LIBRARY
Inside Out:
Library Services at
Point of Need
Sharon Munro, University of Windsor
Sophie Bury, York University
Ilo-Katryn Maimets, York University
OLA 2008
Session Outline
Key Questions

What are the needs of faculty and students – what do
we know about their knowledge, experience and skills?

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What difference can we make and how?
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Reference
Research
Information Literacy
Theory, practice and case studies
Learning from each other
OLA 2008
Assessing Needs
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Examples from the literature
User needs assessment

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Focus groups
Surveys
Pre-test/post-test
OLA 2008
What are the needs?
“…Librarians are dedicated to maintaining the importance and
relevance of the academic library as a place of intellectual
stimulation and a center of activity on campus. Even so, some
feel that libraries are becoming marginalized. …We must find
ways to promote the values, expertise and leadership of the
profession throughout the campus to ensure appreciation for
the roles librarians can and do play. Though access to
information is becoming increasingly decentralized and
computer labs now compete with libraries as campus
gathering points, librarians must demonstrate to the campus
community that the library remains central to academic effort.”
Hisle, W. Lee (2002) Top issues facing academic libraries: a report of the Focus on the
Future Task Force. College & Research Libraries News, 63 (10), pp. 715.
OLA 2008
What are the needs?
“Let’s face it: not only do many faculty
members not think of the library as the heart
of the college, but we seem to be more like
the kidneys – often ignored when we’re
around but missed when significantly
compromised or removed.”
Rabinowitz, Celia E. (2003). Moving beyond the “Re” generation:
making libraries and librarians count in the twenty-first century. In
Martin H. Raish (ed.), Musings, meanderings, and monsters, too:
essays on academic librarianship. Lanham, Md: The Scarecrow
Press, pp. 23.
OLA 2008
What are the needs?
“…observing faculty in their offices as they
interacted with our electronic resources, outreach
reference librarians noted that faculty would
habitually execute the same keyword search across
different databases without taking advantage of
controlled language searching through thesauri. In
addition, faculty seemed to be unaware of the
advantage of using proximity operators in searching
full text databases.”
Cruickshank, John, & Nowak, David G. (2001) Marketing reference
resources and services through a university outreach program. The
Reference Librarian, 73, pp. 271.
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“…The survey findings indicate that 89
percent of college student information
searches begin with a search engine…
Library Web sites were selected by just 2
percent of students as the source used to
begin an information search.”
OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of libraries and information resources –
Part 1, pp. 1-7.
www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions.pdf
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“Fifty-four percent of college students do
not seek assistance when using library
electronic resources, while 64 percent of
total respondents report they have not
sought help when using the library’s
electronic resources.”
OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and
information resources - Part 2, pp. 2-6.
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“…Although usage of many of the library
electronic resources is relatively low,
respondents indicated that the information
provided is worthwhile. While only 8 percent of
college student respondents have used an
online librarian question service, 64 percent of
the college students who used this service
completely agree or agree this service provides
worthwhile information.”
OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and information
resources - Part 1, pp. 1-14.
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“My schedule rarely fits their schedule.”
21-year-old undergraduate from the
United States
OCLC (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information
resources - question 812b, “Please list two negative
associations with the library”.
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“Just remember that students are less
informed about the resources of the library
than ever before because they are
competing heavily with the Internet.”
20-year-old undergraduate from the United
States
OCLC (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information
resources - question 1240, “If you could provide one piece
of advice to your library, what would it be?”
OLA 2008
What are the needs? - Evidence
“…Libraries will continue to share an expanding
infosphere with an increasing number of content
producers, providers and consumers. Information
consumers will continue to self-serve from a growing
information smorgasbord. The challenge for libraries is
to clearly define and market their relevant place in that
infosphere – their services and collections both physical
and virtual.”
OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and
information resources - Part 6, pp. 6-6.
OLA 2008
Outreach - planning and preparation
“Before implementing outreach
programs, librarians should
analyze, or review, user needs,
campus context, and available
resources.”
Westbrook, Lynn, & Waldman, Robert (1993) Outreach in
Academic Libraries: Principle into Practice. Research
Strategies,11 (2), pp. 61.
OLA 2008
User Needs Assessment
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Conducted at York University Libraries
Graduate students
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Survey
Focus groups
Goal of gathering information about:
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Research habits
Awareness / experiences / perceptions
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reference
IL services
web-based guides and tutorials
Recommendations and advice on how reference, IL, and
web-based guides and tutorials should be enhanced at
York
OLA 2008
Survey
Survey of Graduate Students

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Online survey: Survey Monkey
Sent to all graduate program directors for
distribution to graduate student mailing lists
on campus in October 2007
193 completed responses (60.9% Masters;
39.1% Doctorate)

Total response rate was 5%
OLA 2008
Focus groups
Graduate Student Focus Groups

Five focus groups
 Two at Scott Library - Social Sciences, Humanities,
Environmental Studies, Education, Fine Arts - October 2007
 Two at Steacie Science & Engineering Library - October 2007
 Two at Bronfman Business Library (MBAs) – May 2005

Volunteers sought through e-mail (graduate student listservs) and
through graduate student classes, workshops and TA events

Participants in focus groups
 18 at Scott Library
 13 at Steacie Science and Engineering Library
 11 at Bronfman Business Library
OLA 2008
Survey
Resources Used for Research
Survey
Frequency of research activities
Focus groups
Challenges with research

Focusing the search – frustrations
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Challenges of navigating the Library web site
Lack of awareness of:
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Web-based subject research guides
 Especially Science and Business
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Relevant databases for their discipline
 Especially Science and Business

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Unfocused results / too much reading
Multiple database interfaces “we waste too much time
when we don’t know the tricks” and need
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Time-saving shortcuts
Effective search tips
OLA 2008
Survey
Awareness of library services
Survey
Usage of library services
Survey
Accessing librarian services
Survey
Resources - Professor input
Survey
Services - Professor input
Focus groups
Research - Professor input
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“Professors do not give a lot of guidance on
approaching research”

Faculty appear to expect them to have skills already

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Students say they lack skills
Or to expect them to know how to teach themselves
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Any guidance given involves:
 specific journals/ authors/ references
 resources relevant to specific research projects/tasks
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No guidance on
 searching / finding relevant library resources / services

Students want more guidance!
OLA 2008
Focus groups
Student recommendations
Outreach to faculty
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Increased communication of librarians with faculty

Faculty and librarian collaboration on assignments to
combine research process with subject content

Professors themselves need help to develop their own
research skills and knowledge of library resources and
services.
 This may explain the lack of referral to library
services.
OLA 2008
Focus groups
Student recommendations
Promoting Awareness of Workshops/Classes
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E-mail is preferred - listserv was requested

Posters in the Libraries, academic departments and
high traffic areas / hang-outs
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Raise profile for workshops and classes on
Library home page
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Raise awareness of names and responsibilities of
subject librarians
OLA 2008
Focus groups
Student recommendations
Workshops/Classes: Content/Format
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Need workshops to accommodate
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Multiple skill levels
Varying knowledge requirements
Types of workshops:
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Generic/introductory
Subject specific (program related)
Advanced/customized workshops - mentioned themes
covered by library specialized workshops e.g. RSS feeds,
digital copyright, and Google Scholar
Writing / presentation skills / etc
OLA 2008
Focus groups
Graduate students -Important issues
Campus partnerships needed for supporting student research:

Campus-wide collaborations with relevant learning support
services: Writing centres, Computing services, Faculty of Graduate
Studies
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How to research and write papers:
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Changed expectations in graduate programs
Guidance needed to meet expectations
Better access to online writing guides
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How to make effective presentations (including conference
presentations)
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How to submit papers for publication and conferences
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Grant writing
OLA 2008
Making a Difference
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Examples from the literature
Case studies
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Off-site reference/IL services in person – University of
Windsor
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Off-site reference/IL services online –
University

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York
Nursing
Evaluation of learning outcomes in curriculum integrated
IL initiative – York University
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Nursing and Social work
Biology
Pre-test / post-test
OLA 2008
What difference can we make?
Inside the classroom, Outside the library
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Librarians as proactive and innovative
partners
Meeting users at their “point of need”
Curriculum integration vital to teaching,
learning and research
Ongoing evaluation informs change
OLA 2008
Off-site Reference/IL
“For years, the focus has been to draw people into
libraries. Libraries’ holdings have been moved to offsite
locations, and student services have been brought into
our buildings as information commons become more
popular and ensure bodies passing through gate
counters. Longer visits have been encouraged with
cafes. Still, this isn’t enough. A different tack is
needed. Instead of pulling people in, librarians need to
reach outward to become an integral part of the routine
interactions of faculty and students.”
Ramsay, Karen M., & Kinnie, Jim (2006) The embedded librarian.
Library Journal, 131 (6), pp. 34.
OLA 2008
Off-site Reference/IL
“Students may be reluctant to ask questions at a library
reference desk because it is such a public venue. It may be
possible to give them an alternative by providing reference
service outside of the library within a faculty lab or office.
Advantages include convenience and proximity to students,
faculty and their learning communities. The service may
also foster closer and stronger relationships within
departments. It is important to choose a location wisely,
as well as advertise widely.”
Lee, Jennifer, Hayden, K. Alix, & MacMillan, Don (2004) “I wouldn’t have asked for help if I had
to go to the library”: reference services on site. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship,
41 (Fall).
Retrieved online: www.istl.org/04-fall/article2.html
OLA 2008
Off-site Reference/IL
“…The relationships created through the interactions of
library staff with students in the informal environment of
the Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) lounge has provided contact
with students that do not ordinarily come into the
engineering library and in some cases, lasting contacts
with a few students of Purdue University. These
positive interactions have shown that this service
enhances the experience of library patrons.”
Nelson, Megan S. (2007) Initiating engineering outreach reference
services: background and practice. Reference Services Review,35 (2), pp.
283.
OLA 2008
Nursing and Social Work at Windsor
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Set up office space in a high profile area
within the department and ADVERTISE
Choose days and times when student traffic
will be high
Check in with faculty about their research
projects and keep them apprised of new
library resources
Check in with support staff
Connect with representatives of relevant
student associations
OLA 2008
Nursing and Social Work at Windsor
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Get a web page for the library on the
department’s web site
Include information about library
resources on departmental bulletin
boards
Get involved with faculty council
meetings for your departments
Hold workshops for faculty
OLA 2008
Nursing and Social Work at Windsor

Partner with faculty to write research papers
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Attend conference and research sessions
organized by your departments

Develop ties with relevant professional
organizations, e.g., the Ontario Association of
Social Workers

Integrate information literacy into the curriculum
OLA 2008
Nursing at York

Introduction to IL
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Presentations at Retreats and New Faculty
Teaching at York (NFTY) seminars
Curriculum Committee
School of Nursing Council
Language included strategically
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UPR Library statements
OCGS Library statements
Discussions with external reviewers
OLA 2008
Nursing at York

Undergraduate Level:
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Factors for success:
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Most important is program director’s interest
Individual faculty buy-in also important
MScN online program:
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Library presence a must in wholly online program
E-learning librarian input in creation of an integrated library
module during migration from WebCT to Moodle
Instructional video clips integrated for ‘point of need’
assistance
OLA 2008
Nursing at York
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Mandatory IL assignment in 3rd year
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Internationally Educated Nursing Post-RN program (IEN)
Collaborative program
2nd entry program
Integration most successful into IEN program
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3 in-class library sessions
Assignment-driven skills acquisition
Marks given for process
OLA 2008
General instructional video clips
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Catalogue Workshops walk the viewer through
the steps of logging into the York Library website,
and using the Library Catalogue for finding books,
journals and other library items such as
databases and online resources.
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Accessing e-Resources from Home
Searching the Library Catalogue
Setting Limits
Reserves – short term loans
Databases at York
RACER- Document Delivery
OLA 2008
Nursing instructional video clips

Searching and refining searches in CINAHL(Ovid)
and MEDLINE(Ovid)
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Subject Headings - Single Search
Subject Headings - Combining Searches
Keyword Searching
Combining Subject Heading Searches with Keyword
searches
Setting Limits - date ranges, journal sets, publication
types, etc.
Finding Full Text Articles
Results Manager - Save search results and send them to
RefWorks
OLA 2008
Lessons Online

Lessons teach the principles behind searching.
 contain definitions and more detail about the processes
they address.

Developing a Search Strategy: This lesson is the precursor
to Keyword Searching, and Subject Heading Searching. It
describes the use of the Boolean Operators AND and OR as
well as Truncation and troubleshooting to optimize results.

Subject Heading Searches and Keyword Searches: This
lesson contains a glossary of terms and clarifies the
differences between subject heading and keyword searching

DEMO
OLA 2008
Biology at York - History


Several years of one-offs in specialized
upper level courses and graduate program
A few very supportive faculty 

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Ecology (2ndyr, 4thyr and grad level)
Immunobiology
Microbiology
Large first-year classes 1200+ students
OLA 2008
Dialogue begins Summer 2007

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Abysmal quality of writing and
referencing
Lack of understanding of the research
process
OLA 2008
SC/BIOL 3100
Current Topics in Biology
‘Gateway' course for 3rd year honours biology
students
 Designed to prepare them for the 4th year
honours thesis
 Major aim to teach the research and writing
skills to students, at a level appropriate for an
upper-year course
“I am sick and tired of citations from the 1st
year biology textbook and Wikipedia!”

OLA 2008
Desired Outcomes
1.
How to search for and evaluate relevant
primary, secondary and tertiary literature
as well as grey literature – government
reports etc.
2.
How to read and interpret research articles
3.
How to properly write a research paper
4.
How to properly give a research seminar
OLA 2008
Skills Needed for Research:


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Learn how the scientific method is related
to the research process as well as the
publication cycle in Science
Acquire expertise in the use of tools and
resources in the chosen subject area
Develop sound research, evaluation and
critical thinking skills
OLA 2008
Ultimate Goal:

To be able to participate in the research culture of
the University and the science community at large

Science research is enhanced when students:


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Know what research has been done, and where the gaps
are in the existing literature
Who is doing good work
How they do it, what tools are they using
How research is evaluated
OLA 2008
Framework

Outlined list of objectives for each session
and related outcomes for the assignments

Designed collaborative assignments that
coupled content with process

Pre-test/Post-test/evaluation

Student evaluation of the course content
OLA 2008
Tying Science Literacy to
Information Literacy

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Scientific Method - Research
Publication Cycle

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Grey literature vs. Popular literature
Primary / Research
Secondary / Review
Tertiary / Accepted theory, data, etc
Indexing and databases
Resources and access
Formal peer review vs. Informal evaluation
Reading papers and Writing annotations
OLA 2008
Biology 3100 - assignments

Assignments

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In-class exercises – first and last class
1.
Comparing publication types
2.
Reading for information – what and how to read, writing
annotations – questions to ask
Take Home assignments focused on topic development
through library research
1.
Scavenger hunt – orientation in the library
2.
General background information – tertiary literature –
locating/evaluating resources
3.
Identifying areas of interest – secondary literature
4.
Developing a research strategy – primary literature
5.
Evaluating research using citation information –
researching a researcher
6.
Reading skills and writing annotations
OLA 2008
Biology 3100 – Skills Learned

Technology skills introduced and practised:

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Soft skills mastered for informed searching:

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Library catalogue/Library resources
Moodle
Biological Abstracts
Web of Science
Gov Docs searching
RefWorks / RefShare / RefGrabIt / WriteNCite
Evaluating publication types and sources
Refining and broadening concepts and searches
Using citation data to evaluate articles
All the basic skills they will need to conduct research for their
honours level research thesis
OLA 2008
Pre-test/post-test – basic Qs
IL Training Test Results
Percent correct
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Question number
OLA 2008
Student perception of learning outcomes
Understanding of research process
18
17
Transferability of knowledge
16
16
15
Resource knowledge
14
14
# of respondents
14
13
13
12
Formulating search strategies
12
10
8
6
6
6
6
4
4
2
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
3
4
Strongly disagree………………………...strongly agree
OLA 2008
5
Student perceptions of evaluating publication types
Student
Perceptions
of
Evaluation
Understanding of publication cycle
18
16
16
14
# of respondents
12
10
Evaluation of web sites
I now understand how and when it is
appropriate to use Tertiary, Secondary and
Primary literature in my course work.
14
Yes 89%
No 11%
11
10
8
8
6
6
4
2
2
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
Strongly disagree...strongly
agree
OLA 2008
4
5
Effect of sessions on resource selection
40
34
35
# of respondents
31
30
29
29
29 29
30
Bef or e
25
26
Af ter
25
22
19
18
20
16
15
12
13 13
13
16
13
13
10
7
5
5
0
LC1
SL1
BA1
BRG1
WoS1
M ed1
Resource
OLA 2008
Gov1
GL1
Goo
GooS
RW1
Student perceptions of the value of assignments
16
Article comparison
15
Library scavenger hunt
Gathering tertiary information
14
Searching Biological Abstracts
13
Formulating search strategies
# of respondents
12
13
12
Web of Science citation searching
12 12 12
12
11
12 12 12
11
Researching a researcher
10
Writing annotations
9
9
9
8
7
6
6 6
6
5 5 5 5
4
4
4 4 4 4
4 4
4
3
2 2
3
2 2 2
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
Low value………………………………………………..…………High
value
OLA 2008
5
Faculty feedback
“I hope this year's BIOL 3100 offering can
be utilized by librarians to widely advertise
and highlight the teaching and research
resources librarians have to offer to course
curriculum.
This course would have been much less
useful if not for the time and resources the
librarian had to offer to the course.”
OLA 2008
More Faculty feedback
“The class average to date, without
considering Assignment 3 - Web of Science
and annotated bibliography - is a 79%
The Chair of the Biology Department also
mentioned to me that she has heard good
things from students about the course! “
OLA 2008
Integration into 1st Year Biology

First Term: All 1st year students received
“Publication Cycle” lecture


Final exam had 4 library related questions
Second Term: All 1st year students will have
a “dry lab” replaced by a hands-on IL
session in a computer lab

Lab report will focus on process of library
research
OLA 2008
We Need to Make a Difference
“This is not the time for academic librarians to be timid
or to wait patiently for new developments. On the
contrary, it is time for them to become aggressive and
dynamic participants in the campus community’s
teaching, learning and research agendas. They must
share their information expertise with their campus
community and build productive partnerships with
teaching faculty.”
Rader, Hannelore B. (2004) Building faculty-librarian partnerships to
prepare students for information fluency: the time for sharing
information expertise is now. College & Research Libraries News, 65
(2), pp. 76.
OLA 2008
Inside Out:
Library Services at
Point of Need
LIBRARY
Learning
from
each other!
OLA 2008
Bibliography
Cruickshank, John, & Nowak, David G. (2001) Marketing reference resources and
services through a university outreach program. The Reference Librarian, 73, 265280.
Donham, Jean (2004) Developing a culture of collaboration: librarian as consultant.
Jourhal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (4), 320.
Ducas, Ada M. (2004) Toward a new venture: building partnerships with faculty. College
& Research Libraries, 65 (4), 334-348.
Giustini, Dean (2007) Web 3.0 and medicine. BMJ, 335, 1273-1274.
Hisle, W. Lee (2002) Top issues facing academic libraries: a report of the Focus on the
Future Task Force. College & Research Libraries News, 63 (10), 714-715, 730.
Jankowska, Maria Anna (2004) Identifying university professors’ information needs in the
challenging environment of information and communication technologies. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (1), 51-66.
Lee, Jennifer, Hayden, K. Alix, & MacMillan, Don (2004) “I wouldn’t have asked for help
if I had to go to the library”: reference services on site. Issues in Science and
Technology Librarianship, 41 (Fall).
Retrieved online: www.istl.org/04-fall/article2.html
OLA 2008
Bibliography
Nelson, Megan S. (2007) Initiating engineering outreach reference services:
background and practice. Reference Services Review, 35 (2), 265-284.
OCLC (2005) Perceptions of libraries and information resources.
www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm
OCLC (2006) College students’ perceptions of library and information
resources. www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions.pdf
Rader, Hannelore B. (2004) Building faculty-librarian partnerships to prepare
students for information fluency: the time for sharing information expertise
is now. College & Research Libraries News, 65 (2), 74-76, 80, 83, 90.
Raish, Martin H. (2003). Musings, meanderings, and monsters too: essays on
academic librarianship. Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press.
Ramsay, Karen M., & Kinnie, Jim (2006) The embedded librarian. Library
Journal, 131 (6), 34-35.
Westbrook, Lynn, & Waldman, Robert (1993) Outreach in academic libraries:
principle into practice. Research Strategies, 11 (2), 60-65.
OLA 2008