Back to School Work

Ok, I pretty much just lost the post that I wrote under this heading - my first blogging mishap. ARGH!! I'm thinking that the loss of the original post may be a sign that since I was writing about my need to buckle down and do some homework, I really should not worry about it. Unfortunately, that won't work. I have been spending a great deal of time thinking about, reading about, writing about and thinking some more about OPACs and how to make them better. While this has been great for helping me come to grips with this issue, it hasn't been so great for my school work.

So, I resolve to :

• dedicate my entire evening doing homework - committing AACR2 rules to memory (ok, that may not happen)
• dedicate some time every day to working on homework
• get cracking on my cataloging assignment that is due on June 26th
• end my blogging addiction. Fortunately, help is available.

Additional Thoughts on the OPAC

Helene Blowers at Library TechBytes points out that we, in the library community, share responsibility for the state of our ILS systems. She suggests that we have demanded that ILS vendors create specialized systems that are tailored to our individual organization with little thought of flexibility. I would agree. I think that today's mind set of being able to customize programs and interfaces per library, but more importantly per user, is a relatively recent concept. Helene also points out how difficult it is to change people's habits. Again, I agree. Many library people are not unhappy with their ILS systems and/or OPACs. They may accept them because "this is the way it has always been done," because they actually don't find a problem with it or for any number of other reasons. Many people do not like change - they will accept something the way it is simply because they prefer the devil they know to the one they do not. Overcoming this attitude is hard. It requires agents of change who can gently handly many types of personalities. Only when a group is ready for change, can we move forward. Achieving this desired change requires a great deal of self-examination (library as self). Re-examining circulation and collection procedures should definitely be revisited. A natural part of Library 2.0 (or just normal evolution - I like Meredith Farkas am not a big fan of labels) should always about questioning existing policies and procedures on a regular basis.

So ultimately, we aren't just looking at ways to improve our OPAC. I think we are looking to improve our libraries and our way of business. Most of our policies and procedures were developed before the internet, before the advent of full-text resources, etc. Maybe we should be starting by looking at our mission statements, reexaming our services, question everything, think about all aspects of our day-to-day business. Only when we truly understand ourselves can we even begin to try and understand our patrons. Hopefully, if we do it right, we will be better able to deal with future changes in a more timely manner.

The OPAC Debate Continues. . .

John Blyberg over at blyberg.net put together a wrap up of recent blog conversations about the state of the library ILS/OPAC. This is a great post and worthy of a perusal or two - there are some good comments too. On the first subject regarding difficulty with ILS vendors, I feel compelled to keep silent. I do work in systems in an academic library - with a vendor supplied ILS. However, this blog is not associated with my place of work - and my opinions on the matter are only my own. Decisions about our ILS and our OPAC are made by a larger group of which I am but a small part (I may have more influence as the sys admin, but I do not work in a bubble). I do believe it is not fair for me to discuss my opinions of our vendor in this particular forum. I will say that blogs are revolutionizing the ways in which customers can do research about companies and their products. Vendors (as well as customers) need to be aware of the implications of their actions - especially those actions that deal with trying to stifle or intimidate people's right to free speech (or for customers - actions that may unfairly malign a company name).

As for OPACs, John's summation of Peter Murray's Is the Writing on the Wall for the Integrated Library System? got me thinking about several things. Like John, I agree with Peter that the "ILS/OPAC" is an an asset management system tool - one which the library needs in order to operate. I would also agree that OPACs do get used - and add that this is the case in academic libraries as well. Students do tend to gravitate towards database aggregators to find full-text articles first, but they do use OPACs to search for materials with remarkable frequency (remarkable given that recent debates often give the impression that OPACs are unusable). In the library where I work, we could not survive without our OPAC (sucky or not). This does make the OPAC a useful tool as an interface into our ILS. It may not be the best interface and it may not even be the right solution to meet the needs of our users, but right now it is really the only window into the ILS that we have.

Additionally, this post really made me think about the tendency to lump our criticisms of ILSs and OPACs into one bundle. I wonder if this is a mistake. The user doesn't care one bit about our ILS and what it does (or doesn't do). It cares about the interface and the ease of finding information. Users don't want to restrict their search to just our asset management system. As such, I think it would be helpful to separate the two discussions. What we want from our ILS vendor or open-source systems is very different from what our users want/need in our interface into that system. I also think that by lumping the ILS/OPAC together, people tend to focus on the problems with the OPAC rather than on the back end of the interface. To build a better system, I really believe that we need to think of these two entities independently - because they both need revamping. Determine what the user needs. Determine what the library needs. Then, make sure your ILS the information required by both. Anyway, it helps me tremendously to think of the ILS and the OPAC as separate entities.

I do also like John's take on my post Are We Really Ready to Say Goodbye to the Sucky OPAC? From my perspective in a small academic library, we are only just starting to develop the "vision, passion, and courage" that is necessary for change. Right now, I feel like the most important thing that I can do is to help get those I work with to develop a vision, a plan and a purpose. I've said before that without buy in from those with whom we work, we would only be imposing change - which I can only see as hurting the end user. Meanwhile, we work on small change within our current infrastructure - and this is the best thing that we can do for our users at the moment. Some have suggested that spending time on broken systems may be a waste. However, I can't agree. Current OPACs can be made more usable. And I think this is also an important step in this whole process. If nothing else, it helps us define and refine the user experience.

What Doesn’t Work So Well Online

This summer, I am taking ILS506 - Information Analysis and Organization (aka the cataloging class). Only in the third week of class, it has become incredibly apparent to me that this is one class that would be much easier in a traditional classroom setting. I have a reasonably good background in MARC format, indexing rules, LCSH, authority work, etc. I worked as a government documents assistant and did copy cataloging of said government documents for several years. Despite this, reading and figuring out AACR2 rules on your own is a highly difficult task. Online classes take self-discipline, but a class with incredibly detailed oriented (and confusing as heck) rules requires more than simple self discipline. I have read the relevant sections of AACR2. However, reading them is no way to get the intricacies of creating Title statements / Statement of responsibility in MARC 245 fields. I would think that working through examples in a classroom setting with guidance from the professor would be wonderful!!!!!

This is in no way a criticism of my current class. The professor has provided detailed answers to the exercises and notes based on discussion questions raised by students. I think he is doing a great job so far. This is just an observation - and is the first time I have missed the face-to-face interaction. I really need to sit down and spend much more time doing the exercises. I think that repetition will be the key to getting some of this stuff down pat. And, yes, I so badly want to look at official cataloging records in OCLC - but I will persevere in order to learn this stuff!!!

Academic library 2.0 concept model

Academic library 2.0 concept model
Originally uploaded by habibmi.

Wow! I love this model. I think it is right on - and a great way to envision the role of the library. I guess I've never really thought about libraries sitting physically between the social and academic parts of the student experience in college. It seems like such a simple concept - yet not one that everyone grasps. I think many academic libraries identify solely with the academic part of the college experience - and this might account for some of the hesitation in adopting social software. Often if something doesn't support the academic mission of the college, it gets vetoed. However, it would be difficult to argue that libraries are not social spaces - just social spaces in which academic endeavors take place. Michael Habib argues that libraries have traditionally straddled the social and physical parts of a student's life. With some thought, I agree - but I'm not sure many library people think about libraries in this light. A big thanks to Michael Habib for posting this.

Image from habibmi - Flckr
Michael Habib's blog entry - Conceptual model for Academic Library 2.0

Are We Really Ready to Say Goodbye to the Sucky OPAC?

Comments** from Jane from A Wandering Eyre on my last post started me thinking about what our expectations for the OPAC and its reincarnation are (and even what they should be). I am extremely excited about the conversations taking place about library catalogs. They are a great step forward in the evolution of library systems. I personally believe that the OPAC needs a complete overhaul, but is this a realistic expectation for the immediate future? From my perspective working in systems in a small academic library, I am positive that our OPAC will be our main interface for the public for the forseeable future. This means that regardless of what we think our systems should be, we need to deal with the situation at hand. So, this leads me to ask - are we really ready to say goodbye to the sucky OPAC?

While I know that there is a whole group of library bloggers who would shout YES to this question, I really can't imagine that most libraries would be able to ditch their OPAC in the immediate future. Most of us are not at this point. First of all, there isn't enough buy in from library staff. And this is a big point. As much as forcing change on users is not a good idea, it isn't any better to force it on library staff. Second of all, major changes require planning (many people have commented about the pace of change in libraries) be it for budgetary support, technological support or just for good implementation. And at this point, there isn't a good consensus about what it is that we need in place of the OPAC. There is no system in place from which we at smaller institutions can use to build upon. Third, the amount of money we have invested in our current library system means it isn't going anywhere soon. Regardless of whether this should be the case, it is.

So, this is why I think it is important to spend time tweaking our current systems to make them more usable. Just because the system is sucky doesn't mean that we should just accept it until we come up with something better. I think just giving up on our current systems would do a disservice to our users.

Ultimately, for those who think we need to chuck our sucky OPACs out the door and move on, I would be incredibly interested to hear their views on what would replace it. What is the vision? How does it work? How do we implement it? Do we even know what it should be? (I know I don't know enough about the users needs and search habits at my library to think I have a handle on this.) I'm obviously still formulating my thoughts on this issue - and haven't gotten far beyond the realization that our current systems are not cutting it.

Update to Post - 6/15/06
**Jane's comments were posted to my wordpress blog - additional comments on A Wandering Eyre

The Main Reason I think OPACs are a Problem

Adding the discussion about why OPACs suck, Jane from A Wandering Eyre elaborated on her belief that her OPAC sucks with some solid reasons why (in a post entitled Actual Reasons Why My OPAC Sucks). All of her reasons are right on the money. I would have to add that the Main Reason I Think OPACs are a Problem is simply because it isn’t clear to most users what they are designed to do. We certainly point them to the catalog to find hard copies of materials, but users do not come into the library understanding how this works.

The function of OPACs is not clear to average library users.

Anyway, I like this part of the “Sucky OPAC” debate the best. In order to find ways to improve our systems (or build better ones), we have to have a solid idea of what we need (or at the very least what we need to get rid of). We can’t fully predict what funtionality would make our users think more often of using library systems. For many of us, it is apparent that we need to do something in order to provide better service to our patrons.

The theoretical debates about OPACs are somewhat centered around the perfect system to replace OPACs. However, I think that we need to be seriously thinking about what we can do to improve the situation with our current systems. My OPAC is not going away, so I need to try and figure out creative ways of working with it to provide better service here and now.

The Motivation Behind the Search

In reading different blog posts, articles, listserv emails, etc. about problems with library search mechanisms, one will inevitably come across conversations regarding the debate over dumbing down library web sites. There are many who believe that users need to be taught to use library services and that we are "dumbing down" our systems if we remove or reconfigure little used functionality. While I personally understand the arguments on both sides of the debate, I find the overall debate to be a bit off-putting. A recent post by Iris at Pegasus Librarian included the following phrase:

. . . "What's Better? Dumbed Down or Loaded with Functionality" (don't get me started on the ideology of "either-or" that's inherent in this question).

This phrase made me realize that I am bothered by the debate because of the inherent "either-or." Trying to make search mechanisms easier to use for our patrons isn't dumbing them down. By the same token, there may be some things that a user needs to learn to use a library effectively. We can't expect users to learn complicated systems (subject searchine with Library of Congress Subject Headings comes to mind immediately), but they will probably be able to learn how to use intuitive and friendly systems with decent interfaces. People do learn how to use search sites such as Google, Amazon and Ebay - even though they may not realize they are learning as they search. This makes the learning process seemless to the patron - something that we should strive for in designing library systems.

Iris makes another point about the motivation of the user. Someone who believes that a system has the information they need may well make several attempts to find the answer. The problem here is that the majority of library users don't know or don't believe that our library systems have any information they need - but they do believe that Google has answers. While I am not specifically trying to say that users would be able to successfully use our systems if they knew what they contained (we still need better systems), I do think that this highlights the need for better marketing. Better marketing is an integral piece of this whole puzzle.

Unit 2 - Descpritive Cataloging & MARC Structures: Part 1. AACR2, Chapter 1-2

Lecture Notes

Descriptive cataloging & different formats for bibliographic description: ISBD & MARC.

ISBD Areas:
Area 1: MARC 245 field (subfields $a, $b, & $c) - Title & statement of responsibility
Area 2: MARC 250 field (subfields $a & $b) - Edition statement & statement of responsibiity fo edition
Area 3: Not used in bib description of books
Area 4: MARC 260 (subfields $a, $b, $c, $e, $f, & $g) - Place, publisher & date
Area 5: MARC 300 (subfields $a,$b,$c, & $e) - # of volumes, pagination, illustrative matter; dimension, accompanying material

Descriptive cataloging - allows user to find title, publisher, data, & # of pages. Based on rules from 1st part of AACR2.

ISBD & MARC record are different representations of a bibliographic entity. ISBD cards can be generated from MARC data.

Area 1: Title Proper : other title information / statement of responsibilityOne of most complex areas of cataloging record.

Readings & Assignments for Unit 2:
Review & consult AACR2 (1.0-1.1g4 & 2.0-2.1G2).Work through Manheimer's cataloging examples (pp.9-19).2 cataloging assignments based on MARC 245 & 300 fields.

What I Want From a Library - I’m a User Too!!

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about libraries and how they can be improved for our users. This morning (while doing homework), it dawned on me that although I work in a library, I am also a student who uses a library. Maybe I need to step out of my work persona and think about how I use the library as a student - think about what works well and what doesn't. Using a library as a remote user has been a new experience for me - as has enrolling in a distance education program. From a distance, my interaction with the SCSU library has been very different from my previous experiences as a library user.

In this vein, I came up with several observations about what I need from the library in order to support my graduate learning experience. In a nutshell, my first big revelation is that as a distance education student, the library as a physical space doesn't interest me at all. I will never set foot in the library on SCSU's campus, so to me it doen't really exist as an entity. The actual collection of print material is unreal to me - my entire experience of the library will be virtual. The library should silently support my learning experience - in the background. [As a side note, the library does offer great support. The library staff has been excellent at supporting the needs of its distance education students. I have been very impressed. However, I think that migrating library resources into WebCT would offer better service to the students.]

As a student at SCSU, I have at least three different systems that I have to log into: MySCSU - where I read my email and access the student services systems (for registration, grades, etc.), the OnlineCSU system - the WebCT portal where online classes are held, and the library proxy server for off-campus access to resources. All three have different usernames and passwords which is cumbersome. Ideally, I would like to have one interface. I don't want a separate library interface - I think it should be included in one SCSU interface. Since the library isn't a real entity, I don't really want to go to it directly. Access to the library would work best if I could search for information directly from my class portal.

Interlibrary loan is something upon which distance education students have to rely heavily. This is something that I think should be accessible from the WebCT class portal - as opposed to being a separate form accessible from the library's web site. ILL is one of the major services that I need from the SCSU library (along with access to online full-text resources). Ideally, I would also like to be able to have a system that would populate my personal information (name, address, etc) automatically. Currently, I have to fill out a form for each ILL request and type in my name and personal information each time.

Podcasts (or some other type of audio/video feeds) would be wonderful. Faculty could make some of the lectures that they give in traditional classes available to distance students and/or different programs offered on campus could be broadcast. This might make me feel as if I had some type of connection to faculty members and to my fellow students. This would also allow me to feel as if I was a part of the campus community - not to mention some of the programs sound very interesting. Obviously students in a distance education program cannot participate in meetings, clubs and groups without some type of technological wizardry. I believe that if a school is committed to a distance education program, the powers that be need to find alternate ways to make students feel as if they are part of the campus community. (Note to administrators: Such inclusive programs might help students feel as if they are an important and vital part of the school. Think about alumni contributions down the line. If I feel as if I was an important part of your university, I might be more tempted to contribute financially.) How does the library fit into this? I'm not sure. I don't really care what their role is - if they even have one. I just want it all to work well.

I'm sure there will be other thoughts that surface on this issue. For now, I feel as if looking at library services from the perspective of a student has been an eye-opening experience. I can't believe that it took me this long to remember that I work in a library, but that I am a library user and that my experience as a user is can help me make my library a better place for patrons. Wow - where I have been??? This allows me to think about the library where I work in a whole new light.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the library itself is not important to me. The services they offer are important, but I think they should be offered in one central portal with audio/video services to make me feel as if I can participate in campus events.

Library Web Site Redesigns

Dorothea Salo just posted a really great piece about The dreaded redesign over at the TechEssence.Info blog. As my library’s web manager (who just finished a “minor” home page revision), I read this post with extreme interest. I really like Dorothea’s message about breaking down the web site to just content. Looking at sites this way should enable people to focus simply on the content and not get too bogged down in presentation (We often think about the presentation way too early in the design process - sometimes even let the design influence the content). The point about needing to weed material is important also. We often have a tendency to leave material on our web site forever once it is created. Weeding is always a difficult task, but I think it can help eliminate the problem of page bloat.

One of the best things that I got from this post is the idea that we need to be thinking about our sites in their entirety rather than on a page by page basis. Given time restraints, changes to library services, man-power issues and a whole host of other factors, we often have to edit pages without regard to how they fit into the overall picture. We have a design that may or may not work well for our current infrastructure. However, once we make changes to that infrastructure, our web site may become choppy. Things may start to lose their place and the overall design of the page starts to suffer. I personally do not think that this problem will go away until we start to think about how library decisions will impact our web site, our services and how we present material to our users (and get decent content management systems - we are not even close to this point where I work).

I’m really looking forward to the promised future posts about information-architecture tools and techniques. I find web site management to be one of the most challenging aspects of my job and really feel as if these types of discussions help me become better at it. Thanks for taking the time to write about this Dorothea!!

Users: How Do We Understand Their Needs?

In many library blog conversations, one of the central themes is the user - tailoring libraries and library systems to users - viewing our services through the eyes of the user in order to determine how best to improve them. A post by Eric Schnell, What Library Customers Want Vs What They Do? from The Medium is the Message got me thinking more about this issue. Schnell writes:

The issue is not a gap between what librarians think our current customers need and what they think they need. In fact, we are pretty good about understanding our current customer's basic needs (yep, they need everything online so they can print it off!).

Instead, the gap is between what our customers think they need and what they are actually doing! This question is what ethnography tries to answer.

I agree that we are good at understanding our patrons' basic needs (and being able to access everything online so they can print it is highly important at my library too). It is the third sentence that I think we need to think much more about. Ultimately, there is often a definite gap between what users say they need and what their actions imply they may need. In the reference class that I took last this past semester, there were several readings about how reference librarians need to carefully listen to the user and often times negotiate with the user to better understand what the user is asking for. Librarians need to pay attention to body language, mannerisms, etc. in order to hear what may not be explicitly stated. These points were heavily stressed in the readings and especially in the textbook.

I'm wondering if this is why we often make unconscious assumptions about what users want. It seems that we rely heavily upon our own interpretation of events when it comes to the users and have been taught to do so. If it is necessary to make interpretations when helping users with reference questions then it seems to me that we must also make interpretations about what users say they need in terms of library services and systems. How do we do this without imposing our own biases, knowledge-base or without unconsciously deciding what we think is best? How do we truly get a clear picture of our users and what they need?

I think it is obvious that usability testing and studies is one of the main ways that we can figure some of these things out. Users don't always articulate their needs accurately - I think this is because they are often asked to tell us there needs in an artificial situation (a survey). Actually watching them try and find information, answer questions and use services can tell us much more about their habits and about what roadblocks they encounter along the way. I'm actually interested in reading more about the ethnography approach. This sounds like a very interesting way to learn more about users and how to make meet their needs more efficiently.

Unit 1 - Intro. to Info Analysis & Organization - Readings

Lecture Notes

Cataloging work generally takes place behind the scenes. Cataloging is a technology because it is comprised of procedures, machines, conventions, and knowledge. It is a complex procedure.
Information analysis and organization makes up the foundation of information dissemination and use. There are four main activities: acquistion, organization, storage and dissemination of information. The principal responsibilities of the professional librarian are 1)to establish, develop, and maintain information centers to preserve human knowledge, 2)to classify and organize human knowledge, and 3)to make human knowledge accessible.

Cataloging is part of field of bibliographic control which aids in location and retrieval of information - all types of information, not just print resources. Catalogs usually represent one institution's collection.

In 1961, IFLA defined the author/title catalog as one that allows user to figure out if a library has a book based on 1)its author and title 2)its title alone if there is no author or 3)a suitable substitute for the title.

The 1961 Paris Principles required that an author/title catalog allow users to determine which works by an author and which editions of a work were in the library.

Holistic vs. prescriptive technologies:
Holistic technologies - those that allow one to control the procedures and the processes. Prescriptive technologies - transfer control from the individual to the external agent. Cataloging is a prescriptive technology.

Cataloging - 3 activities:
1. description of physical object - based on physical examination - determined by Chaption 1 of AACR2 - need knowledge of AACR2
2. development of access points - main vs. added entries - primary and secondary authorship of work - use of cross referenences (see references and see also references) - use of rules in Part 2 of AACR2 - assignment of topical/subject headings using controlled vocabulary - not covered by AACR2 - use of LC Subject Headings
3. classification - pointer to physical location - allows for browsing - assignment of classification number based on subject and other identifying information to create call number - in class will concentrate on LC call numbers
Importance of LC in support documentation for cataloging.

MARC - Machine Readable Cataloging - LC is responsible for maintaining MARC standards

Chapter 1 from Lois Mai Chan's Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction

Bibliographic control - consists of indexing, classification & descriptive & subject cataloging.
Authority control - use of uniform terms for names and topics (as access points).

Bibliographic records - 2 parts
1) identifying data
2) atleast 1 access point

Main Entry Vs. Added EntriesMain entry - has full description - chief access point - usually the author/corporate body - useful to have standard convention for citation
Forms of Catalog:card catalogbook catalogmicroform catalogonline catalog
Arrangement of Records in Catalogalphabetical vs. systematic (or classified) - shelflist is a variant of a classified catalog

Cataloging Files
1) bibliographic file - represents library holdings - bib record for every item with multiple access points - 2 types of cross references (see and see also)
2) shelflist - subset of bib file arranged in shelf order - usually call number - for inventory control and to facilitate call number assignment - contains additional information like library holdings, notes
3) authority file(s) - standardized forms of names and topical terms that are used as headings (access points and their associated cross-references

Cataloging Procedures
1) descriptive cataloging - preparationof bib descriptions & determination of bib access points - drafting bib info (title, author, edition, place, date of publication, publisher, physical description, series info & notes - deciding on main & added entries as access points - deciding upon proper form for names and titles - done according to accepted standards (AACR2R)
2) subject analysis -subject cataloging - heading assignment & classification from authorized lists (LCSH or Sears)classification - fiting primary topic of work into classification scheme in use (LC or Dewey) - choose appropriate class number & add book number to form call number3) authority work - determination of standardized forms of subject terms and names - entails both descriptive & subject cataloging - access points are normalized and standardized - uniforms headings - headings are established when used for first time - cross-references are provided to allow access to variant names and for linked references (related headings) - authority work is considered to be most time-consuming & costly aspect of cataloging

MARC tagging
3 digit numerical code or field tag - subfields are id'd by alphabetic or numeric subfield code

The User Certainly Isn’t Broken - But Neither is the Library

Last week, K.G. Schneider wrote a very thought provoking post entitled THE USER IS NOT BROKEN: A MEME MASQUERADING AS A MANIFESTO on her blog, Free Range Librarian. I have to say that I spent all weekend pondering this article, thinking about it, and regurgitating it. She has some awesome points: “The user is not broken, ” “The user is the sun,” and my personal favorite, “The most significant help you can provide your users is to add value and meaning to the information experience, wherever it happens; defend their right to read; and then get out of the way.” All of her points are worth a read - and worth further discussion. (Jane, over at A Wandering Eyre, added some of her own suggestions in a post entitled “We Are Broken, Not “Them.”)

I do have a serious problem with the comment that “Your system is broken until proven otherwise.” I am by no means trying to say that library systems are user friendly, intuitive or even ok the way they are. However, nothing is broken - not the user, not the library, not the people who work in the library nor the library systems in use in the library. Without a doubt, we need to be looking at how our users find information and how we can overhaul our search mechanisms to make our collections accessible. But we do have something in place - and I would go so far as to argue that our systems do actually work. People do find materials that they need - on a regular basis even. I honestly think that our OPACs do exactly what they should do - reflect the data that we have entered about the material that we own in print. Period! Given that users are often frustrated in their searches, OPACs do not work at making our information accessible to the user. So maybe OPACs aren’t the answer at all.

Before these problems can be fully solved, we have to have a clear understanding of users and what they are looking for in the library. I would venture to guess that this will vary greatly from one type of library to another and even from one institution to another. Certainly users expect very different things from a public library than they do from an academic one. One of the biggest problems that we have in my library is that students rely primarily on full text articles - and do the majority of their searching to find such articles. Our OPAC is not an appropriate place to search for articles, and they do not understand why that is. Here is a major point of disconnect - we provide tools that don't do what the users expect them to do.

So what is it exactly that we are hoping to provide to our users? Do we want one search interface for everything that we posess? How do we adequately distinguish between virtual items and tangible ones? Is it realistic to expect one system for books, articles, online material, archives, multimedia and more? Do we plan to provide everything online? Have we clearly defined what we can offer our patrons? Do we even know the full extent of our resources? Where does interaction fit in with all of this? Will the ability to post comments and reviews in our systems help the user find what they are looking for? If we remove library jargon from our web site, what do we replace it with? If a user doesn’t understand the term “interlibrary loan,” what would a good alternative be? I struggle with these questions daily. I haven’t found too many good solutions yet - but I keep trying.

In the meantime, we work hard to help users make sense of it all. We work to be friendly and helpful in the ways that our systems aren’t. Our patrons do come back and they think very highly of us. We are not broken at all.

More Grades are In . . .

My grades were posted a bit earlier than expected. The school lists June 5th as the day grades become available online. However, I was psyched to see them listed earlier. Fortunately, I passed both classes. It is kind of nice to see 9 credits towards my degree. That makes me 1/4 of the way done. YEAH!!!!! While I can't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel, I feel as if I am more entrenched in the program.

And on another happy note, my book for my summer class finally came in on Saturday. Now, I feel like things are complete for the summer.

My Summer Class Did Start Yesterday

My summer class - ILS506 Information Analysis and Organization - began yesterday. I was able to successfully log in, get the syllabus and read the unit 1 lecture notes. For assignments this week, we are required to email the professor to let him know that we were able to log into the class, post an introduction to the class discussion and read several items. This week's readings are Understanding MARC, the Preface to Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (2002 edition), the AARC table of contents, AARC general rules for description, chapter 1 and chapter 2 of AARC, chapter 1 from Lois Chan's Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction (2nd edition, 1994) and the introduction, p. ix-xiv, and p.3-9 from Jerry Saye's Manheimer's Cataloging and Classification (4th edition, 2000).

So far everything seems to be going fine. My biggest problem is that my copy of the Manheimer text has not arrived yet. I ordered it on May 17th - which was right after I registered for the class. Unfortunately, it did not ship until May27th - and I am now waiting not-so-patiently for it to arrive. Hopefully, I will see it by early next week. Yet again, getting textbooks is definitely the most stressful part of being in a distance education program. ARGH!!!!!

IT Klingon-Speak

One of my favorite recent posts about the divide between IT staff and non-techies is this post from A Wandering Eyre (I forgot to mention it in yesterday’s post about techies vs non-techies). Jane’s comment that “one group starts speaking Klingon and everything goes all to hell” made me laugh so hard. Sometimes it really does seem that way. I am more often on the side of the tech support staff than the user. But even so, I am often so astounded at how quickly dialog can totally break down. I think this is so typical of interactions between IT and users. There needs to be greater understanding on both sides of this divide and some common ground.

As for the whole “have you tried rebooting” question. It certainly is frustrating. Even when I have to call tech support from one of our many vendors, this is always the first question - despite the fact that the number I am calling is supposed to be for 2nd or 3rd tier support. I think this is just related to fact that quite often, 6 or 7 reboots will make one’s computer happier. Just keep shutting the sucker off and on until it works!!

Techies vs. Non-Techies in and around the Library

A post at LibrarianInBlack today, pointed me to a blog article by David Lee King discussing communication issues between Techies and Non-Techies. This is a subject that I grapple with on a daily basis. As such, I was incredibly interested in reading through all of the different articles and posts - and spent quite a bit of time doing so. One of my favorites was a link to an article entitled How to help someone use a computer by Phil Agre. This article has some great tips about helping people use computers that I think all techies should review often in order to maintain a good relationship with users. Being a techie (and a user) can be difficult - and there is a definite divide between those who understand computers and technology and those who do not. As the primary means of technical support for staff in my library, I am often painfully aware of this technological divide. I have worked hard - very hard to try and bridge that divide.

I think that this divide is the result of a natural tension between technical people and those users they support. Techies have a responsibility to maintain equipment, keep it running smoothly, minimize down time and maintain good security. And they need to do this in spite of users. For many IT people, this makes users a large part of the problem in maintaining equipment. Spyware, viruses and many other problems make maintaining desktops a tricky and difficult task. Users often mistakenly install spyware, open viruses, keep their passwords under their mouse pads and commit many other IT "sins." As a result, many techs feel as if the end user is the greatest threat to security and to computers. However, it is vitally important to note that without users there would be no need for technical support. I constantly remind myself that just because I can spot a virus-infected email and because I can remove spyware myself doesn't mean that this is common knowledge. I am expected to know these things in order to help my coworkers. It is important that users be able to spot viruses attachments and understand about spyware. But, it is my responsibility to give them that knowledge. If we have problems with these things, I can't think of it as a problem with users. There is something else going on - and I need to find a positive way to deal with the situation that empowers users rather than denigrates them. Phil Agre's article has some great tips to help with this.

One of the bizarre things about being a library tech is that I am often on both sides of this natural divide between techs and non-techs. In the library, I am without a doubt The Tech. However, this wasn't always the way that people in the college's IT department saw it. To them, I was another user - one with more requests and more problems than other users. They often did not respect the amount of technology nor the importance of the systems in the library. It took me a long time to convince the IT staff that I had decent technical knowledge, that I knew what I was talking about and that I alleviate some of their burden. I still have to remind them about how firewall changes, network changes etc. will affect our systems. I now regularly attend all IT meetings - and I even think that many of the guys think of me as an honorary IT member. It was a long hard battle to get to this point but I think that this battle has helped me understand the position of the end user a little bit better.

In the meantime, I think that I will put a copy of Phil Agre's article on my bulletin board. I think reading it repeatedly could be a good thing - and help to make me a better tech support person.

Classes Start Tomorrow

I have thoroughly enjoyed the last several weeks without any school work. My summer class, ILS506 - Information Analysis and Organization, starts tomorrow. I plan to enjoy the rest of the day - and hopefully, I will be ready to start work again tomorrow!!!

Most Frustrating Part of Online Classes

All in all, taking classes has been a fairly easy experience. I've had very little trouble registering for classes, taking the classes via WebCT, submitting work online, etc. Additonally, I have been suprised at the lack of technical difficulties. One thing that I did not anticipate having trouble with was getting the textbooks. I had assumed that this would be one of the easiest parts of the entire process - with so many ways to purchase books online. However, textbook lists are not always published far in advance - and sometimes they are never listed. Other items also play a part. For this summer session, I registered for a class. I waited for a long time to order the books, because I suspected that there was a possibility that the class would be cancelled. But, I did order the books. Then, the class was cancelled. I registered for another class. The books for the second class were not listed in book lists on the bookstore's web site nor were they listed on the ILS department's web site. I had to try and track down the books from other sources. At this point, one of the books is available at the library where I work, another one I was able to borrow from a library colleague and the third is still in the mail. I hope that it arrives soon given that classes start tomorrow - although I have been told that it may take two weeks (ARGH!!).

So far book issues have been without a doubt the most frustrating problem associated with getting a degree online. I hope that professors can become more sensitive to this issue in the future. Recently, one student in the online program from Europe recently sent an email appeal to people in the library program asking about textbooks for a class in the fall. Usually, it can take between 6-8 weeks to get textbooks delivered to this student's location. I thought my trials with books were frustrating, but they can't be anything in comparison. I certainly hope that people take notice of this issue. Understandably, it takes time for faculty to prepare their courses and to make textbooks selections. However, in an online program, these tasks need to take place at a fairly accerlerated pace as compared to these task in a traditional program.

A Pretty Double Rainbow

Rainbow2
Originally uploaded by ScruffyNerf.

I started playing around with photos and flicker last weekend. I had some trouble getting everything set up correctly to post pictures to my blog. I'm hoping this works now.

Library Users & the Catalog

Recently, Thomas Dowling posted a thought provoking piece entitled Forcing Users to Learn the Catalog on the TechEssence blog. There are some good comments on the post too. When attempting to overhaul library services, library web pages, web opacs, etc., the concern about "dumbing down the catalog" is always raised - and is a pretty big concern for people working in libraries. I don't think that those who raise these concerns are unaware of or even unsympathetic to the current limitations inherent to library search mechanisms. Neither do I think they want to prevent users from finding information. However, whenever library employees try to openly discuss how to solve such large problems with the usability of their systems, I think they get bogged down by their own knowledge and familiarity of the systems (I know I often do). I have no problem finding what I need from library sites, search engines, catalogs, etc. It is perfectly clear to me how to find a full text article from a citation or how to locate a book. So, it almost automatically seems as if I would have to dumb down my library's search mechanisms if the users don't currently understand them or use them correctly. I have to remind myself that I am not an average patron - not even close and neither are any of the other people who work in the library. We are NOT our intended audience. So, how then do I remove myself and my knowledge base from the equation? Ultimately, I understand the absolute need to get feedback from actual users. But I think that those of us to design, create or tweak our library systems need to truly understand what our users frustrations are.

Often people suggest that our catalogs or other search mechanisms ought to be more like Google, Amazon or even Ebay. The reason behind this argument seems to be that patrons use these tools - and often in place of library tools. While I can understand this argument, Google, Amazon, etc are not the same things are library catalogs. Library collections are extensive, varied and often confusing to the end user. How do we combine our very different resources (books, movies, full-text journal articles online, paper items, reserve lists, archival collections, etc) so that a user can search them all at once and retrieve only pertinent information? I'm not sure there is an easy solution. I know that in my library we are a long way off from being close to this point.

So, in the meantime, yes we force users to learn the catalog. We work hard to provide good aids and tips for users. Some patrons find it easier to use than others, some ask for help, some do get frustrated and walk away, but our catalog does get used. And usage statistics are up. Students borrow books, place holds, book study rooms, use our proxy server for off campus links and they search (mostly by subject). So, ultimately, library catalogs need to be better, more intuitive and easier to understand - and I think these debates are a step in the right direction. I have noticed that new services often provide an impetus for patrons to use other services offered by our catalog. Use of our proxy server has really made many students more aware of our catalog and of library services - and I often think that is three-quarters of the battle.

Grade for Gov Docs Term Project

I got my grade for my term project for ILS504 - Reference & Information Resources & Services this morning. I'm glad to say that I passed. I worked hard on this project to design a bibliographic instruction session for college upper classmen doing statistical research using government document census materials. I designed a class and created a web-based pathfinder for the students in the class. So, I was happy to find that this project got the highest grade of all of my work in this class this semester. I put way more work into this project than any of the other assignments, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Now, I just have to wait until June 5th to get my actual grade for the semester. (This seems to be a long time to wait for grades, but I haven't been in school in a while so maybe not).

What do I need in my blog?

Over the past several months, I have gotten fairly comfortable with all of the features that Blogger has to offer. I've been pretty happy with its capabilities. However, one thing that I think is extremely important is the ability to categorize blog posts. I think this becomes especially important as the number of posts grows. How do you find earlier posts efficiently? Additionally, since I want to use this blog to document my coursework, I need a way to point my professors to all of the posts about a specific class, project, etc. I doubt professors want to wade through my blog posts to find relevant posts that document/annotate my class work.

Because this category feature is necessary to me, I decided to create a new blog using WordPress. I've spent the past week or so migrating all of my blog posts to the new blog, categorizing my posts and playing around with the capabilities that WordPress has to offer. For now, I plan to maintain both blogs. Part of the reason that I created this blog was to learn about blogging. As such, I'm interested in watching both blogs - seeing how they are the same, how they are different, etc. Again, doing is the best way to become familiar with new technologies and their capabilities. Admittedly, this is probably a lot of work - and I will probably grow tired of it eventually.

Link: Life as I Know It via WordPress

More Thoughts on Blogging

In one of the first posts that I wrote for this blog, I voiced some of my thoughts about blogs - especially library blogs. I can honestly say that I am still addicted to reading blogs - and it is one of the first things that I do every day. Blogs have become the primary means by which I keep up with developments in the land of libraries. I have become even more fascinated with the development of certain blog issues. It is remarkable to watch the way that certain topics make the rounds of library blogs - and often develop lives of their own. The whole debate/arguments surrounding Web 2.0/Library 2.0 is a prime example.

To read some of the posts (my favorites) on this topic look at the following sites:
Michael Stephens' Do Libraries Matter: On Libary & Librarian 2.0
A 2006 article from Walt Crawford's Cites & Insights entitled Library 2.0 and "Library 2.0"
Library 2.0 - Questions and Commentary from Library Stuff
Working Toward a Definition of Library 2.0 from LibaryCrunch
11 reasons why Library 2.0 exists and matters from blyberg.net
Label 2.0 from Information wants to be free
Library 2.0 Discussion: Michael Squared from LibrarianinBlack

Add to all of this the recent debates over technical difficulties with ALA's Library 2.0 boot camp and I can't stop checking to see if there are any new posts. I get as caught up in these debates as people do in their favorite tv shows. Recently, I sadly realized that sometimes I'm caught up more in the personal aspect of these debates (who says what about whom, who responds to whose post, who is apologizing to whom, etc) than I do in the actual content. Many of the debates that take place in the library blog world are incredibly important and necessary. However, some of the commentaries get quite personal and every once in a while they are a bit offensive in tone. When this happens, it is hard for me to filter out personal biases to get at the message the blogger is trying to convey.

Ultimately, this makes me question the nature of blogs as a source for professional information. Blogs are inherently personal venues for people to post their thoughts and opinions. When people start posting comments about topics relating to their profession, I think lines start to blur between professional and personal behaviors. Sometimes this may not be a good thing. I don't this this is specifically a problem inherent to blogs. This is a trend that has been growing for several years. Listserv email debates become remarkly unprofessional in a short amount of time. Heaven forbid that someone send an unsubscribe message to the listserv address. Despite the fact that this annoys me as much as anyone else, rudeness should be inexcusable in a professional environment.

This has been a topic that has troubled me since I started this blog back in September 2005. During the summer of 2005, a colleague at work asked me about RSS feeds, XML and blogs. She had noticed more and more RSS feeds and wondered what they were. As the primary technical support person in the library where I work, it falls to me to provide answers about new technologies. In trying to come up with a cogent answer for my colleague, I started reading library blogs, researching wikis and social software and gatherning information that could be useful in the library. As always with new technologies, I find doing the best way of learning. As such, I thought that actually creating a blog would be the best way to discover what one can do with them and how one can use them. Since I had decided to apply to graduate school for a masters in library science, it struck me that blog dedicated to that endeavor would be appropriate.

Personally, I didn't feel comfortable with creating a blog for work because the college where I work did not (and still doesn't) have a blogging policy nor do they have blogging software. Additionally, I am very aware of the fact that what I write on this blog is public. To me, it made sense to stay as far away from specific work issues as possible. To this end, I try to be deliberately vague about where I work. On the other hand, I think it best to be upfront about what I do because that certainly affects my perspective on technology, libraries and my mls program (to reiterate, I am a systems librarian sans mls). I guess this is why I have trouble wrapping my head around what I should be able to write about versus what I shouldn't write about. This is why I haven't commented about things like Library 2.0, etc. Of course, that doesn't mean that these issues are not important for mls students. It just means that I haven't resolved my conflicting thoughts about what is or isn't appropriate upon which to comment - in light of my professional life versus my personal one.

Summer Class Gets Cancelled

I received a phone call yesterday afternoon that the summer class I had registered for (ILS656 - Information Architecture) had been cancelled due to low enrollment. Wicked bummer!! I was so looking forward to this class. I knew that this was likely to happen given that there were only 4 students listed as enrolled, but am still bummed out. I am also a little annoyed because I already bought the book. I do plan to take the class as soon as it is offered again - and hopefully the book will be the same. Hope springs eternal!!!

Anyway, I was glad that I got a phone call before the class was removed from the school's online system. This way I was able to drop the cancelled class and add another one. Fortunately, the school added a section of ILS506 - Information Analysis and Organization. I guess it will be good to take the last of the 4 required core courses. Now, I have to go find the books for this class and get them as soon as possible.

Thoughts about Online Education

With three online classes completed, I'm starting to form some definite opinions about online education. Interestingly enough, the three classes that I have taken have varied drastically in terms of format, professor, discussion, assignments and most importantly quality. I have to admit that in addition to taking these classes and completing the coursework, I am also watching (and experiencing) the classes from a distance while trying to take in the entire experience. I watch everything that my classmates and professors do, read everything and pay particular attention to everyone's participation.

What is very interesting about the three classes that I have taken is that they have all been very different. From my perspective, one of the classes was great, one was good and one was very unsatisfying. In all honesty, the biggest factor in how I rate the quality of these classes is directly related to the professor and his/her participation in the class and the quality of his/her feedback. For me, I think the professor participation in an online class can make or break the entire experience. There is very little about a class with a posted syllabus, posted assignments, minimal discussion and limited professor interaction to inspire me to really learn the material - despite how relevant the course readings and posted lectures may or may not be. In the best class that I have taken so far, most material presented was material with which I was already familiar. Despite this fact, the professor chose provocative readings that allowed the students to have rich and fruitful discussions. The professor also participated in these discussions - although was careful not to dominate. The professor created assignments that challenged students to work at their own levels. We were able to choose from a variety of assignments for our final project - depending on our own individual skill set. Despite being very familar with most concepts presented in the class, I felt challenged by the class and came away from the class feeling as if my time had been well spent (and as if my money had been wisely spent).

In the other two classes, the professors were much less active in the learning process. One professor stated in an email that the discussions would be entirely left up to the students in the class. The professor felt as if their participation might inhibit the discussions. While the professor kept in touch through general emails, I wished there had been greater interaction. While I understand the belief that a faculty member might inhibit or dominate a discussion, we as students are in the class to learn from the professor. I honestly think that the professor should have valuable insights - and I for one think it is important that they share this information. What is interesting to me, is that the course material for this class was incredible. I really learned a great deal of important information in this class. However, I do think that if the professor had been more involved, I would have been more invested in the actual class. When a professor is more distant, it is easier to slack off and allow oneself to become disassociated.

In my least favorite course, there was almost no participation - and very little feedback from the professor. The course material was excellent. The text book was fabulous and the assignments were structured to teach students how to use important resources. However, there were virtually no discussion questions which meant there was very little interaction amongst the students. Additionally, there was virtually no feedback on assignments other than a posted grade. The professor simply assigned a grade. This is in stark contrast to the professor who taught my favorite class. This professor would put the text of our assignments in an email with comments throughout them. I found this to be extremely helpful. Unfortunately, in this last class, I often felt as if I was working on my own.

I think that in an online environment, professor participation and frequent and detailed feedback are essential. Online classes are different and they cannot be effectively taught in the same manner as a traditional one. Without face to face interaction, professors need to find different ways to engage the students. I only felt truly engaged in one of the three classes that I have taken. This is how I learn best and how I want to learn. I do not want to sleep walk through my MLS program. I am here to learn. I want to spend my time doing valuable work which contributes to my overall education. The issue of feedback is also critical. Feedback is the only way to gauage how one is doing in the class. In one class, the assignments were not graded in a timely manner. Our first assignment grades were delivered on the same day that the second assignment was due. This made me very nervous about how I was doing. I deliberately did not want to turn in the second assignment until I had the first's grade. As it turned out, there was no feedback - simply a grade. This did not make me want to work harder on my subsequent assignments.

Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying the experience of my online education (I am enjoying some classes more than other). I am looking forward to my next class - with yet another professor. It will be, I'm sure, a very different experience.

One grade is in

My ILS503 - Foundations of Librarianship - professor sent me an email last night with my final grade and I passed. She was very complimentary about the final project (pathfinder for Portuguese language materials) that one of my classmates and I completed - which made me very happy. I so enjoyed the project, and I really think that it helped to open my eyes to the diverse needs of patrons in public libraries. I have become very used to thinking of library patrons as 18-22 year old undergraduates.

All in all, this was a good class. I'm very happy with both assignments that I completed for this class (the pathfinder and the Robert S. Taylor biography) and feel as if I learned quite a bit. Now, I'm just going to enjoy the down time before summer session starts at the end of May.

Second Class is Done too!!

My final project for ILS503 - Foundations of Librariansip is done as of 3:30PM this afternoon. I'm even more excited to be done with this one. I worked with another student to develop a pathfinder (in both print and web format) for Brazilian immigrants in a specific library district in the New York area. This was an exhausting project - from which I learned SO much. As a person who works in library systems in an academic library, I very rarely have contact with the public. Admittedly, this is a big problem - and one of which I am very conscious. One of the reasons that I chose to return to school was because I believed that graduate school could help me expand my vision of libraries and how important the user experience is to making library systems better.

This project has really been an important part of this process. Ultimately, the library has a significant Portuguese-speaking immigrant population who have specific needs that the library cannot meet. While resources for Spanish-speaking patron abound, there are very few resources for those who speak Portuguese. I truly believe that the woman that I worked with and I only scratched the surface of the resources available. We developed a print pathfinder and a web page for the library at which my partner works. Overall, I learned so much about how different the needs of public libraries are from those of academic libraries.

I am so excited to be done for the semester. Summer classes don't start until May 24th - and I am goind to take a much needed break between now and then (although I will be doing many different types of good luck dances to help me pass my classes . . . ).

One class down . . . One to go

I finished my term project for ILS504 - Reference and Information Resources and Services. I'm done, I'm done, I'm done. YEAH!!! I turned it in on Sunday evening (April 24th) and had an incredible feeling of joy. Finishing work for a class is a wonderful feeling. Of course, I cannot bask in the glory because I have another project due for ILS503 - Foundations of Librarianship on April 29th. I have to get cracking to make sure that everything is in order for that. However, for right now, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done. YEAH!!!!!

My term project for ILS 504 was to design a library instruction class. I chose to design a class geared to teaching college upper classmen how to use federal government sources, specifically census resources, to complete a research project that required statistical evaluation. I mentioned previously that I love government documents. I worked as a gov docs assistant at a Federal Depository Library for 4 year (plus 3 years of work study while in college). I figured that my previous knowledge of gov docs would allow me to spend more time on the actual design of the project. I hope that this is the case. It was a fun project - yet, I'm psyched to be done. The final project is available online in my eportfolio.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!

Summer 2006 Class

This morning I registered for a class for this summer - ILS656 - Information Architecture. After going back and forth several times about whether or not to take a class, I definitely decided that I did not want to sit out a semester. I think that would make it much harder to get back into school come the fall. I was all set to register for ILS537 - Information Seeking Behavior. However, due to prerequisite restrictions, I couldn't register for the class without calling the ILS department and getting an override. Fortunately, in order to take ILS656, I only needed to have completed ILS501 - so I could register online without needing help. Unfortunately, there are only 3 people registered for the class right now (which starts on May 24th). I can only hope that more people register!!!! I will be pretty bummed if I can't take this class this summer.

Now, I need to get back to work on my final projects - one is due on the 24th of April and the other is due on the 29th of April.

Class for Fall 2006

I finally registered for a class for the fall - ILS506 - Information Analysis & Organization. I still haven't made up mind about taking a class this summer. I hate to wait, but I think I'm just feeling overwhelmed with trying to get my classwork done for the end of this semester while working on several large projects at work (I have made a commitment to get our new library home page done for Monday, the 24th - which is also when one of my projects is due for school). So at this point, I'm feeling as if I want to have the summer off - and possibly hoping that feeling will change after I've completed my work this semester (IF I finish it all).

I'm Psyched!!!

Yesterday, I finally got a grade back on my Robert S. Taylor biography - and I did fine. I was a bit concerned about the paper, since I ended up having to work on most of it while I was on vacation in St. Maarten. It took tons of discipline to try and get the paper finished (working on the beach with a laptop is a tricky proposition). Additionally, the initial draft was far longer than the specified 5 double spaced pages. Having to thin the paper out was difficult - and I thought that there was a choppy feel to the paper because of it. Fortunately, the professor did not find that to be so.

Anyway, this makes me feel much better about the class. It is very difficult to take a class and get absolutely no grades until the last two weeks of class. I have been hesitant about working on the final project because I had no sense of what the professor thought of my work. As such, I'm a bit behind where I should be - and will be spending all available time working on the project over the next two weeks.

At least, I feel like I'm making more progress than I was a couple of weeks ago.

Link to Eportfolio

The link to my eportfolio is http://home.comcast.net/~jennifersmls. However, at present, there is nothing there. I'm filling in the back end of the site, before I get to the home page. Sometimes, I can't believe how long it takes to get these things done!!!

Creating My Eportfolio

I finally got around to getting a web site started for my online portfolio. All students are required to submit a portfolio in order to graduate. From a document created by Prof. James Kusack (from SCSU), the portfolio should include:

• Student's Special Project
• A description of major landmarks in one's MLS studies
• Examples of significant course projects
• Organizational material/navigational aids
• A serviceable resume

The Special Projct is a research paper or report of a project in which the student demonstrates knowledge and skills gained in the graduate program. The Special Project must include:

• Identification of 5-9 key concepts and skills gained over the course of one's planned study and an explanation of how they apply to the project
• Identification of the course's in the student's planned study the contributed to the knowledge set
• Discussion of how the knowledge and skill set was applied to the project
• Documentation of the project
• Where appropriate, supporting assement documents should be included

I'm hoping that if I keep all of my work organized from the beginning, finding information pertinent to my special project will be much easier - and less stressful later on. Admittedly, it is hard to think about finishing my degree when I am much closer to the beginning than the end. However, I plan to give it my best shot!!!

Final Projects

I have two final projects that I am working on for both of my classes. In Foundations of Librarianship (ILS503), we were assigned a semester long project that is a "major (hands on) course project " [quoted from syllabus]. The project's focus was to design and implement an information service. The professor stressed that we are supposed to implement this project. I am working on a project with another woman in my class on a project geared to the public library where she works. We are creating a pathfinder with resources for non-native English speakers. The plan is to include English as a Foreign Language, immigrant and Test of English as a Foreign Language resources for the Portuguese speaking population in a suburb of New York City. This has been a challenging project for me since I know very little about this subject.

For Reference and Information Resources and Services (ILS504), we are supposed to plan and design an instructional/training project for a targeted user group in a specific library. For my project, I am designing a library instruction class for upper level undergraduates doing research using census resources. The class will be geared to teaching the students about using federal government resources. I am fairly excited about this project - partly because I love government documents.

I Might be Back on Track (Kind of)

Well, I've spent the past two weekends dedicating myself to my schoolwork - so I think I'm making progress to get over my spring fever. In so many ways, I can't believe that the semester is almost over. For the most part, the day-t0-day work for the classes is over. I now have two final projects to complete - and I have to get cracking on these. I'm not sure how much faith I have that I will actually get these projects done.

ARGH!! I definitely need to find some way to reinvigorate my studies. Experiencing apathy in my second semester is not a good sign. HELP!!!!!!!

What Class to Take Next??

Registration for summer 2006 has been open for a while now, and I'm not quite sure what to do. For some reason, SCSC is not offering many of the four core classes during the summer. As long as I get myself in gear to pass the two classes that I am currently taking, I will have taken ILS501, ILS503 and ILS504. That leaves me with ILS506 as the last core requirement. Ideally, a student is supposed to take all four before they take any other classes. So, I have a dilemma. I cannot take ILS 506 this summer. I am interested in taking ILS 537 - Information-Seeking Behavior. I emailed the professor - who very promptly replied. She supplied a link to the course syllabus so that I could look over the information and decide if I want to take the class. I am very much looking forward to the class, but it seems like a very challenging one. I'm not sure that I want to give up my summer to this. I know I am being wimpy. As long as things work out ok with my husband who is currently out of work, I will probably take the class. Each semester that I don't take a class is another semester longer getting my MLS will take. I do find the scheduling of classes at SCSU for this summer to be a little odd. Best case would be to take ILS506 over the summer - providing I can afford it. Either way, I can't register for a class until at least mid-April when I will have a better view of the family finances.

I Need a Kick Start

For a variety of reasons, I have been so incredibly unmotivated this semester. The semester started out fine, but life somehow had the gall to interrupt. First, my husband and I went on vacation for two weeks to St. Maarten. The trip was wonderful, and I'm glad that we went. However, I was swamped at work before I left and had to devote most of my energies to getting everything set for me to go away for two weeks. The break was wonderful, but I did end up having to do homework while I was away. I had my biographical research report and my third reference exercise due on March 13. My husband took delight in taking pictures of me doing my school work on the beach.

On vacation, my husband injured his knew. As such, he has been out of work, going to the doctor and doing physical therapy. Although it doesn't seem like this should have taken up my time, it did. It is only within the past two days (and we got home on March 19th) that I have been able to seriously get back to my school work. Of course, I will pay for this lapse due to all of the work that I need to complete before the end of the semester. YIKES!!!!

Google Book Search Rocks!

While doing research for my classes, I have been using Google Book Search quite a bit - and I'm loving it. Finding and tracking down citations can be challenging especially in an entirely online environment. I'm finding that doing research is a bit different as a distance education student. In a traditional classroom environment, I usually would start with books on a topic and expand my research using the bibliographic citations from the book. In my online classes, I do not have access to the book collection at SCSUs library. My local library does not have an extensive collection of library science material. This has made Google's Books Search (and Amazon's search inside the book to a lesser extent) an incredibly valuable tool.

First, I searched for keywords, a person's name and several combinations of terms. Then, Google provided a listing of books in which the searched terms appear - along with the page the references appear on. In order to view pages, I had to log in to my Google account. Not all pages are viewable. However, within minutes, there was a list of books which might have been pertinent to my research. I was able to get a list of about 35 titles. From there, I was able to get a sense of which ones would be most relevant by searching the text within each title. Even better, I was able to use the table of contents and indexes from listed titles in order to get chapter and article citations. With this information, I then placed interlibrary loan orders for the most relevent texts and articles. The best part was that I was quickly able to tell which books had no relevance to my topic.

While I certainly understand why Google's Book Search is controversial, it has revolutionized how I am doing my research. From the perspective of a distance education student, I can only hope that Google is able to rapidly expand its scope. My first thought after using this book search feature was "I wish there was more information!!!" I anticipate using Google Book Search frequently in the future.

R.S. Taylor - Planning a College Library for the Seventies

Taylor, R.S. (Fall 1969). Planning a College Library for the Seventies. Educational Record, 50(4), 426-431.

Taylor suggests that there were three projected steps one should take when planning a library for the seventies. First, planners need to reevaluate library space incorporating such services as "the book library, audiovisual systems, copyring services, bokstore, and computer center" (p.431). Taylor argues that such planning will help to offer the user broader information choices. Second, the library and librarians need to be closer to the educational process. The third step in this planning process is to allow the library to become a place to foster experimentation - for the space and for the staff. Taylor thinks that planners should rethink the library as a space placing emphasis on the users and their information needs.

An interesting article, not much to add to my biographical research. The blurb on Taylor: "Robert S. Taylor is director of the library at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts. This article, written under a U.S. Office of Education grant, was adapted from a presentation to the Danforth Foundation Workship on Liberal Arts Education, 24 June 1968, in Colorado Springs.

ILS504 - Exercise 1 - Get an Article from Buley Library

Our first exercise in ILS504 Reference and Information Services and Sources was to access an article from one of Buley Library's online databases:

Unit 1 – Brief Report on Article

Fortunately, I set up my ID and PIN to access the online resources available through Buley Library last semester. With this information in hand, I went to Buley Library’s home page in order to complete our assignment to search and print out an article from one of Buley’s online databases. From the library’s home page, I clicked on the “Research Guides” link and followed the link to the library science subject guide. I attempted to use the Library Literature database. I authenticated myself via the library’s proxy server. However, the Library Literature link took me to an Ovid Gateway screen where I received a “database wlib does not exist” error message. Undeterred, but mildly frustrated, I returned to the library home page and followed the “Online Databases” link. I chose the Library Science link from the subject drop down menu. The Emerald Full Text database was listed first one the page. I clicked on the link. At Emerald’s home page, I decided to browse by subject and clicked on the “Library Management and Information Services” subject listing. I browsed through the list of available titles in this subject area and settled upon Reference Services Review. I browsed through several years worth of issues and choose an article entitled “Who Says We’re Not Busy? Library Web Page Usage as a Measure of Public Service Activity,” because of my personal interest in web page statistics.

Citation:Welch, Jeanie M. (2005), Who Says We’re Not Busy? Library Web Page Usage as a Measure of Public Service Activity. Reference Services Review. 33 (4), 371(8).

ILS503 Final Project

For ILS503 Foundations of Libraryship, we must complete a final project in which we must design and implement an information service. The professor encourages us to create this service for a real organization. I will be working with another woman in my class to develop an English as a Foreign Language pathfinder for a public library that serves groups from Eastern Europe and Brazil.

Our proposal to the professor (written by my partner):

Basic concept: We aim to create a pathfinder for non-native Englishspeakers and new immigrants.

Summary: This will include suggested materials such as books and audio-visual materials. We also will include various internet-based reference materials such as web page translators and other translation pages that have been researched and deemed useful. We will add suggested materials for libraries to own to better service to the non-native speaking population. In addition there will be resources for new immigrants such as government offices and web sites as well as localized information (i.e. local international groups if possible). A shorter version of the pathfinder will be presented as a pamphlet for take-home usage and distributed at the particular library we have chosen.

Background of concept: Living in a predominantly English-speaking area, I have noticed that through the last couple of years of working at my Library, we have had numerous requests for language-learning materials, mostly from nannies, but also from newly-immigrated people. In searching for reference materials for them, the most common language tools were in Spanish. These were not useful to our patrons as they primarily came from Eastern Europe and Brasil and were not familiar with Spanish. Aside from the lack of materials for non-native/non-Spanish speakers, the patrons were also asking for local resources—things to do, places to meet up with like-minded people, etc. This made me think that there is a definite need for resources for this population which is often overlooked in the non-urban library. In working together, Jennifer and I will create a pathfinder of information resources for not only language learning, but also information for newly-minted citizens or people preparing for their citizenship tests. We will then actually implement it in my library as it something that my director has agreed we have a need for. This part of the project could easily be utilized in any library, just specialized for the chosen area.

I am very excited about the project. Here's hoping it all goes well!!!

More on Robert Taylor

From the Pioneers of Information Science in North America project:

Robert Saxton Taylor's page:

Dates: 1918 -

Worked at: Lehigh University and Syracuse University

Other Info: Worked at Lehigh University as Librarian (1956-1967); Professor and Director of Information Science; Director of Library Science and Professor of Language and Communication at Hampshire College (1967-1972); worked at Professor (1972- ?) and Dean (1972-1981) of the School of Information Science at Syracuse University.

Published articles in user studies - used the value-added approach to information sciences. In 1963 wrote about the impact of behavioral sciences on information science.

Awards: 1972 Best Information Science Book - ASIS; 1956 Fulbright Lecturer.

Offices: ASIS Executive Officer (1959-1961); President (1968).

From Pioneers of Information Science of North America Scrapbook:

Significant moment of career in 1953 sitting at reference desk in Lehigh University Library. He started asking questions that would form the basis of his work over the next several decades. He had been educated as an historian - and worked as a newspaper reporter, sports editor, intelligence agent, free lance writer and a librarian.

Profession and Education:

• Directed Center for the Information Sciences at Lehigh (1962-1967)
• With the program in Language and Communication at Hampshire College (1967-1972)
• School of Information Studies at Syracuse University as Dean and Professor (1972-1983)
• 1986 published work on value-added processes (NSF supported)
• 1968 published work on question negotiation and information seeking in libraries
• 1990 pubished work on information use environments (IUEs).

quote from page "It is people, both as individuals and as members of organizations for whom we design systems. This is a user-driven approach. Technology, important and overwhelming as it is at this moment, is but a means of gathering, storing, manipulating, and moving information to people who can make use of it. Our professional responsibility is to understand the technologies and to use them effectively to help people in whatever setting. Without people at the center we become but another technology-driving vocation."

More on Robert S. Taylor Paper

Additional research about Robert Taylor:

Blurb from Library Journal, December 1984, Vol.109, Issue 20, page 220 "Former Dean Robert Taylor recruited Klaus Barbie." Reports that in October 17th issue of the Syracuse Post Standard, the lead story was "Ex-SU Dean Recruited Klaus Barbie as U.S. Agent." Comments that Robert Taylor said he didn't know of Barbie's past when he recommended him in 1947.

Ryan, Allan A. Jr. Klaus Barbie and the United States Government, The Report, with Documentary Appendix, to the Attorney General of the United States. Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, Inc., 1983.

General information from Ryan text:
Robert Taylor was part of the 66th Counter Intelligence Corps under European Command (EUCOM) stationed in Region IV (headquarters in Munich) in Memmingen. Since April 1946 Kurt Merk had been working for Taylor. On April 10, 1947, Merk told Taylor about Barbie. Taylor knew that Barbie was wanted in Operation Selection Board. Taylor did not notify Headquarters about Barbie. Checked with superior Lt. Col. Dale Garvey, Commanding Officer of Region IV. On April 14-15 decision made by Taylor and Garvey to use Barbie as an informant.

Taylor met with Barbie on or about April 18, 1947 and deal was made. Barbie impressed Taylor as "an honest man, both intellectually and personally, absolutely without nerves or fear. He is strongly anti-Communist and a Nazi idealist who believes that he and his beliefs were betrayed by the Nazis in power" (p.13). Barbie reported on French intelligence operations in U.S. zone of Germany, on activities of Romanian ethnic Germans, and on Soviet activities in U.S. zone. Use of Barbie not known to headquarters until two months later.

On May 22, 1947, Captain Frazier at CIC HQ asked for clarification of certain matters. Taylor for first time reported to CIC HQ that information came from Barbie not Merk. Taylor acknowledged that Barbie was to be arrested in Operation Selection Board, but requested he be allowed to retain freedom. Region IV forwarded Taylor's report to CIC HQ on June 3, 1947 recommending Barbie be used as an asset. Appears as if request was ignored.

Taylor placed increasing reliance on Merk and Barbie. By summer of 1947, Merk had web of 48 to 52 informants in Germany and Eastern Europe. (all previous from page 13).

Web known as "Buro Petersen." (page 14).

Agent Hahdu took over for Taylor in the spring of 1948 (page 18).

Synopsis of Robert S. Taylor Article

Taylor, Robert S. "Reminiscing About the Future: Professional Education and the Information Environment," in Library Journal, (September 15, 1979), 104(16), p1871(5).

This is a thought provoking article about library and information science education in which Taylor asserts that "the future is what professional education is all about" (p.1871). In the article, Taylor argues that librarianship as a profession needs to distance itself from the physical library - a concept that seems quite simple (although controversial for many, I'm sure), but one that I still haven't totally been able to wrap my mind around. I had a definite "Eureka" moment when reading this, I have to admit. The library is not the center of the information universe, but is only a piece - and not necessarily a central one. Taylor writes that "a failure to participate in the whole system will tend to isolate the library and the librarian even more than they currently are from the blooming, dymanic, changing world out there" (p.1872). I couldn't agree more - and again, I'm amazed at the relevancy of this article today and it was written 27 years ago!!!

Later in the article, Taylor point out that library systems are fine for what they are, but that they only exist in the library world. They are not systems with which the world at large are familiar. We, in libraries, should be thinking about the user and the questions they ask and the information needs that they posess rather than focusing on preserving established library traditions (p.1872).

Taylor identifies several skills and attitudes that librarians could and should acquire if they were to "cut their umbilical cord to libraries and similar document-based systems" (p.1873). They could possess "an ability to organize data and information for people to use," "an awareness of the totality of information resources and strategies in search for information," "a sensitivity to use, uses, and users of information," and "a strong tradition of service" (p.1973). Such attributes would help library and information science school graduates understand that systems must be designed by and for human beings.

In terms of the future of professional education, Taylor identifies six subject ares of concern. First is the organization of information. He suggests that we need to organize information based on the "natural processes of information-seeking and knowledge utilization" (p.1873) rather than in traditional methods. The second area is the information environment which can be explained as the context of knowledge and how humans process information. Next is the area or information media which deals with media formats and the natural way in which information is organized. The systems and technologies area is the fourth area. In this area, Taylor is more concerned about the formal methods of design, analysis and evaluation of systems that are created by people, machines and information. The fifth area is reasearch methods which "is concerned with the education of critical consumers of research results and effective participants in the research process" (p.1874). Finally, the last subject area is management which is the area that binds all of the previous ones together. It is the area which is concerned with the identification and definition of information problems (p.1874).

In conclusion, Taylor writes that "libraianship is too important a profession to be tied to the fate of a single institution" (p.1875). He suggests that the profession has several large problems with which it needs to deal: "better filters to withhold rather than supply information, better means for making information available, programs on information literacy, and maintenance of a human scale in information and knowledge transfer processes" (p.1875).

Other references that I need to check:
Taylor, Robert S., Manpower and Education Programs for Management, Research, and Professional Growth in Library and Information Services, report to the National Commission on LIbrary and Information Science, October 1974.

Taylor, R.S., "Libraries, Librarians, and the Information Environment" (copyright 1979 by the author).

Taylor, R.S., "Educational Breakaway," American Libraries, June 1979, p.364-68.

Information on Robert Taylor Biographical Research Report

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am writing a biographical research report on Robert S. Taylor for my Foundations of Librarianship (ILS503) class. I will include journal-type entries to document my research.

Robert Saxton Taylor - born 1918.

Worked at both Lehigh University (as Librarian and Director of the Library Center and Professor of Language and Communications) and Syracuse University (as Professor and Dean).

Published in area of user studies - known for "value-added approach" to information services.

Awards - 1972 American Society for Information Science Best Information Science Book, was appointed Fulbright Lecturer in 1965.

Was president of American Society for Information Science in 1968

biographical information taken from http://www.unc.edu/~fazel/taylor.html - accessed on 1/27/06.

Classes Have Begun

The spring semester has started. I've been reading like mad this week to get myself into the spirit of things. So far, I'm fairly excited about both classes - a little bit more so for my Foundations of Librarianship class (ILS503). But this is only because Reference and Information Resources and Services (ILS504) focuses on professsional competences for a reference librarian - and I know that I do not want to be a reference librarian. Admittedly, it is an important class - and I know that I will learn a great deal (and that I need to learn the material). Also, ILS503 delves into a historical perspective of libraries and information services along with current trends and challenges (paraphrased from class syllabus). These are the type of issues that are of primary interest to me.

One thing that I am very excited about is an assignment to do a biographical research report on someone important to the field of librarianship. I was assigned Robert S. Taylor - whom I had never heard of before. However, I have been researching him for the past week and am thoroughly enjoying the project. His interest in information science and systems is right up my alley

I Added Another Class

Last week, I decided to take a second class this spring semester. SCSU added another section of ILS504 Reference and Information Resources and Services. - and I felt compelled to try and take two classes this semester. I'm a bit nervous about the amount of work - two classes and a full time job - but hopeful that the workload won't be too much. I have ordered the one required text and the two recommended texts - and am hoping they come in before classes start on the 29th of January.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to read the textbook for ILS503 class (Foundations of librarianship) - Richard E. Rubin's Foundations of Library and Information Science (2nd Edition - Neal Schuman Publishers, 2004). Admittedly, it is slow going. I have been enjoying the quite of life after the holidays and away from school - and now need to get myself back into school mode.

I Passed My First Class

SCSU posted grades for the fall semester today online. I'm very happy to say that I passed my first class. Yeah! I now have 3 credits - only 33 more to go!!! I'm busy trying to get ready for my next class - ILS 503 Foundations of Librarianship. The class doesn't start until January 29th, but I'm trying to get through the majority of the textbook before then.