Getting faculty on your side

Posted on February 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

I gave a tour to librarians from another academic institution to discuss ways to co-locate other student-centered services and make badly needed changes to their library. When we discussed changes to collection development and our technological systems, one librarian asked, “how do you deal with pushback from faculty?” It’s a valid question. Many faculty are much more in love with the idea of physical books. Even if those books are The Guide to Careers for Men from 1982 and features a man with blonde feathered hair on the cover. Many faculty lament that students no longer use periodic guides or indexes. They require students to use REAL journals, not those online things.

We use a number of formal and informal channels to deal with. Granted, we are an institution with about 150 full-time faculty and numerous adjuncts. But the point is, we use proactive, positive means to get faculty on our side so that the day when we majorly pare down our print reference collection, we hope to have less protests and more excitement.

  • Wine and cheese function: one of my colleagues is tasked with getting faculty to use more technology in teaching. She’s hosting a wine and cheese “buffet” at which faculty can drink while browsing tables hosted by their colleagues who already use technology. Soooo, we get ’em with free food and drink. We’ve got a higher administrator supporting the value of the program. We then have their peers show off projects. And we hopefully reach some technophiles by showing them how technology can support research and teaching. (We are sneaky this way.)
  • Monthly electronic newsletter: we write a few articles that are campus-specific, but we try to be broader. This month I’m writing about Pinterest: what is it, how I use it personally and professionally, and ways they can use it personally and professionally. I have a student who writes regularly on the kinds of technology he and his peers are using (so, instead of having him dust, he’s developing his writing skills and using his strengths.) We use the newsletter to convey campus news, but to also highlight cool digital archives available. We use it to build buzz about upcoming changes; framing them as things to look forward to.
  • Formal liaison: most libraries do this. It’s great and it works. Something we do as part of our program is to invite ourselves to department and division meetings once a semester. As a group, we figure out what we want to highlight in our 15 minutes. So maybe we’ll preview a new database we’re thinking of getting and solicit feedback. Then we’ll talk quickly about how we just subscribed to PollEverywhere and show it off. We use the time to show them what we’ve got in addition to asking what they want.
  • Bait and Switch: at the liaison meetings we’ll often show off great new resources. I’ll host Resource of the Month booths- I set up computers with cookies and folks can check out what the resource of the month is. We’ll write newsletter articles about wonderful new resources. We frontload heavily with what’s great, hopefully getting faculty excited about what we offer. Some faculty will complain when we weed out books, but the hope is to heavily promote what’s good. The better defense is a good offense.
  • The reality of books: I have this grand idea that when my friend Rachel Wightman returns from having worked in a library in Uganda for the past two years of having her come talk about her experience. Rachel has learned that books are important (especially when your electricity is always going out or your wireless runs out), but they do not stand the test of time and stop meeting needs at some point. She wrote a wonderful blog post about books donated to her library in Africa that anyone weeding should read.  She offers a common-sense look at the reality of books: they are not all sacred. Sometimes we have to…gasp…throw them out. You should have Rachel come talk to your faculty and administrators if they’re the sort who cringe at getting rid of a 1963 Emily Post Etiquette for Weddings.
  • Be savvy: okay, that’s vague. But here’s what I mean: if you are making changes let the administration know. Explain to the provost (or have your boss do it) why this will support teaching and learning. Let the president/chancellor know what day you are throwing all of those books out. Then make sure your staff don’t put them in the dumpster until pick-up day!
  • Get partners in crime: or create them! I asked to meet with a faculty member who asked me about periodic guides to show him some databases. He was very resistant to students getting away with “easy” research, but I kept at him and showed him the marvels of modern technology. He never stopped telling students about his old research days, but he does invite me to do library instruction every semester. I regularly email faculty when we acquire a new database in their field or when I find a digital collection or technology I think they would like. First, it let’s them know we’re trying to meet their needs, but it also opens the door for conversation. It takes about three minutes of my time to email the English faculty when we get a cool new literature series.

There will always be faculty who complain. And who complain to higher-ups. By using some proactive, positive formal and informal means of communication, we hope to get and keep faculty on our sides.

Many of you at larger institutions could do some of this on smaller levels. Instead of hosting a wine and cheese event for the entire faculty, why not do it a division or college at a time? Think about how our ideas could fit into your institution, with a little tweaking.

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Posted in Faculty-specific outreach

Outreach is…education

Posted on February 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Librarians are educators. Sometimes we teach users how to navigate databases. Other times we help them discover new books or movies. We show them how to use the copier, where to get tax assistance, and how to buy a used exercise bike off of Craigslist. When we do these things we also teach users the value of libraries and librarians. We help them discover the roles we can play in their lives. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

Instruction is a fear that many librarians avoid overcoming. It’s also a beloved activity many librarians strive to get better at. Whether you are standing in front of  a class, working one-on-one or handing out swag at a community event, you are doing some kind of instruction. Here are a few ideas for the myriad types of instruction we do that have worked for me or fellow librarians.

  • Think in terms of learning outcomes. I do this even for fun programs I plan or tours I give. What do I want people to learn? Do I want them to learn how to find full text outside of a database? Do I want them to learn how to contact the library if they need help? Do I want them to connect our collection to an interest of theirs? Do I want them to discover the personal value libraries have to them?

    Here’s a guide to get you started thinking in terms of learning outcomes. And here is a good list of verbs to use when creating LOs, based around Bloom’s Taxonomy. Learning outcomes help me really think through my goals and expectations for what I do.

  • Potentially assess the LOs you care most about. As my teacher Melissa Wong shared, this is not about assessing YOU, but about assessing what people learned. In instruction classes, I hold competitions (“first group to find a peer-reviewed article about Lady Gaga using a database wins a rubber ducky!”). The winners then have to come up to the front and show their process in order to obtain the priceless rubber ducky.

    With tours I might do a scavenger hunt which people really DO love especially if there is a prize at the end, even something simple like a pencil or bookmark. Sometimes assessment for me comes in touchy-feely ways such as when students come to me saying a friend recommended they see me for help. Or when I get asked a question on research in the weight room.

  • Start out group instruction or group tours with a think-pair-share.  Ask them to discuss a question with someone next to them and be prepared to share answers. Questions I like include: what’s the most intimidating thing about using the library/doing research? What kinds of resources and services do you want from the library? What’s your favorite thing about libraries?A think-pair-share establishes from the get-go that folks will be expected to participate. I call on them at random to share, which lets them know anyone can be called upon! Plus it helps loosen them up and establishes that this tour/instruction is for them. I can then tailor my outline to their needs.
  • More words of wisdom from Melissa Wong: if people leave with a sense of confidence, they will be satisfied. This could mean leaving confident in the fact that a friendly librarian will help them.When I give tours I always stop at the service desks and ask the students working there: “so, what do you help people with?” This gives the listeners a sense of not only what they can get help with, but hopefully a sense of confidence in the staff working there. They are no longer strangers behind a desk: they are people with help to offer…willingly! A personal connection makes people more confident and comfortable.When I use a culminating exercise to give students a chance to show off what they have learned, they hopefully take with them a sense of accomplishment and confidence in using the library. And yes, I know, sometimes it might be a false one.  Which is why I try to hit more the idea that we are here to help and point out self-help options, too.
  • When I give tours or instruction for classes, I ask the instructor if I can assign them some work. Most are willing to do this and add the points to their cumulative while some say no and others offer it as extra credit. I usually ask them to find something fun (an encyclopedia article on gnomes plus the call number for a book on gnomes in our collection) and email me by a certain time.
  • Make them teach. I’ve done this for both tours and instruction. I divide them into groups and give each group a series of tasks to figure out. Figure out how to find a peer-reviewed article on racism in high schools from Academic Search Premier. Figure out how to search our catalog for Magic School Bus books, find one on the shelf and bring it back. Figure out how to check out a DVD, renew it and return it.  Each group gets 20 minutes to complete their tasks and then they have to come back and show their classmates/fellow tourists how they did. I find this works especially well with Adult Education students who are more willing to explore and then share mistakes made in the process. The mistakes they make are often the most helpful for me and them: I can see common mistakes I might need to address and they get to see that everyone else is having trouble using the library!
  • A favorite instruction activity for classes: have them make lists on giant Post-Its of all of the reasons why they might have trouble finding research for an assignment. Then I show them all of the potential solutions. Sometimes the solution might be “change your topic.” But it gives them a chance to air excuses and me the chance to address them head-on.

A few resources I love for instruction:

  • Adventures in Library Instruction podcast: a monthly podcast about teaching info lit in library instruction.
  • Edutopia.org: funded by George Lucas, this org rewards and promotes best practices of innovative teaching with lots of focus on technology. I never fail to learn something new about teaching from this, even if I’m reading about a second grade class learning social studies in New Orleans. Covers many topics we care about such as the Digital Divide.

I believe all librarians teach. It’s one of our greatest legacies as service-providers.

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Posted in Outreach librarianship, Student-specific outreach, Activities and Programs

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Update your skills freely (or at least cheaply)

Posted on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment

Time is of the essence, especially we are asked to do more with less. That includes more professional development in less time and with less money. What’s a librarian to do? Beware of Googling for library-related professional development. You’ll run into some outdated links and abandoned blogs. Check out some of these resources that cover a wide variety of topics:

  • YALSA Academy: newly launched short and sweet web videos including using Twitter and customer service basics for working with teens. It’s just getting started, but look for more videos to come and considering submitting your own. These could be great for library staff to watch, too. And check out YALSA’s Professional Development Center online, too.
  • ACRL’s Online Toolkit: helpful information on advocacy, communication, info lit and outreach.
  • Attend conferences virtually: more conferences are offering virtual components to their real-life conferences. At a fraction of the cost, you can garner the benefits of conferences without waiting in line at Starbucks for 45 minutes. Of course, you’ll miss the swag and tequila shots…
  • Webinars: take advantage of these! ALA does a great job of keeping members informed of regular webinars on a variety of topics. Those not sure the price of membership is worth it should understand that joining entitles you to such professional development tools. Many companies are also supporting/hosting webinars. You can find out upcoming ones at places like School Library Journal or American Libraries. But we aware that companies hosting webinars are oftentimes hoping to interest you in their product. Still, it’s a chance for free information.
  • Subscribe to a listserv, or two, or three: ok, so this seems like a no-brainer that they tell you in library school. But are you doing this? Are you active on at least one? I get tons of ideas by querying both YALSA and ACRL listserv folks. They will tell you when something’s a good idea, or not. Learn about products before they hit the market. Stay connected through listservs. Here’s a good list courtesy of the Library of Congress.
  • Twitter: librarians are voracious Tweeters, as are many authors and techies. Here’s a good list to get you started.
  • Favorite blogs, sites, & wikis: a few I love and always get something out of include Against the Grain, The Scholarly Kitchen, Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki, A Library Story, Librarians Matter (check ou the post on 100 Articles Every Librarian Should Read), and Educause.

Hopefully this should get you started. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some DOWNTON ABBEY to catch up on.

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Book club with a twist

Posted on January 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

Dear public, school, academic and special librarians: have I got an idea for (most of) you: professional book club. As in book clubs for professional settings. Let me explain.

My friend Sarah is at a school dealing with transition across the board. Morale is bumpy, state funding is being cut and many administrative positions are empty. She decided to deal with the change by establishing a book club open to all staff, faculty and administration. They would read books on change, motivation, conflict-resolution and other issues she and her colleagues were experiencing. She started out small and informal, but word spread and more folks wanted to join.

The book club became a safe, structured space in which to discuss these issues. The books provide a framework from which to discuss and potentially solve issues. Plus, Sarah chooses books that mix theory and practical application well (a good mix for academia in which we could get lost in the theory and never find an actual solution!). She has opened the book club to interested parties outside the school. It makes for a richer conversation and gives her colleagues valuable outside perspective.

We meet every two weeks in a conference room during lunch. It’s often enough to keep momentum going, but not so often that it feels like a burden. Currently, we are reading Carol Dweck’s Mindset, which explores the difference between fixed and growth-oriented mindsets. In reading the book, it’s given me insight not just into my professional and personal self, but into our profession. We are a growth-oriented profession; those with a similar mindset are the ones keeping up with and enjoying change. They are the librarians embracing e-books, Facebook and Pinterest. They are the ones no one thinks Google will replace.

Choosing your audience and purpose are key to starting this up. Do students need to prepare for grad school or the job market? Is morale low at work? Is your place of worship struggling with change? And it doesn’t have to be “in your face.” Sarah casually promotes the book club as one centered around professional issues in academia. But it’s become a safe place in which to approach the stresses she and her colleagues face.

The book club: it’s not just for talking about the Oscars anymore.

 

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Posted in Activities and Programs

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Getting student feedback

Posted on January 6, 2012 | 1 Comment

How students sometimes feel about giving feedback. (No librarians or students we harmed in the making of this photo. Thanks, Marta, Amy, and Maureen!)

Getting student feedback is a huge challenge. We compete with already full schedules, reaching those off-campus and convincing students their feedback will result in actual change. What we plan to do in 2012 is to gather student feedback more intentionally, to include them in the process and help shape that process. I feel these initial activities and partnerships can lead to finding better ways to assess our outreach activities, and many of our other programs and services.

Town hall meeting: each year our president does a state of the union with students only. It’s very well and broadly attended. Working with the dean of students office and student government, we will begin hosting town hall meetings for students each semester. Students can ask any question and we expect the first ten minutes to be fairly negative. I’m asking people who have good senses of humor and strong knowledge to serve on the panel. Student government is helping to promote and host it. Dean of students staff will be on hand to help should problems arise. These town hall meetings will also offer us the chance to promote changes long before they happen to start minimizing annoyances. And we plan to host them at night, after evening classes are held, when students are used to events being held for them as opposed to scheduling when convenient for us.

Student advisory board: this is already a well-established activity in many public libraries. Many colleges and universities are following suit: UNC’s SLAB, Lewis & Clark’s Student Advisory Committee, Cal Poly’s SLAC, and Temple’s SLAB are among schools with strong student advisory boards. I am coordinating with our Student Government and Residence Life Council to get ideas from them on how best to recruit students and run meetings. The biggest challenge will be to recruit and maintain a student from our adult education program. Being flexible on meeting times and providing food will be a must.

Giant Post Its around the library: I love giant Post-Its. I use them for a regular Question of the Week (which sends message we want this info and allows me to take the answers to meetings.) I make giant to-do lists on them. In the spring semester, students will find giant Post-Its and markers placed around rooms and zones. The Post-Its will feature questions such as, “what do you use this space for?” “what do you think this space is intended for?” “could we use this space better or differently?” and so forth. We will begin to redefine our space over the next few years and think this could be a productive way to gather feedback from students.

I hope to hear from you ways in which you have successfully gathered and used student feedback. Join the conversation!

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Posted in Student-specific outreach

End of year wrap-up: my favorites

Posted on December 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

2012 is peeking its brand spankin’-new head around the corner. Which means before we can look forward to all of the weight we are going to lose next year, we must look fondly back on the year 2011. Since librarianship is all about education, information and access, I’m not sticking to a Best Books List or Fave Apps rundown. Here are the best books, media, practices, etc. in librarianship for 2011, according to me. And sorry, calendars with nekkid librarian dudes is not on the list.

  • “Down the Mysterly River” by Bill Willingham (YA book, middle grades and above). I am disappointed to not see this book on more best of lists. The ending is a bit weak and slightly unsatisfying, but the meat of the book more than makes up for it. Max the Wolf, a Boy Scout, finds himself in a strange forest where he meets three talking animals. The four must figure out where they are, what are they doing there and how to stay alive as they are chased by the Blue Cutters, which are just what they sound like. Very satisfying tale for anyone who loves Story.
  • DIY librarianship, or service outside the box: we are not the sum of our books or the walls around us. This young couple in Mexico has created their own bookmobile with a suitcase  one afternoon a week. The Little Free Library offers any interested party with $350 the opportunity to share information freely. And of course, the Occupy Wall Street Library movement illustrates how freely accessible information is indeed the cornerstone of democracy.
  • “Video Game Collection Development and Management“  by JP Porcaro and Justin Hoenke. JP and Justin are an academic and public librarian, so they know how to talk both sides of the street. These two young movers and shakers offer a guide for anyone wanting to start a video game collection, but might have last played Frogger. Or might never have picked up a joystick in their lives. No longer do libraries need to have someone “in the know” in order to provide this resource to their patrons.
  • Database and catalog changes for the better! Databases and catalogs seem to have been changing A LOT this year with the actual searching preferences of users in mind. MP3 downloads of articles, experimentation with “find more like this” features, and more clearly defining types of sources discovered have all earned raves from our students. Plus I’m very excited for OCLC’s WorldShare to start popping up all over LibraryLand. General users want to find everything in one place, but most federated search functions are clunky at best and the physical results make my eyes bleed. I think those who start using WorldShare now will be glad they did when it becomes the norm in 10 years.
  • “It’s A Book” by Lane Smith. (Also “It’s a Little Book,” the board book version). A young monkey tries to figure out what the heck this thing is. Is it for eating? For emailing? My three-year-old nephew laughs every time I read it. And he’s three, so I read it a lot.
  • YALSA’s App of the Week blog posts. I don’t have an iDevice, so I depend on this blog to keep me abreast of what’s new and noteworthy in the app world. Since my ideal app would tell me whenever a rerun of 30 Rock was playing, these posts provide excellent information for keeping up on ALL of the media our patrons want to consume. And if you only know Angry Birds, you need to start reading this column.
  • Pinterest.com. (I have invitations, so hit me up if you want one! Lizz@carthage.edu). Finally, a way to organize visual information that is VISUAL! Pinterest is an online bulletin board that allows users to “pin” pics and videos to any number of boards they create. I love Pinterest so much I want to marry it. Most bookmark tools are so linear and text-based that the visual people out there get the shaft. Pinterest has become the YA librarians tool of choice (craft ideas!) and I am hooked myself. Pinterest has a sparse aesthetic to keep from competing with all of your pics. I’m working on getting our theatre department to use it. It’s the perfect tool for costume designers to collect ideas for characters and comment on the process without wasting tons of paper and color ink cartridges.
  • Under 20s getting on Twitter. They said it couldn’t be done. That under 20s would NEVER join Twitter because it was already out of date and unfashionable. They said teens would by-pass it and wait for the NEXT BIG THING. But they didn’t. Thanks to celebrities both witty and plain stupid, Drunk Hulk, and prolific authors, Twitter is enjoying a new, decidedly adolescent crowd of Followers. Libraries who gave up on their Twitter accounts last year can revive them in 2012 knowing it’s worth tweeting about. (Nathan Fillion, Neil Gaiman, Mindy Kaling, Feminist Hulk and numerous librarians are my favorites.)
  • The release of the second-to-last Twilight movie. Because then maybe it will go away, please.
  • YA and kidlit in general. I think the best, most innovative, interesting reading comes out of these genres. Love zombies? We’ve got hundreds of books for you way before the adultlit world or cable TV picks up on the trend. Looking for positive gay characters who worry more about a prom date than whether something’s wrong with them? Or perhaps you want a scathing, hilarious satire on society. YA and kidlit have it all. And because these books must appeal to kids in varying stages of emotional and intellectual development, they must be better-written to catch fans. Look beyond the Hunger Games series (which is wonderful) and see all that YA and kidlit have to offer. Plus it’s fun to finish a book in three hours.
  • The Zombie Guide to the Library. Yeah, this thing just rocked our worlds this year.

Thanks for reading. As always, I welcome your comments and offers to guest post!

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One more adventure in reference…take that, Google!

Posted on December 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Thanks to all who contributed and passed around the post on reference adventures. To celebrate the end of our semester (and maybe yours), I offer a GEM of a story.

Sarah Howison, Youth Services Specialist at the Bethel, OH Branch Library emailed me such an amazing story on December 4, that I had to copy, cut and paste it rather than risk spoiling the story by paraphrasing: “Today I tagged a deer for a patron, online. I have never been hunting in my life, but this guy seemed to think I was some kind of deerstalking ninja, just because I found all of the information he needed and helped him type it up. Then he asked me if I wanted to see the deer, because “it was right outside” in the back of his truck. I declined, but I checked the security camera footage later and…yep, buck in a truck.”

I think we can all agree that Sarah wins the prize.

Please keep me posted on your library adventure. What are your goals for 2012 in terms of outreach? Mine includes developing tools (both qualitative and quantitative) to assess my outreach activities. I’ve got a few tried and true tricks in my bag, but it’s time to see how effective they are. Additionally, many of you have stated the need to produce quantitative results to your supervisors showing the value of outreach work.

Happy holidays!

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21st Century Libraries

Posted on December 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Thanks to writer Jonathan Maberry for his recent virtual panel discussion posts featuring librarians. In lieu of my own post this week, I am directing you to this discussion “What’s the Buzz about 21st Century Libraries?” Maberry asks the question, “What does a brick-and-mortar library have that I can’t find on the Net?” Though it’s a question we might tire of debating amongst ourselves, with legislators, patrons, and snarky uncles, it’s not a question going away any time soon.

In 2012 in addition to the practical tips and programming this blog usually offers, we’ll also start exploring the profession from a more theoretical perspective. “What are we?” is a question we must continually ask ourselves. Are we educators? Service providers? Gate keepers? Guardians of knowledge? Bookophiles? Defenders of freedom? Early adopters? Tech gurus? Road signs along the information highway? Guides on the side? I hope you will contribute your thoughts and voice to this discussion by guest posting. You can email me at ezitron@hotmail.com to contribute.

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Apologies to survey respondents

Posted on December 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Many apologies for my sloppiness in last week’s post. I made mistakes in names and even gender of respondents to my survey. Am hoping you all will excuse these mistakes as I was fighting the awful cold going around. Thank you for your responses and apologies for any inconvenience my errors caused.

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Adventures in Reference, or this is why Google will never replace us

Posted on December 1, 2011 | 3 Comments

Some of the best outreach we do is through reference. A friendly, supportive, helpful reference experience can create bigger fans of the library than free cookies or a Neil Gaiman visit. When patrons walk away feeling listened to and helped, they are more likely to advocate for us, visit us and spread the word that the library has good stuff (like Penn Jillette said, we have good wi-fi). At the end of the day we are service providers.

Good reference service often means having patience, a good “I’m listening” look and going beyond the stacks to answer queries. Once a student was looking for a Bollywood movie she had to watch for class…by tonight. We did not have it; NetFlix did not have it. So I called all of the Indian grocery stores in the vicinity until I found someone who did have it. I found out which bus she could take to get there and how to get a movie account. She felt great about the library and I felt a little proud, I gotta say.

This week, I asked librarians to share their favorite adventures in reference. (We are quite the innovative group.) They each demonstrate in their own way best practices in reference service. And the librarian in question probably created a library lover for life.

Librarian as travel guide, or recognizing user need: Jessica Brown of the Enoch Pratt Free Library shares a story that many of us can relate to: “I had a patron come in asking for directions to a building that was near our location. I did the usual things (address, map, Google street view even), but this poor young woman looked so frazzled and anxious (and also, English was her second language), I decided, what the heck? After a brief conversation with my manager, I took the patron outside and walked her to her the building she was trying to get to.  She was so relieved, she sprung at me and hugged me! I realize that this isn’t the most realistic way to handle a question of this type in all situations, but it was beyond apparent that this particular patron needed this information by way of travel guide.”

Mission accomplished!, or finding innovative ways to meet need: drue wagner-mees of the Los Angeles Public Library Brentwood branch is often called upon to help settle bets over outrageous topics with often outrageous stakes. A patron who lost such a bet had to cook a rattlesnake dinner for the winner. He came to the library seeking help with this task (of course!). “We had a southwestern style cookbook that had a really gorgeous photo of a “snake” made out of all sorts of chopped up small food items, like bits of chopped boiled egg, capers, and for the forked tongue you used a piece of pimento cut up. That saved his butt on this bet!” dree reports. The man loved the idea and checked the book out.

Heather Booth helped a patron trying to remember the name of a business that had burned down in town many years ago for a bet. Heather called the local fire department and asked to speak to the fire fighter who had been there the longest.  The fire fighter remembered the fire and helped the patron settled his bet. Now THAT’S using your sources.

And, Jen Schuremen, Gloucester County, NJ Library System, had a gentleman who bet his friend that the score of their high school football game (they went to rival schools) in 1953 was a shutout. Jen searched  archived local papers and discovered that the historical museum had yearbooks.  So she went to the 1953 yearbook and found the score proving the patron was correct and owed a beer.

What is Mick Jagger actually singing here? No reference desk can rightly call themselves one if they have not helped a patron who cannot remember the name of a song but are happy to hum it for you. Karl Siewert of the Tulsa Public Library had a regular telephone patron who often called asking for lyrics to old songs. “She once asked for one that she couldn’t remember the tune to, but I could. I ended up singing the song to her over the phone, though not at the reference desk.” (In case you’re curious, it was “Button Up Your Overcoat.”)

Keeping a Straight Face Award, or don’t eat at this woman’s house: Michell Hackwelder, Northwestern University in Qatar, shares this eye-popper. When she worked at the Queensborough Public Library’s Central Library in the early 90’s, a woman came in saying she had frozen her baby’s placenta and wanted to know what she could do with it. Because she heard that placentas were important. The intrepid Michell gave her references on different cultures religious use of placenta, Medicinal/magical  lore/use of placenta, and Use of animal not human placenta in shampoo. (See, we can answer any question…except maybe “could you please read this x-ray for me?”)

THIS is what reference is all about, or there is not really a specific time nor place for reference: Lawrie Merz of Messiah College was the on-call librarian the last weekend of the semester. At that time the desk was not open on the weekends, but the on-call librarian would carry a cellphone. Lawrie was surprised when she got a call, but helped the patron all while CUTTING DOWN HER CHRISTMAS TREE! “I walked them through navigating our homepage and getting to the right database (from memory—had to try to picture the homepage) and then coaching them by suggesting several keywords.”

That’s my librarian, dawg: Sandy Moltz of the Swampscott, MA Public Library is the young adult librarian we want to grow up to be. She has two awesome rock ‘n’ roll reference stories. She recalls running into some young patrons at the Warped Tour who couldn’t find the stage hosting their favorite band. The librarian was able to guide them to the correct location (because she had read the schedule!). Even better: one of those library kids went to see Rancid and ended up talking with the band members. He had been into juggalo* music, so they asked him how he got into their music and he answered, “A librarian from the next town.”

Sometimes patrons need hands-on help, or yes we know this is a librarian stereotype: Laurena Schultz of Mt. Lebanon, PA Public Library, Tracey Johnson, Shawnee Community College, and Jeri Cohen, Patchogue-Medford, NY Library, have all provided hands-on knitting assistance to yarn-troubled patrons seeking books to help correct their knotty mistakes. “I felt funny, standing at the circulation desk with yarn and needles, but whatever helps our patron, right?” says Tracey. Exactly!

Where does stuff like this fit into a job description? Amy Gillespie knows first-hand that one never knows what they can expect at a reference desk. There is no “that’s not my job” at a reference desk.  A patron came to the Pennsylvania public library where Amy worked needing information on her aunt. Specifically, the aunt had passed away and as she was not next-of-kin, the hospital couldn’t tell her any more than that. The distraught woman had visited her aunt often in the hospital, but was on bad terms with her cousin. She wanted information on funeral services, which Amy looked for diligently using all of the usual information suspects. Finally, she called someone she knew in the medical examiner’s office and got the details the woman was looking for. By the end of that interview, Amy had an invitation to a pecan orchard in Georgia.

Knowing what our patrons REALLY need: Sometimes our patrons just need us to do something for them. We all try to teach and guide so that they can do it themselves next time. But that’s not always the service truly needed. Heather Booth recalls a woman needing instruction to use Word in order to reformat the programs for her mother’s memorial service. Heather decided to just do it herself for the patron as “I just couldn’t sit there and teach her when it was such a personal, sensitive need.”

“So I need this one book about this one thing by this one author…”: Scottsdale, AZ Public Librarian Beth Medley epitomizes what I love about us: we won’t give up until we help a patron.  A patron wanted to read a book she had seen on a TV talk show. The catch? She didn’t know the book’s title or author, and she didn’t know which show she had seen it on. Beth prevailed and discovered the patron did know that it was Monday afternoon around 4:00. She did what any librarian worth her weight in free books did and went to the TV Guide website to identify the show. With that information in hand, Beth visited the show’s website to find that day’s schedule AND the book title. ”It took a while,” Beth confesses, ”but she left with what she wanted!”

We will use every available resource we can think of in the pursuit of an answer: Several years ago the Pope referenced a Chekov short story in his Easter homily, but didn’t name the story, recalls Heather Booth.  A patron wanted to read it, so she scanned Chekov for the phrases the Pope had used, called several Catholic churches, the library of a nearby Catholic college, and the Archdiocese of Chicago.  No one knew what it was and Heather maintains that His Holiness maybe read it long ago and forgot who really wrote the story.  In any case, she suggests he could have used a librarian to help him fact check that homily!  While Heather never found the answer, her persistence and dedication embody the spirit of reference.

Jen Schureman had a patron ask  if it was possible to send a letter to Italy in 1915 and if so, how much would it cost and how it would get there.  Jen first tried the United States Postal Service, but they didn’t know.  She then tried the National Postal Museum at the Smithsonian Institute.  She found out that it would cost 5 to 15 cents and it would get there by boat since airmail didn’t begin until 1918. (I hope that patron dedicated whatever World War I novel they were writing to Jen.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am proud to call myself Librarian.

* i.e.: Insane Clown Posse

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