NSW public library wiki

Find out if your library offers a corporate library service. Speak to the relevant staff about the level of service offered, and what role library staff have.

• Use ABARES to find a research report on bees or other biosecurity topics relevant to your location.
• Find out what resources your council’s planners use. You may arrange to meet with one of them to discuss their needs.
• Where could you find a report on a case heard by the NSW Land & Environment Court?
• Is a procedure in place which outlines how you should handle queries from Council staff? Are there special policies regarding charging for inter-library-loans/reserves? Is there a library membership application form for council staff? Do library staff handle council queries in the same way they would deal with public queries?
• A council planner phones the library and asks you to find examples of green roof policies at other councils as well as any recent journal articles on green roofs in cities. What resources would you search to answer this query? How would you present the results of your research?

Talk with your supervisor about what you have found once you have completed these exercises.

Hint: Presentation of research to council staff: A useful suggestion is to prepare a report template to use for presenting your research. By setting up a template you do not have to spend time on formatting the presentation of your results with every query. Using a template will also ensure that in-depth reference query results are presented in a professional manner. Templates will also assist you in the research process as they can act as a checklist.

• Locate and familiarise yourself with your council's organisational chart and find out where each division is physically located.
• Find out who your Councillors are and the approved way to contact them.

Hint: Check the council website or the intranet for information and contact details.

• Does your council have a policy on Councillors’ access to information and interaction with staff?
• Find the ICAC/Department of Local Government publication “Under Careful Consideration/Key Issues for Local Government”. Read Part 2 – Councillors' Access to Information and Their Interaction with Staff.

Locate “Libraries: a copyright guide“ published by the Australian Copyright Council.

• That council staff are an important client group.
• An awareness of how library resources can help council staff, whether or not your library has a dedicated corporate library service.
• You have developed your understanding of the nature of corporate library services in local government and the knowledge and skills you need in order to answer reference questions from council staff and elected councillors.

What to do when you finish the module…

When you have completed the exercises for this module, you may want to talk to your colleagues or supervisor about them.

Please fill out and submit the evaluation form

Reference excellence - self paced reference and information services training

About ref-ex

Module 1 Overview of the reference process ref-ex

Module 2 Reference interview skills and question types ref-ex

Module 3 People skills, reference behaviours ref-ex

Module 4 Search strategies ref-ex

Module 5 Reference resources ref-ex

Module 6 Ethics and legislation ref-ex

Module 7 Roving reference ref-ex

Module 8 Local studies ref-ex

Module 9 Family history ref-ex

Module 10 Children ref-ex

Module 11 Young Adults ref-ex

Module 12 Corporate Library Services ref-ex

Module 13 Technology reference services ref-ex