I am able to use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users
Introduction
The core commitment of librarians is to help users find the information they need. In large part, this involves making sure that information is accessible. But access isn’t the librarian’s only concern. Meeting the information needs of users includes a concern with quality. In other words, is the information relevant to user needs? Is that information accurate? In order to make information accessible, relevant, and accurate, librarians employ certain concepts, principles, and techniques. For example, they embrace a commitment to access regardless of age, ethnicity, race, educational background, etc. Based on that principle, they create and follow standards and guidelines that help ensure that users from diverse backgrounds have equal access to library services and materials. Librarians may help create information retrieval systems designed to help users retrieve information that is relevant to specific information needs. Librarians use selection tools to identify high-quality, accurate materials to acquire for library collections. Concepts, principles, and techniques such as these help librarians make information accessible, relevant, and accurate. Without these concepts, etc., librarians could not fulfill their central mission and responsibility to users, i.e., helping users find the information they need. Through my courses in the MLIS program I have become acquainted with a broad range of concepts, principles, and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy. Moreover, I am able to use these concepts, principles, and techniques to meet the information needs of users.
Commentary
Librarians employ a diverse range of concepts, principles, and techniques in order to facilitate information access. A commitment to equal access to all patrons – regardless of age, race, ethnicity, disability, language, income, etc. – is one of the Core Values of Librarianship. This commitment facilitates information access by guiding the librarian’s professional conduct and mandating the development of services that are accessible to all patrons. Regardless of a librarian’s personal sensibilities toward a particular patron, the librarian maintains a courteous, professional demeanor and serves the patron to the best of his or her ability. Universal access further entails specific principles or services for different groups of people. Librarians provide free or low-cost services to help ensure that economically disadvantaged patrons have access to information. They provide free access to computers and the internet for the economically disadvantaged as well as other groups (e.g., the elderly) often marginalized by the digital divide. They provide online services for those who may have difficulty getting to the library. Depending on community demographics, they provide materials in multiple languages so that language does not become a barrier to access. They also provide special services to groups such as children and the elderly to ensure that they too have access to information. A library, for example, may provide a kid-friendly interface for its online catalog. Or it may provide classes on basic computer skills for those who lack the skills to access information themselves. The librarian’s commitment to access is also the basis of her concern for online usability. In order to access information, patrons need to be able to use and easily navigate the library’s web site. Librarians therefore observe usability principles when designing library web pages.
A commitment to universal access also has implications for reference services. For example, patrons must be able to easily identify the reference desk and feel comfortable approaching reference librarians for help. A reference desk that is difficult to find and/or identify will inhibit patron access to information. Likewise, a reference librarian who appears distracted, unfriendly, and reluctant to interact with patrons will discourage patrons from approaching the reference desk. To help ensure that patrons can access information through a library’s reference services, the ALA’s Reference and User Services Association has articulated a set of Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. Among other things, these guidelines specify a variety of behaviors that convey a sense of approachability and thereby encourage patrons to feel comfortable seeking information. In LIBR 210 I studied these guidelines in depth and used them to evaluate a face-to-face reference interview and an online, chat reference interview.
Reference librarians also facilitate information access by providing virtual reference services using e-mail, IM, and/or VoIP. These services expand access options for users both inside and outside the library. Many libraries now provide 24/7 chat reference, providing point-of-need access to services regardless of time of day or geographic location.
Intellectual freedom is another important principle that helps facilitate access to information. Intellectual freedom guides selection decisions to ensure that diverse points of view are represented in the library’s collection. It discourages the librarian from excluding materials because they offend personal beliefs. Patrons have greater access to information when diverse points of view are represented by the collection. In LIBR 234 I explored the implications of intellectual freedom on different library services.
Librarians employ concepts, principles, and techniques to facilitate the relevance of information. Relevance, in this context, has two meanings. First, the collection as a whole should be relevant to the community it serves. For example, academic librarians must understand the research needs of students at their particular institutions. Public librarians must have a sensitive appreciation for the unique demographics of their particular communities to ensure the relevance of collections. One way librarians gain this appreciation is through community assessments. In LIBR 266 I had the chance to examine community assessments and learned how librarians gather, synthesize, and use this information. During my internship at the King Library I evaluated the library’s Asian religions collection. This evaluation included a careful examination of courses and degree offerings at SJSU in order to determine the research needs of students in the area of Asian religions. It is this kind of information that informs selection decisions and helps ensure the relevance of a collection for users.
Relevance has another meaning in libraries. Library systems need to be responsive to specific patron queries. Systems need to function so that a particular question receives a response that is relevant to the user’s need. Librarians rely on various techniques to help make this possible. For example, librarians develop controlled vocabularies and use those vocabularies to index information items. This makes it possible for patron to use authorized subject terms (rather than keywords) when performing searches, increasing the likelihood of relevant results.
Cataloging and classification systems are additional ways that librarians make it possible for users to find relevant information. Describing information items (descriptive cataloging), assigning subject terms (subject cataloging), and assigning unique classification numbers make it possible for library catalogs to serve the information needs of users. Specifically, they make it possible for users to find and locate relevant information in response to specific information needs. In LIBR 202 I helped create a controlled vocabulary and used that vocabulary to index articles. In LIBR 248 I learned basic skills of descriptive and subject cataloging, as well as LC and Dewey classification.
Another technique related to information relevance is the evaluation of information retrieval systems (IRS). The purpose of an IRS is to retrieve relevant information for users. But how does the librarian know an IRS is meeting performance standards? IRSs have to be evaluated. IRS evaluation alerts the librarian to weaknesses in IRS design, which can in turn inform design changes that improve IRS performance. In this way, evaluation helps users retrieve relevant information. In LIBR 202 I developed and applied normative standards to evaluate subject access in a bibliographic database.
Library users often seek information through reference services. The reference librarian acts as an intermediary for the user. In this case, the relevance of results depends on the searching skills of the librarian, e.g., the librarian’s ability to take advantage of advanced database features to pinpoint specific information items. In LIBR 244 I gained advanced online searching skills that will help me retrieve relevant information for library users.
What concepts, principles, and techniques do librarians use to facilitate the accuracy of information for individuals or groups? One important technique involves material selection. Librarians employ a variety of selection tools and review sources in order to select high-quality, accurate materials to add to library collections. The accuracy of the collection as a whole also depends on the currency of items within that collection. Periodical weeding – removing outdated materials – is one way librarians facilitate collection accuracy. In addition, the librarian is adept at source evaluation. When performing a search on behalf of a library patron, the librarian is able to use evaluation criteria to determine the quality and accuracy of a source. For example, what are the credentials of a book’s author or web site’s creator? Is a source popular or scholarly? Who published it? Are there indications of bias that might compromise the source’s accuracy? These types of questions not only serve the librarian when performing a search. They also guide the creation of directories, pathfinders, research guides. Librarians apply their critical evaluation skills to collect and organize high-quality, accurate sources. These tools help users identify accurate information on specific topics.
Through my MLIS coursework and internship experience I have had the opportunity to employ several key techniques that help facilitate information accuracy. In LIBR 266 I consulted a variety of selection tools and review sources commonly used to determine the quality of books and other information items. During my internship at the King Library I explored key areas of information literacy instruction, including criteria used to evaluate information. During my internship at UCSC’s McHenry library I used these criteria to evaluate information when helping students at the reference desk. I also used these evaluation skills to identify suitable sources for pathfinders and research guides.
Evidence
I am submitting three pieces of evidence for this competency. The first is an analysis of a face-to-face reference interview (this assignment was also submitted for Competency N). In the paper I evaluate a reference interview using a variety of criteria, including the RUSA Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. These guidelines list multiple dimensions pertaining to the quality of reference interactions. The first set of guidelines concerns approachability, which has important implications on information access. A reference librarian who does not appear approachable will discourage access. Likewise, a patron will feel comfortable approaching a reference librarian who exhibits specific behaviors associated with approachability. My analysis of a reference interaction with a public librarian demonstrates my understanding of those behaviors that give users a sense of the librarian’s approachability. These behaviors help ensure that users are able to access information through reference services.
The second item I am submitting as evidence for this competency is a compilation of four responses to patron questions submitted to UCSC’s Reference Services via e-mail. During my internship at UCSC’s McHenry Library, one of my primary responsibilities was responding to e-mailed reference questions. The four responses to patron questions included in this document demonstrate my ability to facilitate information access and relevance. First, services were delivered via e-mail, facilitating information access for those outside the physical library. Second, my responses to patron questions demonstrate searching skills that facilitate the relevance of information. In other words, I was able to find information relevant to the patron’s information need.
The third item I am submitting for this competency is a pathfinder I created for LIBR 210, and subsequently incorporated into a web site I created for LIBR 240. The pathfinder lists reference sources, monographs, primary sources, and internet resources about Buddhism. It demonstrates one way librarians use to help facilitate the accuracy of information. In order to create the pathfinder, I used my own expertise in the subject matter as well as my ability to critically evaluate information to identify a wide range of accurate materials about Buddhism. Compiling and organizing these sources as a pathfinder provides a tool that helps patrons identify accurate sources of information about Buddhism.
Conclusion
Information access, relevance, and accuracy are central to the library’s mission. Librarians are committed to meeting the information needs of patrons. In order to fulfill that mission, patrons need to be able to access information. Moreover, information needs to be both relevant and accurate. In order to achieve these goals, librarians employ a variety of concepts, principles, and techniques to facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy. Through my MLIS coursework and internship experience, I have gained the ability to use these concepts, principles, and techniques to help ensure information access, relevance, and accuracy for library users.
Buddhism Pathfinder - An authoritative list of reference sources and other resources pertaining to Buddhism