Professional Development Evaluating Services Collection Maintenance

1. Professional Development Evaluating ServicesCollection Maintenance Monday, November 28, 2005

2. Assessment3 Types • Self-Assessment • i.e. RUSA guide on professional competency [ link ] • Peer-Assessment • i.e. gauge via the literature or listserv discussions or colleagues • Supervisor Assessment • i.e. what do your supervisors think

3. How to Improve • Read the literature • Discuss issues with colleagues • Attend conferences/workshops • Challenge yourself • Take advantage of “down time” • The 7 R’s • Read, read, read, read, read, read, read • Ask for suggestions • Maintain awareness of community needs • Hone your people/patron service skills

4. How to Improve • Best preparation  • A liberal arts education • Or, specific field if a subject area librarian • Being well-read • Multi-cultural literacy • The real challenge • Keeping up-to-date • Browsing the collection, making use of bibliographic aids, collegiality, professional reading

5. How to ImproveGeneral Techniques • Newspapers & Magazines • Local, national, and alternative • People, Time, Rolling Stone, WSJ, NYT, etc. • Online and print • Radio, television, film • Talk to your patrons • Be aware of local demographics and interests • Staff meetings • Share challenging questions, discuss new tools • Conferences/workshops • Membership in professional organizations

6. How to ImproveProfessional Resources • Read the professional literature • Library Journal, American Libraries • Read relevant journals and magazines in your subject area • Public Libraries, Chronicle of Higher Education, etc. • Listservs • LIBREF-L, STUMPERS-L, FICTION-L, etc.

7. How to ImproveWhen All Else Fails… • Don’t forget reference interview fundamentals…ever! • Check with your colleagues • In the library and elsewhere • Make a referral • Importance of networking • Read, gosh darnit! • Google! p.s. - E-tact and people skills

8. Evaluation of Reference Services

9. Purpose of Evaluation • How efficient is the service • Evaluating the process • Evaluating quality and quantity of resources (i.e. materials and staff) • Patron perception • Use at different service points

10. Common Evaluation • Directional vs. reference • Expert analysis is best  $ • Keep track of actual questions and answers • Were the answers suitable? Could they have been more appropriate?

11. Useful Measures • Assessing effectiveness of present service • Evaluating effectiveness of new services • Assessing effectiveness of policies • Effectiveness is not a number!

12. Quality vs. Quantity • Easy to access quantity • Keep track of the number of reference interactions, time spent on question • Difficult to assess quality • Requires patron input • Can require time the librarian does not have • i.e. self-assessment, writing down questions • Unanswerables – e.g. how much time did the reference interview save the patron? • The assessor must be impartial

13. The Bottom Line

14. Collection Maintenance

15. Selection Aids • Ontological reference books (e.g. GRS) • Professional literature • Booklist [ link ] • Library Journal [ link ] • Choice [ link ] • Conferences • On the Web • MARS [ link 1 ] [ link 2 ] • Other library websites [ NYPL ]

16. Evaluating Sources • Format – print, electronic, pictures • Scope – purpose, coverage, currency • Relation to similar works – uniqueness, new editions • Authority – authorship, publisher • Treatment – accuracy, style/audience • Arrangement – sequence, indexing • Special Features – online supplements • Cost – price, licensing conditions • Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory [ link ]

17. Maintenance of the Collection • Weeding • Factors in deselection • Frequency of use • Age of material • Physical condition • Arrival of new volume • Need for space • Uniqueness