End of Fall Semester

The Fall Semester is nearly over. I have completed teaching my first full credit course for the Library Technology Certificate Program. I have learned much with the first go around of teaching LIB 103-Circulation Service, and look forward to making improvements for the next go around. I will also be assessing one particular SLO- Student Learning Objective, when teaching my next LIB 10A course as well as LIB 103 next Fall.
With the help of the library technicians, I am tying up loose ends by placing Financial Holds on student accounts that have books that are more than 6 months overdue. This always brings many books back, or at least has the students come in to settle their debts for lost items.
I have also been adjusting the Counting Opinions Survey and learing how to use this service. Once complete I will be able to start sharing some results and data with the library.

CARL program and Counting Ops. cont.

Last Friday I attended the CARL-DIG program focused on providing quality reference service. While the two primary speakers focused on creating a solid, unified reference culture at your library and on how to make yourself available to students, the discussion focused mostly on IM, email, and other Web 2.0 reference topics. This was interesting and helpful as we continue to broaden our use of IM reference through Library H3lp and Pigeon.
I have also received some of the introductory materials for our Counting Opinions survey and will be meeting online with their representative tomorrow morning to begin my training and familiarizing myself with the program.
Wednesday, I will be taking part in a tele-conference entitled "Handling the Most Difficult Conversations with Today's College Students" along with the two Library Technicians who work with me. They had both requested further development in this, as well as other areas, and hopefully this will be a high quality conference experience.
Other than that, the library is preparing for the Holidays and I myself am excited for the break.

Blog, Wiki, and Podcasting presentation

Today I presented a short introduction to blogs, wikis, and podcasting for the PCC Academic Senate. The goal was to present these Web 2.0 tools to faculty members who may be unfamiliar with them and then show them how these tools might also be used in the classroom or for professional development. This blog was used as an example.
I also received confirmation from Counting Opinions that our survey is nearly complete and I will begin training next Tuesday morning on how to use and manage this new service. I will also attend a program on Friday regarding Reference Service. I hope that there will be elements to help me improve my Reference Service and IM Reference Service in particular.