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Official Catalog Course Description:
Requisites: courses 200, 201. Provides fundamental knowledge
and skills enabling information professionals to link users with information.
Overview of structure of literature in different fields; information-seeking
behavior of user groups; communication with users; development of search
strategies using print and electronic sources.
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE
I. Introduction to the Course (Wednesday,
January 9th)
A. Course Requirements
B. Career Fit as the Intersection of
Interests, Personality, Skills, and Values
Reference Librarian Personality (based on MBTI) at
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/documents/pumpkin
soup.pdf
Additional Readings
Toshitaka Nomi and Alexander Besher, You are Your
Blood Type: The Biochemical Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Your Personality.
New York: Pocket Books, 1988.
Margaret Newhouse, Outside the Ivory Tower: A
Guide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Career Services, 1993
Mary Jane Scherdin. Discovering Librarians: Profiles
of a Profession. Chicago: Association of College and Research
Libraries, 1994.
C. Course Vision
1. To prepare the next generation of thoughtful and
reflective practitioners who will have influence and impact on the
professions (i.e., archival, bibliothecal, and curatorial) (what ALA
COA identifies as "an assertive role in providing services")
2. My aspiration is that this course be in line with
our UCLA DIS programmatic goal, to be "current, innovative, intellectually
challenging, and future-oriented."
3. And, that this course should be fun and I hope
that you will wish that you'd had such a course earlier in your academic
career, but that you will have learned how to learn, in any event.
D. Mission and Goal
1. My mission is to provide a historical context
for the founding and subsequent development of reference services
in the United States;
2. To address the appropriate role of the WWW, especially
Google™ and other electronic sources, in reference work; and
3. The overarching goal of this course is to enable
graduate students: 1) to make the connection between user needs, information
resources, and the relevant information technology and 2) to think
critically and thoughtfully about this field. (In other words, To
think like a reference librarian, whether you intend to be one or
not).
E. Professional Values and Beliefs
1. Issue of free access
2. Balance between privacy versus surveillance
3. Organization (i.e., structure, categorization/classification)
is desirable
4. Customer service is paramount
F. Underlying Philosophical and Personal Motivations
1. It's better to be informed than ignorant
2. Answering questions is cool
3. Answering questions is also challenging, but personally
satisfying
II. Space or Place: The Development of Question
Answering and Negotiation (Wednesday, January 9th)
A. Question Negotiation to Determine "Real"
Questions
Robert S. Taylor (1962, 1967, 1968) and query formulation (i.e.,
Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4) and five filters
Open versus Closed Questions at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/openclosed.htm
B. Best Practices and Standards
ALA RUSA Guidelines (1996, 2004) at http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/guidelinesbehavioral.htm
Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl.org/
and Eileen
Abels, UCLA, PhD (guest lecturer, 27 February) (PPT)
The WWW Virtual Library at http://vlib.org/
Additional Readings
John Richardson, KBS (1995), chapter 1.
John Richardson, “The Current State of Research on Reference Transactions,”
In Advances in Librarianship, vol. 26, pages 175-230, edited
by Frederick C. Lynden. New York: Academic Press, 2002. This
chapter also will help you with the class wiki.
III. Reference Work, Notably Question Answering
(Wednesday, January 16th)
A. Affective, Behavioral, and
Cognitive Models (including nonverbal communication)
1. "Party Girl" at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114095/,
especially chapters 3 ("Judy Lindendorff"), 14 ("Mary
Needs a Break"), and 28 ("Mary's Surprise Party").
2. "Angry Librarian" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XvAakX__cQ
B. IPOF, flowcharts, dataflow models, and checklists
1. IPOF Model at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/IPOF.jpg
2. Richardson 's Flowchart at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/flowchart.pdf
3. Role and Relevance of Checklists
in the life of professionals
C. Systems Analysis Approach
1. Requirements
2. Fit Criteria
Additional Readings
John Richardson, “Modeling the Reference Process:
A Systems Approach,” College
and Research Libraries 60 (May 1999): 211-222. (pdf
file)
Kimberley Robles and Neal Wyatt, Reference
Training in Academic Libraries (ACRL, 1996)
IV. Guide to Reference Books and Reference Publishing
Hegemony (Wednesday, January 23rd), Robert
Kieft, GR
Editor, Guest Lecturer
A. Authority
B. Trustworthiness
C. Reliability
D. Authenticity (as part of information
literacy)
E. Guide to Reference Books, 1902-1996 at
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/GRB.htm
F. “How To Study” (Sheehy, 1996) at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/how_to_study.htm
G. Knowledge over Time at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/knowledge.jpg
H. Reference Librarian Traits/Characteristics at
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/traits.jpg
I. Hegemony among Reference Publishers at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/documents/hegemony.ppt
Additional Readings
John Richardson, KBS (1995), chapter 1
"Introducing the Book" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek
V. Google Searching for Fact-Type (aka "Easy") Questions (Wednesday,
January 30th)
A. Need background on Google? See my UCLA
DIS 19 Fiat Lux undergraduate course "Just
Google It"
B. Recent Changes in Question Asking at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/image002.gif
C. Keyword Searching
D. Controlled Vocabulary Searching at
http://scout.wisc.edu/ or http://connexion.oclc.org/
Additional Readings
The
Google Story by David Vise
and Mark Malseed
(2005)
Tschera H. Connell and Jennifer E. Tipple, "Testing
the Accuracy of Information on the WWW," RUSQ 38 (Summer
1999):360-368.
"Ms. Dewey" at http://www.msdewey.com/
try blockbuster video or iPod, but be prepared!
VI. Types of Reference Formats applying the Mudge/Hutchins
Reference Theory of Classifying ("Harder") Questions by Format
(Wednesday, February 6th)
A. Bibliographies and Catalogs
Evaluative
Criteria and Architectural Logic of Reference
Librarians for BibCats (1995)
B. Biographical Sources and Directories; Architectural Logic
of Reference Librarians for Biosources
(1995)
Evaluative
Criteria
Additional Readings
Sweetland, chapter 5, pp. 210ff
Matthew Robert Vanden Boogart, "Uncovering the Social Aspects
of Facebook on a College Campus," MA Thesis, Kansas State University,
2006 (PDF)
VII. Types of Reference Formats Continued, C. Dictionaries
and Encyclopedias (Wednesday, February 13th)
Evaluative
Criteria
Sweetland, chapters 6 and 7.
D. Government Information; Maps
and Atlases; Statistical
Sources
Evaluative Criteria for Atlases
Additional Readings
Sweetland, chapter 9, pp. 455ff.
E. Almanacs and Yearbooks (Wednesday,
February 20th)
Evaluative Criteria
Additional Readings
Sweetland, pp. 393-394
F. Indexes to Magazines and Journals
Evaluative
Criteria
VIII. Information
seeking ecologies (Intersection of Users, Information Resources, and
IT) (Wednesday, February 27th)
A. Reader's Advisory Services for Adults
1. Book
Reviewing Sources
2. NoveList/EBSCO at http://www.epnet.com
3. "Library Thing Suggester" at http://www.librarything.com/suggester
4. "What Should I Read Next?" at http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/
5. "GoodReads: it's What Your Friends Are Reading"
at http://www.goodreads.com/
B. Genealogists (family history)
1. Multiple Goals: self-knowledge, status, and eschatological reasons
2. Government records:
a. State records: birth, marriage,
and death certificates; cemetery
records and more
cemetery records
b. Federal records: census
enumerations and military
service
3. DNA: National Geographic's Genographic
Project, DNA Ancestry
Project, DNA Family Tree,
and AfricanDNA.com
4. WWW resources: Ancestry.com;
TheFamilyHistoryStore.com;
GeneaLinks.com; Rootsweb.com
C. Archival Reference Services (Charlotte Brown,
Monique Leahey, and Eunha Youn, guest lecturers)
D. Children and Youth Services
E. Rural Library Users and Harriet G. Eddy
at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/documents/eddy.ppt
F. “Educating Authors for the Digital Age”
1.Questions of Authorship and Co-Authorship; see
http://www.apastyle.org/authorship.html
2. Avoiding Plagiarism AKA "insufficient citation"
3. Paper Mills such as http://schoolsucks.com/
or http://cheathouse.com/
E. Fringe Users
1. Homeless Folk (ALA
Policy 61)
2. Survivalists (Survival books at
11106 Magnolia Blvd , Burbank , 818-763-0804--"Something to offend
everyone."
3. Japanese Anime Readers
and Anime Cosplay
4. Political Far Left
or Far Right
F. Additional Readings
1. “Reader's Advisory
Work,” In Cassell and Hiremath, RIS (2006), chapter 14, pp.
253-264.
2. “Children and Youth
Adults,” In Cassell and Hiremath, RIS" (2006), chapter
15, pp. 265-272.
IX. Neither
Space nor Place: It's the Relationship; Virtual Question Answering Services
(Wednesday, March 5th) Steve
Coffman, LSSI.com and Mark
Malseed, ChaCha, guest lecturers
A. 24/7 at http://www.qandanj.org/
B. Question Point at http://www.questionpoint.org/
C. Tutor.com's Ask a Librarian at
http://www.tutor.com/products/aal.aspx
D. Credo
Reference (formerly Xreferplus), the digital reference library
Additional Readings
Anne G. Lipow,
" 'In Your Face' Reference Service," Library Journal
124 (August 1999): 50-52.
Steve Coffman,
Going Live: Starting & Running a Virtual Reference Service
(Chicago: American Library Association, 2003),
R. David Lankes,
Scott Nicholson, and Abby Goodrum, The Digital Reference Research
Agenda (Chicago: American Library Association, 2003), and
Jana S. Ronan, Chat Reference:
A Guide to Live Virtual Reference Services (Littleton, CO: Libraries
Unlimited, 2003).
X. For the Future: Ubiquitous Reference Service
and Customer Service Standards (Wednesday, March 12th), Dr. Dave
Harmeyer, APU,
guest lecturer
A. Mobile Service
1. Cellular Service via SMS
from Google (46645) or ChaCha
(242242); a possible Google Phone
in the near future?
2. AIM; Google Talk; MSN; Window's Instant Messenger
or IChat; Yahoo; see also MEEBO,
a chat aggregator
B. Search plus Humans (e.g., Sproose,
Mahalo, iRazoo, Bessed)
C. Outcome Measures at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/outcome.htm
1. Accuracy
2. Efficiency
3. User Satisfaction (see American
Customer Satisfaction Index at the University of Michigan)
4. Utility
D. Time in Queue and Duration of Transactions
E. Type of Questions
Readings
Martin Ficke and Don Fallis, "Indicators of Accuracy for Answers
to Ready Reference Questions on the Internet," JASIST
55 (No. 3): 238-245.
Nahyun Kwon and Vicki L. Gregory, "The Effects of Librarians'
Behavioral Performance on User Satisfaction in Chat Reference Services,"
RUSQ
47 (Winter 2007): 137-148.
John Richardson, "Reference Assessment Programs: Evaluating Current
and Future Reference Services " at
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/Documents/VRS.ppt
A. "You can because you think you can,"
paraphrasing the Roman epic poet, Vergil (70 BC - 19 BC)
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COURSES
Online searching of proprietary databases, such as Thomson's
Dialog, is an important component
of successful searching, but require learning about Boolean logic and
proprietary search commands. I strongly recommend that you consider
taking IS 447 "Computer-based Information Resources" before you graduate.
IS 240 "Principles of Information Systems Analysis & Design"
can be profitably applied to the reference process. IS 455 "Government
Information" is also relevant to providing outstanding reference
service.
COURSE TEXTBOOKS (RECOMMENDED; SEE ASUCLA BOOKSTORE)
You do not have to buy these recommended texts; however,
there are no earlier editions except for Sweetland's book; if you do,
consider using Addall.com
for better prices. For a lesson from the so-called good old print-based
days, see “How to Open a Book” at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/how.htm.
Marie Radford, The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal
Communication in the Academic Library. ACRL Publications in Librarianship,
No. 52. Chicago: American Library Association, 1999. –One of the
best published pieces of qualitative research on this subject.
John Richardson, Knowledge-based Systems
for General Reference Work: Applications, Problems, and Progress.
San Diego: Academic Press, 1995. –See the links above in the syllabus;
chapter 5 on the architectural logic of reference experts would be useful
for section VI above.
Catherine Ross, Kirsti Nilsen, and Patricia
Dewdney. Conducting the Reference Interview: A How-To-Do-It Manual
for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2002. –A practical
approach.
Matthew Saxton and John Richardson, Understanding
Reference Transactions: Transforming an Art into a Science. New
York: Academic Press, 2002. –A highly sophisticated quantitative
(HLM) approach to the subject.
James H. Sweetland, Fundamental
Reference Sources, 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association,
2000. –A list of basic sources, but it's not clear in what sense they
are fundamental (other than informed personal opinion).
WWW RESOURCES
Obviously, one of most interesting technological
developments in reference service is the role of the Internet. To keep
current, you might want to follow one or more the following sites:
- Dig_Ref,
a digital reference discussion group
- LIBREF-L,
A Discussion of Library Reference Issues (searchable e-mail archives)
- Livereference,
a group dedicated to live reference discussion
- PACS-L,
The Public-Access Computer Systems Forum (PACS-L) is an Internet list
that deals with end-user computer systems in libraries
- QuestionPoint-L,
"an e-mail list (listserv) dedicated to the discussion of the QuestionPoint
service"
- Web4Lib,
Electronic Discussion: An electronic discussion for library-based World-Wide
Web managers
- UCLA's DIS 245 "Information Access" has its own listserver;
The address to send messages to is: is-245@lists.gseis.ucla.ed. To subscribe
to the list, send a message to "requests@lists.gseis.ucla.edu".
In the body of the message, type "subscribe is-245 your name"
where your name is, literally, your name (NOT an email address).
In addition, here are two websites which might save you some time searching
for other studies on virtual
reference (2002) and
general reference (2002). You can search by author (biographee) or
topic for the class wiki. These two websites are based on LISA
and LLIS (see indexes to magazines above).
To facilitate class communication re grades,
I do use My.UCLA.edu; grades are posted there, so be sure your preferred
email address is known to the Registrar.
ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES
1) Answer a brief quiz in class after reading S. S.
Green's "Personal Relations" in ALJ (5% of grade)—
Due first class session--January 9th, in class
2) Write your own vision,
mission, goals, and objectives statement in four or five sentences
in paragraph or bullet points as part of your own individual
development plan (5% of grade)— Due second class session--January
16th at end of class
3) Write a 150-word book notice/review of a reference work aimed at the
Library Journal—grading will
be based on a complete, accurate and in proper order bibliographic citation,
and the content based on the ALA reference book criteria on MIT Lab class
reserve as well as LJ's "Guidelines
for LJ Reviewers" and "Titles
for Review." (10%).--Due February 20th at end of class (note
change)
4) Write a 500-word critical evaluation of the class
wiki's encyclopedic entries (e.g., choose one or more topics and then
examine several biographic entries); click here to see the previous
2006 class wiki,
called ucla245; be sure to use the class password and do the optional
login using your real name and email address (15% of final grade);—
Due February 27th at end of class
5) Write your own personal checklist for some aspect
of question answering. (i.e., question negotiation, searching, user
satisfaction), based on class discussion, readings, and your own personal
experience with the provision of reference service (20%).--Due March
5th at end of class.
6) Based on your likely specialization, exercise personal
responsibility and selection to write either: a) a traditional research
paper which could be submitted to RSR
or RUSQ
or RL
or the IRSQ--see
"Instructions to Authors" for questions about length and formatting
issues or b), create your own push
versus pull or interactive "self assembled digital identity"
or what I like to call "Virtual Reference Desk 2.0: A Customizable
Start Page for General Reference Services" of general, not specialized,
online reference sources at igoogle.com
or at http://www.netvibes.com,
created by Tariq Krim or http://pageflakes.com
created by three Germans or ProtoPage.com
out of London, England (45% of final grade); take a look at this site
for help— Due Friday, March 14th at noon
GRADING CRITERIA
Attendance and class contributions are not formally graded;
however, in borderline cases, I will consider these in determining your
final grade. As you know, all grades, including the final grade, are subjective--merely
the opinion of the instructor. When you receive a paper back in
your folder in the Student Commons, be sure to check URSA.ucla.edu or
My.UCLA.edu to be sure that they match. Please note that I do not
maintain any list with your email address, so check that you are enrolled
in this class and that UCLA has your preferred email address on file.
For all papers, the evaluation of assignments will include:
1) content foremost--including originality, description and analysis,
as well as interpretation; 2) readability and appearance (e.g., conformance
to a particular journal's house style); 3) accurate bibliographic style
(remember to state explicitly your style such as APA, CMS, or MLA); 4)
clarity of presentation; and 5) avoidance of the ten
common errors. All papers are subject to a half-letter grade reduction
for not heeding the above ten points. For the book review, your
grade will be based, in large part, on following house style for formatting
the review because neither of us will have read all of the fiction books
you review. For the class wiki, I will compare your entry to the evaluative
criteria (e.g., style and structure) for standard encyclopedic sources;
see the two wiki pages about gathering information and the front page
for additional criteria including internal and exterior links, APA style,
and signing entries. As for the Web pages (i.e., NetVibes, PageFlakes
or other pages) will be graded according to rigorous webpage design criteria,
which include content foremost; authority; appropriateness given the purpose;
completeness; ease-of-use; illustrations; level of treatment; and uniqueness.
Grades are reported to the Registrar via My.UCLA.edu , so check it upon
receiving a graded paper. Letter grades are assigned where a B (3.0) is
good; a B+ (3.3), very good; an A- (3.7), excellent; an A (4.0) is superior;
and an A+ is extraordinary. If you are a graduate student taking this
class as S/U, then S = B (3.0) or higher
Again, grading is necessarily subjective;
if these standards are not clear, please ask for further clarification
at any time.
PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS
"Readings," so labeled above, are required;
"additional readings" are optional. In addition, keep current
with the professional literature by browsing the new periodicals inbox
in the MIT Lab. Backup your work regularly. During class,
cell phones should be off or on vibrate. As for late papers: all
papers are due on due date. Unexcused late papers will be substantially
penalized—half letter grade per session. Suspected research misconduct
(including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism AKA 'insufficient
citation' ) will result in a grade of DR and be reported
to the UCLA Dean of Students; you may wish to submit your papers to TurnItIn.com
before handing them into me or
our TA, Eunha Youn, Eunha [youn at ucla.edu]. I have office hours
on Thursday afternoon in 204 GSE&IS. No extra credit is given. Incompletes
are not awarded in this class; plan accordingly. Disabled students
must present the appropriate form from the Office of Student Disabilities
at the beginning of the quarter, if they wish special accommodation. You
may drop the class up until the last class, according to the UCLA Registrar.
I reserve the right to change the content of this syllabus for any reason
including the accommodation of guest speakers.
“You see they will choke to death and die
with the secret in them rather than tell you what they want.” (Wyer,
Reference Work, 1930)
REVISIONS: 6 March 2008; Link Checked: as modified; I
practice continuous improvement of this syllabus; please check back regularly.
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