Today was another great research day, and I found some interesting and helpful articles. One article I liked in particular--"The Use of Registration Forms in Special Collections Libraries" (Kristina Southwell, 2006 in Collections Management, Volume 31, Issue 4)--made a really strong argument for obtaining registration information from patrons, regardless of whether items circulate or there is a fee for membership. I think this is quite important to the library to protect the integrity of the library's materials and policies and to keep accurate records of patrons' information needs. It is also a great way to track any items that are used in an environment where none of the materials will ever be checked out. This process helps to solve questions about collection development, as the library staff is constantly being made aware of the kinds of information their patrons are seeking. It also helps with security, as a certain amount of responsibility comes with membership when a registration process is involved.
I also compiled a second report for Andy that contains the research and questions I have come up with regarding some of my focuses lately. The report covers web filtering, the registration and membership process, and a survey I have been working on. I would like to submit the survey to librarians at similar institutions to find out some information on their policies and procedures. I do not have a solid idea of libraries to send this survey out to, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to contact me through this blog.
Coming up next: I want to make sure I have ironed out all the kinks in my survey by the end of the day next Tuesday, as I feel I should be sending it out soon. I would also like to continue researching, and maybe spend some more time on collection development. Now that I am past the midway point in my hours, time seems to be moving much more quickly.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
