The above article refers to self-service becoming in vogue in libraries. As we talked in class about improving information literacy in our learners and teaching our patrons skills that they can use the rest of their lives, I wondered how we would have the time to do so. If someone walks into the library and we begin helping her, with the intent listed above, that will very well take more than the cursory 10 minutes we may feel we can allot to each learner. However, as this article argues, maybe the benefit of this technologically marvelous age is that it will free up time for librarians to help patrons where they most need it.
Our book discusses improving the learning environments in the classroom, including in the area of formative assessments and feedback on those assessments. Bransford et al. contend that “new technologies provide opportunities to increase feedback by allowing students, teachers and content experts to interact…” (141). Why should that statement not extend to librarians as well? I can use technology to spend time with my library learners, time to assess how they are searching for information and time to give them feedback on improving their searches. Perhaps the “check your books out yourself” stations that seem to be popping up in libraries recently are a good example of this technology. Patrons who have been using self-checkout lanes in the grocery stores for the last few years will be familiar with this technology and use it, freeing librarians to spend more time with those patrons who are searching for something more than the latest James Patterson book.
I never thought about the self check outs in the library that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Knowing how to use time effectively is such a key part of instruction and knowing how best to do what you can in a library.
ReplyDeleteI agree! There are so many technologies available to librarians now freeing them up to handle more intricate situations. I had never thought of self checkouts in that way either (my library primarily considered them to be a means of increasing patron privacy), but they totally are a technological time saver. Libraries don't need to stop at self checkouts-- online tutorials can cover instruction in basic database or catalog searching, freeing up the librarian for more in-depth research instruction (that meets the patrons at their point of intervention) and perhaps even creating improved signage will reduce the number of directional questions a librarian might answer at the reference desk, letting them spend less time on telling patrons where the bathrooms or photocopiers are, to working on more difficult research consultations. Not that librarians aren't happy to answer directional questions, maybe patrons could be better served by librarians who have more time for handling difficult questions.
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