American Library Association Journals
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In Lockdown and Beyond: The UK’s National Shelf Service
No full textAt the time of writing this, in fall 2020, England has just entered its second national lockdown of the past eight months. We are librarians with a commitment to working with young people and have been galvanized this year to find new ways of working with children, families, schools, communities, and each other to deliver our services
Readers’ Advisory: Readers’ Advisory and the Pandemic: Lessons, Connections, and Vital Services
No full textThe pandemic and resulting quarantine changed how libraries operate, including the provision of readers’ advisory (RA) service. Access to print titles initially came to a halt, rendering many users’ holds lists irrelevant, while queues for some e-books grew longer and longer. Readers lost the ability to browse and discover the physical collection, and many took up, for the first time, an e-reader to access books while libraries were closed.Advisors found ways to aid readers in these difficult circumstances. On Zoom, Twitter, and Facebook, through their websites and newsletters, over the phone and via email, advisors continued connecting readers to books. Their work has created a new resurgence of RA, at the very moment readers had time to re-center on their reading lives. What we have discovered through this hard work and focus should not be lost. There are lessons here to hold onto and learn from
Training, Support, and Connection for Student Library Employees in a Tiered Reference Service Model
No full textStudent employees at circulation desks are the first points of contact for many library users with research questions, but they are challenged to respond or refer when librarians are unavailable. In an attempt to cultivate student employees’ reference skills, confidence, and connection to the library’s values and mission, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Division of the UC Berkeley Library developed an outcomes-based training program consisting of an interactive session and a dynamic online reference manual. Student employees completed pre-training and post-training assessments of their reference skills and self-efficacy. Qualitative feedback was analyzed to identify ongoing challenges and intangible benefits for student employees engaged in reference work. Challenges observed include user expectations, infrequent questions, and the complex information landscape; benefits observed include community building and student growth. Implications of these challenges and benefits for student training programs are discussed
Readers' Advisory: RUSA Books Awards: Listening to the Experts Who Create the Lists for America’s Readers
No full textTo celebrate the past and present work of the RUSA book award committees, we asked a selection of chairs, vice-chairs, and members to discuss the work that goes into choosing the winning titles and how to use the lists when working with readers. Their thoughtful comments and reflections inform, excite, and invite new ways of using the award lists and expand and enrich advisors’ work. The column concludes with a curated list of titles to share with readers.—Editor
Amplify Your Impact: Reframing Reference as Outreach: Expanding Engagement and Inclusion Through Reference Services
No full textA reference team of librarians and MLIS students from the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA embarked on a reference services awareness campaign designed to reach out to marginalized populations in their student body. This column was initially scheduled to be published in spring 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic.—Editor
Any Which Way . . . Loose Parts Play in the Library
No full textMany ready-made toys for children come with directions, instruction sheets, or strict rules for usage. While that may be fine in some cases, many believe children can benefit from good old play with a variety of random, unconnected items. After all, some of our earliest ancestors learned many skills from just rocks, sticks, and leaves.Enter loose parts—a collection of natural or man-made materials that can be used to extend children’s ideas and foster imaginative play. These parts can be moved, arranged, designed, taken apart, or anything else a child can think up
Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors: Exploring the 2020 Rainbow Book List
No full textBeing familiar with the Rainbow Book List is one easy way for librarians to support the LGBTQ+ community and address the American Library Association’s (ALA) Response to Service for LGBTQ+ People.As stated on their website: “Libraries can serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LBGTQ) people by ensuring that this population is reflected in library collections and provided with services at the library. It further states, “As a population which is often the subject of discrimination and harassment, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people can benefit from the access to information which libraries provide and the sense of community which library programs can help foster. It is important to note that the LGBTQ population is diverse, spanning age groups, ethnic and racial groups, socio-economic groups, and personal identities.
Membership Committee: ALSC Member Profiles
No full textAlia Jones, formerly Sr. Library Services Assistant at Cincinnati and Hamilton County (OH) Public Library, 2020 Caldecott CommitteeDenise Dávila, PhD, Assistant Professor of Children’s Literature and Literacy Education, Language and Literacy Studies, University of TexasAnn Crewdson, Children’s Specialist, King County (WA) Library Syste
