Reference Consultation

Overview 

Besides teaching, I also provide drop-in and scheduled research consultations for students and the Skyline College community, including faculty. My philosophy for providing references is not to give them the exact, "right" answer that they are often looking for. Rather, I strive to point users in the right direction and allow them the creative space to think critically and find their way. This simultaneously builds self-confidence and critical thinking skills, which will serve the patron throughout life. In addition, my goal is that every reference patron learn at least one tangible skill that will be useful to them in the future. Below are two examples of references that I have provided this semester. The first patron wanted me to verify that their resources were relevant to the topic she was interested in. I provided some suggestions such as using different keywords and we brainstormed what those might be. The second patron was a faculty member looking for an article that Skyline does not have access to. I was able to provide her the article through another channel and explained to her how she could identify unavailable articles in the future.