Welcome to LIBR-210

Welcome Back!

Last semester, I created this blog to use as a platform for discussion in my LIBR-240 class. While it was a challenging, fun experience, alas all good things must come to an end. I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn more programming and have Perl on the horizon for the summer.

That said, this semester, Stuck in the Stacks switches focus and will be taking a closer look at reference materials. Specifically exploring different types of reference materials, best practices for assisting library patrons with reference questions, and ultimately concluding the course by creating a pathfinder for finding reference materials on a specific subject at a local library.

Currently, the class has been divided into teams which will each give a presentation on a specific type of reference sources. Joining me on the blog for our project on biographical resources are Evelyn Bruneau and Jennifer Barton. The goal of this assignment is to familiarize ourselves with these sources and also further our skills as instructors.

After a brief Elluminate meeting last Wednesday, we split up the list of major biographical resources among the team members and agreed to meet again this week to track progress and share some of the information uncovered in our separate research sessions. Evelyn will be tackling some of the resources for current biographical information, i.e. Who’s Who in America, Jennifer will be taking a look at some of the more retrospective sources, i.e. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and I will be taking a look at what is widely available online and through the SJSU portal, including www.biography.com and The Biography Resource Center. Together, we will be sharing our findings with our LIBR-210 class on July 11, 2009.

Don’t worry though if you’d like to see our presentation and you’re not our classmate. Thanks to Slideshare, it will be available for view on Stuck in the Stacks shortly after it is presented.

Cheers, Christina (Neen)