NSW public library wiki

Auburn Library 20 November 2018

1. This meeting planned the focus of the meeting next year, will focus on training and information programs.

2. Importance of keeping information services a priority

3. Importance of effective and evaluated information based programs connecting to library collections and services

Blue Jeans as not available for this meeting because of internet speed.

James Cruz Waverley Library, Gayatri Krishnamurthy Ku-ring-gai Library, Mary Mercardo Blacktown City Libraries, Thomas Macrae and Cathy Arnold Georges River Library, Eric Dodson Lane Cove Library, Kim White Camden Libraries, Anne Loria Blue Mountains Library, Mamata Puchakayala Inner West Libraries, Sin Man Lau and Jinru Zhu Canterbury Bankstown Libraries, Andrew Frost and Annetta Kucharska Cumberland Libraries, Ellen Forsyth, State Library of NSW

Jen Wilson, Catherine Johnson, Cherie Dickenson, Michelle Head, Krupali Tevar

How are they organised at your library, who organises them, how do you evaluate them?

• Cumberland – computer and English conversation training, one on one consultation for computer training as small group training was not working, also run information week, law week and drug info sessions
• Camden – information week, computer, technology and website training using eresources, students visiting for training sessions, computer training – group and one on one. Use Trybooking and Survey monkey for evaluation. Working with the council including with the youth projects office to provide talks on parenting teens
• Blacktown – computer training – group and one on one, law talks with local legal firms – these talks include a session about Find legal answers, partnered with Mygov, and other agencies, evaluation by participation statistics
• Georges River – facilitate information sessions including scams awareness and My health record talks, information services staff working with programs staff, use a generalised feedback form to hand out at events as well as survey monkey/Eventbrite, family history sessions
• Waverley – tech training – groups and one on one, law week, hsc talks, later night study sessions, budget talks
• Lane Cove – Department of Fair Trading provide talks – can choose the topics
• Blue Mountains – hsc workshops, small group tutoring, workshops for parents of hsc students, bring your own devices training.
• Canterbury Bankstown – law talks, English conversation, small group or one on one computer training, book a librarian session (4 bookings a week), including promotions about resources, programs for information include homework help with tutors, English classes,
• Ku-ring-gai – tech savvy programs, talks about ebooks, suggesting cross promotion and adding to the membership talks – example of storybox promotion in storytime leading to an increase in use, aiming to target a variety of clients and resources

What topics do you want to explore? Bring your ideas to share (any considerations from the NSW working groups review?) Note: there will also be a consultation by survey to the reference list about this to obtain state-wide input. The planning includes discussion of preliminary survey results. An overview was provided of the recent survey. Only top level information is available so far.

Planning information November 2018 – preliminary summary of recent survey

• 44 responses
• Q 1 What three things excite or interest you about providing an information or reference service
• Q 2 What do you describe as an information or reference service? Please use examples of what you would include?
• Q 3 What three challenges do you see for information services for the next 12 months?
• Q4 What three opportunities do you see for information services for the next 12 months?
• Q5 What are the recent changes (last 12 - 18 months) in information services at your library? Have new services been introduced? Have books been moved/removed. Has website access to databases changed? Is there a new service desk/no service desk, service delivery changed - roving/mobile? Please describe the changes.
• Q6 What kind of training has supported these changes?
• Q7 What kind of training do library staff receive to be able to provide information services?
• Q8 What professional reading and watching do you do? List up to three resources that you use regularly - they can be in any format - email lists or alerts, podcasts, rss, books, journals. If possible, please include why you use these specific resources
• Q9 How do you include information services and resources in pop-up/outreach/mobile?
• Q 10 How do you provide online or remote information service? For example if someone needs help with using the catalogue or database and they are not in the library, how can they ask for help? Please provide further information.
• Q11 Does the method clients use to ask for help (from the previous question) depend on the time of day/day of the week?
• Q12 Are particular staff responsible for this assistance?
• Q13 How do you connect your maker space and information?
• Q14 Do you use your enquiry completion rate data for anything other than reporting to the State Library of NSW?
• Q15 How do you use your enquiry completion rate data for planning?
• Q16 What surprised you in the data you collected during recent enquiry completion rate surveys? Please describe
• Q17 What other statistics do you use to help you provide reference and information services? Please describe
• Q18 Does your library have defined "reference or information desk" shifts?
• Q19 What do you do on a reference or information desk shift? Please list all the things you do as part of a routine information shift (given that each shift will be different). Please provide as much detail as possible
• Q20 Does your library offer a roving service?
• Q21 Does your libraryoffer a concierge service?
• Q22 What are your go to resources which you use to assist clients? These are the ones you keep going back to or regularly suggest to other staff. No resource is too simple to mention.
• Q23 What search engine do you use?
• Q24 Anything else you would like to add about reference or information services at your library or ideas which inspire you from elsewhere
• Note this is very brief results. More information will be provided at the reference seminar in 2019.

· Staff training including o how is reference and information services training provided at each library o how is this training done for new staff o how is this training updated o ref-ex update o 5 minute talks about how people train staff at their library · Each person to bring an recent item of professional reading/watching/listening and do a 2 minute presentation on it – and share the citation/link · How are reference and information services promoted to other staff and to the public · What research is happening in reference and information services, specifically as it relates to public libraries

note this may be done in partnership with the programs group. They have yet to be approached. · 5 minute talks on how reference and information services programs are done (not legal and drug info/medical as people felt this was being done) · Partnership potential · Evaluation · How are eresources, collections and technology embedded in other programs – 5 minute talks from people who are doing this

6. Following on from the Reference seminar we will be starting to work through 23 Research Data Things, really highlighting their value and relevance for NSW public libraries including how to unpack data visualisation and exploring how to extrapolate data into visualisation

7. How are reference and information services promoted at your library - does it appear on social media?

8. Top 5 reference and information tools for your library - this will be a round the table discussion so please bring title details, publication details or links to share.

9. Points for communication (what summary of the meeting goes out with the minutes)

Back to Reference and information services working group home page