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.

The end of the semester nears

So, we have met with the people from Counting Opinions and will be purchasing their service. I have been designated as the "go-to" person for this and will be the contact between Counting Opinions and the library.
My Library 103 class is winding down and I have learned alot to apply the next time I teach it. As much as I do in the area of Circulation, this class has brought things to my attention that I hadn't thought of previously by making comparisons between public and academic circulation service.
I have also completed all evaluations of employees, having them all evaluated for what appears to be the first time in years. My predecessor never provided any performance evaluation to allow the assistants and supervisors to know how they are doing. This was a positive experience and provided pay raises for some.

IM Reference, Counting Opinions, and other Stuff

For the past two months or so, the Shatford Library has been testing an IM(Instant Message) Reference Service with our students. It has not been advertised heavily, but students are finding the service and I have had the opportunity to answer several questions. As time passes and more librarians come on board with this, we may be able to advertise and use this much more as an avenue of serving students in a way that is useful and easy for them.
I have also been asked to examine a customer satisfaction and performance assessment service called Counting Opinions. This service has already been evaluated by two other librarians and we will most likely be acquiring this computer based service. I am now the head in contacting and setting up Counting Opinions. I have scheduled a meeting and demonstration with them on November 12 and will more forward from there as I learn more.
I have completed evaluation my Student Assistants and will now move to evaluate my supervisors. The evaluation form worked well, and the students were happy to have long missing feedback on their job performance.
Unfortuneately, I have been so involved in my teaching and management of the Circulation Desk, that I have yet to schedule meetings with the Languages and PE departments. This is still a high priority. I hope to have more on this in my next post.

Circulation Mgmt. Time

Having been here for a year, I must now evaluate the student workers at the circulation desk. Over the past two weeks, I have gathered different evaluation forms, read throught them, selected relevant points, and revised the evaluation form I will use. It is important at this time for me to let the students know how well they are doing or if they need to improve. This may also qualify some students for a pay raise. I would like use these evaluations also as a guide for our new student workers to work towards the "Outstanding" classification.
I am also beginning to schedule my liason duties once again. I will try to meet with both the Languages and Physical Education divisions over the next month to remind them of the services available to them through the library.

4 weeks into the semester

We are now four weeks into the Fall semester. I have passed my one year anniversary here. Things are calming down at the circulation desk now that students are familiar with the library system and have found or bought most of their textbooks. I am now forced to change focus and pay more attention to committe work and other librarian duties. Over the last two weeks, I have met with the Faculty Technology Committee and the Student Learning Outcomes Committee as they begin their work this year.
I have also gotten through my first three lessons for LIB 103-Circulation. I have a great class, and my lectures and timing have improved each week. I look forward to the rest of the semester as I have more time to devote to this class.

New Year, still a new librarian?

As I reach my one year anniversary at PCC, the new school year starts. This is my first experience with the beginning of Fall semester, which is crazy. This week has been overwhelmingly busy. We were also short one person through the first half of the week, and you could feel the loss. I do think that many of the changes we made to the circulation desk throughout the summer were beneficial. Many of the circulation assistants are new and still learning, which slows things down a bit, but they are working hard and learning fast. I will now have to follow up with them, as I see many re-shelving mistakes. I think I will give them a short shelving test or quiz to make them aware of the mistakes that they are making.
Tomorrow I will begin teaching my first full credit semester long course. I think I have most of my lessons prepared and as with Library 10A, I expect to make some errors and improve as I go. I do look forward to the student contact. My roster show that many of my students are students I have had in the past in Lib 10A.
Well, I guess Im still a new librarian, just one with a year's experience.