This is really starting to feel official! The practicum, I mean. I submitted my first report to my SLIS advisor (to be completed after 25 hours) regarding my final paper/project for this experience. We have a choice, so I've decided to do a combination of the two.
I think that the nature of my practicum, which involves both collection development and policy/procedure development, lends itself well to the combination of a paper and a project. I have already gathered some great research on policy and procedure, which will lend itself well to a discussion paper. I will also include this blog and the wiki I have created in the project portion, as well as a mock website containing my final ideas for policy and procedure. As for the collection development portion, I will have several Excel documents that include the items I have suggested to the library for purchase, as well as a reflection paper on the collection development process.
After three weeks, I can say that I am really enjoying my time here. The topics I am dealing with are interesting and compelling, and I am getting a sneak peek into what goes into the opening of a brand new library. I have met some great people so far, and I look forward to learning all that I can from them.
Up next: I submitted some suggestions and questions to Andy, and I am hoping speak with him next week about policy. Once I get some more concrete ideas, I will be able to put that information into my mock website!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Day 5, Hour 25
Not content to simply offer Andy a list of rules and regulations, I set my sights today on creating a mock website--not unlike other institutions'--to house my workup of policies and procedures. I was delighted to see that the laptop I work on here has a copy of the Microsoft Publisher program. I have never used the program before, so it was exciting to try it out in a practical way without any instruction. I like learning in hands-on ways and figuring things out for myself, so I had a lot of fun today.
I was able to find more information on similar libraries' policies and procedure, like BGSU's Browne Popular Culture Library and The Cleveland Institute of Art's Gund Library. Many of the libraries have a similar structure where the "university community" is allowed borrowing privileges for circulating materials and can browse freely in the non-circulating materials, like reference collections. The policy for those outside of the community usually states that those members may browse materials but not check them out, may browse or check out items for a yearly membership fee, or may only access certain areas of the library, like the main stacks. The Rock Hall's library will differ, however, in that it does not have a clearly defined membership community. While the library is located on the Tri-C campus and is directly affiliated with the school, browsing privileges will not be permitted solely to faculty and staff. This may simplify our policy and procedures by allowing the rules to apply to all who visit the library, not just a specified community.
On an interesting side note, I found some great articles on the Library + Archives through my research that I'd like to share with you here. One was written by Library Director Andy Leach himself, and they all provide a really exciting idea of what the library is going to be all about. (Keep in mind that the library's original opening date of December 2010, which you will read in all of the articles, has been moved to May 2011.)
The Library and Archives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Andy Leach (Ohio Archivist's Spring 2010 Newsletter, p. 4.).
Music History Finds a New Home Inside Rock Hall's Library and Archives at Tri-C's Center for Creative Arts, John Soeder (The Plain Dealer, February 28, 2010).
Rock and Roll Never Forgets, Anastasia Pantsios (Cleveland Scene, March 10, 2010).
Coming up next: I spoke with Dr. Belinda Boon, who teaches Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials at Kent, about getting some ideas for good resources for biographies and reference books that would fit into the library's collection. She said she will try to get back to me later on this week with some ideas, so I am going to put any collection development on hold until I can pick her brain a bit.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
I was able to find more information on similar libraries' policies and procedure, like BGSU's Browne Popular Culture Library and The Cleveland Institute of Art's Gund Library. Many of the libraries have a similar structure where the "university community" is allowed borrowing privileges for circulating materials and can browse freely in the non-circulating materials, like reference collections. The policy for those outside of the community usually states that those members may browse materials but not check them out, may browse or check out items for a yearly membership fee, or may only access certain areas of the library, like the main stacks. The Rock Hall's library will differ, however, in that it does not have a clearly defined membership community. While the library is located on the Tri-C campus and is directly affiliated with the school, browsing privileges will not be permitted solely to faculty and staff. This may simplify our policy and procedures by allowing the rules to apply to all who visit the library, not just a specified community.
On an interesting side note, I found some great articles on the Library + Archives through my research that I'd like to share with you here. One was written by Library Director Andy Leach himself, and they all provide a really exciting idea of what the library is going to be all about. (Keep in mind that the library's original opening date of December 2010, which you will read in all of the articles, has been moved to May 2011.)
The Library and Archives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Andy Leach (Ohio Archivist's Spring 2010 Newsletter, p. 4.).
Music History Finds a New Home Inside Rock Hall's Library and Archives at Tri-C's Center for Creative Arts, John Soeder (The Plain Dealer, February 28, 2010).
Rock and Roll Never Forgets, Anastasia Pantsios (Cleveland Scene, March 10, 2010).
Coming up next: I spoke with Dr. Belinda Boon, who teaches Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials at Kent, about getting some ideas for good resources for biographies and reference books that would fit into the library's collection. She said she will try to get back to me later on this week with some ideas, so I am going to put any collection development on hold until I can pick her brain a bit.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Day 4, Hour 20
I focused today on more research, as I am hoping to give Andy a rough outline of policy and procedure by the end of next week. I am finding more and more that there are many research libraries that do not lend their materials; most of the repositories that do circulate materials only do so for faculty, staff, and doctoral or graduate students for the purpose of completing a research project. In light of this information, I do not think it is unreasonable to say that the materials here in the Rock Hall Library will not circulate.
I have considered the idea of allowing faculty to check out materials, but there is a slim chance this would work. First, we would have to determine if only Tri-C faculty would qualify or if we would include faculty from other colleges. There is also the issue of policy, and how well it is implemented and adhered to. I found a case study today in Library Journal titled "Faculty Borrowing Privileges" in which a university branch library director was faced with the problem of the university's faculty abusing borrowing privileges. She had a difficult time convincing the Director of Libraries that this was a problem; this director was more concerned with maintaining a good working relationship with the faculty, and feared that reprimanding them would only cause problems and subject the librarians to unfair judgment. Nancy R. John, in her response to the case study, wisely stated that "few library policies are as open to emotional attack as those concerned with borrowing privileges." Perhaps the best policy will be to not let items circulate at all, regardless of the patron's status.
Many libraries, like The Getty Research Institute Library, have differing levels of users that maintain differing privileges based on what each level permits. A high level, for example, may allow the user a wider array of browsing materials and extended hours in the library; a lower level patron may be restricted to a certain area. A great number of these libraries, however, are vast institutions with many different collections, and some collections cannot even be browsed, but require a request for materials that would later be supplied for use for a short period of time. The Rock Hall Library will contain both a browsable collection and non-browsable archives. It would not make sense to limit the browsing of the open stacks collection, since it is in the open in one large room, but perhaps the paging of items in the archives could be limited to those with a higher library status.
Coming up next: As you can see, I still have a lot of research and work to do regarding creating a working policy and procedure. I should mention that I also began compiling a survey to send to various research and academic libraries, so that we can get an idea of how their institutions operate. This will all continue into next week, so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
I have considered the idea of allowing faculty to check out materials, but there is a slim chance this would work. First, we would have to determine if only Tri-C faculty would qualify or if we would include faculty from other colleges. There is also the issue of policy, and how well it is implemented and adhered to. I found a case study today in Library Journal titled "Faculty Borrowing Privileges" in which a university branch library director was faced with the problem of the university's faculty abusing borrowing privileges. She had a difficult time convincing the Director of Libraries that this was a problem; this director was more concerned with maintaining a good working relationship with the faculty, and feared that reprimanding them would only cause problems and subject the librarians to unfair judgment. Nancy R. John, in her response to the case study, wisely stated that "few library policies are as open to emotional attack as those concerned with borrowing privileges." Perhaps the best policy will be to not let items circulate at all, regardless of the patron's status.
Many libraries, like The Getty Research Institute Library, have differing levels of users that maintain differing privileges based on what each level permits. A high level, for example, may allow the user a wider array of browsing materials and extended hours in the library; a lower level patron may be restricted to a certain area. A great number of these libraries, however, are vast institutions with many different collections, and some collections cannot even be browsed, but require a request for materials that would later be supplied for use for a short period of time. The Rock Hall Library will contain both a browsable collection and non-browsable archives. It would not make sense to limit the browsing of the open stacks collection, since it is in the open in one large room, but perhaps the paging of items in the archives could be limited to those with a higher library status.
Coming up next: As you can see, I still have a lot of research and work to do regarding creating a working policy and procedure. I should mention that I also began compiling a survey to send to various research and academic libraries, so that we can get an idea of how their institutions operate. This will all continue into next week, so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Day 3, Hour 15
Today, I wanted to get back to the list of biographies I am compiling for the inductees. So far I have added 1-3 sources for almost every person inducted in 1986 and most of 1987. However, I am still having a difficult time narrowing down which biographies are "better" than others. Since this is a brand new library and we are going to need to acquire basic sources first, I need to know which are the most important to get for right now. I imagine that the librarians will also be working on a limited budget, so selection will be important.
The most important thing I must focus on, especially since I am currently enrolled in the Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials course at Kent State, is to choose items fairly and intelligently. I do not intend to censor or reject certain items, and I know this can be a difficult topic to consider. Not having any experience in collection development until now, I believe this practicum is going to prove extremely valuable in helping me to develop a keen eye for quality and a discern for the most important materials.
That being said, I would be interested to hear ideas from others on how you would choose the "best" sources on certain artists. Keep in mind that sometimes, the list of biographies for one person can reach up to twenty; I am trying to keep the titles I add to the list at under three per person.
Coming up next: I will continue to research policy and procedure to get a working idea of how patrons will use this very unique library.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
The most important thing I must focus on, especially since I am currently enrolled in the Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials course at Kent State, is to choose items fairly and intelligently. I do not intend to censor or reject certain items, and I know this can be a difficult topic to consider. Not having any experience in collection development until now, I believe this practicum is going to prove extremely valuable in helping me to develop a keen eye for quality and a discern for the most important materials.
That being said, I would be interested to hear ideas from others on how you would choose the "best" sources on certain artists. Keep in mind that sometimes, the list of biographies for one person can reach up to twenty; I am trying to keep the titles I add to the list at under three per person.
Coming up next: I will continue to research policy and procedure to get a working idea of how patrons will use this very unique library.
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Day 2, Hour 10
It is Day 2 of my practicum at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library, and I did some great research and other basic work toward my end experience.
I started today by creating a working list of notes, which is really just a collection of questions I come up with as I think about what the user experience will look like from start to finish. Today, I was mostly considering membership and who that would be extended to. For instance, Andy and I discussed that students would be able to use the library, and I was assuming he meant Tri-C students, since the library is on their campus. However, I was thinking that membership should be extended to all Northeast Ohio college students. Could we also include other regional college and high school students, faculty, and staff?
This is not to say that the library will not be open to the public, which it will. However, there is a question of membership and whether or not the library will charge for it. I think a good policy would be to offer membership for free or at a discounted rate for students, faculty, and staff of regional institutions. This would allow for the fostering of great research skills in an interesting and important subject field.
I also began researching information on libraries that allow for lending of materials to patrons on-site, but do not all borrowing off-site. It seems as though this is the policy for many academic research libraries, and for university libraries who allow "unaffiliated users" to utilize their facilities (in many universities, unaffiliated users--such as those who do not fall into the category of students, faculty, or staff--are allowed to utilize materials in the library but cannot check them out). I gathered citations and abstracts from several articles that expound on this subject, and I have begun to analyze the information to come up with a policy on lending for the Rock Hall Library.
Lastly, I created a wiki that I will share with my practicum supervisors and advisor that will contain pertinent information about the work I complete this semester. I made a calendar with dates of deadlines and created spaces to publish my notes and research bibliographies, and a place to keep track of my practicum hours, as well. All in all, I feel like I accomplished quite a bit today!
Coming up next: I will continue to work on my wishlist for inductees next Tuesday. I am finding that through my research for that, I am able to add some titles to my DVD wishlist, as well. Sometimes going off on a tangent can be a good thing!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
I started today by creating a working list of notes, which is really just a collection of questions I come up with as I think about what the user experience will look like from start to finish. Today, I was mostly considering membership and who that would be extended to. For instance, Andy and I discussed that students would be able to use the library, and I was assuming he meant Tri-C students, since the library is on their campus. However, I was thinking that membership should be extended to all Northeast Ohio college students. Could we also include other regional college and high school students, faculty, and staff?
This is not to say that the library will not be open to the public, which it will. However, there is a question of membership and whether or not the library will charge for it. I think a good policy would be to offer membership for free or at a discounted rate for students, faculty, and staff of regional institutions. This would allow for the fostering of great research skills in an interesting and important subject field.
I also began researching information on libraries that allow for lending of materials to patrons on-site, but do not all borrowing off-site. It seems as though this is the policy for many academic research libraries, and for university libraries who allow "unaffiliated users" to utilize their facilities (in many universities, unaffiliated users--such as those who do not fall into the category of students, faculty, or staff--are allowed to utilize materials in the library but cannot check them out). I gathered citations and abstracts from several articles that expound on this subject, and I have begun to analyze the information to come up with a policy on lending for the Rock Hall Library.
Lastly, I created a wiki that I will share with my practicum supervisors and advisor that will contain pertinent information about the work I complete this semester. I made a calendar with dates of deadlines and created spaces to publish my notes and research bibliographies, and a place to keep track of my practicum hours, as well. All in all, I feel like I accomplished quite a bit today!
Coming up next: I will continue to work on my wishlist for inductees next Tuesday. I am finding that through my research for that, I am able to add some titles to my DVD wishlist, as well. Sometimes going off on a tangent can be a good thing!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one!
Laura
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)