Log 13: Access Services, shadowing reference desk, and examples of Lib Answers in the project LibAnswers Part 1-Virtual Ref Questions
Updated: Jul 19, 2024
June 28 UTEP Library
Access Services
TiJeat Berry;
Intern Supervisor Joy Urbina, Project Supervisor Les Arms
LibAnswers is where students, faculty, and community users can send questions to the Reference and Instruction department for general answers, and research assistance. I began a project two day project called LibAnswers Part 1 - Virtual Ref Questions where I answered sample user questions about how to use databases, filter searches, and look for journals and articles.
Question 1 Good morning I am trying to find a journal on a specific drug called chloroform. (asked by email)
There was no direct answer to this question and the first indication should have been to clarify if the question was referring to a journal about chloroform or a journal article. I did get off track with my answer because I could not find any journals on chloroform, but did find journals on anesthesia and thought these would be satisfactory. It was pointed out that my answer to the question was too long and involved and that everything I had written would not be read by the information seeker. It was at that time, that I re-read the question and realized that journals on anesthesia did not answer the initial question.
The Student Success Librarian told me that the way to handle this question was to have them clarify exactly what they were looking for and provide some examples of the works I had found on chloroform and if these met their criteria. My final answer submission can be found below.
I also included instructions on how to use some of the databases that deal with the medical field. UTEP's medical departments are for nursing and pharmacy; the following is one of eighty-one nursing databases CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature) (EBSCO)
While answering this question I also observed two of the librarians answering reference questions by phone. The caller was a community user who asked general questions related to small tidbits of information on the following topics:
1. Hours of operation for next week
2. Birth place of Kamala Harris
3. Previous titles held by Kamala Harris
4. Books on incest
5. Church attendance in Ireland
6. Church attendance in Ireland 1975 vs. 2020
7. Northern Ireland church attendance
8. Church attendance in Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia
In some certain instances the staff will get calls like this where all they need to do is a Google search, but during the fall or spring semesters some questions are more in depth and related to extensive research. Each specialty librarian has access to the same kinds of questions during their time assigned to LibAnswers. Jennifer is a subject specialist librarian covering: Border Studies, Chicano Studies, Counseling, Special Education, Education, Educational Leadership, Educational Psychology, History, Humanities, Information Literacy, Jewish Studies, Kinesiology, Latin American & Border Studies, Native American & Indigenous Studies, Teacher Education, Undergraduate Studies, UNIV 1301 . She stated that the goal is to provide a jumping off point for the person seeking assistance. Furthermore she explained there are times when the individual is not able to answer the question due to the discipline and they will either transfer the question to a librarian who specializes in that specialty, or direct them to the databases that deal with that discipline.
Question 2 Hi, how do I filter a search by an author? I am looking for Albert Camus's essay, "Reflections on Melville" (asked by email)
This question took some time as well as I looked for information on Albert Camus and "Reflections on Melville" and both terms together. MinersQuest had nothing on "Reflections on Melville" but did have a few works by Albert Camus. Going to Google, "Reflections on Melville" only brought up an exhibit, and other works and commentaries on Herman Melville with no connection to Camus.
Different search terms in Google, MinerQuest, and different databases:
Herman Melville | "Reflections on Melville" | Albert Camus, "Reflections on Melville" |
library of congress "herman melville | Albert Camus, Herman Melville | Works by Albert Camus/Essays by Albert Camus |
Youthful Writers | Britannica | |
Lyrical and Critical Essays | Albert Camus on Biblio | Internet Archive |
The Rebel | Ellen Conroy Kennedy | "Herman Melville" 1952 |
One search revealed Google Groups https://groups.google.com/g/ishmailites/c/obcXrzqjwT0
which details that the essay Camus wrote was titled "Herman Melville" and it was released in 1952, English translation by Ellen Conroy Kennedy.
I tried to determine if the essay was in one of the works edited by Ellen Conroy Kennedy, but was unable to get any answers from book review sites, databases, MinerQuest, Google Books, came the closest with a table of contents for Youthful Writings at Internet Archive.
but not for Lyrical and Critical Essays. That the book was in the UTEP catalog I settled on going to the stacks and looking in the physical book where I found that the we did have the essay.
For another question, I missed that the user mentioned that he was an undergraduate, and I provided redundant information that did not have to do with his classification. From this question about why an undergraduate student could not get access to a database, I learned about Proxy links and VPNs, and how Proxy links limit off site access to databases to 20-30 mins.
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