Reference Questions, 11/30/10

It's Tuesday which means I am working until 10:oo p.m. tonight. I've been on campus since 10:00 a.m. this morning because I had to attend Conduct Board training. So yay! I'm now a member of the University Conduct Board. Anyway, I'm here in my office monitoring chat until my shift on the desk starts at 8:00 p.m. My office mate has the 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. shift this week.

1. (Chat) Needed to know which database would be best for searching for journals on pet therapy
2. Wanted to know where to return a reference book
3. (Phone) Wanted to know how to format a title page and a running header in APA
4. Wanted to borrow a pencil
5. Wanted to know how to present a quotation in a paper using APA style; If the quote is less than 40 words it can remain in text, if it's more you need to separate it out by indenting it
   

The last shift of the day was slow. The library was pretty full, but I guess no one needed help. Oh well. :)

Reference Questions, 11/29/10

Here we are again.

1. Needed to know how to find a book here in the library, specifically The Afterlife of Poe by Scott Peebles.
2. Having problems with the scanner; had her move to the other scanner
   
3. (Chat) Asked a question about APA then disappeared for 13 minutes, then returned; wanted to know about citing a paraphrase
   
4. Having problems with the scanner; same one as before; had her restart the computer since the other scanner was taken; hopefully that will work
   

Slow shift. It will probably amp back up later in the week.

Reference Questions, 11/28/10

Regular hours resume today at the library. It's a Sunday, my first Sunday on the reference desk, and I am on for 7 hours. A 7 hour desk shift; this should be fun.

1. Question about printing in color; was having trouble printing a brochure
2. Question about formatting footnotes in Word
3. Wanted to know how to use the scanner
4. Another scanner question
5. Need a guest login
   
6. (Chat) APA style question, in-text citations
7. Looking for a pair of headphones
8. Looking for a pair of headphones
9. Printing question; wanted to put RU Express money into his printing account
   
10. APA question; needed help formatting his bibliography
11. Having trouble printing a brochure in color
    
12. (Chat) Wanted to know how to cite a textbook in APA; this chat took a lot longer than it should have
13. (Chat) Wanted to know how to do an in-text citation for a book
14. Looking for 3 different books; we had one of them
15. (Chat) Needed to know how to create an in-text citation for a scholarly article with multiple authors; lost the chat before I could answer her
    
16. Having trouble printing; the print window would not finish calculating; had her move to another computer
17. Looking for marketing data on a local chain restaurant
    
18. Needed to know how to switch to RU Express in the print assist window
19. Looking for 2 movies she had to watch for a nursing class: A Beautiful Mind and Rain Man
20. Wanted to know where to check out
21. Student had opened a file out of his email and was working on it. He closed it, then realized he didn't know where it saved. Wanted me to help him find it. I wish students would designate where to save their files instead of just clicking save and then not know where it is. We need to make some signage for this.
22. Question about citing a paraphrase using APA style; wanted to know if it was different from a direct quote

Not too busy tonight, just steady. The library was a little over half full throughout my shift. The final run tot he end of the semester has begun.

Reference Questions, 11/24/2010

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I am on the reference desk yet again. There is not a single student in the library. This is going to be a slow 2 hours. At least I get to leave at noon.

1. (Email) A professor's electronic access had been suspended. He needed it to be reactivated. The problem was (probably) that each faculty member/student is allowed 75 MB of downloading per hour and he probably reached his, so if that happens the account gets suspended for 60 minutes.
2. A staff member wanted to know how to print an email
3. Looking for scholarly articles on the origins of the theories of inequality
   
4. Looking for 2 occupational therapy journals

Of course those last 2 questions came with 10 minutes on the desk, and made me extend my shift by 5 minutes. That's how it always is though. No one wants to talk to you until you are ready to leave. I hope all my fellow librarians have a great Thanksgiving! :)

Reference Questions, 11/23/2010

Here at the reference desk, it's Thanksgiving break and I see 4 students on this floor. Whoa.

1. Looking for books on cassette to take with him on a road trip; all we had were children's books and a few other things that he was not interested in
2. Looking for the over-sized books
3. (Phone) Wanted to know how to create a reference and an in-text citation for the USCourts.gov website; also needed to know how to cite a Supreme Court case; I had to use the Bluebook :(
   

OK I thought this ref shift was going to be dull, well I was wrong. While sitting at the ref desk I overheard a conversation between a student and a faculty member. When the faculty member came up she said she was in the process of applying to grad schools. First she said "I didn't apply to any grad schools in FL because I didn't want to die from a hurricane." She went on to say that was the same reason she didn't apply at any Gulf Coast schools. Also she didn't apply to any grad schools in FL because of the snakes and gators, they freak her out. She also added that she didn't apply to any grad schools in CA because she was afraid that the state was going to fall in the ocean. (He told her that those were all interesting concerns to have.) After that she said that she just applied to grad schools she thought she could get into. Oh brother, after that first line I almost busted out laughing, so I had to act like I was coughing since she was sitting 8 feet away from me.

Reference Questions, 11/22/2010

It's Thanksgiving week, and I'm here on the reference desk for 2 hours today. I expect it to be a slow couple of hours. I believe there are only 3 students on this entire floor.

1. Looking for a DVD Theories in Social Work Practice
   
2. Looking for the book Modern Social Work Theory

Yep, 2 questions in 2 hours. :)

Reference Questions, 11/19/2010

Last reference shift of the week. Next week should be slow. Classes are not in session and we are only open 2 and a half days. The library looks pretty empty right now. Most people probably got a jump start on the Thanksgiving holiday.

1. (Chat) Looking for articles on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and dystopia (this was one of those wonderful 30+ min chats)
   
2. Looking for DVDs in French

It was slow, however that chat took up half of my shift. To make it worse this student was in one of the ENGL 300 classes I taught with another librarian earlier in the semester, and it was obvious they were not paying attention in that class. [Virtual smack up side the head]

Reference Questions, 11/18/2010

Thanksgiving is a week away. This semester has flown by. I must admit I'm glad to have my first semester as a librarian nearly complete. Now for the 8:00 a.m. reference questions.

1. Needed me to help someone with the copier; I told her she could go to the Front Desk for help with the copier; she said I am from the Front Desk; OK
2. Looking for audio books on CD; we do not have books on CD, seriously; WOW
3. Could not get a lab to open up in WebCT; she said she was using IE so I told her to switch to Firefox
   

Well this is typical of an 8:00 a.m. shift. I expect it will be much busier later in the day. Tomorrow is the last day of class before Thanksgiving break.

Well, I forgot I had a second shift on the desk today. So let's do this again.

1. Looking for articles on homelessness
2. Looking for the DVDs
3. Wanted to borrow some tape and scissors
4. Copier is out of paper; sent her to the Front Desk
5. Looking for the movies Momento and Thank You For Smoking
6. Looking for a book on Zen Buddhism
7. Strange printing question; wanted to know if she could print from Word in the library; a friend told her you couldn't
   

This shift was a little more lively. I've got one more shift this week and that's tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Kraybill Releases Two New Books

Dr. Donald Kraybill, a noted Anabaptist scholar, has just released two new books: The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World, co-authored with Steven Nolt and David Weaver-Zercher, and the Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites. For more information on these two books visit Amish America's blog at http://amishamerica.com/concise-encyclopedia-of-amish-brethren-hutterites-and-mennonites-5-book-giveaway-and-interview-with-donald-kraybill/comment-page-2/#comment-8668

Reference Questions, 11/16/10

My Tuesday night on the reference desk is here again. You can smell the fear in the air as the semester comes to a close...

1. (Phone) Looking for a database to find info on Ralph Waldo Emerson and his works; LRC to the rescue!
   
2. Looking for the bathroom
3. Looking for a book, the APPA National Pet Owners Survey, we didn't have it
4. Looking for a DVD, The Sandlot
5. Looking for a general encyclopedia
6. Wanted to know if there was a limit to the number of books you can check out at once
7. Having trouble with the copier; that's a Front Desk problem
8. Wanted to know how to print to the color printer
9. Had a question about APA citation styles and the research award
10. Had a question about citing a manual in APA
11. Looking for the copier
12. Wanted to borrow a highlighter
13. Looking for the copier
14. Had several questions about APA style
15. Wanted to borrow a pair of scissors
16. Looking for the SRDS books
17. Had a question about the age of a source and if it would be a good idea to use it because of it's age; I asked her why she wanted to use the source (it was from 1977) and she said she wanted to compare how alcohol use has changed since then on college campuses. I told her that it would be a good source to use for that purpose.
    
18. Wanted to know of the copier takes RU Express
19. Looking for a book on reserve

It was a busy night. I am so glad that Thanksgiving is next week. :)

Reference Questions, 11/11/10

On the reference desk at 8:00 a.m. This will be my third straight hour on the reference desk. Early mornings are always slow. Yawn...

1. Wanted some 3x5 note cards
2. (Chat) Had question about how to cite a chart APA style

Slow as I predicted. However, it's not a shift without an APA question.

Reference Desk, 11/10/2010

Now time for more fun at the reference desk.

1. (Email) Professor having trouble accessing an article online; he couldn't access it because we only have the print version of it available
2. Looking for the children's book section
   
3. Looking for books on jewelery, specifically rings
4. Question about in-text citations in APA
5. Question about how to create reference and cite in APA
   
6. Found a flash drive at a computer
7. Was looking for a flash drive sh had left at a computer
8. Looking for a book on stem cell research
9. Wanted to know where to check a book out
10. Looking for a book by a RU author

Steady still, and I'm glad to be getting some real reference questions. :)

1. 
   

Reference Questions, 11/9/10

My night on the reference desk. And yes, I'm missing Glee for this.

1. Wanted to know how to look for peer reviewed articles in Academic Search Complete
2. Looking for a printer to print from; had been on 4th floor and that one isn't working
   
3. Bathroom
4. Wanted to know if he had saved something on the desktop of a reference computer yesterday, would it still be there today; sadly no
5. Copier was asking for a password; went to front desk to get help; when came back it had fixed itself
6. Wanted to know how to cite a handbook in MLA
7. Question about how to cite an article in MLA style
8. Wanted to know how you could print if you are not a RU student; she was from VT, really???
9. Wanted to know where the Pay for Print printer is located
10. Wanted to know if we had binder clips
11. Looking for the Encyclopedia of Philosophy
12. Looking for sources on Renaissance Humanism and Platonism
    
13. Wanted to know where the print outs went after you printed them; to the great printer in the sky ;)
14. Computer froze while trying to print a pdf
15. Having trouble printing; had the wrong size paper selected

Things are really picking up now that the end is nigh.

Reference Questions, 11/8/2010

The crunch is on...

1. Trying to print pages from Google Books; couldn't get it to work
2. Looking for sources on the United Arab Emirates
3. Wanted to know where BW3 is located
4. Printer BW4 needed more paper; not really, someone had just tried to print a job on a paper size that was not loaded in the printer
5. Looking for resources on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how states and universities are using it
6. (Chat) Looking for how to cite a song in APA
7. Wanted to upload a video from a Flip camera

The shifts are picking up as the semester begins to wind down.

Reference Questions, 11/3/2010

Here we are again. Shift #1:

1. (Phone) Had a question about tomorrow's RefWorks workshop
2. (Email) Wanted to know when a book she requested would be available for pick up
3. (Chat) Wanted to know what constituted a print source in APA
4. Left a book on the reference desk last night and was looking for it; it had not been reshelved

Hour 1 of 4 down. Three more shifts on the desk to go.

Shift #2:

1. Looking for classroom B
2. Looking for ITEC 490 instruction session
3. Wanted to know when classroom A is closing
4. Wanted to borrow a voice recorder

And now begins the last 2 hours. Here we go again. Shift #3:

1. Looking for a fax machine
2. Wanted to know how to print in the library
3. Wanted to know how to download something off of a voice recorder he used for an interview
4. Question about printing from a laptop
   
5. Looking for a fax machine
6. Needed to find the book Living in the Environment
   
7. Wanted help on searching business journals
8. (Email) Looking for back issues of the Grapurchat online
   
9. Wanted to know where to go to add money to her printing account
10. Needed to print on the 4th floor
11. Needed to know how to find a book in the stacks
12. Looking to check out a camcorder
13. Looking for articles on cattle and animal welfare
14. Looking for a way to come up with better keywords

This was a steady shift and my last reference shift of the week. I will bring you more exciting reference activities next week.

Reference Questions, 11/2/2010

It's election day, and I'm on the reference desk once again. Life is grand.

1. Wanted to know how to print in color
2. Needed help finding 2 books
3. Patron wanted to know if you could print from the scanner computers; you can't so we tried to email the file to her so she could go to another computer and print it; the file was too big and could not be attached; so we got a flash drive so we could take it to another computer to print; the computer we took it to said that it had no printer installed on it so I had to take it to the Front Desk so they could print it for her
4. Wanted to borrow an ink pen
   
5. Looking for an article, all he had was the year and 2 author last names
6. Had question about putting money on RU Express
7. Had question about why calculating box was taking so long
8. Had question about why calculating box was taking so long
9. (Chat) Question about how to cite something from Opposing Viewpoints
10. (Chat) Freshman wanted me to give him a paper topic using Hamlet and some element of modernization; sorry we are not allowed to hand out paper topics
11. Looking for the computers with scanners
12. Having trouble printing
13. Wanted to know where the DVDs are located
14. Question about printing
    

It's been a busy shift. The semester is drawing to a close so I guess students are scrambling to get their papers and projects finished.

Reference Questions, 11/1/2010

It's the day after Halloween and we have candy at the desk. Maybe that will bring the questions in.

1. Looking for some tape
2. Looking for a book on Vincent Van Gogh's paintings
3. Wanted to take my picture and ask me 5 questions about the library
4. Looking for a fax machine; sent him to Walker
5. Looking for a copier

I found it interesting that the students would walk by and look at the candy, but would not stop and get any. At Jackson this basket wouldn't last an hour.