Reference

for

Community College Students

Users
The community college has an open admissions policy, [it is] designed to serve as many in the community as physically possible.

Students
Traditional college age students Non-traditional students Students with learning disabilities International/Immigrant/ESL students Technical/Vocational students Working students (often full time) Parents and caregivers

Students
These groups will overlap. FREQUENTLY.

I need to make a bibliography in MLA format.

Im looking for information on welding safety and supplies.

I need help finding academic sources for a paper on climate change.

Whats Blackboard?

Rogue Community College

Joint use Libraries

Joint use libraries have been forming across the nation, for many good reasons.

Sharing space is fun (sort of)

Challenges

Community college students may be juggling family, work and school. Drugs and other abuse issues could be effecting their cognitive abilities. In such cases simple questions should be answered with great care and repetition. Students who are stressed may need help first and instruction second.
(Paraphrased from an interview with Anna Grzeskiewicz)

Patience, good listening skills, and the ability to encourage students are helpful attributes to have at the reference desk at the community college. These qualities go a long way in assuaging the fears and boosting the morale of students who are struggling in the new demanding territory of college learning. - Carolyn Oates

Librarians like Anna have set hours so if she is teaching a class that means the reference desk is not being staffed at that time. It also means that she has very little time to prepare for classes or answer emailed questions if the desk is busy.

Opportunities

Electronic resources are wasted when students and faculty do not have a reference librarian to teach information literacy.

Before the relatively recent joint-use library was built in Medford, RCC had neither a librarian nor an adequate print reference collection.

Databases are shared between three campuses

RCC had virtually no print reference books until the library moved into its new location...though few new ones are being purchased now, existing ones are still relatively current.

The future...

Some contemporary students here at RCC do not want books, because they are afraid that they will have to read a whole book. I tell them to use the index to find relevant information (...) Sometimes its a hard sell in the Google Age. ~ Carolyn Oates

Moving reference to circulation

Believe it or not, reference books may soon be obsolete

We do not offer chat or text message reference service. Surprisingly, we get very few reference phone calls. Almost all reference is personal contact at the desk. ~ Carolyn Oates

Community colleges like RCC do not have the staff to constantly maintain their web presence. "LibGuides" give librarians direct access to students online.

Universal Reference Issues

at Community College Libraries

Major issues with reference services for CC students: Whats Unique?

Patrons: Very wide range of abilities, literacy and commitment levels Incorrect sense of own abilities (over-confident or under-confident) Demographics can change quickly

Tactics to use in addressing patron issues

Ref librarians can help overcome patrons tech anxiety and stress with:
Warmth Humor Pacing Repetition Positive Jargon free speech

Reference encounters must be characterized by flexibility and a variety of methods. Every reference encounter is an instructional one. Varied hours and methods of obtaining reference help (telephone, e-mail, on-line)

Technology

An open ended survey asked, Which part of your job causes you the most frustration?

62% of respondents included technology-related frustration in their answer.

Doing reference work with out-of-date technology can be like running a marathon today, clomping along in wooden clogs. Osif and Harwood

Community colleges can also find themselves dealing with cutting edge technology. This has its own problems.

Longevity?

Bureaucracy

January 20, 2011: US Department of Labor announces the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program, providing $2 Billion over the next four years to community colleges to develop open education learning resources to be shared with other community colleges across the country.

Community college resources are required to meet SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) requirements for their content to be eligible for TAACCCT.

Who will help manage $2 Billion worth of educational resources in unfamiliar formats? Community college reference librarians!

References
Allen, N. (2011, January 31). The $2 billion opportunity for affordable textbooks and how colleges can make the most of it. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicole-allen/in-the-public-interestth_b_814794.html Baker, R. K. (1997). Faculty perceptions towards student library use in a large urban community college. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 23(3), 177-182. Christian, Gayle R., Blumenthal, Caroline & Patterson, M. (2001) The information explosion and the adult learner: implications for reference librarians. The Reference Librarian, 33(69), 19-30. DOI: 10.1300/J120v33n69_03 DeKoenigsberg, G. (2011, January 26). Obama bets big on open ed -- with one little catch. Opensource.com. Retrieved from http://opensource.com/education/11/1/obama-bets-big-oer-one-little-catch Ezzo, A. & Perez, J. (2001). The information explosion: continuing implications for reference services to adult learners in academia. The Reference Librarian, 33(69), 5-17. DOI: 10.1300/J120v33n69_02 Feldman, D., & Sciammarella, S. (2000). Both sides of the looking glass: librarian and teaching faculty perceptions of librarianship at six community colleges. College & Research Libraries, 61(6), 491-498. Hansen, J. (2009). Shift Happens. Library Journal, 134(12), 126. Herring, S. D., Burkhardt, R. R., & Wolfe, J. L. (2009). Reaching remote students: Athens State University's electronically embedded librarian program. College & Research Libraries News, 70(11), 630-633. Jackson, Y. C., & Bell, H. (2008). Learning side by side. American Libraries, 39(4). Miller, M.T. et, al. (2004). Dealing with challenges and stressors faced by community college students: the old college try. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. 29(1), 63-74

References
Poole, C. E., & Denny, E. (2001). Technological change in the workplace: a statewide survey of community college library and learning resources personnel. College & Research Libraries, 62(6), 503-515. Powers, A. (2010). Librarians anxiety? how community college librarians feel about their reference desk service. Community & Junior College Libraries. 16(1), 54-70. Provasnik, S., & Planty, M. (2008). Community colleges: special supplement to the 2008 Condition of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008033 Simmonds, P. L. (2001). Providing quality library service to the adult learner: views of students, faculty, and administrators. The Reference Librarian, 33(69),395-406. DOI: 10.1300/J120v33n69_34

Small, R. V., Zakaria, N., & El-Figuigui, H., (2004). Motivational aspects of information literacy skills instruction in community college libraries. College & Research Libraries, 65(2), 96-121.
Thompson, M.S. & Schott, L. (2007). Marketing to community college users. The Serials Librarian, 53(3), 57-76. DOI: 10.1300/J123v53n03_05 Tolle, A. L. (2001). Reference and the community college: renaissance librarians at Pikes Peak Community College. Colorado Libraries, 27(2), 28-30. Trupo, M., Garcia, L. (2011, January 20). US labor department encourages applications for trade adjustment assistance community college and career training grant program. United States Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20101436.htm Wahl, J. (2007). Front Range Community College: increasing student database use through library instruction. Colorado Libraries, 33(3), 13-16.