We of the reference persuasion attempt to keep our skills up to date with practice runs around the track of real or imagined user questions--which I've given the general heading of "Phony Reference Questions." Persons starting work at the Green reference desk are given a practice set of about 100 questions. Now, I've decided to keep the ball rolling, and our front-line skills more in tune with the times, by submitting the occasional new phony question to the Deskers of Green.
The whole point of this exercise is to teach us flexibility of response to user needs. The essential reference "problem" always remains the same, whether we are dealing with print or electronic resources. The user hits a block in the research process. A hint or a nudge is needed to restart them in the right direction. We reference types tend to develop the same blocks--we start doing more and more things in a certain way. The motto in Reference for this syndrome is "A question referred is a question answered": if you can send the user somewhere else, you've fulfilled your function. In other words, we all tend to become Bureaucrats. The usual means for defeating this tendency are the day-to-day enlightening embarrassments of public service--what I like to call "learning through humiliation." To help us minimize our need for humiliation, practice runs are a good thing. Roger Kohn, a scholar experienced in the joys of the front-line, thought that it would be useful to share the results of these exercises with the greater community. So, herewith, our first question:
"I want figures on country-of-origin for immigrants to the U.S. I'd like these to be as up-to-date and 'local' as possible--state-level, or even city-level. I know I should go to Government Documents, but they're closed right now, so is there anything I can do here in Green Reference to at least get me started?"
This is a "phony reference question" because, in real life, this came to me in Government Documents Reference and the user was quite happy with the available resources there. It was only later that I asked myself--and then the Green Deskers--about other options. I added the "Government Documents is closed" to preclude our usual referral behavior. This was the result:
The first move was easy: We went to the Statistical Abstract of the U.S., which pointed us to the Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is in Government Documents. But, because we're dedicated types, we try the Web. We know that for highly defined entities, such as the INS, an indexed search engine such as Yahoo works better than a "free-text" device such as Alta Vista. And, yes, a Yahoo search yields an INS homepage, which leads us to their statistical publications, and the 1995 Statistical Yearbook is available.
Barry Hinman won this trial heat, coming up with the INS homepage and the 1995 figures. Congrats Barry! In the future, maybe we'll put the questions in the News Notes unanswered and let everyone take a swing at them. Of course, we assume that you have access to the reference collection, to Folio and to the Web--the standard tools of the reference process. Like to join the fun?
-- submitted by Eric Heath, Reference
Yes, our Spring Break at the Law School is at a slightly different time from the rest of the University. We will be having Spring Break from March 24-28. The Law Library Hours will be:
-- submitted by Elaine Devon Cattell
Environmental Health and Safety will be conducting four "Computer Workstation Ergonomic" sessions for SUL/AIR staff. These sessions will cover factors and conditions that contribute to repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) focusing on proper work practices and workstation setup. These classes are in lieu of EHS 116.
If you are interested in attending, please send an email message to SUL/AIR Human Resources at HF.LPO@forsythe.
-- submitted by Debbie Guzzo and Cynthia Stretch
The Stanford Libraries Staff Association is proud to bring you a Satellite Video Teleconference:
March 20, 1997
11:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M.
Meyer Library room 183
We will provide lunch.
However, we are limited to 40 people. Please RSVP early to reserve
your spot! Email jenn@krypton.
Schedule:
11:00am-12:30pm Actual Broadcast
12:30pm-1pm Session Wrap-up
Opening
Joanne Marshall
"A Discussion on Competencies"
Panel Discussion
Mark Estes
"The Roll of the New Librarian"
Panel Discussion and Video Capsule Success Stories
Q&A
Bernie Todd-Smith
"Working with the Organization"
Panel Discussion and Video Capsule Success Stories
Toby Pearlstein
"Putting the Pieces Together"
Panel Discussion and Video Capsule Success Stories
Q&A
Closing
Although this is aimed at librarians, we feel that the information would be useful to many other library staff members. Mark this one on your calendars!
* This teleconference is being hosted by:
SLA - Special Library Association
MLA -Medical Library Association
AALL - American Association of Law Libraries
Lexis-Nexis
-- submitted by Jenn Stringer
Beginning Friday, March 14, Inside Information Plus, will be available on Folio. It can be accessed by entering the command SELECT INSIDE. Here is a description of the file:
Inside Information Plus is a premier current awareness file. It indexes 21,000 of the most requested titles from the British Library Document Supply Centre's serials collection, one of the great research collections in the world. These serial titles represent almost all subject areas. For example, IIN Plus includes detailed citation information for the contents of over 1,000 titles in language, arts, and literature, over 1,000 titles in economics, nearly 2,000 titles in engineering & allied sciences, and some 4,500 titles in medical sciences. There is no printed equivalent. Coverage begins with January 1996, and the file is updated weekly with approximately 30,000 new citations.
Each citation includes the individual authors of the paper, the title of the paper, and the listing of the source publication. No additional subject terms are provided. Indexes available are author, author phrase, title, title phrase, and publication phrase. The full display indicates whether the publication is owned by the Stanford Libraries.
-- submitted by Steve Gass
Consenting adults : or, The duchess will be furious : a novel / by
Peter De Vries. -- 1st ed. -- Boston : Little, Brown, c1980.
ADZ3102 / PS3507 .E8673 C6 / Green Library - Stacks.
Furious cooking : poems / by Maureen Seaton. -- Iowa City :
University of Iowa Press, c1996.
AQG9796 / PS3569 .E218 F8 1996 / Green Library - Stacks.
Head-deep in strange sounds : free-flight improvisions from the
unEnglish / James Dickey. -- [Winston-Salem, N.C.] : Palaemon
Press, c1979.
AHW8178 / PS3554.I32 H39 1979 / Green Library - Stacks.
I don't have any paper so shut up, or, Social romanticism / Bruce
Andrews. -- 1. ed. -- Los Angeles : Sun & Moon Press, 1992.
ABE8402 / PS3551 .N415 I24 1992 / Green Library - Stacks.
The wobble; a potpourri of passion, polemic and a plea not petty,
prissy or pontifical aimed in anguish and alarm at Americans,
strong stuff to stomach for physics must be furious where
fantasies are favored as final / Fletcher Trenchant. -- Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, Printed by S. Lazar, 1965.
AAL7843 / CT275 .T869 A3 / Green Library - Stacks.
-- submitted by Brian Kunde, Serials & Electronic Resources
