Winter
2012
This assignment will give you practice and
experience in answering reference inquiries in a digital environment,
specifically the Internet Public Library
(IPL). In preparation for this
assignment, please read Chapter 4 of Introduction to Reference Work in the Digital Age.
You are to answer a minimum of six questions in the IPL, following
their guidelines and policies, in particular the policy on answering reference
questions and the policy on the use of licensed resources. At least one of those questions must be in
the Ready Reference category; at least one must be in the Research
category. You will receive
training on the IPL’s software, QRC, and their practice of reference
work.
You should submit print copies of the questions
and answers. (It’s a good idea to print
these as you go, since questions are often quickly archived within the system,
though they can be retrieved. Also feel
free to submit any thanks or comments you get from clients or IPL
administrators.)
For one of your questions in the Research
category, you are also to conduct another search and prepare another response, using any resources you like other than freely-available Web resources. This response is not to be sent to the
original IPL user, but should respond to the original request, and should be
phrased and presented in a similar manner.
Finally, you should compose a brief narrative
summary of your experience, giving your opinions (positive and negative),
compare your online and non-online experiences and how you think overall
reference practice will change as a result of an increasing digital presence
and focus. You should also comment on
how your abilities have improved through this experience, what you learned, and
what you believe are the areas in which you would most like to improve in your
professional practice. This narrative
might well touch on relevant professional literature or discussions, which
would help to highlight important points or provide greater depth.
Your submissions will be evaluated on the
quality of answers you provide, their conformity to IPL policies, the level of
difficulty and mix of subject areas of the questions you choose to answer, the
originality, depth of analysis and thoughtfulness of your discussion, and the
overall quality of the presentation.
The Assignment is due in class on February 28.