I love the article Susan found on practical advice for new reference providers. Here is their mnenomic for remembering the Library of Congress Classification
A=Anything (general works, encyclopedias, almanacs)
B=Bible (religion, psychology, supernatural, philosophy)
C=Classical Stuff (auxiliary sciences of history such as classics, archaeology,
genealogy, heraldry, archival science, civilization, biography)
D=Datelines (history of Europe, Asia, Africa, Gypsies)
E=E Pluribus Unum (general U.S. history)
F=For every other kind of history (history of U.S. localities, Canada, and Latin America)
G=Geography (atlases, anthropology, fashion, costume, human culture, holidays, sports)
H=How Society Works (sociology, social statistics, social work,
criminal justice, women’s studies, social pathology, social classes)
J=Jurisdictions (political science and government)
K=Kourts (Law)
L=Learning (preschool-college education)
M=Music
N=Fine Arts (artists, painting, drawing, architecture, pottery, antiques, handicrafts)
P=Poetry and Stuff (language and literature)
Q=Quest for Knowledge (hard sciences)
R= Rx (medicine)
S=Seeds (agriculture)
T=Technology
U=Uniforms (army, air force)
V=Voyages (navy, marines, coast guard, shipping)
Z=Bibliographies and Librarianship

To GAA’s: while you’re working an evening shift, if a patron advises that a “Storage” map is being held for them, here’s what to do:
1. retrieve the map from the Storage Hold area behind the curved grey counter just beyond the Quick Ref. / Microform Ref. stacks. Maps that have been brought in from remote storage are kept here for patrons under a sign which reads ” Staff Area. Maps are not self-serve.”
2. Note that the map or map tube has a beige form attached to it containing the patron’s name, etc. and a description of the map(s). Remove the form and follow the simple instructions on the back (top portion only).
This process refers only to maps which have already been retrieved from storage. Requesting a map from storage is a different function which will be described in the Nov. 2 Map Ref. Review session.

Just discovered a neat article with practical ref desk tips for GAAs and other new reference providers. On Kimberley’s suggestion, I’m posting to the blog as well as the GAA list. The citation is:
Spencer, D. B., et. al., Striving for Success: Practical Advice for Reference Graduate Assistants (and Other New Reference Providers). The Southeastern Librarian v. 53 no. 1 (Spring 2005) p. 26-34 (available online)
One of the tips I liked:
Make a list of “magic” words:
GAAs and new librarians sometimes “feel like magicians trying to pull information out of a hat, particularly when searching OPACs for specific types of information such as primary sources, literary criticism, pictures, or speeches.” Compile a list of these “magic words” and synonyms that can be used as keywords to get you to the appropriate subject headings.
For example:

Anyone else? Add your comments here – I’ll compile them and make a list for the desk.

From Kerry: By the end of Friday Oct 20 we were at JX 1901. We’ve almost reached the end of the swing space and it should be full within a day or two. We hope to begin the real move sometime this week.

Biology 140 students have started coming to the desk looking for help with the microform collection. They are looking for information on specific microplankton (?) but I have only found relevant information when searching under the family name “copepod”. Two books of note in the Woodward Reserve collection: The Biology of a Marine Copepod, and Copepod Evolution.

The students in the CAP (Coordinated Arts Program) program, and a section of Poli Sci 101 (Paul Kopas’s class), have 4 drop-in sessions scheduled for them in K217 to get individual help with their term paper assignments. Please encourage students to drop into these sessions for more help. The CAP program covers English, Poli Sci, Geography, Sociology, Econ, Psych, and more. Kimberley, Sheryl, and I are planning to be at these sessions, but any other librarians who want to drop in to help students will be most welcomed!
Tue 24 Oct 2006 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Wed 25 Oct 2006 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Thu 02 Nov 2006 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Fri 03 Nov 2006 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
For the Poli Sci 100 section of CAP, and Paul Kopas’s Poli Sci 101 class, I have created wikis with the assignments, sources, and more. Please also encourage the students to start there, and check the wikis for the actual assignment if the students don’t have it with them when they come to the desk.

Anth 317 (Linguistic Anthropology) students are working on a term paper which requires them to describe and analyze the use of language in a cultural context. This broad framework means they can write on a particular set of terminology in one or more languages (colour terms, kinship) or language use in a specific culture or subculture such as gender differences in language, Queer language, slang, politeness in language, etc, etc, etc.
A number of databases cover these topics. You certainly don’t want to miss LLBA (Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts) and Anthropology Plus. And don’t forget about Communication and Mass Media Complete if their topic has to do with language in the media, advertising, etc.
If they are lost, then the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences is a great starting point with entries on Politeness and Language, Language and Social Class, Language and Gender, Discourse and Identity among many others.
Links to all of these sources can be found on the online course page.

As of Monday October 16th, journals to F5500 have been moved to the swing space.

The GAAs, along with Kimberley and Ellen, had a review session on Thursday to go over any questions or concerns regarding journals and microforms. We thought it would be useful to post the main points of the discussion here for anyone who didn’t make it, and also with the idea that other Koerner staff might like to throw in a suggestion or make a comment.
First up, we discussed the need for GAAs to be trained on using the microform scanners. Some of us working at
night have been asked to help with the scanners, and we’re not always comfortable turning people away, particulary if it’s not very busy on the desk. This may change as we get further into the term and discover how busy it can get! We talked about the pros and cons of providing this service (scanning being complicated and time-consuming). We left it that Kimberley would raise the question with Margaret and Dorothy.
Next, we talked in brief about the microlog collection. These are the microfiche produced by the Canadian Research Index, and contain research, reports, etc from all levels of government. Thankfully, they are ALL individually catalogued. Ellen made the point that many of these same reports are available online, from 1999 to present. She suggested searching the catalogue for the title of a report, then using Google to locate it online in a PDF. Patrons usually LOVE this.
We then briefly looked at locating dissertations and theses. A good starting point is of course the Quick Start Guide off the branch homepage (Theses and Dissertations- FAQs). All UBC dissertations (but NOT theses) from 1997 are indexed in Proquest Dissertations and Theses- Full text. This is perhaps the best place to start looking. Canadian theses and dissertations from 1998-2002 are also available from the Theses Canada Portal. Most UBC theses and dissertations are in the library catalogue, and available in microfiche in their respective branch library. Print versions (pre-1991) are housed in both Rare Books and Special Collections, and their respective branch librrary.
Next we turned to some specific questions regarding ejournals/journals, with Ellen re-capping what we talked about in training. Most of us are finding the information maintained by Serials Solution to be current and helpful; we looked at a couple of specifice instances where there were glitches, particularly with E-link. One important note: the information page for an ejournal also contains a link to the print holdings, something that is sometimes confusing to users, and we looked at examples of where there were two or three links to print holdings. Best to check these as they specify a particular format (ie, micoform) or location. Also, be aware of the useful subject search from the ejournals page; users can now browse ejournals by subject area.
There have been some requests for “RG10” materials. These are government publications from the department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Some of this material is is tricky to find, and Ellen encouraged us to refer these questions to Mary or Patrick.
Lastly, Ellen reminded us of the Ulrich’s link on the ejournal’s page- useful for verifying whether that particular journal is peer-reviewed or not. This is a good tip to pass on to students.
That’s all we had time for. Bring your questions to the next session, scheduled for next Thursday October 19th, 12:15 to 1:15.

Students in Anth 232, Ancient Latin America, have started to come to the desk looking for help with their Annotated Bibliography assignment for which they need to find (and annotate) three scholarly journal articles about a single topic in Latin American (Mesoamerican) archaeology. They can also use an individual chapter from an edited book. The online course page has links to the assignment with suggestions for topics and a partial list of scholarly journals with Latin American archaeology content, plus another page with sample annotations. If they have trouble finding a topic, direct them to Koerner Ref F1219 where they will find a number of encylopedias on ancient Latin America to get them started.
I’ve placed a copy of the assignment sheet in the Class Assignments binder under the ref. desk.