May Exemplary Reference Awards

August 20, 2009 by Diana
Filed under News & Announcements

The Quality Assurance Workgroup has been hard at work and has awarded the following transcripts for May 2009 Exemplary Reference Awards of the Month. Transcripts were awarded in three categories: Best Detailed Chat, Best Brief Chat, and Best Teaching Chat.

Debra Bogart from Keiser University will receive a gift card to Amazon.com for her Exemplary Detailed Chat and all three winners will receive a certificate at a presentation at this next year’s annual Florida Library Association Conference.

Exemplary Brief Chat: Jaime Goldman, Ask a Librarian Intern.
Jaime’s session contained so much information and interaction into only about 10 minutes that, we had to re-verify it was only a brief chat and not a detailed session. Jaime continually chatted with the patron to ensure they were following along and understood. Directions on page navigation were clear and concise. Jaime broke her dialogue up into smaller bits, to keep the reader from waiting and getting overwhelmed with a huge block of text. Personable, professional, well searched, and perfectly communicated. A true exemplar!

Exemplary Detailed Chat: Debra Bogart, Keiser University.
Debra conducted a good reference interview with a patron who provided sketchy information on what they were looking for. She used great detective work to track down a very old journal article from 1969. During the chat, Debra kept the patron informed on what she was doing and where she was searching. Debra then located a library convenient for the patron to visit and even told her where in the library she would find the periodicals section. Debra concluded the chat with a discussion on using worldcat.org and the patron’s library catalog to find resources in the future.

Exemplary Teaching Chat: Laurie Bates, Sarasota County.
Good reference interview with a student. Laurie did a great job helping the student learn more about the topic. She took the student to the home library website and introduced the student to the library’s databases. Laurie instructed the student on how to navigate the website, find the appropriate database, how to start a search, and how to interpret the information. The student left the session confident of having more than enough information and new tools to get started.

Congrats to all the winners!!

Other’s nominated this month are below – there session’s were also great and are viewable in the Ask a Librarian Toolbox.

Detailed Nominees: Bebe Chang, Broward County Library. Kira Smith, Ask a Librarian Intern. Jaime Goldman, Ask a Librarian Intern. Laura Welch, Ask a Librarian Intern. Nicole Heintzelman, Winter Park Public Library. Paul Fahle, Tampa-Hillsborough County. Paula McCahon, Marion County Public. Salena Coller, American InterContinental University. Vicki Flora, Pinellas Park Public Library.

Brief Nominees: Ann Lindell, University of Florida. Jennifer Kepple, Ft. Walton Beach Public. Kristin Corbin, Suwannee River Regional Library. Lori Hansen , Lee County. Rose Taylor, Manatee County. Carla Clark, Miami Dade College. Carlos Pedemonte, Tampa-Hillsborough County. Sally Bissell, Lee County. Susan Smith, Hodges University. Susan Weiss, Florida International University.

Teaching Nominees: Christina Hastie , Daytona State College. Kira Smith, Ask a Librarian Intern. Laura Welch, Ask a Librarian Intern. Melinda Gottesman, University of Central Florida. Owen Adams, Northwest Florida State College. Renee Patterson, Ask a Librarian Intern. Rhonda Kitchens, State College of Florida- Sarasota – Manatee. Richard Llwell, Nova Southeastern University. Salena Coller, American InterContinental University.

Don’t forget to nominate your sessions for the Summer and now via the Ask a Librarian toolbox or at the end of your session.

Exemplary Brief Chat: Jaimie Goldman, Ask a Librarian Intern.

Jaime’s session contained so much information and interaction into only about 10 minutes that, we had to re-verify it was only a brief chat and not a detailed session. Jaime continually chatted with the patron to ensure they were following along and understood. Directions on page navigation were clear and concise. Jaime broke her dialogue up into smaller bits, to keep the reader from waiting and getting overwhelmed with a huge block of text. Personable, professional, well searched, and perfectly communicated. A true exemplar!

Exemplary Detailed Chat: Debra Bogart, Keiser University.

Debra conducted a good reference interview with a patron who provided sketchy information on what they were looking for. She used great detective work to track down a very old journal article from 1969. During the chat, Debra kept the patron informed on what she was doing and where she was searching. Debra then located a library convenient for the patron to visit and even told her where in the library she would find the periodicals section. Debra concluded the chat with a discussion on using worldcat.org and the patron’s library catalog to find resources in the future.

Exemplary Teaching Chat: Laurie Bates, Sarasota County.

Good reference interview with a student. Laurie did a great job helping the student learn more about the topic. She took the student to the home library website and introduced the student to the library’s databases. Laurie instructed the student on how to navigate the website, find the appropriate database, how to start a search, and how to interpret the information. The student left the session confident of having more than enough information and new tools to get started.

Congrats to all the winners!!

Don’t forget to nominate your sessions for the Summer and now via the Ask a Librarian toolbox or at the end of your session.

Tags: exemplary reference awards