of Ada, anxiously await your response.
Sincerely,
My First Name & Last Name
Library Designer Extraordinaire
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Blog#5
I indeed have been introduced to many new resources over the past few weeks, many resources that are readily available on the Internet. I think that if I had used Google to search for statistics or country profiles that, I would not have found any of the resources we've used in our class thus far. I have a hard enough time finding the information I need through our school's library databases and or other databases subscribed by the local libraries I have been using. Point being, there is A LOT of information out there and I don't have the time to weed through 1,00s of hits/links if I were to conduct a Google or other search engine search on the web.
So, how do people researching statistics and biographical information determine if the information they have found on the Internet is accurate? Well, that depends. If the information is from an on-line source, my recommendation would be to pay close attention to the type of website. Safer to use/trust websites for stats in particular would be those ending in .gov or .edu (i.e. http://www.fedstats.gov/, http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm).
In doing this blog, I came across a good evaluating websites for accuracy website: http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html. Check it out. See how it ends in .edu? It is a scholarly website. Or try this one, from Cornell (it is more esthetically pleasing with the chart layout): http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html.
The info available on the web is not only overwhelming, but sometimes ridiculous. Try to stick to familiar websites that would steer you away from your academic goal, and all should be fine. Or, of course, go to the Ref. section of your local library and eliminate a lot of your worry. (I just did a plug for us library peeps, in case you didn't notice. ;)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Blog reflection #4
First of all, I would not want the responsibility for the decision of what to budget for a ref. collection. With that, however, I would try to think first and foremost for the specific library users. For instance, some things I would need to figure out first, is if a majority of our library patrons have computers at home and how many of them actually log on to our lib. website to search its catalog or take advantage of the online subscriptions that are already posted.
Then, of course, I would analyze how many "in-house" patrons use the O-Pacs our library issued computer stations for research/database purposes.
Even though I am a little biased toward printed material vs. electronic, I think if I was given a budget and the responsibility of purchasing ref. materials, I would definitely have some initial research to do. This would enable me to figure out, and balance how much, and what kind of printed items would need to be ordered, and what types of online subscriptions should be purchased that would best benefit the library user.
I also think that some (and I mean some) online ref. sources are more efficient than printed ones. For example, if I were to purchase an entire new set of encyclopedias each year or billing cycle, would they circulate or really just be used as ref. items? If the later, than I think patrons (including myself) would benefit more my logging into the lib. website to use their online sources from home or at the library. Why? It is just easier to type, click and type than to drive down to the lib. to find that the book needed cannot be checked out. That is my theory anyway.
So print v. electronic references....50/50. I guess it depends on the library, it demographic, users and technology based patrons.
Then, of course, I would analyze how many "in-house" patrons use the O-Pacs our library issued computer stations for research/database purposes.
Even though I am a little biased toward printed material vs. electronic, I think if I was given a budget and the responsibility of purchasing ref. materials, I would definitely have some initial research to do. This would enable me to figure out, and balance how much, and what kind of printed items would need to be ordered, and what types of online subscriptions should be purchased that would best benefit the library user.
I also think that some (and I mean some) online ref. sources are more efficient than printed ones. For example, if I were to purchase an entire new set of encyclopedias each year or billing cycle, would they circulate or really just be used as ref. items? If the later, than I think patrons (including myself) would benefit more my logging into the lib. website to use their online sources from home or at the library. Why? It is just easier to type, click and type than to drive down to the lib. to find that the book needed cannot be checked out. That is my theory anyway.
So print v. electronic references....50/50. I guess it depends on the library, it demographic, users and technology based patrons.
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