[ILL-L] Cost per hour

[Robinson, Arthur]

This is what I do, too.  Unfortunately, I'm the entire Reference Department (as well as the Interlibrary Loan Department), so passing the buck doesn't save me as much tiem as I'd like.
 
I too am frustrated by the expectation of some students and faculty that we'll do all their research for them.  (I even had a student who submitted an ILL form on which he had written nothing but his name and his research topic; he hadn;t looked for anything in our library--he thought I'd find and order any books and articles he'd need.  I suspect that he would then have asked me to write his paper for him.)   
 
I offer to show patrons how to use the online catalog, databases, etc. to find what they need, and will work with them a while to get them started; but I consider my job (as reference librarian) is to show them how to fish, not to provide them with a lifetime supply of free fish.  That isn't always how the patrons see things.  (I'm tempted to give an example that came up yesterday, but I'd better not.) 
 
Arthur Robinson (GLG)

________________________________

From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org on behalf of Sara Fitzpatrick
Sent: Tue 8/11/2009 4:16 PM
To: 'Interlibrary Loan Listserv'
Subject: RE: [ILL-L] Cost per hour



If we receive requests that require research, we refer the patron to our Reference Department for assistance with their research.

 

Sara Fitzpatrick

Interlibrary Loan Coordinator

Webster University Library

Eden-Webster Library System (ELW)

Phone 314-246-7807

Fax 314-968-7113

ill at webster.edu

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 5394 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/ill-l/attachments/20090811/18abd7f8/attachment.bin