I really enjoyed looking at the aggregated Qualtrix data from our Customer Service Observations. Our group discussed a number of topics, including the challenges of sitting behind a screen while on a reference desk, the specifics of what makes a behavior welcoming or not, and ambiguity in the layout of libraries (especially informal quiet spaces). The common thread seemed to be us imagining how to incorporate these results specifically into academic library positions.
As we imagine the types of roles and environments we may be part of in the future (or currently in many cases), I also find it helpful when we widen the scope as a group to users, environments, and experiences. I appreciated in the discussion of the library reserve system when Alyssa raised the point that, despite our individual difficulties or frustrations with this system, it helped to widen access to important resources to students who may not be able to afford their own textbooks, and may already be working extra jobs to afford attending school. Alyssa's observation helps to complicate our understanding of what needs to be in place to constitute a successful encounter with library resources, both in terms of reference and the broader questions of engaging with the library.
I definitely continue to filter a lot of our course focus through an idea of academic library work, but I would like to try harder to imagine how these interactions would play out in public libraries engaging children and seniors perhaps, or in a very particular kind of special library. My interaction with a special collection within an academic library sort of hinted at how a small collection's culture might vary significantly from the broader library culture, but I wonder how that plays out when the collections gets way, way more specific -- and full disclosure, I have a dream Special Library job that would take place at an Experiential Train Travel library. The library would collect any and all resources related to traveling on a train, but with a special emphasis on the subjective experiences of transit (perhaps virtual reality footage from on trains!?) Anyways, I have been wondering what a virtual reference interaction might look like in a hyper-specialized collection that would draw interest perhaps from all over the world (again, dreaming here), and whether this type of interaction might question any of the premises we've discussed as a group. Perhaps that experience of sitting down with a librarian and having help thinking through a collection would look different with a collection formed around subjective/experiential content? Just a thing I'm thinking about.
I'd love to learn more about other classmates' dream library configurations and positions and how they imagine being engaging reference folks in those environments :)
Your post reminded me that the Clark library had a display/exhibition thing on dining car menus about a year ago that was really interesting. I wish you would have been able to check it out. It included some other menus from the time period, but I remember seeing the train menus too. Here's some information if you are interested: http://www.lib.umich.edu/blogs/beyond-reading-room/curator%E2%80%99s-talk-dining-out-menus-chefs-restaurants-hotels-guidebooks
ReplyDeleteThe menus were part of the UM collections so you should be able to check them out if you are interested. It might now be exactly what you were envisioning (no virtual reality here), but I thought it was pretty interesting.
Sounds like you're playing at the edges of libraries, archives, and museums -- museums have a head start on the immersive part of learning already ...
ReplyDeleteLove your dream job at an Experimental Train Travel library. That sounds particularly cool. I imagine that the specialized library takes many of the specifics of general librarianship, but adds the necessity of a special content knowledge in a subject area. Kind of studying two different disciplines (a la lots of law librarians). As for my specific dream library position/configuration - I'm not sure! I do have a soft spot for old buildings and archaic American history. Something like the Newberry Library in Chicago could kind of fit that category. But I feel like I'm compelled to dream even bigger!
ReplyDelete"Anyways, I have been wondering what a virtual reference interaction might look like in a hyper-specialized collection that would draw interest perhaps from all over the world (again, dreaming here), and whether this type of interaction might question any of the premises we've discussed as a group. Perhaps that experience of sitting down with a librarian and having help thinking through a collection would look different with a collection formed around subjective/experiential content? Just a thing I'm thinking about."
ReplyDeleteHmmm. This is very interesting. I think that due to the highly specialized nature of the collection, any virtual reference interactions would take a good amount of time - upwards of 15 minutes per interaction, maybe. I've noticed when doing instant messaging that the transactions can stretch for a while, sometime sup to an hour. One thing I've also noticed is that the patrons' asking these complex questions do not mind the wait! I correlate that with the importance of the topic...it must be important to them if they are willing to wait a while to find resolution. When you mentioned virtual reference interaction, the first thing that came to my mind was instant messaging, but of course, there are other kinds of virtual reference in which none of what I wrote would apply. Nonetheless, I thought this was a unique idea.