Comments on: Office Hours?! http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/ Blogging by and for academic and research librarians Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:32:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: A Personal Touch http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-170364 A Personal Touch Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:02:31 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-170364 [...] to students at academic libraries over the past few years. Some libraries are experimenting with librarian office hours; sometimes they’re held in the library, and sometimes a subject librarian will offer [...] [...] to students at academic libraries over the past few years. Some libraries are experimenting with librarian office hours; sometimes they’re held in the library, and sometimes a subject librarian will offer [...]

]]> By: Office Hours « @ the library http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-104569 Office Hours « @ the library Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:06:57 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-104569 [...] will be sending around this post because we are thinking about doing this as a compromise solution. http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/ According to the post and the comments, the librarians in question actually had very few official [...] [...] will be sending around this post because we are thinking about doing this as a compromise solution. http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/ According to the post and the comments, the librarians in question actually had very few official [...]

]]> By: What’s in a Name? http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-99372 What’s in a Name? Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:48:22 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-99372 [...] started thinking about this today as I sat in the communication sciences building, back at my office hour.  I’m sharing the closet office with two undergraduate advisors, and our three name tags [...] [...] started thinking about this today as I sat in the communication sciences building, back at my office hour.  I’m sharing the closet office with two undergraduate advisors, and our three name tags [...]

]]> By: Office Hours « @ the library http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-85159 Office Hours « @ the library Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:02:09 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-85159 [...] http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/ [...] [...] http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/ [...]

]]> By: Randy Reichardt http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-82423 Randy Reichardt Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:13:45 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-82423 .: During fall and winter term, I maintain "office hours" in the University of Alberta's Department of Mechanical Engineering, every Thursday from 12:00-14:00. I have offered the service since Sept 2006, and it has been received quite well. I document each two-hour session on my library's intranet-based blog. One of the benefits has been that over the two year period, many professors have stopped by to chat, and in many cases this would lead to research and information questions. In one case, a discussion with a professor resulted in him inviting me to speak to his class each term. While the service, called "Librarian in Residence", has been designed for faculty and graduate students, undergraduate students are also welcome to come by, and many of the students working in the mechanical engineering design courses do stop by to consult, usually in groups of 2-4 students. Fortunately, the room I am in is the Mech Eng conference room, and has an overhead projector, which allows for an easy consultation with a group - they can watch the screen rather than hunch together over a small laptop. The engineers are very supportive of this service, and a small number of them wait for me to appear each Thursday, and at that time bring any questions or concerns to my attention. The service is valuable on many levels, not the least of which is that in being Librarians On Site, we bring the library and its services to where our users live - in their departments. That we are made to feel so welcome, and as collaborators, speaks to the importance of what we do. .: During fall and winter term, I maintain “office hours” in the University of Alberta’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, every Thursday from 12:00-14:00. I have offered the service since Sept 2006, and it has been received quite well. I document each two-hour session on my library’s intranet-based blog. One of the benefits has been that over the two year period, many professors have stopped by to chat, and in many cases this would lead to research and information questions. In one case, a discussion with a professor resulted in him inviting me to speak to his class each term.

While the service, called “Librarian in Residence”, has been designed for faculty and graduate students, undergraduate students are also welcome to come by, and many of the students working in the mechanical engineering design courses do stop by to consult, usually in groups of 2-4 students. Fortunately, the room I am in is the Mech Eng conference room, and has an overhead projector, which allows for an easy consultation with a group – they can watch the screen rather than hunch together over a small laptop.

The engineers are very supportive of this service, and a small number of them wait for me to appear each Thursday, and at that time bring any questions or concerns to my attention.

The service is valuable on many levels, not the least of which is that in being Librarians On Site, we bring the library and its services to where our users live – in their departments. That we are made to feel so welcome, and as collaborators, speaks to the importance of what we do.

]]> By: Rob Sloan http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-82236 Rob Sloan Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:26:25 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-82236 I work at St. Mary's College of Maryland, a small public liberal arts college, and my experience is comparable to some of those described by others. I am the liaison for departments in science, math, and computer science. For a number of semesters (with a couple of missed semesters) I have had an "office hour" each week during the semester in a conference room located in what was our only science building (a second adjacent building recently opened that now houses the chemistry department) across from the departmental office associate offices. While I have also had relatively few formal extended reference sessions, the value of interacting with faculty and being seen outside the context of the library by students and faculty has to my mind proven extremely valuable. Since the conference room obviously serves other purposes, on occasion students are in the room studying, and faculty stop in to converse. One ground rule for my using the room is that I know that I can be "bumped" should the room be needed by any of the departmental faculty - most often that occurs at the end of the semester when the room is scheduled for student presentations. Now that the chemistry department has moved, I'm not sure what impact will be, but overall I think this is something worth continuing. I've also considered trying the same kind of thing at our athletic center, as there is a conference room near the primary entrance, and I expect that as I am a frequent user of the gym who the students know or recognize, that some students who don't frequent the library might be more likely to work with me there. I work at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a small public liberal arts college, and my experience is comparable to some of those described by others. I am the liaison for departments in science, math, and computer science. For a number of semesters (with a couple of missed semesters) I have had an “office hour” each week during the semester in a conference room located in what was our only science building (a second adjacent building recently opened that now houses the chemistry department) across from the departmental office associate offices. While I have also had relatively few formal extended reference sessions, the value of interacting with faculty and being seen outside the context of the library by students and faculty has to my mind proven extremely valuable. Since the conference room obviously serves other purposes, on occasion students are in the room studying, and faculty stop in to converse. One ground rule for my using the room is that I know that I can be “bumped” should the room be needed by any of the departmental faculty – most often that occurs at the end of the semester when the room is scheduled for student presentations. Now that the chemistry department has moved, I’m not sure what impact will be, but overall I think this is something worth continuing. I’ve also considered trying the same kind of thing at our athletic center, as there is a conference room near the primary entrance, and I expect that as I am a frequent user of the gym who the students know or recognize, that some students who don’t frequent the library might be more likely to work with me there.

]]> By: Joel http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-82159 Joel Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:33:01 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-82159 I can appreciate what Ms. Brown went through and is excited about. For the past several years I have conducted an “office hour” per se in the graduate computer lab of the History Dept. at Texas A&M University. While I have never been overwhelmed with people needing assistance, sometimes just being visible, personable, and “in-the-flesh” is a real help. I would suggest giving it a couple of years before declaring it a complete success/failure. As with all services, it takes that long for the awareness to permeate through and folks to realize “yes, this is real; I am here for a reason, and that is to help you.” When some “life issues” about a year ago prevented me from holding these hours regularly, the students were understanding, but they noticed and missed when I was not there. They do know that they can always schedule an appointment to meet with me at a more convenient time and place if needed, but the office hour assures them that they can find me at a set day, time, and place for research/library support. On a related note, since I arrived at Texas A&M in 1997, I have made it a habit to get out of the Library and cruise the halls of the History Dept. frequently. I will often take advantage of faculty members’ office hours to clue them in on new resources and services that would be of special interest to them. Is it efficient? Not at all, an email blast to the entire department would be faster, but sometimes a face-to-face meeting builds a lot more trust and goodwill. I have answered numerous questions, shown countless tips and tricks on navigating the Library’s websites, and developed a very close working relationship with a number of them that have translated into more library instruction sessions and in-depth research consultations than I can count. Often when I knock on their door, the first words out of their mouth are, “I was just thinking about you!” I try not to be a pest and if they have other more pressing matters, I will respect their time. But I believe getting out of the building and meeting with a major library user population on their “turf” is a fantastic way to understand their library resource (materials, services, etc.) needs. Cheers! I can appreciate what Ms. Brown went through and is excited about. For the past several years I have conducted an “office hour” per se in the graduate computer lab of the History Dept. at Texas A&M University. While I have never been overwhelmed with people needing assistance, sometimes just being visible, personable, and “in-the-flesh” is a real help. I would suggest giving it a couple of years before declaring it a complete success/failure. As with all services, it takes that long for the awareness to permeate through and folks to realize “yes, this is real; I am here for a reason, and that is to help you.”

When some “life issues” about a year ago prevented me from holding these hours regularly, the students were understanding, but they noticed and missed when I was not there. They do know that they can always schedule an appointment to meet with me at a more convenient time and place if needed, but the office hour assures them that they can find me at a set day, time, and place for research/library support.

On a related note, since I arrived at Texas A&M in 1997, I have made it a habit to get out of the Library and cruise the halls of the History Dept. frequently. I will often take advantage of faculty members’ office hours to clue them in on new resources and services that would be of special interest to them. Is it efficient? Not at all, an email blast to the entire department would be faster, but sometimes a face-to-face meeting builds a lot more trust and goodwill. I have answered numerous questions, shown countless tips and tricks on navigating the Library’s websites, and developed a very close working relationship with a number of them that have translated into more library instruction sessions and in-depth research consultations than I can count. Often when I knock on their door, the first words out of their mouth are, “I was just thinking about you!” I try not to be a pest and if they have other more pressing matters, I will respect their time. But I believe getting out of the building and meeting with a major library user population on their “turf” is a fantastic way to understand their library resource (materials, services, etc.) needs.

Cheers!

]]> By: Leslie http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-81926 Leslie Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:53:16 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-81926 Several years ago when I was a business librarian I held office hours in the College of Business and most of my interactions were on the casual nature, just a few scheduled appts. But I would deem it a success because I would prowl the halls and get pulled into offices by faculty who just had a quick question or comment. They even started including me in college meetings and events. They felt like I was "their" librarian. I managed to get my foot in the door in several classes by offering to drop in and introduce myself to the students at the start of their classes. At the end of my time there they had started an electronic newsletter and asked me to be a regular contributor. All in all a success! Several years ago when I was a business librarian I held office hours in the College of Business and most of my interactions were on the casual nature, just a few scheduled appts. But I would deem it a success because I would prowl the halls and get pulled into offices by faculty who just had a quick question or comment. They even started including me in college meetings and events. They felt like I was “their” librarian. I managed to get my foot in the door in several classes by offering to drop in and introduce myself to the students at the start of their classes. At the end of my time there they had started an electronic newsletter and asked me to be a regular contributor. All in all a success!

]]> By: Chris http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-81913 Chris Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:03:25 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-81913 The comment about VA Tech is right on - I co-produced (wrote? created?) a poster session on our program here with the Education Librarian, and IIRC from our research the VA Tech program was started in 1996. Unsurprisingly, the pros and cons my colleague and I identified were pretty much exactly the same as VT's. The comment about VA Tech is right on – I co-produced (wrote? created?) a poster session on our program here with the Education Librarian, and IIRC from our research the VA Tech program was started in 1996. Unsurprisingly, the pros and cons my colleague and I identified were pretty much exactly the same as VT’s.

]]> By: Lisa Allen http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/comment-page-1/#comment-81904 Lisa Allen Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:14:50 +0000 http://acrlog.org/?p=810#comment-81904 Erin, You may be interested to know that VA Tech was a pioneer in this area (based on what I've read) ... they have a program called the College Librarian Program. There have been a few articles published on their program's successes and what they've learned, which you may want to look into. Although VA Tech has a much larger staff to implement such a program, I think their "lessons learned" are relevant for any academic library considering this model. Erin,
You may be interested to know that VA Tech was a pioneer in this area (based on what I’ve read) … they have a program called the College Librarian Program. There have been a few articles published on their program’s successes and what they’ve learned, which you may want to look into. Although VA Tech has a much larger staff to implement such a program, I think their “lessons learned” are relevant for any academic library considering this model.

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