Technical Services/ER spoof

This was on Tame the Web today. I thought I'd share.

Here is the video description from youtube:

• This is an "ER" spoof video for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library Technical Services Department, entitled "TS". The LibVlog series video was written by and stars AHML staff members.

Thing #20 - youtube

I've had a youtube account for over a year and I find youtube fascinating. I cannot believe how much knowledge there is out there that folks want to share - for free. There's a guy (Patrick Costello) who just gives banjo lessons away at http://youtube.com/user/Dobro33H here is lesson #1 for those who are interested in clawhammer frailing banjo.





After exploring youtube for more banjo and guitar stuff I told my wife that there were probably folks out there show others how to bake (her latest obsession). Sure enough, there were dozens of people making sour dough starters with the video camera rolling.

It would be nice to start a MBL youtube page in the future. I can imagine an updated storytime or promoting events (Community Music Jam) on youtube.

Thing #19 - Exploring

I looked at the http://www.seomoz.org/ awards and decided to check a few things I'd never heard of.

While I do know about self publishing, I had not heard of Lulu, which helps writers, musicians, movie makers, just about all artists, get into the marketplace. Lulu help you publish you book and also helps you sell it. I took their tour and actually found it quite interesting. I then looked at some of their non-fiction books (I'm sorry, but fiction self-published books tend to be awful - call me a snob, I don't care). I found quite a few books on gardening, cooking, hiking (I found this book, which I think we might purchase for the library Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple ) and I also looked at their self-published poetry (scary - again, call me a snob).

I next looked at http://www.metacafe.com/ which is sort of like youtube, but not as good. Which make me wonder why anyone would go to metacafe other than those who just want to boycott youtube because it's too popular. Anyway, seomoz gave it an award as third best in the video catagory.

More on #18

So that was one mighty long post. Obviously a link to the training might have been better, but I'm going to leave it the way it is, just to show "what not to do."

Anyway, I can see how powerful this application could be. And the thought that all of this can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet - very nice.

I see a fine line of difference between this and wikis, as far as in-house collaboration is concerned. In fact, I can't see any difference for in-house collaboration.

Thing #18 Google Docs

I uploaded my Reference Interview training to my Google docs account and then "published" it to my blog. The whole thing follows:

Annual In-Service Training

April 16, 2008

The Reference Interview

Presented by Jeff Delfield

The Reference Interview

Thanks and introduce self…

Objective: During this session you’ll learn what a reference interview is and why it is so important. You’ll also learn the components of the reference interview and helpful strategies to implement them.

I. What is a Reference Interview and why is it important:

Definition:

The conversation that occurs between a library employee and a library user to determine the person's specific information need(s), which may turn out to be different from the question initially posed.

A reference interview may occur:

In person

Over the phone

Sometimes electronically - (usually via e-mail)

Sometimes at a patron’s request …

But a good employee will sometimes initiate communication if a hesitant patron appears to need assistance.

Importance:

Patrons so often have trouble articulating their specific information needs.

Sometimes patrons may have trouble expressing their needs to a stranger, or may be reluctant to do so.

Also, patrons sometimes don’t understand all the sources and types of information the library has to offer, so they form question based on their perceptions and past experiences.

Finally, let’s face it, sometimes patrons, literally, don’t know what they want.

One Example:

Suppose a woman comes into your library asking for tomato sauce recipes.

It's easy to provide her with those recipes but is that all that she needs?

Suppose this woman has just grown her first home garden tomatoes and is overwhelmed by the amount she harvested.

If you can find out what the real need is, you may be able to really help her by providing her with ideas of other things she might do with the tomatoes: canning them, drying them, making ketchup, giving them to food banks, composting them, and so forth.

You would have done a much better job of really meeting the information need that brought her to the library, even if she didn't clearly express her need in her opening question.

Other examples to think about:

Here are some questions I’d like you to look over. What is your first, “gut” impression of what the patron is looking for?

“Where are your books on horses?” (training, riding, betting, )

“My son is an honor student and on the debate team. He told me his next debate is on how children live in the orient. Where would I find this information for him?” (China population problem, culture in the orient)

“Where are your books on cars?” (repair, racing, history, reviews)

“Where is your section on child psychology?” (research, Piaget, text book)

“I need the book “Oranges and Peaches” for my college biology class, where can I find it?” (fruit trees, botany, landscape)

What do you think this patron’s information needs are?

You can see that different people read the same question in different ways.

Keep these questions in mind and we’ll get back to them later.

II. Components of a Reference interview:

1. Greeting

Be approachable –say HELLO, SMILE and ask “how can I help you?”

Believe it or not, some people are actually intimidated by you. We need to let them know we want to help them find what they need. We’ve gone over good customer service skills in the past and they apply to the Reference Interview, 100%.

2) Active Listening

There is a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing tends to be passive, we hear background noise but don’t process it. Listening is active. If done correctly, it is difficult – it take energy.

However, communication can only happen if you are actively listening to you patron.

As a patron tells you about an information need:

• Focus on the person and concentrate on the question – try not to be distracted by your environment.

• Hear the person out – never finish a person information request or start typing on the computer before they’ve finished their request.

• Listen for facts, concepts or main concerns.

• Let the patron know you’re listening by nodding or saying “I see” or “I understand” when appropriate.

• If you do not understand the patron’s question let them know. Tell them “I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand the question” or “I’m not familiar with that term, could you explain it to me.”

3. Ask open ended questions:

In order to get the patron to tell you more about what they are looking for, open questions should be used.

Open ended question require an answer that will get the patron to explain more about an information need. Closed questions require one word answers, like yes or no. The idea is to give the patron a chance to state their own questions and not to have you define what the patron wants, by “filling in the blanks.”

Examples of CLOSED “fill-in-the-blank” questions are:

Partron request: Where are your books on computers? Where are your books on birds?

Employee response: Do you want to learn how to fix computers? Are you a birder?

Examples of Open Ended Questions:

• Can you tell me more about what you’re looking for?

• Could you be more specific about ____________?

• What sort of material are you hoping to find?

3. Verify: Once you think you know the patron’s information need, verify by paraphrasing the question back. This question is typically a closed ended question, because you are essentially asking if you understand their need.

Examples of verification:

• So you’d like to find our books on how to create your own web page, is that correct?

• You’re raising chickens for the first time and need more information on how to get started, is that right?

If the patron says, “yes, that’s right” It is at this point in the reference interview to begin your search for information.

If your patron says, “no” then you are back to asking open ended questions.

5) Locate information. These are the types of things that we do every day.

Reminders:

• Age appropriateness. Is the information suitable for this patron’s needs?

• Format: sometimes books are more appropriate; sometimes magazines; sometimes a video is what they prefer; but sometimes, for information that needs to be current, NCLive Databases will be the most helpful for your patron. Be sure you know is most suitable for your patron.

• Bring your patron to the item. Unless you are positive your patron is savvy enough to find the item, pointing is not enough. You should always at least ask, “that book is at 641.43, do you know how to find that number?” This gives the patron the option.

• Material location: Some patrons will wait for a Hold, others will not. You might want to establish this early on in the reference interview.

• Avoid using jargon. FRL, MCPL or sometimes even the Marianna Black Library will mean absolutely nothing to your patron. Spell things out for them.

• If you have actively listened, used open ended questions and tried paraphrasing and still don’t have a clue of what you patron needs, there is nothing wrong with getting help. We can’t all know a little bit about everything. Sometimes you’ll be stumped. At these moments the last thing you want to do is help the patron anyway. Seek help from a colleague, knowing that they’ll do likewise with a future patron.

• Don’t forget to use referrals. Sometimes the best place to get information on a topic is NOT IN YOUR LIBRARY. This is okay. Your patron will appreciate it when you tell them where your local Health Department or Genealogy Society is, and they’ll love it even more if you make a phone call to verify that someone can help them.

6) Follow-up.

How will you know that the patron has found the information they needed? There is only one way . . . you have to ask, “Is this the information you were looking for?” You cannot possibly know in any other way. Many patrons are polite, and will smile or thank you even if you did not help them. But they will not leave the library satisfied.

Before the patron leaves just ask, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Don’t do an interview when…

There are times when a reference interview is inappropriate? Usually ready reference questions do not require a reference interview.

How do you spell _____________?

What is the population of _____________ ?

What’s the title of the new John Grisham book and do you have it yet?

III. Role Play with Helen:

Questions (scripts on separate page):

“Where are your books on horses?”

“Where is your section on child psychology?”

“I need the book “Oranges and Peaches” for my college biology class, where can I find it?”

“Answers” the other two questions:

“My son is an honor student and on the debate team. He told me his next debate is on how children live in the orient. Where would I find this information for him?”

It turns out that the parent misheard the debate topic of euthanasia for the youth in Asia. This is a case of a patron literally not knowing what they want. It is difficult, if not impossible, to help someone who has misunderstood the initial information need. However, this is another example of communication errors and the importance of listening.

“Where are your books on cars?”

This person wanted to know how much his 1998 Mazda Miata was worth today.

IV. Conclusion:

Our job is to help everyone who comes through the door, whether the question is “where is the bathroom” or “what’s the meaning of life.”

We do not be in the business of giving our patrons reasons to not come to the library. Many have already created reasons to not come in. When we help our patrons find information – information that they might not be able to find themselves – we are providing one of the most valuable services a library can uniquely claim to provide.

Performing a Google search is easy, but too often not enough. Finding the correct answer for a patron is difficult. However, using the reference interview to get at what specifically your patron wants is the first step to satisfying their information needs.

Role Play scripts:

Staff: (SMILING): Hello, can I help you?

Patron: Yes, where are your books on horses?”

Staff: Could you tell me more about what you were hoping to find.

Patron: Well, I need a book on horses.

Staff: I’m sorry. What about horses specifically were you looking for?

Patron: I just started a drawing class and the teacher assigned us to draw our favorite animal. So I need a book on horses.

Staff: So, you need a picture of a horse, is that right?

Patron: Yes, that’s what I said I need a book on horses.

Staff: Does the photo need to be of a specific kind of horse?

Patron: No just any horse?

Staff: Well, I think that the place to start will be in the children’s section, usually those books have the best pictures.

Staff: Hello, how can I help you?

Patron: I’m looking for books on child psychology.

Staff: What kind of information on child psychology are you looking for?

Patron: Well, I need to know what makes a two year old tick?

Staff: What were you planning to do with this information?

Patron: My husband and I are going through the hardest time toilet training our son. We hoped to find more information here at the library.

Staff: So, you’re looking for books on potty training?

Patron: Yes.

Staff: Well we have a whole section on that topic. The dewey decimal number is 649.52, let me take you there.

Staff: Hello, How can I help you?

Patron: Yes, thanks. I need the book “Oranges and Peaches” for my college biology class, where can I find it?

Staff: I’m sorry, we don’t have any books by that title.

Patron: (with anxiety) I can’t believe you don’t have this book. My professor said you’d have. He said every library in the country should have this book.

Staff: Well, we don’t have that title, but may I can try an author search, do you know who wrote the book?

Patron: (pulling out a scrap of paper) I don’t know, Charles something.

Staff: I’m sorry I can’t cross reference with only a first name.

Patron: This is ridiculous!! This book is supposed to be legendary! He said that it’s the cornerstone of understanding in evolution! And you don’t have it?

Staff: (now understanding) Could it be On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin?

Patron: (relieved) Yes, that’s it.

Thing #17 - just so I get credit

I played with the FRL Wiki today. I ended up adding a "favorite" or two to each catagory. It was easier that I thought it'd be, but the editor was strange. I found that I had to re-edit my posts almost every time. Once there was a missing space, another time it added a extra line. These were easily edited, but they weren't there before I hit "save." Just an observation.

Thing #16 Wikis

So, of course, as a librarian I've known about Wikipidia for some time. I've also had a bias againt it helped a little by articles in the New Yorker , which challenges the very notion of Wikipedia, and this one in the Onion (hi-larious). These were both written almost two years ago (I cannot believe how time flies).

With all that said, I have to say, that I can envision our library utilizing wikis as an information collaboration tool. However, I looked at the examples that Sarah asked us to read and one thing stands out fairly quickly, these wikis are not exactly kept up to date. One was created over a year ago and not updated since. I know that these are only examples for us to look at, but I do fear not so much an over-utilization/security of our wikis, but an "I'm too busy to do my day-to-day let alone add to that wiki" under-utilization. The staff here at MBL have been busily working on their blogs and it seems like they're enjoying the 23 Things. They're finding the time right now to blog and explore, but I wonder about keeping wikis up to date. Anyway, this is just a concern. We'll see how it goes in the future.

It's great to see everyone excited about this.