“Collections of books and other documents, either printed or electronic, are a form of congregation.”

Tom Peters

A library’s ultimate purpose is to provide access to information. Information professionals in a public library setting do this by building print and online collections that they select through careful research, evaluate on an ongoing basis with processes such as weeding, organize the information as to be findable and retrievable, and maintain and preserve using current available technologies. The principles of selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation are the same for the management of any knowledge base, digital or physical.

“Collection management is a complex process that involves strategic planning, innovation, change management, and community analysis.” (Disher, 2018, p. 288) According to Disher (2018), the basics of building a collection include access, how the information is made available; allocations, or budget; collection building, the identification, selecting and acquiring of collection materials; collection development, methods for decision making regarding collection; community analysis, a determination of the community’s wants, needs, and demands; consortia, partnerships that promote information sharing activities; digital content, e-resources and virtual content; e-books, one of the most popular forms of digital content; selection, identification of the most appropriate materials; selection tools, including professional journals and current book reviews; and weeding, the removal of irrelevant or outdated materials. As the information landscape continues to change in the Digital Age, information professionals practicing collections management are more than just content providers, they employ change management practices to stay current and foster comprehensive learning experiences for all.

Info 210 - Reference Services

This course was an examination of current trends in the design and delivery of reference and information services. It also offered a process-oriented examination of how information professionals answer reference questions. The interpersonal skills required for effective question negotiation and the sources with which questions are answered were stressed. This course was designed as introduction to the world of reference and information services. We explored the history and core values of reference; identified the various methods and models of information service delivery; examined and evaluated key information sources of various types and formats; and discussed current issues and emerging trends in reference and information delivery. Topics included the history of reference service; information seeking behavior; the reference interview; evaluation of reference interactions; information sources and their use; collection and evaluation of reference sources, the role of instruction in reference service, reference ethics and reference policies; and trends in reference and information services.

I cultivated my skills to identify and assess the characteristics and functions of various types of reference sources. I became proficient in the use of basic reference tools and searching techniques to answer a wide range of questions. I learned to conduct effective reference interviews. I am able to describe the relationships between user needs, information resources, and relevant information technologies, as well as describe current issues and trends in reference services, including the impact of technology on user needs and reference interactions. I can evaluate reference services that address the needs of a diverse and changing society and I understand the relationship between reference service and information literacy instruction. This class challenged me to begin to develop a personal philosophy of reference service.

Class assignments to meet these learning outcomes included discussions, an interview with a manager of a public services department, working with reference sources, and an alternate final answering letters to the incarcerated through the SFPL Jails and Reentry Program.

Internship - OCLC Open Access Digital Theological Library (OADTL)

The Open Access Digital Theological Library (https://oadtl.org) is the world's only fully open access library which uses OCLC's WorldShare to professionally curate and deliver Open Access content. The OADTL serves over 10,000 patrons in over 100 countries and curates religious studies content without regard for the author's confessional perspective. No religious commitment is required. As an intern, I help curate Open Access collections in OCLC's knowledge base.

As an intern I learned to locate university Open Access content on the web; create collections in the OCLC collection manager; populate OCLC collections with new content; and troubleshoot discovery and retrievability problems in the OCLC knowledge base.

Internships vary widely and interns can be trained and work remotely via the web. Internships involve all areas of digital librarianship, including collection development, resource management, creation of finding aids, management of the website and cataloging. Interns may work in multiple areas of interest, or they may concentrate in a single area of particular interest. However, all interns must have a high level of attention to detail.

Working with Reference Sources

For this artifact from Info 210 - Reference Services, I completed an exercise in how to assess and evaluate the many types of reference sources available and choose the best one for each circumstance.The universe of available information is massive and constantly shifting. It is unrealistic to expect to know every resource available. The important thing is to know and understand the different types of resources, how to assess them and how to use them. These are the exercises I completed that were designed to give me practical experience examining, evaluating and using some of the reference sources and search techniques studied.

Vendor Intelligence Project Prezi: Heritage Quest

For this artifact for Info 282 - Information Vendor Landscape, I evaluated a real digital content provider, in this case a genealogy information vendor, using a variety of different tools, including (but not limited to) vendor websites, articles, white papers, comparisons, and social networking sites. The goal was to gather as much information about the vendor and its products as possible and to evaluate whether that vendor is suitable for my identified audience, the Boulder City Library. I created a digital content plan for my audience using this vendor and included an audience analysis, details about the vendor and how it meets the need, the licensing needs, deployment plan, and a communications strategy.

A Day in the Life Prezi: OCLC Open Access Digital Theological Library (OADTL)

This artifact is a Prezi produced to demonstrate a Day in the Life about my internship with the OCLC and the Open Access Digital Theological Library. My task was to walk through a day at my internship and introduce the work I do. The day represents the time I spend at my computer working virtually. I chose to illustrate more than one day because the tasks require working in small chunks.

Reflection

At the Boulder City Library, much of my experience entailed working with physical collections, however, through opportunities with the MLIS program and the pursuit of a digital assets certificate, my competency now crosses over into the digital realm. My internship experience with OCLC and OADTL was invaluable, bridging the gap from theory into practice. The skill of knowledge base management will serve me well in any future career position.

References

Disher, W. (2018). Managing Collections. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., 288-297). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Peters, T. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved from: https://www.azquotes.com/author/11575-Tom_Peters