Remarks by Edward Riedinger, Bibliographer, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
This was a continuation of Professor Riedinger's earlier session.
The information cycle is composed of gathering, organizing, communication, management. The cycle is dynamic - one part leads to another.
Organizing Information
Since advising resource centers generally hold less than 2000 volumes, they do not require the same degree of cataloging as a public library. Advisers must therefore concentrate on the essentials - subject, alpha organization and having the appropriate si
gns to direct students to the relevant areas.
Communication Information
Advisers need to find out what an advisee wants to know and can do this by conducting either a short or long reference interview.
A short reference interview involves a dialogue between the student and the adviser, who asks the student questions to determine the student's goals and thereby make their time in the resource center more productive.
Comments from the audience suggest that this is a problem since students may not take kindly to being asked questions and given advice.
There is also a problem of sexism - male advisees may insist on asking other male members of staff even though these may not be advisers.
Advisers were also concerned that such an in-depth initial involvement would create a dependency problem in that the student would not be prepared to pursue his/her own research. There was also concern that such an interview would lead to a life story and
thus waste the adviser's time.
A long reference interview involves user education, i.e. teaching the student how to use the facilities. If any books are particularly user-unfriendly, then the adviser should spend some time explaining the book's layout. In this way the student will heed
the adviser less in the future.
The advisers, however, were concerned that some students will not read (due to difficulties with English difficulties stubbornness). The speaker suggested using audio cassettes, although caution should be used: If you delay introducing the US way of infor
mation absorption, it will be more difficult for the students in the US. Initial information may be given in the native tongue; however it is important to provide information in English as soon as possible.
Communicating with the community:
The adviser should consider visiting high schools to spread the information.
Cuts in budget mean that there is a reliance on volunteers to help communicate the message.
Editors of student newspapers are another source of volunteers.
Managing the Information
Managing an advising center that is within an organization raises questions of personnel, budget, space and mission, etc. Space should be designed to best suit the function of the advising center, i.e. research or communication (general communication or p
rivate communication).
Information Management Flow
The advising center notes information that is useful for the parent organization. The information is then passed to the executive administration, which considers it and decides what to do with the proposal. Other departments are consulted, e.g. finance, m
aterials. A suggested use of such a flow in Fulbright offices is for the advising center to suggest new awards according to popular subjects.
Concluding remarks: Information science is now more like information
management.
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