[Baynet] Infopeople's "CORE Reference Fundamentals" online course

Thu Mar 19 09:42:29 PDT 2009

Since some people who may be interested in participating might not receive
this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!

Title:  CORE Reference Fundamentals (Online learning course)

Dates:  April 21 – June 1, 2009

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at

http://infopeople.org/workshop/424

Fee:  $75 for those in the California library community & Infopeople
Partners and $150 for those out-of-state.

Libraries of all types provide reference services to their users. To provide
effective reference requires staff who understand and can apply the
underlying values and methods as they assist users in finding the best
possible resources to meet their information needs. 

• Are you stepping into the role of providing reference assistance for the
first time in your library career? 

• Is it time to brush up on your basic skills because you are returning to
work at the reference desk? 

• Do you want to be able to quickly identify and locate information in all
formats? 

Whether you have been recently promoted to support reference services, or
are returning to reference work some years after you completed your library
degree, you’ll need a clear understanding of how to determine the real
information need behind users’ questions and where to look for authoritative
answers. This course will acquaint you with why, when and how to do an
effective reference interview, which resources are best suited to which
types of reference questions, how to use both print and Web based resources
appropriate to the user’s need, and how reference work fits into the mission
of your library. You’ll learn how the physical layout of your library, and
signage and shelving for various collections can impact reference service.
You’ll become familiar with alternative methods for delivering reference,
such as email, chat and instant messaging, to help your users no matter
where they are or when the library is open. 

Workshop Description: This six-week online course will provide you with
opportunities to learn and practice an effective reference interview, as
well as to explore a wide variety of print and Web based reference tools.
Through individual and group exercises, you will discover ways to assist
diverse groups of users, including those with physical disabilities and
those with whom you do not share a common language. You will learn to think
like an indexer and apply that perspective to answering reference questions.
We will spend time examining and using a variety of print and Web based
resources, as well as specialized resources for homework help, government
research, and inquiries about images or sounds. The instructor will provide
sample policies, templates, tip sheets and a webliography, as well as
simple, practical techniques that can be applied immediately. 

During the course, you will be doing exercises and taking quizzes. You must
also participate in weekly online discussion forums as part of the online
learning process. 

After you have completed the six weeks of this CORE course, you will be
ready and encouraged to move through Infopeople’s self-paced independent
online modules on specialized reference areas, including Business,
Geography, Biography, Genealogy, Language and Literature. 

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet
connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and
complete the following learning modules: 

• Module One: The Reference Interview 

Goals and components of an effective reference interview 

Helping with sensitive questions 

Phrases to incorporate into your reference interview 

• Module Two: Library Users’ Rights to Privacy and Open Access 

First Amendment, Library Bill of Rights, and ALA Code of Ethics 

Working across barriers of physical ability or communication skills 

Responding appropriately to library users of different ages 

• Module Three: Reference Resources in Your Library 

Building layouts 

Special collections 

Your library’s Web site 

The structure of your library’s catalog 

• Module Four: Construction and Use of Indexes 

Comparing and contrasting print and online indexing 

Databases and ready reference work 

• Module Five: Evaluating Reference Tools 

Print tools 

Online resources 

Search engines 

• Module Six: Contemporary Ready Reference Tools and Delivery Methods 

Nontraditional reference sources, like Flickr and YouTube 

Government publications (online and in print) 

Niche inquiries, including homework, sports, and celebrities 

Roving, passive vs active reference services, for profit reference
businesses 

Instructor:  Francisca Goldsmith.  Francisca Goldsmith is the Director of
Branch Services at Halifax Public Libraries. Formerly she was the Collection
Management Librarian and head of Teen Services at Berkeley Public Library,
and has been a reference librarian in both academic and public libraries.
She has worked with school and public library staffs who have needed
appropriate training to support up to date reference assistance and to
design local weeding projects. Francisca has taught several Infopeople
courses and also consults as a Young Adult Library Services Association
trainer for its Serving the Underserved Project and other YALSA staff
development institutes. She also writes for a range of professional journals
in the US and Canada. 

Online Learning Details: 

This six-week course will be taught online using the web. When you register,
you will receive a registration confirmation that will include the URL to
get to the course, as well as a username and password. 

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own
pace. Students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 2 to 2½
hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on
each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you
will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's
assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the
course to begin the course work. 

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two
weeks after the official end date of the course, and the course material
will stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have
fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be
expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with
your peers during the first six weeks. 

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community who provides
reference service. This course is especially geared to paraprofessional
staff new to reference work or librarians who need updates on contemporary
tools and methods that support excellent reference service. 

Certification and Competencies: Infopeople is an approved provider for the
Western Council Library Practitioner Certification Program
(http://certificate.westernco.org/ ). This course meets the certificate
competencies (http://certificate.westernco.org/docs/FinalCCs.pdf ) for
Reference and Information Services.

Prerequisites:

This course is taught over the web. You must: 

• Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your computer
and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en . Search for
"Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html ). 

• Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a
website that uses frames. 

• To be most successful in this course you should be willing to share
information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and
participating in the weekly discussion boards. 

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is
called Moodle. If you have taken an Infopeople online course in the past,
please note that this is a change from Angel, the previous online learning
product. The following are minimum system requirements for using Moodle. You
will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to
participate in an online course: 

• Windows: 

Microsoft Windows 98 or above 

Firefox 2.0 or above (recommended), Internet Explorer 4.0 and above,
Netscape 4.0 and above 

• Macintosh: 

OS 9 and above 

Firefox 2.0 or above (recommended), Safari 2.0 or above, Netscape 4.0 or
above 

• General 

High speed Internet connection (dial up not recommended) 

Pop-up blockers disabled (recommended) 

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking
this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

If you would like to subscribe via RSS and be notified whenever new
Infopeople training events are available, you can use these links:

**For new on-ground or online workshops: http://infopeople.org/workshop/rss

**For new podcasts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfopeoplePodcasts 

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information
about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops
page at http://infopeople.org/workshop      

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.

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