The Value of Library Reference : You Decide

 

It’s 8:30pm on a Tuesday evening. Student contacts Reference Desk saying he/she is looking for 'research' articles on effects of poverty on success in education. Instructor wants list of articles from student by class tomorrow.

Student Worker Solution:

1. Sends link to Research Guide for Education
2. Says 'good evening'.

Reference Librarian Solution:

1. Explains that there are several databases -- some focused on education, some focused on social science
2. Steps through how to access these databases by pointing to library’s home page and link to 'Research Guides' -- where databases are arranged by subject
3. In background does quickie search through standard databases, sizing up the lay of the land and then recommends to student strategies/pathways that appear most promising
4. And oh yeah: Explains how to identify ‘research’ articles through a number of characteristics
5. Says ‘good evening’.

Observation : Both responses did in fact answer the student’s question. So what’s the diff?

Today's Story : Burger on Bench

 
Out on the green with a number from 5 Guys.

Our Current Predicament (Academic Library Edition)

Digitization in an Emergency: Fair Use/Fair Dealing and How Libraries Are Adapting to the Pandemic (Ryan Clough, ARL Blog):

“Like every other major institution operating during the coronavirus pandemic, research libraries are confronting sudden and radical shifts in their daily realities. Foremost among these challenges is the near-total loss of access to paper books and other physical library holdings. As of today, nearly every ARL member in the United States and Canada has closed its brick-and-mortar facilities and discontinued or severely limited access to print collections.... This emergency is truly unprecedented in modern times, even during times of war.”

More here...