Reference Questions, 2/17/10

86 days til graduation, hurry please.

1. A student was looking for a play by Daivd Auburn called Proof.
2. A student was looking for scholarly articles on McCarthyism and labor unions.
3. Looking for the lost and found
4. Looking for the lost and found
5. Some people from UNCG Theatre's production of The Seagul came by and gave me a tea bag of Russian tea. It kind of made my day. :)
6. A student wanted an envelope. Ok....
7. A student needed help finding articles on underage drinking.
8. A student was looking for the 2nd floor of the library where the books and tables are.
9. Looking for the lost and found
10. (Chat) Looking for La Perfecta Casada by Fray Luis de Leon. The library didn't have it so I had to walk the person through how to ILL it.
11. Looking for a German English dictionary
12. Paper jam in the reading room printer
13. A student wanted to know what business sources we had for researching a company she is working with, the Carolina Cookie Co.
14. More printing problems in the reading room
    
15. Wanted to know how to search for articles in USA Today
16. Looking to put money on a FirstCard
17. A Guilford College student was looking for books on the Algerian War or La guerre d'Algerie.
18. A question about the free printing
19. Looking for a textbook, still?
20. A student was looking for scholarly articles and books on Satanic Ritual Abuse.

That was an interesting way to end a shift. I was able to find several sources for her, interesting indeed.

Reference Questions, 2/10/10

Another Wednesday shift has arrived. I'm still not used to these Wednesday day shifts. Every Tuesday I feel anxious when I get to school and realize I'm not wearing dress clothes. Then I remember I don't have a Tuesday shift anymore. I'm such a creature of habit.

1. A student was looking to check out a laptop. I pointed her to the circulation desk.
2. (Chat) A student was looking for books on Minoan Civilization.
3. A student was looking a free computer to print from.
4. A Guilford College student was looking for Mammon and Manon in early New Orleans : the first slave society in the deep South, 1718-1819 by Thomas N. Ingersoll.
5. A student was looking for some government docs on the Battle of Kings Mountain.
6. A student was looking for a Spanish textbook. We did not have it. :(
7. A student had a question about the bones that are kept at the circulation desk.
8. A student was looking for sources on poverty and immigration in the US.
9. A Guilford College student was looking for newspaper resources on Jack the Ripper.
10. The guy looking for free cell phones was back. He is having a really hard time accepting that cell phone companies will not give you free phones and free minutes with no obligation from you!
11. (Chat) A question about checking out books.
12. A student was looking for the Petty Science Building.
13. A question about the location of the nearest bathroom.
14. (Phone) A student was looking for a study guide for the PSB Exam. We did not have any.
15. Looking for a pencil sharpener.
16. Looking for the CITI lab.
17. A student wanted to know if you could check out magazines.
18. Looking for the CITI lab.
19. A student was looking for a SUDOC, but had written the number down incorrectly and couldn't remember the search terms he had used to find it in the first place.
20. (Chat) A student was having some trouble accessing the full text of a couple articles on EBSCO SOCIndex.
21. Someone came by and picked up a form that Marc had left for them.
22. A lady was looking for Tim Bucknall's office.
23. A student was looking for an article from a journal called Radical America. We do not have access to it, and he did not have time to ILL it.
24. A student was looking for articles on Marcus Garvey.
25. Looking for the bathroom.

Another shift closer to graduation. :) The vampire book display seems to be a hit too. I had to add 5 more books to it today. :0)

Reference Questions, 2/7/10

Super Bowl Sunday, and here I am on the desk. When I volunteered of this shift I did not realize what day it was. Oh well, I'll be home in time to catch most of it.

1. A patron wanted to know where he could get a free cell phone with free minutes. He saw something about it on TV. I told him it sounded like a scam. He insisted that he had a friend that had one. I suggested he email his friend.
2. A student had a question about APA citations and citation software.
3. (Chat) A question about library hours.
4. A patron needed a guest username and password for one of the guest computers.
5. A student wanted to know if the card station in the Atrium was working. Hope so since ours is down.
6. A question about library hours.
7. A student needed help with PubMed. She was looking for articles on childhood obesity and physical activity.
8. A student was looking for the Almanac of American Politics and CQ's Politics in America.
9. (Phone) Address lady, she is ALWAYS so pleasant, was looking for the corporate address to Trader Joe's. I told her that I was on their website and was having trouble finding the physical address. She said thank you and hung up before I could say anything else. At least it was a short conversation.
10. The ref printer was out of paper.
11. A question about library hours.
12. A high school student and her dad wanted to know how to find specific books here in the library.
13. A student was looking for a biography of Woodrow Wilson that was written by his stepson. I could not find anything on it.
14. A patron needed a guest username and password for one of the guest computers.

Slow shift, but not surprising it is Super Bowl Sunday. Most people are attending parties, not working on papers. :)

Reference Questions, 2/3/2010

Here we are again, on the desk during feeding time. Let the sharks circle. :) On a side note my book display on vampires went up yesterday. Yay me!

1. A student needed to print, but didn't have their FirstCard.
   
2. (Chat) A student was looking for articles from the 1940s in the New York Times on the Cold War and communism.
3. A student was looking for books on creatine. All the books had been checked out so I directed her to the articles.
4. An LIS student was having trouble finding the spainsh encyclopedia that her professor wanted her to look at.
5. A student had a question about getting on the ref computers.
6. A student was looking for the CQ American Politics and the Almanac of American Poilitics. They seem to have wondered out of the ref dept.
7. A student had a question about accessing an article she had received through ILL.
8. A student was looking for older copies of the CQ's Politics in America and The Almanac of American Politics.
9. A student was looking for The Elements of Style by William Strunk.
10. A student was looking for a textbook.
11. A student was looking for the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
12. A student had a question about a record he had pulled up in the catalog. The contents on the record were different from the actual book contents. He wanted the book that matched the contents in the record.
13. Two students were looking for the MLA citation guides.
14. A student had a printing question.
15. A student was looking for the Reading Room.
16. A student was looking for somewhere to print.
17. A professor was looking for Writing Well by Donald Hall. The closest library that has it is NCSU.
18. A student was looking for the CQ's Politics in America and The Almanac of American Politics.
19. (Chat) Looking for a citation for Michael F. Mooney v. Fr. Mark Haight et al. A fun chat indeed.
20. A student was looking for the new book section.
21. A student was looking for the CQ's Politics in America and The Almanac of American Politics.
22. A student was looking for the circulation desk.
23. A student had the call numbers for some books, but wasn't sure where they were located.
24. A student had a question about MLA citations.

Another shift closer to graduation. :)

Reference Questions, 1/27/10

Back for another fast paced day shift. I expect to get more reference questions today than I did last week.

1. A student was looking for issues of Time magazine from the 1950's.
2. A student was looking for the reserves.
3. A student was looking for articles on catering.
4. A student wanted to where she could find books with the call letter J.
5. A student needed to watch an online movie for a class and wanted to know if she could use the computers in the ref department to do that.
6. A student was looking for a thesaurus she could check out
7. A student was looking for a textbook.
8. A student was looking for the ILL office.
9. A student was looking for a book of criticism on the poetry of Robert Lowell.
10. A student had a question about wireless printing in the library.
11. Three students were looking for LIBR 032.
12. A student wanted to know if you could check out magazines or if you could photocopy from them.
13. A librarian needed a guest username and password to test something out.
14. A student was looking for books on weather.
15. Two students were looking for the new books.
16. A student was looking for an article from the New York Times from 1950.
17. A student wanted to know where to go to get his laptop certified for use in the classroom. Huh?
18. (Phone) A patron was looking from a guy names Alston Noah or Noah Alston. He was in the Confederate Army, 3rd Cavalry in Texas during the Civil War. The guy does not exist. Strange call.
    
19. A student was looking for the reserves.
20. A student was looking for the reserves.
21. A student was looking for a mailbox.

Not as crazy as it was last week. Even got several real reference questions. :) I'll be back Sunday night.

Reference Questions, 1/23/10

The first Saturday of the semester and here I am on the reference desk. Oh what fun. ;) At least I'm sitting on the low desk. Jason wanted to stay on the high desk. Fine with me. It should be a slow shift anyway.

1. A student needed to reset her Novell username and password. I sent her to the SuperLab.
2. (Phone) A question about the library's hours.
3. (Phone) A librarian from GPL called and wanted to know if a GTCC student could come and use our computers to work on a math lab for a class. That is what the guest computers are for. :)
Moved up to the high desk so Jason could go grab some lunch.

4. (Phone) Gerald called to check on something Jason had called him about.
5. A patron needed a username and password for a guest computer.
6. A student wanted to know if this was the reference section and if she was allowed to go in and look for a book. These people always make me smile. They respect the books.
7. (Chat) A student wanted to know if they should use the same topic for two different assignments.
8. A WSSU nursing student was looking for books on nursing theory.
9. A nursing student was looking for research articles on art therapy and children.
   

This may have been the slowest shift i have ever had during a semester. I am not complaining.

Reference Questions, 1/20/10

My first shift of the semester. I am now on during the day, Wednesdays from 11-2. Let the questioning and the search for textbooks in the library begin. :)

1. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
2. A student wanted to know where the bookstore is located.
3. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
4. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
5. A student wanted to know where the bookstore is located.
6. A student was looking for reserves.
7. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
8. A student was looking for reserves.
9. A student was looking for a book called The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
10. A student was looking for some textbooks. He got lucky, we had them; older editions of course.
11. A student had a question about free printing.
12. A student was looking for a computer with a webcam.
13. A student was looking for the Science Building.
14. A student had a question about logging into the ref computers.
15. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
16. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
17. A student was looking for computers that she could print from.
18. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.
19. A student had a question about printing.
20. A student was looking for reserves.
21. A student was looking for a textbook.
22. A student was looking for a private study area and the career services center.
23. A student was looking for the library administration office.
24. A student was looking for the library administration office.
25. A student was looking for Tower 4.
26. A student was looking for the library administration office.
27. A student was having trouble logging into the system.
28. A student was looking for a textbook.
29. (Chat) A student had a question about printing. They wanted to know if you could print into the SuperLab from the reference area. That is a no.
30. A student was having trouble with the hole puncher.
31. A student wanted to know how to look up textbooks.
32. A student was looking for a textbook.
33. A student had a question about connecting to the wireless network, and also wanted to know where the bathroom is located.
34. A student was looking for the APA citation guide.
35. A student was looking for resources on free trade and textiles and apparel.
36. A student was looking for reserves.
37. A student wanted to know where LIBR 032 is located.

Not a bad first shift. Just mostly directional and textbook questions. I'm up for the first Saturday of the semester. We'll see how that goes.