ERIC Number: EJ1330181
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Jan
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1531-2542
EISSN: N/A
Fish, Not Fishing Lessons: A Pragmatic Reprioritization of Reference Services
Fancher, Sarah E.; Mabee, Sarah H.
portal: Libraries and the Academy, v22 n1 p221-226 Jan 2022
Reference services in academic libraries often focus on user education and giving students the skills to perform their own searches. This article describes a new Research Concierge Service established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) in southwest Missouri. The service entails library staff curating a small number of sources in response to a student's research request. In many cases, the librarians' guidance has led to sustained interactions with students, refining their questions and helping them to focus their research interests. The Research Concierge Service has become so popular that the high level of individual contact it requires may eventually exceed the capacity of OTC's limited staff. OTC librarians believe, however, that such personal interactions are more valuable than any of their current opportunities for group tutorials or library instruction.
Descriptors: Reference Services, Library Services, Academic Libraries, COVID-19, Pandemics, Community Colleges, Library Instruction, Library Role, Access to Information
Johns Hopkins University Press. 2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Tel: 800-548-1784; Tel: 410-516-6987; Fax: 410-516-6968; e-mail: jlorder@jhupress.jhu.edu; Web site: https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/list
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Missouri
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A