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minutes_15_march_2007_strathfield_library_risg

15 March 2007

Notes from Reference Meeting

15 March 2007 Strathfield

Discussion of coming @ your library topics and possible reference and information services promotions

Reduce, reuse and recycle

  • Energy efficient promotion – giveaways/displays/website - light bulbs etc
  • Data on energy efficiency – comparing local government areas
  • Re-use of old books for display/ or some other re-use
  • Work in with council officers and workshops on offer – tie in resources/displays with workshops – even offer to hold workshops in library
  • Workshop – making fancy dresses from recycled newspapers or other sculpture

Drug info

  • promotion of young adult fiction – some deal with drug issues – could refer to drug info web sites
  • tying with health and wellness databases trying for positive rather than negative
  • working with cdat
  • working photographing graffiti tags

Holiday fun

  • gourmet night with wine/cheese/local produce – ties in with reference resources, could be followed by quiz
  • travel type internet training sessions overseas (travel, tourist sites, online bookings…) and domestic travel as well as training session on how to enjoy Sydney – lots of museum/art gallery sites
  • help de-stress HSC sessions/displays
  • walking tours in the area – promoting local studies collections

Good sports

  • gentle exercise in library (need to check insurance)
  • kids sport training
  • local sport person for a talk / combine with information display
  • Beijing developments – possibly Chinese consulate
  • Asia Cup promotion/display for soccer – even show the games live

Find the past

  • Family history/local studies/hsc history
  • Reference file on history on local area
  • Maps with contrast of then and now
  • Photograph display
  • Booklet/website on local suburbs
  • Quiz on facts/photographs
  • Involve community – people’s past – oral history/talks/group discussion – promoting the cultural past
  • Displays of local studies and reference treasures – to highlight their presence
  • Know your suburb – using local resources and ABS statistics
  • Promoting the book resources
  • Primary schools doing research on local area – tie in family history/local studies staff/people to help when classes come into the area
  • Tie in oldest/ longest been a library client – tie in with oral history

Just ask

  • trivial pursuit questions to provoke people to ‘just ask’ – as a display
  • promoting services – ‘can’t use the catalogue – just ask’
  • tacking in database information for other training ‘ just ask’ about this other aspect of our service

Read

  • reading groups – talk to them about readers advisory tools
  • encourage reading groups to try non-fiction titles – and then additional reading ideas for background
  • promoting ra tools and databases
  • posters/postcards around library – “if you liked…”
  • books into film promotion – resources for people to help find
  • reading maps to direct people from books they have read to tie into other topics
  • Escape
  • travel promotion
  • sea change writing – plus what resources to assist people who are planning sea/tree change
  • escape into databases like Times Digital Archive
  • display based on historic Australia/travel books/atlases
  • books which deal with great escapes
  • look at news/sport through the perspective of other nations
  • escape into history
  • use atlas to pick up themes of people and places for ideas about reading geography and reading what was set there
  • local history

How are people training their staff in reference and information services?

  • Use nsw.net training and one on one
  • LIAC training
  • Adopt a database – staff member skills up and does training for other staff
  • Reference resources – before opening ½ hour once a week highlight resources
  • Monthly staff meeting – at the end of meeting do database training or training in other resources – provide catch up for people who can’t attend
  • Reference quiz about once a quarter – use resources to write questions – books/databases – make it so that people can’t just use google
  • Reference training module written
  • Team days – twice a month – training/refresher
  • Information folder/reference folder – on common computer drive
  • Reference information file on what are the top reference questions at the moment – for staff who are self learning
  • Systematic reference training for all staff – reference interview skills and time management (queue control), reference resources (databases/library resources/key resources), ya/children’s resources, customer service - different versions for staff on reference desk and other staff – need staff to be confident in referral to reference desk – practical examples
  • Fortnightly/monthly training – include training for mobile drivers – databases/advanced catalogue searching
  • Intensive training program – each section required to train everyone else – reference – introduction to reference section (walk through in detail 1 1/2), 3 -4 hour database training (staff most likely to use), LIAC and drug info (2 hours each), family history overview (2 hours), library and council website awareness (1 ½ - 2 hours) – are noticing better reference and more confident/competent staff – building towards competency based training system
  • 5 day intensive training module – every few months the main reference people from each branch have 5 days on resources/databases/ABS (using ABS staff)/local studies – activities and work books – have a couple of months to work through work books. Have feedback day. Working through all people who do reference in groups of 5 -7 people. Have resource information file. Practical exercises for every module
  • strategic searching training – reference based resources – looking at options as well as databases

How are people providing training for their communities?

  • Unstructured – library tours from Adult Migrant Education Centre – tour may be in English or community language – include reference and non-fiction – encourage people to join the library
  • Monthly internet searching and online database searching – mainly for seniors – already booked out for next few months so may need to run more classes – including awareness sessions for seniors week – 6 – 8 per class
  • Unstructured – group training in microfilm and associated resources 8 – 12 people on demand for family history group
  • Unstructured training for new migrants in how to use the library
  • Training session at local high school in databases – class sized groups – using powerpoint demonstration
  • School visits – reference and other resources – databases, reference sources, how to use the equipment, school visits – in 2006 focused on year 12 students, have been invited back – will focus on English, Legal studies and History – covering reference resources
  • Online tutoring to introduce students to these

General business

Present Chris Brimble (Lane Cove), Jeff Stonehouse (Campbelltown), Kathy Maltby (Ryde), Kerry-Ann Prideaux (Woollahra), Andrew Allen (Canterbury), Diane Rutherford (Wollondilly), Cathy Johnston (Tamworth), Carol Sommer (Ryde), Annette Kucharska (Auburn), Sharon Drenth (Ku-ring-gai), Andrea Pakchung (Liverpool), Ion Sloggett (Kogarah), Annette Webb (Strathfield), Yan Zand (Strathfield), Jennifer Kelly (Botany Bay), Carmel Blakely (Hurstville), Susan Wright (Hurstville), Natalie Gray (Rockdale), David Sansome (Canada Bay), Sue Counell (Burwood), Roger Swanson (Blacktown), Andrew Powell (Cessnock), John Royle (Waverley), Ellen Forsyth (State Library)

Next meeting

Will be held in last week of July – date and location to be confirmed

Agenda items

  • Beyond Google – what are libraries doing?
  • What is part of reference and information services and collections at your library? What is reference and what is loan? Are there other specialist services we should be providing – for example local studies, LIAC, ABS, HSC collections, drug info, literacy?
  • Favourite/least favourite reference tool

Back to Reference and information services working group home page

minutes_15_march_2007_strathfield_library_risg.txt · Last modified: 2020/10/28 23:13 by 127.0.0.1