Caleb,<br>I'm so glad that you posted to Libs-Or about this. I wanted to but was hesitant.<br><br>I took a stand alone reference course in library school. Some of it seemed like busy work. But I go back to the I gained knowledge each time I get a tough reference question.<br>
<br>But what was the greatest learning experience I had with reference as a student was spending 6 months serving as a reference intern and then as an employee in the trenches of adult services at Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, IN. Had I not had a course that covered the reference interview, reference transactions, etc, my first few months at the public library would have been awful. The course I took prepared with the theory, armed me with resources and techniques. Translating them into practice was fulfilling. How many students these days do reference internships? If they don't, how can a small portion of a class prepare them for a future job without course and/or reference "in the trenches" experiences?<br>
<br>My take: we do need reference librarians and reference is not dead. It looks completely different, but it still happens. Sure, lots of L-Net questions I answer are about library accounts, fines, etc and lots of questions I answer at the PSU Library desk deal with printing in our computer lab. But would I have been able to answer students questions about finding tests and measures or survey instruments without being a trained (in the classroom and in the trenches) reference librarian? Probably not. <br>
<br>Maybe the problem is not that reference is dead, but that the traditional reference course curriculum is. How could a full on reference course capture the breadth of "traditional" reference practices and also what's happening with new technologies, new questions, and new literacies? There must be a way.<br>
<br>Emily<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 10:01 AM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us" target="_blank">libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div id=":39">Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 13:30:10 -0700<br>
From: Caleb Tucker-Raymond <<a href="mailto:calebt@multcolib.org">calebt@multcolib.org</a>><br>
To: "<a href="mailto:libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a>"<br>
<<a href="mailto:Libs-Or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">Libs-Or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a>><br>
Subject: [Libs-Or] does Oregon need reference librarians?<br>
Message-ID:<br>
<CAPO-dkfzY2W0vaQahXifEw=<a href="mailto:k4LiWFT%2BXh6ojW8Kx_i_048cX3A@mail.gmail.com">k4LiWFT+Xh6ojW8Kx_i_048cX3A@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br>
<br>
Hi, everybody,<br>
<br>
As seen on the Hack Library School blog,<br>
<a href="http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/whither-reference/" target="_blank">http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/whither-reference/</a>, some<br>
library schools are no longer offering a standalone course in reference,<br>
but instead making reference a smaller component of a larger course. The<br>
rationale is that "reference is dead".<br>
<br>
My first reaction was, "oh no! not again!"<br>
<br>
But I'm interested to start a discussion here because what isn't mentioned<br>
in this post is that the author is discussing Emporia State University,<br>
which, through the Oregon cohorts of the School of Library and Information<br>
Management, is our local library school.<br>
<br>
I attended Emporia's most recent local graduation this past August, and I<br>
got to hear some great speakers contemplate the future of libraries. In<br>
addition, I recall that both our state librarian, MaryKay Dahlgreen, and<br>
the then-president of the Oregon Library Association, Abigail Elder, also<br>
talked about how grateful we all are here in Oregon to have a library<br>
school bringing new professionals into our community. I'm grateful also.<br>
<br>
Do we expect new professionals to begin their careers with knowledge of<br>
reference services and sources?<br>
<br>
To fuel my own curiosity, I looked at the past three months of OLA Jobline<br>
announcements shared with this list. Of 55 descriptions for positions in<br>
Oregon, 11 mentioned reference service specifically - 20%. I didn't get<br>
into which of those required an MLS, but from looking at the titles, only<br>
one is for "reference librarian":<br>
<br>
Archivist for Collections Management, Eugene, OR<br>
Information Resources and Instructional Librarian, Coos Bay, OR<br>
Library Assistant/Branch Lead Worker, Beaverton, OR<br>
Manager, Architecture and Allied Arts Library, Eugene, OR<br>
Part-Time Librarian, Happy Valley, OR<br>
Reference Assistant, Albany, OR<br>
Reference Assistant, Tigard, OR<br>
Reference Librarian, Grand Ronde, OR<br>
Research/Catalog Librarian, Portland, OR<br>
Special Collections Assoc., Portland, OR<br>
Youth Services Associate, Prineville, OR<br>
<br>
I'm interested in hearing your perspective!<br>
<br>
Caleb Tucker-Raymond<br>
<br>
Statewide Reference Service Coordinator<br>
Multnomah County Library<br>
<a href="tel:%28503%29%20988-5438" value="+15039885438">(503) 988-5438</a><br>
<a href="mailto:calebt@multco.us">calebt@multco.us</a><br>
<a href="http://www.oregonlibraries.net" target="_blank">www.oregonlibraries.net</a></div></blockquote></div><br>