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Ohio Reference Excellence on the Web from Ohio Library Council
Ohio Reference
Excellence
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Purpose

Ohio Reference Excellence (ORE)

Contents

Purpose
What's New
New Resources
Guidelines
History and Background

Purpose

    The ORE goal is to improve the quality of reference service in Ohio and to expand training access to include everyone, anytime, at any pace. The emphasis of ORE on the Web is the reference process, whether service is provided in-house or with remote technology. Modules include exercises and quizzes, plus Ohio library photos, stories, and links.

What's new in reference?

Library 2.0 and
Virtual Reference

     What's new? A current catchphrase is "Go where the users are." New technologies - and new generations - create new demands for mobile services such as developing library blogs to promote services, using wiki software to involve users in creating web site content, creating webcasts (Podcasts), working to integrate the catalog with other online systems for seamless information delivery, and subscribing to RSS feeds to keep up with the latest concepts. These technologies are part of Library 2.0, a term describing use in libraries of Web 2.0, the second phase of development of the World Wide Web.

     The new wave of web technologies is primarily collaborative. Many library users are dedicated to online communities for work, recreation, and sharing all aspects of life. Users no longer rely on big publishers and news corporations for information needs. Libraries should consider the advantages of the social aspect of these new Internet applications when planning and marketing reference services.

     The mission of the library remains commitment to meeting community needs. That commitment now requires understanding not just new technologies, but differences between digital natives and digital immigrants (those who have grown up online and those who are working hard just to keep up!). Many library users depend on mobile devices for working and playing. When providing services, it's critical to consider changing needs and motivations of all user groups.

[Articles about different generations are summarized in Digital Native or Digital Immigrant. UI Current LIS Clips, March 2006. Compiled and annotated by Marianne Steadley.]

What's new in reference?
Virtual Reference

     New generations are using virtual reference services. The value versus costs of virtual reference is under debate, but a recent Library Journal report emphasizes that statewide collaboratives are cost-effective, well-used, and especially used by teens. "Data from groups such as University of Southern California's Center for the Digital Future and Pew Internet & American Life Project indicate that as today's children mature, the trend will be toward increased use, with younger children added as new users. Statewide cooperatives set expectations among teens that they will carry with them into college and adulthood, so the full impact won't be seen for two to five years."

[Virtual Reference: Alive & Well, by Brenda Bailey-Hainer. LibraryJournal.com, January 15, 2005]

Ohio Reference Excellence remote reference services pages.

 

What's new in reference?

Resources

Keeping up with News Sources and Search Engines, Searching Blogs and Podcasts

  • LITA Tool Kit for the Expert Web Searcher is now an ALA wiki! This site describes and evaluates different types of search engines. Categories include Subject Guides, Search Engines, News Searching, Blog Searching, Metasearch Engines and Search Engine Collections, Global Searching, Multimedia Searching, Podcast Searching, The Invisible Web, and Search Engine News.
  • Bloglines RSS feeds supply news from hundreds of blogs and news sites, allowing you to check the headlines in a newsreader.

  • Technorati tracks who's linking to you, posts the top topics in blogs at the moment, and lets you find blogs on particular topics.

  • Digg is a technology news website that combines social bookmarking, blogging, RSS, and non-hierarchical editorial control. Users submit stories for review, and users decide which stories go on a page.

New Ways to Promote or Deliver Reference Services

Working with Market Segments: Generations and Diversity

 

Current Guidelines

     The following guidelines from ALA and IFLA are a recommended starting point for any library interested in current reference policies and practices.

Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers, American Library Association Reference and User Services Association (ALA RUSA). Revised by MOUSS Management of Reference Committee and approved by the RUSA Board of Directors, June 2004. URL is http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa
/rusaprotools/referenceguide
/guidelinesbehavioral.htm,
visited August 2007.

Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians, American Library Association Reference and User Services Association (ALA RUSA), 2003. URL is http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa
/rusaprotools/referenceguide
/professional.htm,
visited August 2007.

Guidelines for Information Services, American Library Association Reference and User Services Association (ALA RUSA), 2000. URL is http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa
/rusaprotools/referenceguide
/guidelinesinformation.htm,
visited August 2007.

Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual Reference Services. Prepared by the MARS Digital Reference Guidelines Ad Hoc Committee, American Library Association Reference and User Services Association (ALA RUSA), 2004. Approved by the RUSA Board of Directors June 2004. Section 3.3, Service Behaviors, et.al. URL is http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa
/rusaprotools/referenceguide
/virtrefguidelines.htm,
visited August 2007.

Digital Reference Guidelines, Reference and Information Services Section, Standing Committee on Reference Work, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2003. Latest page Revision: April 19, 2005. URL is http://www.ifla.org/VII
/s36/pubs/drg03.htm, visited August 2007.

Guidelines for the Introduction of Electronic Information Resources to Users, 2006, are intended to assist librarians who provide and publicize new electronic information resources to users and potential users. URL is http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools
/referenceguide/guidelinesintroduction.htm, visited August 2007.

History and Background

     Ohio Reference Excellence on the Web was based on the ORE Manual, 2nd Edition, A Self-study Reference Course, developed by the Ohio Library Council's Reference and Information Services Division ORE Task Force. The ORE Manual was an adaptation of MORE: Minnesota Opportunities for Reference Excellence and CORE: California Opportunities for Reference Excellence. The Manual was used for two years as the basis for ORE workshops around Ohio. ORE on the Web was adapted for the Web in 2000 and is revised annually, adding new links and content about the latest developments in reference service.

     Project consulting, web adaptation, content authoring, annual revision, instructional and web design is by Deana Noack Web Design, edited by Jennyann Noack, 2000-2007. Also see copyright, credits, and contributor information.

Next!
Instructions for using the modules

 

 

ORE from OLC

Project consultant, content authoring, annual revision, instructional and web design: Deana Noack Web Design, edited by Jennyann Noack, 2000-2007. ORE on the Web was commissioned by OLC with support from the State Library of Ohio and based on ORE Manual.

Ohio Libraries

 Photos of Ohio libraries who contributed to the project are featured on many pages. Some photos are linked to larger versions. Click linked photos to see the larger images.

Photos have either a text or a pop-up caption that appears when the cursor hovers over the image.

Putnam County District Library

Putnam County District Library

London Public Library staff work with individual patrons.

London Public Library staff work with individual patrons.

Ohio Stories

 Everyone has reference experiences to share and stories to tell. Learn from others! Photos and stories reflect the nature of reference work -  working with people.

Reference work comes in two flavors: "I love working with people," and "This job would be great if I didn't have to work with people!"

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ORE on the Web, Ohio Library Council, 2000-2007.
See Copyright-Credits page for information regarding design, source of materials, and for use of the site.
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