Archive for 'Public Services'
Explaining Authority
One thing I have found difficult in my librarian-instructor capacity is how to impress students with the idea that some sources of information are better than others. We are all comfortable with the concept that value is subjective. But does this apply to information? (My own answer varies depending on what day it is.)
Of students [...]
Posted by onellums on May 13th, 2009 under First Year Academic Librarian Experience, Information Literacy, Libraries and Learning, Public Services, Student Issues, Teaching.
Comments: 13
The Hardest Part of Being a Librarian
As the spring semester heads to a close, the amount of traffic at the library reference desk is picking up significantly. Students are needing last-minute help with papers and projects, trying to remember what their professors expect, and figuring out how they are going to complete everything by the due dates. Usually, students are lovely [...]
Posted by onellums on April 9th, 2009 under First Year Academic Librarian Experience, Public Services.
Comments: 7
Getting Students To Ask For Help Is A Higher Education Challenge
When we hear about or read research or surveys that gives us bad news about library services we may assume that we’re doing something wrong. It may be that we are. Or it may be that the academic library is but one service unit in a much larger higher education enterprise that suffers from a [...]
Posted by StevenB on February 6th, 2009 under Public Services, Student Issues.
Comments: 9
Purgatorio
I have a dilemma. It is one that puts me in direct conflict with myself, and is remotely related to my post from November about where to draw the line when helping patrons. We received a new printer/copier for student use back in October. It has a document server that allows students to select the [...]
Posted by ssmith on January 14th, 2009 under First Year Academic Librarian Experience, Public Services, Technology Issues.
Comments: 17
Long Lost Motivation
In the current-day liturgy of teaching, it seems that motivating students is key. Once you have students motivated, supposedly, they will easily absorb what may otherwise seem dry or mundane. So a teacher’s plan should not be to transmit the material, but to motivate the students to learn the material for themselves while acting as [...]
Posted by onellums on December 11th, 2008 under First Year Academic Librarian Experience, Information Literacy, Public Services, Teaching.
Comments: 9