blog #6

I have a few observation about the activities we have been working on the past few weeks. I think that it is very useful to be exposed to the many types and sources of information that is available to a reference library worker. I also can appreciate that it can seem overwhelming at times and sometimes you don't even know where to start sometimes. I think that it is easy to lose perspective when you are in the learning process and sometimes it is good to remember the purpose and the mission of the reference search. It is exciting to explore all the various websites and to look at print source and I think that is part of the appeal of library work. Any one in the field should be excited about learning and helping others find information which can actually improve their lives. I love working in a library because every day I can say that I have helped someone and that is very satisfying. We need to always remember that we work for the patrons. We also need to remember that reference work is work and that there is no excuse  for being lazy.  If the reference librarian just googles every inquiry the they are not really helping their patrons.
It is a process and a commitment to become a good reference worker. One of the first things that you must do is determine the needs of your service community and you must also take the time to see what resources that you already have in the library. I think that patrons have the right to expect us to know how to find information. We don't have to be "smarter " than our patrons. In many case we are going to meet people who are better educated that we are. We need to be the "experts" in finding information not knowing it. We should be so familiar with the encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs that we can almost find the right source by instinct.
The second part of the process is what we talked about at the beginning of the class. We need to make sure we understand what the patron is actually looking for. I hope that everyone remembers that important step and if we do we won't just start typing in a word search in google. We have to continually evaluate whether the databases and materials that we have at the library are really meeting our service needs. We can  be so impressed with something like Proquest of Gale that they become their own little icons. If our patrons don't use them and we don't know how to really use them they are of little use. One thing that we do is once we find a good site is we bookmark it and we share it with our staff. We even have a little notebook where we talk about  searches and inquiries that were unusual or useful. Also don't be afraid to ask for help. We make calls to the County Law library and UCR all the time, they are glad to help. One of the five laws of libraries is not to waste the reader's time. Typing in a term search and then staring at ten thousand responses is not using the patrons time well. Find good sites and use them and know your resource helps everyone