Reference desk 2

Last week when I was manning the Reference desk, a man came up and was wanting to know if we had the periodical Nature. He was looking for the April 2007 issue, I was pretty sure we did, but I looked it up on the catalog anyway. It said that we had the periodical in print on the 2nd floor which is where all the periodicals are shelved and the latest issue we had was October 2007. I told the man where to find it and he went upstairs to find it. He came down a while later and said that it was not up there and that the only issues that were up there were from the 1980s. I thought that was odd and I told him that maybe it was at the bindery, since it is a bindery title. He thought that was odd and wanted to know how long that would be and I said I didn't know, but that it usually takes a month. He and his friends walked away and disappointed and I felt bad. I couldn't believe that it wasn't upstairs, and I was pretty sure that it hadn't been canceled. So I decided to go look for it myself and sure enough it was sitting there on the top shelf and it was bound. I don't if he was just looking at the pan boxes that hold the loose issues, because all that was in the pan boxes was one issue and it definitely was not from the 1980s. This leads me to my point, which is that I can only help someone so much. I thought he knew how to find it, I guess I shouldn't assume that people should know things. Right now I am still wondering what publication he was looking at. He seemed like a knowledgeable person. I was hoping he would come back and that I could show him where it was and make sure he got a copy of the article, but he didn't. Next time I will follow through and go check myself while the patron is still there.

ACRL Conference

This week I decided that I am going to the ACRL conference in Tulsa. The them is Web 2.0 which is something that we have talked about in my Web design class. I am excited to go because I think it will be fun. This is my first conference and I am looking forward to it. I should have plenty to write about on my blog after I attend.

Reflection

I think that I as I come to the end of the LIS experience (I still have one semester left) I see more clearly how my classes are relating to the duties I am performing at the Reference desk. I feel that I have learned a lot. I also feel that I am actively contributing to the library and the patrons. This reflection is due in part to the completing of my portfolio. I am also really enjoying the classes I am taking this semester. I feel like I am learning about so many new things and getting really good skills for when I enter the professional world.

Class

I got to sit in on a class a few months ago. I was surprised that the students did not know where the main collection was, nor did they seem to know where a lot of the materials were located in the library. I mentioned this to the Reference librarian who was teaching the class. The class was an instruction session for English students on how to use the library and the resources for their subject area. She said that you can't assume that the students know these things. She said that she tries to give them as much information as possible, in the time frame allotted, but at the same time it is hard to explain everything, especially since there is never enough time.

Wiki idea

I found a wiki that I can contribute to. It is called the LISWiki. Their Reference librarian page needs some more information. Here is the address for it. http://liswiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

Working Reference

Tomorrow I will start my weekly reference schedule. I will work the reference desk every Thursday afternoon and possibly more once the Resource coordinators/Reference librarians decide if they want me to work more. It will be good practice for me if I am working the desk even more, also it will look good on my resume. But I am still nervous about it! I guess I will see how tomorrow goes.