Reference Services

Where has the summer gone? July zipped by, but not before we could capture some of the happenings from it for our monthly Reference Notes newsletter. You'll find our highlights from the ALA Annual Conference, including the following stories:

- More Effective Online Tutorials
- Who Cares About Privacy?
- Social Learning & Political Engagement
- OCLC Symposium - Leadership Beyond the Recession
- Using Twitter to Enhance a Digital Reference Cooperative Service, and
- K-16 Information Literacy and MN Librarians at ALA

Plus,

- New ELM Databases!
- Consumer Health Information on the Internet
- Metronet Information Literacy Conference
- Multimedia Resources, and
- Upcoming ELM Webinars

Check out our Reference Notes page for this and past issues of the newsletter.

Posted by Matt Lee at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And actually has been for quite some time. Sorry! Forgot to post it here before heading to the ALA annual conference.

In the June issue of Reference Notes, you'll find:

- A new catalog option from OCLC
- An update on new AskMN member libraries
- A note about a former Minnesota librarian turned ASCLA RUSA executive director
- An innovative tool to pre-limit catalog searches
- Examples of information literacy and college readiness programs across the P-20 spectrum
- Guidance in creating DIY maps
- Yahoo!Pipes in 2.0 minutes
- A re-cap of the MN Digital Library annual meeting
- A call for applications for digitization projects through the MN Digital Library
- A story about new literacy skills and the Scratch software
- A recorded conversation between five MN library directors about dealing with budget shortfalls, and...
- A model for successful customer service from online shoe retailer Zappos.

Find the June issue, along with past issues, at: http://minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/

Posted by Matt Lee at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haevn't seen the Pew Report from February, Generations Online in 2009, it is a must-read for all library staff.  The report discusses how different generations use the Internet for different reasons and it might even kill some of the stereotypes and assumptions that we have about online users.  "Teens and Generation Y find entertainment and social networks online" and "older generations use the internet as a tool for research, shopping and banking."  The report features a great chart and graph that highlights Generational Differences in Online Activities.  Be sure to check this out!

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The October issue of MINITEX Reference Notes is up on the web and ready for viewing!  This month’s issue includes information on AskMN—Minnesota's Statewide Cooperative Virtual Reference Service; MEMO Conference 2008: Leading 21st Century Learners; Archived Webinars; Whirlwind Trip in the Southwest; Teaching the Next Generation of Teachers; Farewell, Kristen!

To link to the current or past issues go to http://minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/ .

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ACRL Podcast: The Desk and Beyond

In this podcast, College & Research Libraries News editor-in-chief David Free talks with Sarah Steiner and Leslie Madden of Georgia State University, editors of the ACRL publication The Desk and Beyond: Next Generation Reference Services. They are joined by chapter authors Meredith Farkas of Norwich University, Ross LaBaugh of California State University - Fresno, and Jerilyn Veldoff of the University of Minnesota to discuss the book along with current and future trends in reference services.    To listen, visit: http://acrl.ala.org/media/desk.mp3 

- From ACRL Insider

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An interesting article on June 29, 2008, The Oracle Collective, in the NYT about Yahoo Answers. 

"In fact, people ask the Web all kinds of crazy things, including “Does he love me?” (Mamay: “He’s 13, he doesn’t know what love is.”) Look over your own Google search history, if you can bear it. Embarrassment does not inhibit us, as it must have inhibited callers to the public library. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29wwln-medium-t.html?ex=1372305600&en=117592c81c8d8a80&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

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The latest pew Internet report just came out, " The Internet and consumer choice."  Highlights include:

• 58 percent say the information they got online helped introduce them to their new community and 57 percent say it reduced the number of places they looked at.

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I thought these facts listed in the March/April 2008 issue of Training were interesting.  You can read the full article, "It's Not Easy being Green" in EBSCO Business Source Premier. 

Did You Know?

• 1 tree makes 16.67 reams of copy paper or 8,333 sheets.

• 1 ream of paper (500 sheets) uses 6% of a tree.

• The average cost of a wasted page is $0.06, and the average employee prints 6 wasted pages per day--1,410 wasted pages per year at a cost of $84 per employee.

• The average U.S. office worker prints 10,000 pages a year.

• In 2004, the U.S. used 8 million tons of office paper (3.2 billion reams)--the equivalent of 178 million trees.

• The U.S. uses enough office paper each year to build a 10-foot-high wall that's 6,815 miles long. That's more than the distance from New York to Tokyo.

• Production of 1 ton of copy paper uses 11,134 kWh (the same amount of energy an average household uses in 10 months).

• Making a single sheet of copy paper can use more than 13 ounces of water--more than a typical soda can.

• Production of 1 ton of copy paper produces 19,075 gallons of waste water; 2,278 pounds of solid waste; and 5,690 pounds of green house gases (the equivalent of 6 months of car exhaust).

• It takes 3 tons of wood to produce 1 ton of copy paper.

SOURCE: GREENPRINT, A SOFTWARE COMPANY DEVOTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, http://WWW.PRINTGREENER.COM/EARTHDAY.HTML.

Posted by meye0539 at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are interested in manga, or your library collects it, don't miss out on Wired's November 2007 issue that talked about manga in two articles.  (Sorry, I know it is late, but thought it was still valid to point out- it was just routed through the office to my desk).  The first, Japan, Ink, discussed how big publishers cornered the market, but now amateurs are the hottest thing.  The second, is a "10-page graphic guide to Japan's coolest export."

Japan, Inc.: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-11/ff_manga

10-pageguide: http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2007/1511_ff_manga

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American Libraries Direct:Student Edition March 13, 2008, vol. 1. no. 1 had a link to an interesting article "100 ways to use an iPod to learn and study better."  You can find the article at:  http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better

To subscribe to this Student AL Direct, visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aldirect/aldirect.cfm 

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The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium NMC)*s Horizon Project, a five-year qualitative research effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within learning-focused organizations.

Notable Emerging Technologies for Education in the 2008 Report Include:

***Grassroots Video

***Collaboration Web

***Mobile Broadband

***Data Mashups

***Collective Intelligence

The report can be found at: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf

Posting from ili-l@ala.org listserv

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In Library Journal, Norman Oder summarizes a new study commissioned by the British Library and JISC, Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future.  In the report, it states" says that the "Google Generation"—youth born or brought up in the Internet age—is not particularly web-literate, and their research traits—impatience in search and navigation and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs—are becoming the norm for all age-groups."

To read Oder's summary, visit: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6525984.html?nid=2671

To read the report, visit: http://www.bl.uk/news/2008/pressrelease20080116.html

Posted by meye0539 at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Pogue wrote a great article December 20, 2007 for the New York Times called "The Generational Divide in Copyright Morality."  It is a great article to stir up discussion on what is copyright in the digital age, and what is okay and not okay!  Excellent for conversation with the k-12 audience and beyond!  You can find the article at: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/the-generational-divide-in-copyright-morality/ 

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• Executive Brief: The State of Technology and Funding in U.S. Public Libraries in 2007
  Authors: Larra Clark, Denise M. Davis
• The Library Funding Landscape
  Author: Denise M. Davis
• Challenges for the Future and A Call to Action
  Authors: John Carlo Bertot, Denise M. Davis, Charles R. McClure

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The iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study, which was sponsored by iProspect and conducted by JupiterResearch, reveals: 

•  two-thirds of the online search population is driven to search by offline channels
• 39 percent of online searchers who are influenced by offline channels ultimately make a purchase

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57 percent of Internet users have watched videos online and most of them share what they find with others

The growing adoption of broadband combined with a dramatic push by content providers to promote online video has helped to pave the way for mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing. Fifty-seven percent of online adults have used the Internet to watch or download video, and 19 percent do so on a typical day. Three-quarters of broadband users (74 percent) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s first major report on online video also shows how many video viewers have contributed to the viral and social nature of online video. More than half of online video viewers (57 percent) share links to the video they find with others, and three in four (75 percent) say they receive links to watch video that others have sent to them.

Video viewers who actively exploit the participatory features of online video, such as rating content, posting feedback or uploading video, make up the motivated minority of the online video audience. Young adults are the most active participants in this realm.

View PDF of report

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The June issue of MINITEX Reference Notes is up on the web and ready for viewing!  This month’s issue includes information on Information Literacy: Leading the Way to Life-Long Learning, Minnesota Digital Library 5th Annual Meeting, Research Libraries in the Age of Google, University of Minnesota Libraries Join Google Digitization Project and more!  

To link to the current or past issues go to http://www.minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/.

Don’t miss out on this timely information!

Posted by meye0539 at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

American Libraries, the official magazine of the American Library Association, is celebrating its 100th birthday with a video entitled, "We've Been Everywhere."  The video was unveiled at this summer's ALA Conference in D.C. but you can check it out here.

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I you haven't read the article "You and Me and Google Makes Three: Welcoming Google into the Reference Interview" by Jill Cirasella, now is the time: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/cirasella.htm

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Continue reading "May 2007 Reference Notes" »

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The EXTENDED April issue of MINITEX Reference Notes is up on the web and ready for viewing! This month’s issue includes information on Moving Beyond Train the Trainer, WebJunction Training Sessions: Challenging Current Conventions, ACRL's Women's Studies Section—Core Books Database, ALA's YALSA 2007 Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, Homeschoolers Unite! MINITEX Visits MACHE Conference Again, Visiting the ACRL Conference Virtually, MINITEX Podcast of the Month and more!

To link to the current or past issues go to http://www-minitex.lib.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/.

Don’t miss out on this timely information!

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51 students across Minnesota will represent the state at the National History Day Competition in June at the University of Maryland, College Park. This year's theme, "Triumph and Tragedy in History" encouraged students to choose a topic in history from ancient to recent times and demonstrate how the event was either a triumph or tragedy or both. Students were asked to explain time, place, and context, cause and effect, change over time, impact and significance,
when and where events happened, why events occurred, and what factors contributed to their development. They were also encouraged to use both primary and secondary sources to tell their stories.

History Day is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota.

Congratulations to all participants and good luck to the finalists in June!

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Carla Steinberg Pfahl, MINITEX reference staff member, along with colleagues from University of Minnesota Libraries - Twin Cities, Van Houlson and Kate McCready, has published an article in the recent issue of Internet Reference Services Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 4. Here is the transcript from that article:

A Window into Out Patron’s Needs: Analyzing Data from Chat Transcripts

Abstract: This article provides an analysis of transcripts of chat reference transactions. The data analyzed for this study were from 631 chat reference transcripts from the University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities Campus collected from January to Mary for both 2003 and 2004. Specifically, the patrons’ statuses, the length of sessions, the type of chat transactions, and the types of questions asked were examined. The findings determined that though a majority of patrons seeking assistance from the chat reference service were undergraduates (41%), graduate students used the service a surprising amount (28%). Overwhelmingly, most students needed assistance finding specific items or wanted to know how to find a resource. However, 17% of the undergraduates using this service were seeking in-depth reference assistance. The analysis has allowed for the transformation of chat reference services (including staffing and training) and also informs decisions about library services, Web sites, and collections.

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March Reference Notes is available online: http://www.minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/

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DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 8 March 2007—Taiwan has added 202 libraries to the OCLC cooperative as full cataloging, Governing Members.

The Taiwan OCLC Governing Members Consortium libraries have agreed to catalog all their newly acquired titles using WorldCat, the world's most comprehensive database of items held in libraries around the globe. The WorldCat database is used to catalog materials, find materials for interlibrary loan, and can be used to search for library materials on the open Web via the WorldCat.org service.

http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200654.htm

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Reference Notes April 2006, featured and article titled, “Consumer Health Information (CHI) need within the Spanish-speaking population.” In the latest newsletter by Reforma (Winter 2006) there is a great article entitled “Bee Stings and the Library.” The author stresses the importance oof sensitivity and culturally appropriate health information. The article suggests the following resources:

Reference Interview
Guidelines for providing Medical Information to Consumers http://library.uchc.edu/departm/hnet/guidelines.html
ICON Library Consortium http://iconlibrary.org/hhqvideo.html
MedlinePlus http://medlineplus.gov/
US Dept. of Health and Human Services profile of the health in the Hispanic Population http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=54

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A Portrait of "Generation Next"
By thelibrarianinblack@gmail.com

The Pew Research Center has released a new report: A Portrait of "Generation Next": How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics." The report includes a lot of interesting findings about our 18-25 year olds in the U.S.

68% believe their generation is unique and distinct
84% believe they have better educational opportunities than were available 20 years ago
72% believe they have access to higher paying jobs than were available 20 years ago
They believe that their generation uses more sex, alcohol, and drugs and is more violent
52% believe that immigration strengthens the nation
Read through the findings and then think--how can your library use this data to better target services toward this age group?

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2007 National Freshman Attitudes Reporthttp://tinyurl.com/usqck

“The 2007 National Freshman Attitudes Report,” a survey of nearly 100,000 incoming freshmen at 292 public and private two- and four-year colleges, finds that men and women share high expectations for getting a degree, “no matter what obstacles get in my way.” But male students at the same time report coming into college with far less ambitious intellectual interests and sharply lesser study habits than their female counterparts. Even so, male students in general express greater confidence in their academic abilities than do female students.
- Summary from http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/15/freshmen

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The December issue of MINITEX Reference Notes is up on the web and ready for viewing! This month’s issue includes information on the Digital Divide, TIES Conference '06, Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate, Next Gen Librarianship: Where Do We Go from Here? Teleconference, Previous Teleconferences Now Available for Checkout Online, and more!

To link to the current or past issues go to http://www.minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/
Don’t miss out on this timely information!

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The Pew Internet and American Life Project has just released a new report on the use of the internet for information seekers titled “The Internet as a Resource for News and Information about Science: The convenience of getting scientific material on the web opens doors to better attitudes and understanding of science.” The report found that 40 million Americans use the internet as their first choice for finding news and information about science. Also, overall, 87% of online users use the internet as a research tool, which comes out to about 128 million adults. They found that convenience was the largest reason why people go online first to seek information and that half of all internet users have visited a website that is scientific in content. If you would like to read more about the interesting findings from the Pew report you can access it via this link: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Exploratorium_Science.pdf

Posted by Carla Pfahl at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Economic Benefit Study Released November 29, 2006
Southwestern Ohio's Return from Investment
in Public Libraries Nearly 4 to 1
A new study released November 29, 2006 shows that nine public library systems in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren counties in Southwest Ohio create an annual economic impact of nearly four times the amount invested in their operations. The report from Levin, Driscoll & Fleeter in Columbus concludes that, using a conservative measure of value the libraries' cumulative expenditure of about $74 million returned a quantifiable direct economic benefit of $238.6 million, or $3.81 for each dollar expended in 2005. The study also recognizes that these libraries add significant value to their users and communities that cannot be assigned a dollar value including, "improved economic prospects and an enhanced quality of life."

Read more at: http://9libraries.info/docs/EconomicBenefitsStudy.pdf

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Check out November's Reference Notes at: http://www.minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/2006/nov2006.pdf

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If you have not read this Library Journal article I suggest you take a moment to read through it.

Drafted: I Want You to Deliver E-Government
By John Carlo Bertot, Paul T. Jaeger, Lesley A. Langa, & Charles R. McClure — August 15, 2006
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6359866.html
Public access computing grows, but libraries need more funding to serve as the first refuge and last resort for e-government support, public computing, and Internet access.

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September 2006

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August 2006

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We want to know about publications by the librarians in the tri-state region. Have you published something, or know a colleague who has? Please provide us the citation and a brief summary and post it to the blog, so we may spread the word about your accomplishment!

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July 2006

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June 2006

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May 2006

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April 2006

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