A Summer of Learning Through Research Guides

Research guides are a core element of many of our reference practices whether as a vehicle for asynchronous reference or a tool in synchronous reference consultations. Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber (2018) conducted a study that determined that subject guides are also one of the primary tools for librarian professional development for keeping current with their liaison areas and the resources available to support those disciplines. Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber (2018) establish the baseline through their literature review that librarians are primarily self-teaching about liaison areas and resources unless they were lucky enough to have previous coursework or degrees in or professional experience with a discipline (p.). Their literature review and study concluded with the suggestion that the profession develop more channels for librarian learning in these areas beyond subject guide.

Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber seem to agree with Berry and Reynolds’ (2001) argument that new librarians are “[…] in charge of [their] education[,]” despite the 17-year gap in the two articles (Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber, 2017, p. 32; Berry and Reynolds, p.34). This echoes much of my personal experience as an early career liaison librarian. In the spirit of Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber, I am planning to revise my research guides this summer as a method structuring my learning about the Tufts curriculum, Tisch Library’s resources, and the subject matter of my new liaison areas. However, where I plan to differ from the librarians who participated in Bagshaw and Yorke-Barber’s study is by participating in a community of learning – a number of my colleagues are undertaking similar research guide revamp projects (and therefore librarian learning projects). The driving force behind many of my colleague’s projects is a library-wide LibGuide cleanup taking place this summer. It will be exciting to be able to bounce ideas off of colleagues who are all working on similar efforts and to hear what everyone learns as they assess, maintain, and revamp guides.

Do you like to use research guide work as a tool for professional development/learning about your liaison areas? Please share your experiences in the comments!

Works Cited

Bagshaw, A., & Yorke-Barber, P. (2018). Guiding librarians: rethinking library guides as a staff development tool. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 67(1), 31-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2017.1410629.

Berry, S. S., & Reynolds, E. W. (2001). “I got the job! Now what do I do?:” A practical guide for new
reference librarians. The Reference Librarian, 34(72), 33–42. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.tufts.edu/10.1300/J120v34n72_04.