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Overview
Expert advice for more effective teamwork in the library!
Cooperative Reference: Social Interaction in the Workplace addresses the need for reference librarians to work together to keep the system running smoothly. This book explores the various means of developing social professionalism, collaborating on projects, and combining forces with other libraries to remain on the cutting edge of information services in this new century. Using this guide, you will learn from the first-hand experiences of on-the-job reference librarians. This book will give you—as a reference librarian, administrator, library science student, or educator—ideas to support cooperative efforts in the library and beyond.
This book will show you how to better interact with:
- other reference librarians
- face-to-face users
- online users
- library and academia faculty
- other libraries
Other topics in Cooperative Reference include:
- tag-team referencing—a dynamic, synergistic environment at the reference desk
- teaching librarians about interpersonal skills—how to establish professional, collegial relationships with one another
- librarians teaming up to teach a class together
- cooperative reference desk scheduling—how to create and implement tailored desk hours
- collection development between librarians for different departments
- working together to create online services
- a consolidation of reference services by two separate libraries
Synopsis
By and for reference librarians and administrators, 20 essays present ideas to support cooperative efforts in the library's physical setting and then beyond the library walls. They consider serving at the reference desk, intangibles and practicalities of working within the library, the virtual library, and cooperating with faculty and with other libraries. They are published simultaneously as The Reference Librarian, nos. 83/84 (2003). Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Library Journal
While most heads of reference would say that the quality of service provided by their departments is good or above, they also would admit that they are still looking for ways to improve that service. To help managers take their departmental performance to the next level, reference librarian Mabry (Univ. of Minnesota Libs; Doing the Work of Reference) has gathered an excellent array of essays and case studies that focus on the concept that good social interaction within the department and intradepartmental collaboration is the foundation for an excellent service department. The authors all agree that by taking this step, both the librarians, and more importantly patrons, will be more satisfied with the quality of the process and the end result of reference transactions. Reference librarians also participate in library, campus, and communitywide projects. Interpersonal skills are key to dealing with the variety of personalities involved in large-scale projects, and several articles offer excellent insight into these extradepartmental relationships. Highly recommended for both academic reference department heads and those in the trenches. [Published simultaneously as The Reference Librarian, Vol 40, Nos. 83/84.]-Mark R. Costa, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.