In my mind, there are two Johannah Sherrers: one is the paper Johannah that you would know from reading her vita; the other is the personal Johannah that you would know if she…
Abstract
In my mind, there are two Johannah Sherrers: one is the paper Johannah that you would know from reading her vita; the other is the personal Johannah that you would know if she were your colleague, your mentor, or your friend. I’d like to examine briefly both of these Johannahs.
The Johannah Sherrer Memorial Lecture in Library Service was established in 1999 at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, to commemorate the contributions and legacies of a…
Abstract
The Johannah Sherrer Memorial Lecture in Library Service was established in 1999 at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, to commemorate the contributions and legacies of a respected friend, colleague, and champion of service. Johannah Sherrer (1947–1998) served as Director of the Aubrey R. Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College from July 1993 to September 1998 when she passed away following a gallant battle with melanoma. Previous Sherrer Lecture presenters have been: 1999 – Walt Crawford, “Service in a Complex Future”; 2000 – Jerry D. Campbell, “The Fate of Service in an Increasingly Digital and Commercial World”; 2001 – Elizabeth A. Dupuis, “The Importance of Being Learned”; 2002 – Joan K. Lippincott, “Service in a Collaborative Way.”
There is a plaque on the wall near the reference desk in the Aubrey R. Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College where Johannah Sherrer served as library director from 1993 to 1998…
Abstract
There is a plaque on the wall near the reference desk in the Aubrey R. Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College where Johannah Sherrer served as library director from 1993 to 1998. It reads, “In Memory of Johannah Sherrer.” I always imagine that Johannah is watching over us as we staff the desk, answer questions, and provide service. For in addition to being a library director, Johannah was a reference librarian par excellence. She not only knew her stuff, but she also had a way with people, a way of engaging them and showing that she really cared about them and their needs. She would go the extra mile to find the answer to a tough question, and she instilled her service values in her staff.
In reflecting on the theme of “The Changing Face of Service,” I considered service in a broad context – not just in libraries, not confined to the academy, not focusing on…
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In reflecting on the theme of “The Changing Face of Service,” I considered service in a broad context – not just in libraries, not confined to the academy, not focusing on scholarly publishing. Instead, I gave some thought as to how our views and expectations of service are shaped throughout our daily experiences, and how we might compare and contrast service as framed in different contexts. When should we expect it? How do we measure service (indeed, do we?)? When should we demand it?
Discusses the implications of the ever‐changing technological world on the delivery of reference services. Reframes reference service in terms of staff competences, changing…
Abstract
Discusses the implications of the ever‐changing technological world on the delivery of reference services. Reframes reference service in terms of staff competences, changing service demands, and technological advances. Urges library organizations to seek solutions through staff development and by developing a firm commitment to service on the users’ terms.
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Putting together a volume of Advances is an interesting effort that combines a little planning and a lot of serendipity. In the years that we have been editing this annual, Ed…
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Putting together a volume of Advances is an interesting effort that combines a little planning and a lot of serendipity. In the years that we have been editing this annual, Ed Garten and I have spent considerable time searching through tools like Dissertation Abstracts for research studies of interest, tracking people who are doing interesting work, and commissioning articles in contemporary areas of interest. But, as often as not, some of the best of our articles have come about as a result of a chance meeting at a conference, a consulting gig, a conversation with a colleague, or some other happenstance. The papers included here are no different, reflecting both heavy scholarship and more practical information about how we as a profession administer our libraries, the programs we offer, and the work we do. As in past volumes, the context is international in scope, and the strength of the volume may be that it reinforces the idea that, while libraries (and other organizations) in Sweden, Thailand, Canada, South Africa and the United States are very different, the challenges faced and techniques used by managers are not. As a result, we the editors present these articles to you in hopes that they provide some grist for the mill as you try to bring order to your part of the world.
It all began a very long time ago, sometime before 1876, that annus mirabilis of librarianship during which the American Library Association was founded, Library Journal debuted…
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It all began a very long time ago, sometime before 1876, that annus mirabilis of librarianship during which the American Library Association was founded, Library Journal debuted, and Samuel Green published in its pages the first article about reference librarianship. And it continues today. In April 1994, an unidentified library school student from the State University of New York at Buffalo queried the participants of the LIBREFL listserv, asking them, “Can you give a summary of the ‘hot’ library reference issues of the week? I'm working on a project for my Reference course, and would like to find out what is REALLY vital to refernce (sic) librarians out there today.” I was tempted to reply that all of that week's “hot” issues were identified in Green's 1876 article. In that article describing the phenomenon we today call reference service, Green touched on issues such as the librarian's obligation to provide information without injecting personal values, the inability of any librarian to know everything, the need sometimes to refer a patron to another information agency, SDI services, the value of proactive rather than passive service, the challenges of the reference interview, and, of course, what has come to be called the “information versus instruction debate.”