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**Minutes Reference and Information Services Group Meeting**

12 August 2008

2.00 pm – 4.00pm 

**Parramatta Library, Parramatta**

**Apologies** 
Ken Klippel, Marrickville: Jane Broadbere, Mosman; Christine Wales, Wollongong; Cathy Johnston, Clarence Regional Library; Ross Balharrie, Manly;
Present Jenny Campbell Watt, Randwick; kate Nadler, Tamworth Regional; Luke Carter, Hurstville; Ion Sloggett, Kogarah; Andrew Allen, Canterbury; David Griffiths, Fairfield; Gabriele Winter, Canada Bay; Kathleen Arundell, Leichhardt; Will Combe, Lane Cove; Indra Ban Parramatta; Ana Hawich, Parramatta; Jennifer Wilson, Fairfield; Lydie Bacot, City of Sydney

**Progress of ref- ex**
The wiki is progressing slowly as there have been technical problems. After the meeting two additional people have volunteered to help progress this.

**What reference suppliers are people using?** 
Parramatta uses Warner Books, Melbourne for all reference and all standing orders; Canada Bay – mainly Warner - good range of reference also Abbeys, OUP, few standing orders, AES; Leichhardt - James Bennett; Canterbury - The bookhouse – Qld based. Pal Books. Some reference/non fiction Warern/James Bennett; Hurstville - Borders – which has after hours book nights, Kinokuniya and specialised University Presses.

**Sources for selecting reference**
e-mail from suppliers, other online, reducing reference, increasing non fiction, publisher specific information, some publishers setting up rss feeds and bookshops like Abbeys blogs some online/e-books

**Reports from Cathy and Claire**. 
Claire will continue to investigate the communication between schools and libraries from an HSC student perspective. Cathy did not receive a response to her e-mail asking how experienced reference libraries kept their skills up to date.

**From discussion around the table**
maintaining reference skills for professional staff
  * continue with staff training and reminding of skills
  * reintroduce staff to reference collection at intervals
  * tours of the reference library for reference staff
  * getting staff to 'play' on the internet and with databases
  * importance of serendipitous discovery
  * primary importance of desk/inquiry service
  * importance of looking at the reference books being re-shelved – what is being used
  * shift into using the space for a range of tasks
  * one by one training for the public
  * issue of getting people upstairs for discovered of reference areas
  * read broadly
  * need enough staff on service points issues for ratio of professional staff.
  * peer to peer learning, discussion of different reference strategies and ideas
  * help other staff with learning experience – call back staff who refer - good feedback or learning experience
  * 10 question quiz for staff to do before meeting
  * formal qualification and use of new tools
  * conference/reading conference papers
  * giving papers at conferences
  * how to motivate those hard to motivate staff working on reference on ‘doing their job’ - some people just see it as difficult without seeing the rewards
  * Collaborations from web 2.0 and how to keep up to date from now – brainstorming session
  * introduce ideas into team meetings to generate discussion, generating ideas
  * made staff more aware
  * Slamming the boards – increasing the Australian presence
  * Fairfield promoting as practicing for professional development and practice 

Where are the statistics going to be reported?

'Ambulance chasing for librarians'

**8. Promotion of online databases to the public: Successful strategies**
  * have the databases findable on website
  * promote to schools community – use all means
  * student promotion is a talk for students, by students
  * peer to peer promotion
  * employ some younger staff
  * market to different target groups for different databases
  * difficulty over requirement of 'actual newspaper article' rather than database print out – some areas where the teachers need to understand more about the databases
  * redesign of web page for online databases – how to describe them, minimal information - e-resource rather than database?

**9. How can we improve our writing for the web use the people**
  * Template guidelines approval process
  * Draft text for communications people to okay
  * Style sheets
  * Training for staff
  * People contributing text
  * What are the standards/style formats

**10. General business**
  * Parramatta thanked for hosting this meeting
  * Next meeting date and location
  * 12 November, 2 – 4 pm at the Concord Library

The new Concord Library is located at the corner of Wellbank &amp; Flavelle Sts, Concord and has a car park at the rear of the building. 
The Library can be reached by public transport via bus routes 458/459 and 462/463/464/466, and from North Strathfield Railway Station.

**Ideas for November agenda**
  * slamming the boards – how is it going
  * ref-ex wiki
  * roving reference – what are people doing?
  * Library plans for next years HSC changes?
  * Following up from the ALIA Conference – any attendees to provide feedback
  * Learning 2.0




**Site mentioned by Gabriele during the meeting**

Ten social networking tips for libraries
http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2008/07/ten-social-netw.html

Library 2.0: The social web and libraries: listening to your community
http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/07/30/the-social-web-and-libraries/

Simplifying the search for the best library and reference resources on the web
http://www.libraryspot.com/about.htm

Library 2.0 theory: web 2.0 and its implications for libraries
http://www.webology.ir/2006/v3n2/a25.html

Library 2.0 debased
http://www.blyberg.net/category/library/library-20/

Thinking shift: Archive for Library 2.0
http://thinkingshift.wordpress.com/category/library-20/

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