Archives for posts with tag: reference
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Better ref stats: advice from retail

August 2, 2012 //

If you told 15 year old me, working at the Farm Fresh grocery on Big Bethel Road, pretending to smoke so that she could get an extra 5 minute break away from her cash register, that she would one day be a librarian and use the Farm Fresh experience to write about keeping statistics–she probably would have said, “Ok.” She was a very literal child.

If you’ve not had the pleasure of working retail, one of the major factors is that no one trusts you. You have to count everything many, many times. In the spirit of counting, here are some reference statistics that you might not be keeping, and how they show return on your institution’s investment.

  • Number of handouts taken each day: Resource and research guides are reference paid forward. Someone had to design them, of course, but use of the handout is where the reference happens. Count your handouts at the beginning and end of the day, and note the difference. You will be able to show work product being used, and how much you’re spending on printing. An easy way to accomplish this? Put out the same number every day. There are always 50 $1 bills in a bundle, and quarters come in rolls of $10 for good reason. Librarians are standards people, too!
  • Comp services per day: If you forget a meal-essential sauce when delivering Chinese food as a 17 year old, and you have to return to the customer to deliver said sauce–those people are getting a free meal. Likewise, if you lose a request for materials, if a copy card gets eaten, the patron is probably going to get some special service. Note these services. Now, you can start to troubleshoot weak points in your service methods.
  • Tech directional questions: Make a little map of your library, and plot an X where each person who asks about spotty wifi coverage is working. You’re tired of answering questions about wifi, and IT is tired of your non-directed demands for a stronger signal. This plotted statistic will allow you to tell IT exactly where the weakness is, so that they can pinpoint and fix the problem. IT laughed in your face? This statistic allows you to tell the people who control the budget precisely what you need in terms of stronger wifi.
  • Databases used: This one is harder, especially at a busy reference desk, but it could help you bargain better during renewal season if you know exactly which components of which databases you are using most. Of course, vendors keep their own statistics, but what do those numbers mean to you? Keeping track of what your team is using on a day-to-day basis is stronger than anecdotal evidence, and gives you concrete, numerical bargaining power in your negotiations.

Happy counting!

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Categories Law librarianship, Librarianship, generally, Reference

It’s a sign: premonitions, hunches and inklings

July 18, 2012 //

It’s easy to spot lost patrons. It’s a little bit harder to spot patrons who don’t know that they’re lost, especially in a law setting. It’s hardest to tell patrons that they’re lost.

Here are a few conversation starters to get you over that awkward hurdle of approaching someone who (perhaps) knows more than you, but not the thing that you’re going to share with them:

  • “You know, I just read an article about this very thing and the author cited ____________. Have you seen it already?”
  • “One more suggestion, that I’m sure you have already seen…”
  • “I would be doing you a disservice if I did not mention ______ .”
  • “This is new,” or “This is old and obscure,” or “This has just been updated.”
  • “Does your issue have anything to do with this item, _____ ?”

Sometimes it’s easiest to come out and tell the person, “No, no, listen to me, I’ve got what you need.” Other times, soft power is more effective. You’ll know which tactic to chose.

 

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Categories Reference

Pardon me: Pre-1936 federal executive clemency research

May 5, 2012 //

I had a fabulous question (that I couldn’t ultimately answer) about how to locate presidential pardons via Ask A Lib. Here’s what I learned:

The pardon power is found in Art. II, sec. 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Pardons are executive orders, which is all well and good in a Federal Register world–but what about the dark days before? What about those souls spared between 1789 and 1935? The Office of the Pardon Attorney has statistics on pardons from 1900-present, but no names. You’ve got to look in the Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States. No luck there? Try finding inmate information from the National Archives, then cross referencing between the two.

Many thanks to my colleague  for pointing out my mistake and teaching me something new!

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Categories Reference

Nighthawks at the Library: The Tao of Saturday Librarianship

January 21, 2012 //

One of my favorite Tom Waits albums is Nighthawks at the Diner, named after Edward Hopper‘s painting, “Nighthawks.”

It’s a live album in which Tom Waits tells stories about being Tom Waits in introductions to each song. I’m especially fond of “Eggs and Sausage,” about a ho hum evening in a diner full of regulars, hash browns and heart ache. Since “Eggs and Sausage” is stuck in my head today, I started thinking about how much my reading room is like a diner on Saturdays.

  • We’ve got regulars from all walks of life. If this were a diner, I’d know what they order and they how they like it. Since it’s not, I usually know what they’re working on, and if I’ve found something during the week, I save it for them on Saturday.
  • There are plenty of sad stories. I feel like that’s mostly true because folks doing legal research for themselves on a weekend are often in some sort of pro se situation (in my experience, so far).
  • Then again, there are a few happy stories, a few celebrations. Just today, a fellow I had helped before Thanksgiving came in just to tell me thanks.
  • Plenty of people taking life too seriously, beating them selves up over nothing. Plenty of people who could stand to buckle down a bit before they lose something valuable.
  • We have couples canoodling over books. I think a diner might be more pleasant: share some spaghetti Lady and the Tramp style, a milkshake with two straws, something.

It can be a little desolate sometimes, and depending on the mix of regulars, a little disheartening, but being a Saturday librarian has been great for people watching. I’ll see what I can do about bringing in some hash browns.

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Categories Reference

Iowa: Important more than once every four years

January 4, 2012 //

Tired of spinning circles around the results of yesterday’s Iowa Caucus? Looking for a break from the state where hogs outnumber people? Ready to resume flying over fly over country? Tough!

The World’s Largest Bull and I are here to remind you about the Guide to Law Online for Iowa.

In case you have some pressing need for Iowa administrative, legislative or judicial materials in the next 3 years and roughly 360 days, check out the Guide–and most importantly, let me know if something is out of sorts so we can fix it.

Was this post a mere vehicle for a picture of the World’s Largest [Anatomically Correct] Bull? Yes.

But seriously folks, the Guide to Law Online covers all 50 states, nearly every jurisdiction of the world, and even international and comparative law. It’s free, it’s easy to use, and it’s always being updated.

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Categories Reference

From the Lolbrary: Top 5 reference questions of the year

December 27, 2011 //

My favorite thing about the coming new year isn’t the chance to start again, but rather the chance to look back. I love lists! (Is anyone surprised?) So, without identifying the folks who asked in any way, here are my favorite questions from the past year:

5. How many laws are there?

(Answer: Well, it depends on how you want to count them. For example, is the Constitution one law, or is it 11, or 27?)

4. Can you tell me where [incorrectly spelled and poorly used Shari'a legal term] is located in the health care bill?

(Answer: I searched for the word on THOMAS and didn’t find anything. Do you mean [this term]? If so, [here is a link to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World] and don’t worry: that can’t happen.)

3. Can I serve in two or more local government positions at the same time in my small town without getting sued?

(Answer: Wow! Your local government website is amazing. Here are the bylaws of your town.)

2. What is the President of the United States’ phone number?

(Answer: 202-456-1111)

And by far the cutest of the year:

1. Can you tell me something that not many people know about the Bill of Rights for my school project?

(Answer: Did you know that the Third Amendment has been the subject of only one court case, ever?)

Can’t wait to see what next year brings. Happy New Year to all!

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Categories Reference

Big week in crazy: reference recap

December 3, 2011 //

Whenever something absurd happens in a public space, breaking the social contract, breaking any rules of decency, my mom says, “Well, that’s a local news story waiting to happen.” It’s the perfect sentiment, no? In that spirit, here’s my week in local news taglines. Film at 11…

  • Washington DC librarian accused of being an accomplice to a government conspiracy to control public utilities in Malta
  • 30 year, international adoption mystery remains unsolved tonight because of federal employee incompetence
  • Is the U.S. government deliberately hiding information at public institutions?
  • Largest library in the known universe systematically destroying global civil rights by not charging for printing–yet

Let’s be honest: I met some perfectly lovely patrons this week, too. but still, it was a banner week for yahoos. Viva public service.

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Categories Reference

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for: library edition

November 23, 2011 //

In case you’ve not seen Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, “I’ve got plenty to be thankful for” is the Thanksgiving number:

(click on the picture to see a video of the song)

Indeed, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for this year:

  • I finished law school in May
  • I’m still at my library, at least until the end of March, next year
  • I started doing reference, helping people in a much more direct way than before, which is totally rewarding
  • I’m meeting more lawbrary folks all the time through this blog and Twitter
  • AALL/CONELL were big successes, met a TON of people there

Still more to be done, but it’s been a big year, and for that I am terribly grateful.

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Categories Law librarianship

After you know a little more, but still aren’t quite sure where to go: Statutes at Large

October 28, 2011 //

Allow me to wax poetic on the Statutes at Large, my most favorite of all legislative history resources. Once you’ve found your public law number, get thee to the Statutes at Large to find the parallel citation and GOODIES! Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down, Perez Hilton style, with An Act to Improve the United States Code (Pub. L. 108-178).

Public laws have a parallel citation in the Statutes at Large. Be sure to note both, as well as the date, or the Bluebook Police will find you.

Unlike the U.S. Code, which is organized by topic into titles, the SAL are organized by date: a straight run through all of the laws passed, in the order that they were passed. The first number of the xxx-xxx citation corresponds with the Congress. After this law comes 108-179, 108-180, 108-181, etc. Over on the right hand side, you’ll notice the bill number, H.R. 1437. Look for bills on THOMAS (another tutorial for another post) or at FDsys (see link below); here’s H.R. 1437 for now. You’ll see Section 1 conveniently tells you the legislative intent of the act. Awesome! Also, as a short aside for folks interning on the Hill: when your Member tells you to look at x section of an Act, these are the section number they’re referring to, usually. You’re welcome.

Conveniently, SAL tells you where your act has been codified, and from time to time lists other related Pub. L. numbers. Even if it doesn’t, now you can go to the U.S. Code and check out the notes, amendments, etc.

Whoa! It’s all right there! The bill number, any hearings that might have been held, related Congressional reports and documents–House & Senate–and what volume and date to look for in the Congressional Record. Does it get any better? I think not, friends.

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Categories Law librarianship, Reference

Getting started is the hardest part: breaking into a legislative history when you’re not sure where to begin

October 22, 2011 //

Lots of things in life are hard to start: paper towel rolls, balls of yarn, pull ignition lawn mowers, solo karaoke. Starting a legislative history search can feel that way too. Not to give away the keys to the library temple or anything, but here’s a short guide on how I get started when I can’t get started. I’m using the school lunch program as an example, because it’s important.

  1. Since the school lunch program still gets talked about, first I’m going to the THOMAS Multi-Congress search. I’m searching “school lunch program” for an exact match.
  2. Whoa, there are 1994 results. I’m not going to refine, I’m going to scroll through a few to see if anything pops out. Bingo! Option #10 starts, “Whereas breakfast program participants under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966…” Maybe there’s a citation there.
  3. There was not. But, now I’m going to Google “Child Nutrition Act of 1966″ and see what happens. Hopefully I’ll find an agency website, or a lovely, well-cited Wikipedia article to get me into the U.S. Code.
  4. Hooray! The first hit was the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Program page on the program, which conveniently cites the Pubic Law numbers, dates and Statutes at Large cites.

What if it hadn’t been that easy in THOMAS? Go directly to Google/Wikipedia. Nothing credible in the wilds of the interwebz? Try a popular name table. Still nothing? Start typing the general language of the act into the full text search at HathiTrust or doing a text search at Internet Archive.

Still nothing? Ask a librarian.

Why did I stop with the Statutes at Large? Wait for the next post…

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Categories Law librarianship, Reference
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