neo reference : getting ready for real change susan beatty head information commons...
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NEO REFERENCE : Getting ready for real change
Susan Beatty Head Information Commons [email protected]
Helen Clarke Head Collections Services [email protected]
LIBRARIES AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Discussion Points
Disjunctive Change
Future of Reference Collections
Future environment—Taylor Family Digital Library
Future of Reference Service
Environmental Scan
JISC Libraries of the Future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjoJd_uN-7M
Environmental Scan: blogosphere
The Past is Gone
The Future is Digital
Learners still need help
Staying relevant means changing
Try to imagine
“when a profession has been created as a result of some scarcity, as with librarians…, the professionals are often the last ones to see it when that scarcity goes away. It is easier to understand that you face competition than obsolescence” Shirky, Here comes everybody. p. 59
Disjunctive Change
TraditionPrint Desk Gatekeeper
Tradition
Shelves Filled With Secret Lore
A Desk to Mark the Entrance A Gatekeeper To Interrogate
Empty Library Syndrome
• What was hard is now easy
• Generalized tools replace specialized lore
• Gatekeeper doesn’t get many visitors anymore
Off campus use of Electronic Resources Rises
Disjunctive Change Some Interesting Numbers
Reference Statistics Fall in Canadian Academic
Libraries
The future of reference collections
My Assertions Digital is better A digital reference collection is not needed We should focus on what is hard to find/use but of
high valueWhat do I mean by reference tools * Procedures or Techniques Factual Descriptions Properties/Characteristics Facts Enumeration—lists, statistics
* Not including citation lookup tools
Mediation
Units
Aggregation
Independence
Patterns of Use: Individual e-Reference
34 Titles individually catalogued $153.98 per session
Top Two Chicago Manual of Style
9,100 sessions, 32% of sessions, $0.42 per session Oxford English Dictionary 11,694 sessions, 41% of sessions, $0.59 per session
Patterns of Use: Specialized Aggregator
•11 titles, all used at least once• $.47 per use and $1044 per title
•96% of the use was concentrated in one title
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Patterns of use: General Aggregator
•Most titles used at least once•Use concentrated in a few titles•$.47 per use and $21 per title•heavily used title 7% of use “Guide to Seashells of the World”
Practical Tips
Brand Name Subscriptions can be cost effective Google + Catalogue discovery is useful
Anonymous but Useful Aggregators can distribute costs so that less frequently used titles are still offered Subscriptions to individual titles not cost effective Google + Catalogue discovery can help but less so than with Brand Name products
Essential but Obscure One time payment is best Need to consider long term stability May opt for print as a backup
THINK BEFORE YOU BUY! Do I really need this.
Challenges for the future
Challenge Collections Reference Service
Provision Identifying and acquiring Just in time service for complex questions
Discovery Metadata Identifying the right resources and experts
Creation Build advanced aids to research via digitization, indexing, distribution
New models for service and for supporting creative outcomes
Expertise Specialized skills to assess and utilize
Specialized skills to support learning
Preservation Stability of resource over generations
Support the output and reuse of creative work
Disjunctive ChangeTaylor Family Digital Library
Resulting in new ways of learning... Multi-disciplinary study Experiential learning Active and collaborative learning Problem and inquiry-based learning Mentorship opportunities Classroom use of manuscripts and
original art Collaborative learning
opportunities with faculty, archivists, librarians, and curators
Opportunities for social and academic debate. http://
tfdl.ucalgary.ca/
What is the Taylor?
Special Collections
Museum
Archives
Multimedia Centre
Visualization Room
Classrooms
WorkroomsCafe
Texts (e and
p)
GalleryLearning
Commons
Pcs, Macs, laptops, ipods….
Who is the Taylor
Curation Experts
Archives Experts
Library Experts
Data Experts
Learning Support Experts
Media Experts
Technology Experts
Instructional Design Experts?
Experts…
Who is using the Taylor?
StudentsInstructors
Researchers
Virtual
Visiting ScholarsCommunity
Experts
Novices
In person
From knowledge transfer to knowledge creation
Requires greatly increased level of Knowledge and Skills
Service is more individual and non-standard– more awareness of user needs and responsiveness
Diversity of complex interactions – from mashups to deep discipline research
Collaboration with other experts becomes the norm
How is the Taylor Different?
Seamless integration and delivery of services across many ways of knowing
Knowledge creation
Just in time not just in case
Bring users and experts together
Create the tools for service providers and users
New reference predictions
Collections not about volume counts, but about organization and functionality
Staff become learning experts Staff with a complex array of backgrounds and
skills Less about schedules more about interaction
Reference service evolves as a multi-layered, helping, ubiquitous service Reference as a discrete service entity
increasingly less important
Past and Future of Reference
LESS MORE
Face to Face VirtualWalk up Scheduled
Print Digital
Full Service Desk Multiple Points
Instant messaging Full Virtual Environment
Way Finding Knowledge Creation
Just in Case Just in Time
Definition of reference
Draft Definition Developed by RSS Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee, January 22, 2006
“Reference Work includes activities that involve the creation, management, and assessment of reference resources, tools, and services, as well as reference transactions and liaison activities.
The creation and management of information resources includes the development and maintenance of reference collections, print and electronic research guides, catalogs, databases, web sites, search engines, etc. that patrons can use independently, in-house or remotely, to satisfy their information needs
Example of a new skill: become learning literate
Learn how people learn Why? So that you can assist learners in taking next
steps How?
Be where the user is Learn the skills of instruction and instructional design Organize your space for the learner Understand there is not one approach for all
Example of a new skillCreation of Tools and Services
Search for new tools and ways to be involved Organize and describe information to suit
the user Let users contribute knowledge Expect to work with other experts
Example: National Singapore library - tool to aggregate and organize email exchanges and enabling collective knowledge , knowledge management and collective learning.
Conclusions
The Past is Gone
The Future is Digital
Learners still need help
Staying relevant means changing
What do you think?
… in the future
Reference will be /will not be...
The collections will be /will not be…
The service will be/ will not be ....
Your next steps are ….