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46, no. 2

The Library and My Learning Community: First Year Students’ Impressions of Library Services

Jan 5th, 2008
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Tammy J. Eschedor Voelker

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During the 2002-2003 academic year a team of reference librarians at the Kent State University main library began working with two freshman learning communities as part of an initiative to learn more about the needs of first-year students. This article reports on the outreach to one of those, the Science Learning Community, and on the results of a focus group undertaken with members of that group. The study found that the students valued the library instruction offered (more…)

A House Divided? Two Views on Genre Separation

Jan 5th, 2008
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Barry Trott, Column Editor
Barry Trott and Vicki Novak, Guest Columnist

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In spring 2006, a spirited debate on the merits of separating out library fiction collections by genre was held on the Fiction_L discussion list (subscribe at www.webrary.org/rs/FLmenu.html). Interesting points were made on both sides of the issue, and while no firm conclusions were reached, the discussion exemplified the thought and passion that readers’ advisors bring to their work. This issue’s column features two articles that present each of the sides in the ongoing question of how to best present a collection that will best serve the reading interests of library users. (more…)

NextGen Librarians: Interviews with RUSA Interns

Jan 5th, 2008
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Diana D. Shonrock, President

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Because I knew the goals of my Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) presidency would cluster around encouraging membership by new librarians, I took the opportunity as vice president of RUSA to appoint interns to all the RUSA-level committees and to nominate some for American Library Association-level (ALA) committees. My second column takes a peek at the people who filled these positions. (more…)

Accommodating Diverse Learning Styles in an Online Environment

Jan 5th, 2008
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Lori Arp and Beth S. Woodard, Column Editors
Lori Mestre, Guest Columnist

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As librarians and instructors strive to provide optimal learning experiences in an online medium, they need to consider the different ways that students learn. Some of the questions that should be asked include: Does one’s learning style or preference for a face-to-face environment carry over into an online environment? What learning principles should be considered when designing instructional content for the Web? Are there clues that can be used from what is already known about learning styles for multicultural populations that should be considered as materials are put online? (more…)

Is Accuracy Everything? A Study of Two Serials Directories

Jan 5th, 2008
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Marybeth Grimes and Sara E. Morris

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This study found that Ulrich’s and Serials Directory offer a wide, and often disparate, amount of information about where serials are indexed or abstracted, with Ulrich’s indexing more titles overall than Serials Directory, and more dead titles than the other directory. Serials Directory is the only provider that lists where EBSCO serials are indexed or abstracted. Both directories also provide different information on basic serial facts, such as price, address, and editor. (more…)

A Baseline Information Literacy Assessment of Biology Students

Jan 5th, 2008
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Jessame E. Ferguson, Teresa Y. Neely, and Kathryn Sullivan

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The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Information Literacy Task Force developed a survey primarily based on the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Standards to gather baseline data about the skills of incoming students. Although multiple departments were involved, the biological sciences provided the highest number (151) of initial participants for the 51-item online survey. Findings indicate that the majority of students have some understanding of information literacy skills; however, a significant number were not familiar with important concepts (more…)

What Makes a Quotation Familiar?

Jan 5th, 2008
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Diane Zabel, Column Editor
David Isaacson, Guest Columnist

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This is the debut of an occasional column exploring topics outside the purview of Reference & User Services Quarterly’s regular columns.–Editor

“The ideal college is Mark Hopkins at one end of a log and a student at the other.” This quotation–or something close to it–has become virtually a slogan among advocates of a liberal education. (more…)

Advice for Prospective Authors

Jan 5th, 2008
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Diane Zabel

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I have read numerous manuscripts in the past few years in my role as an editorial board member for two journals and a monographic series. I recently spoke on the topic of journal publishing for an in-house workshop on tenure and promotion. Since my appointment as editor of Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), I have responded to several queries about publishing in RUSQ. I am using this column to pass along my perspectives on writing for peer-reviewed journals in general, and RUSQ in particular. (more…)

Outstanding Business Reference Sources: The 2006 Selection of Recent Titles

Jan 5th, 2008
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RUSA BRASS Business Reference Sources Committee

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Using established guidelines and criteria, a working group of the BRASS Business Reference Sources Committee voted to adopt these recent titles as either “outstanding” or “other noteworthy titles.” Following extensive discussion on the merits and shortcomings of each, three were voted for inclusion in the outstanding category. Seven additional works were selected as other noteworthy titles. (more…)

Getting Started with Graphic Novels: A Guide for the Beginner

Jan 5th, 2008
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Neal Wyatt, Column Editor
Anne Behler, Guest Columnist

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Graphic novels are an incredibly popular format in all types of libraries. Popular movies such as Batman, Spider-Man, V for Vendetta, and Sin City are all based on graphic novels or comics and underscore the growing appreciation for the medium. Readers are leading the way, demanding these titles and teaching us the joys of the graphic form. Yet despite our patrons’ call for these items in our collections, it is often hard to know what to buy, what is useful and popular in a sea of seemingly odd titles and collections, and how to approach the question of suitability and classification. (more…)

An Exploratory Survey of Reference Source Instruction in LIS Courses

Jan 5th, 2008
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Denice Adkins and Sanda Erdelez

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Because reference sources are a staple of reference service, reference source education is an intrinsic part of reference education. However, limited information exists about the strategies reference instructors use to teach their students about sources. Reference instructors at forty-eight ALA-accredited programs of library and information studies were surveyed as to what strategies they used to teach ‘about sources, what methods they felt were effective, and what challenges they faced in teaching about reference sources. (more…)

Get to Know Your Gadget Guy or Gal: Tips from an Accidental Library Technologist on Staying Current

Jan 5th, 2008
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M. Kathleen Kern, Column Editor

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Something happened last week to cause me to reflect on how I became technologically knowledgeable enough to edit a technology column. One of my graduate assistants asked me to explain (1) how a patron clicking on a link in an article index is taken to the full-text of the journal article from another vendor, and (2) what happened behind the scenes when the patron was off-campus to allow remote access. (more…)