I logged into the www.knowitnow.org site, and typed in I would like to know information about becoming a librarian and working in the field of Library Science. My question was repeated. Then I was immediately greeted by a librarian (ai.dan) who asked me to hold for a few moments while he took a look at my question. I was also told that I had connected to a 24X7 online reference service staffed with librarians all across the state.
I thanked him, and within about two minutes from the time at which I connected, I had received a link to what he said was a description of the Occupational Outlook for librarianship as a career. I clicked on the link to find a very thorough entry from the Occupational Outlook Handbook for 2010-2011. They listed information titles such as nature of the work, training, advancement, other qualifications, and earnings. There was also a link to related occupations and sources for additional information. The entry showed a comparison of earnings for different types of librarianship and included future projections from the Department of Labor.
The librarian inquired as to whether this was what I was looking for, and I agreed telling him that it was very informative. I asked if I would receive a transcript so that I could save the link and he told me that I would. He then asked if I would like some articles from the statewide databases, and I said that I would like those as well. About a minute later, I received a link for several articles, which required me to enter my zip code into the OpLIN site. I browsed through a few of them, but saw that the search had resulted in over 14,000 entries. The librarian let me know that the link would not work from the transcript, and was helpful in explaining to me what I needed to do to duplicate it. He advised me that I would need to use Masterfile Premier [oplin databases] searching the terms librarian career. He told me that he had limited the search to fulltext and January 2009 forward. The librarian further explained that I would need my library card to have access to the databases.
I thanked him again noting that he had provided great information. Just as I thought that we were finishing, he told me that I might also want to have a look at the American Library Association. He sent me the link to a specific section with tabs on Education and Careers, Scholarships, Employment, and Leadership Development. The tabs also contained subcategories of relevant information. I responded that this was excellent and the librarian ended by inquiring if this was enough to get me started. I told him that it was more than enough to get me started. I thanked him yet again, and he invited me to come back again if I needed help with another question. He thanked me for using the site, and we exchanged pleasantries before I ended the chat session. The duration of the session was about 26 minutes from start to finish. I received a transcript session via e-mail shortly afterwards. While he informed me that I would need to enter my library card information in accessing the databases, I have been able to still click directly into the link.
Directly following the chat session, I received a customer service survey, which I completed. I had to answer about my educational level prior to taking the survey.
There were four questions (paraphrased):
Would I use this service again? 1) yes 2) no 3) maybe (I answered yes)
How did you find out about our online service? 1) heard about it at school 2) found link on library website 3) heard about it at published library link at my library’s website 4) friend/relative 5) can’t remember 6) other
(I answered that I had heard about it at school)
How quickly did the librarian find information for you? 1) much faster than I expected 2) somewhat faster than I expected 3) took about as much time as I expected 4) slower than I expected
(I answered much faster)
How did you rate the service you received? Excellent, Very Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor
(I answered excellent)
The survey ended by asking for additional information, and I wrote that the librarian had been very informative.
Overall, I have to say that I was very impressed with the knowitnow.org service. Years ago I worked as a Market Research Interviewer, and I remember that we were trained to probe participants for further information (most times even to the point that they were annoyed). I appreciated that the librarian looked for more than just one source and inquired if I wanted more. He also framed the information as being a starting point. The librarian let me know what parameters that he had used for the search within the database. I also appreciated that he had used more timely information from January 2009 and forward. The entire session lasted longer than I expected but I don’t know if this might have been because I chose an odd late night/early morning hour purposefully. I had never used this service, but will now do so and encourage others to as well. I usually don’t care for surveys, but I was eager to participate in rating his assistance. I am curious to find out whether each person is administered the survey.
In contrast to the knowitnow.org service, I also created a contact entry through my Yahoo Messenger for the Kent State “Ask a Librarian” service. The librarian was courteous in his delivery, but the information provided paled in comparison to the knowitnow.org service. Our chat session lasted about five minutes. I posed the same question to the “Ask a Librarian” service, and the response I received was that I should try the American Library Association. “They have lots of information about the field and list schools that offer library science.” He then gave me the link and did not point out any specific section with topics as the knowitnow.org librarian had. I thanked him, but did not probe him for additional information. However, I also did not probe the librarian from knowitnow.org, but I still received more comprehensive information from that site.
The “Ask a Librarian” site was also poor in that the librarian did not even promote Kent State as the only Ohio school offering the MLIS! While the ALA is a great resource, that should have just been the beginning point for the search. If time were a consideration, I would venture to think that the Kent State librarian could have at least given me links to the LIS School and maybe even Wayne State in Michigan. I am so thankful for the insight provided to me with my methods of speaking with practicing librarians, attending association meetings, as well as volunteering with a library board. The knowitnow.org site provided such extensive information, which I think that I will bookmark and refer to even now as I have started the MLIS program. Even if I had not been able to speak with library professionals, the link from the Occupational Outlook Handbook via knowitnow.org site would have led me to continue on with my research such that I could have exhausted my resources in trying to fill in my information gap. I think that the “shadowing” with the library professionals in addition to the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a wonderful combination in answering my inquiry. I believe that the more suggestions that can be given, the better the outcome for someone seeking information from an information professional. Sometimes you need a little prompting in being made aware of additional angles for your subject search or question. I am glad to have found a new resource in knowitnow.org. I will, however, give the Kent State site another chance and explore similar when I’m in my local library branches.
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