Ed2go has a new name: Learn4Life. I have already updated it on the Research page and added Learn4Life (under same subject categories). Good news: Ed2Go will remove the passcode requests. Learn4Life is designed for public library customers and will only require a valid library card to register for classes. Patrons can now register for up to 5 courses per calendar year. Students who have enrolled in a course must log in and view lessons one and two by the Tuesday two weeks after the start date of the course, or they will be automatically dropped. Students who are dropped from a course will be able to enroll in the course during a later session. This information is clearly stated on the Learn4Life welcome page.
Learn4Life Tips: if you've never taken a Learn4Life course, enter email in the New Student area and create account. Payment Options is where you type the library card number to register for a course. Remember all courses are six weeks long and new sessions begin every month. Course is available 3 weeks after the final exam is submitted. Learn4Life also sends out email reminders about a course's end date.
Should you encounter any problems, please email Marianne Lorio.
Saima
HPL Central Library
5 Letters to a Young Librarian by Jessica Olin /
Source
Lately, I've been thinking about how to capture statistics in the library, and though that might seem a simple topic, it's actually left me asking more questions than answering them. For instance, here's a question I never thought I'd ask: "what is a reference question?" I always thought this was such a simple thing, after all I took multiple semesters of reference and advanced reference classes during my first graduate program. However, despite my recent efforts, I've yet to be able to define "reference question" to my own satisfaction. Turns out, it's not so straightforward after all.
Here are my thoughts so far:
- Spelling, grammar, and citation questions are not reference questions. Even if I get all pedagogical on the patron and show him/her instead of just telling him/her how to format the citation, even if I end up spending 10 minutes in the process, these are too basic to count as reference questions.
- Purely directional questions are also not reference questions. This isn't contentious when it comes to "Where's the bathroom?" type questions, but I know some people would disagree with me when I insist that something like "Where do I find 809.93372 Man?" doesn't count as a reference question, either.
- Questions about the library can go either way. "When is the next Microsoft Word workshop?" isn't a reference question, but "Who were the first librarians at this college?" is.
- Directional questions can be reference questions in disguise. An example from my own experience is the time "Where do you keep the New York Times?" turned out to be an in-depth quest for reviews of horror movies from the late 1950s and early 1960s.
So I'm sure we can all agree that "Where is the public meeting room?" isn't a reference question. I'm also sure we can all agree that "I need information about Great Britain during Shakespeare's lifetime." is. Between those is a bit fuzzier.
So what do you all think?
