Saturday, February 27, 2010

Method 10

Something that we have been struggling with in our Reference Department is communication. We have a paper calendar that we use to schedule the program room, that has to be manually updated, and can not be viewed electronically. There are two other desk calendars we use to notify other librarians when someone is taking leave, or called in. Another problem we have, is that we currently do not have a central reference email. So when people email us tests that we need to proctor, for example, it goes to a specific librarian. And if that librarian has been out, or didn't print out the email, the other librarians on desk have no way to retrieve that info.

I think PB works is something that we can use, to help bring us to that next level. It should be easy enough to use, that even those without the technical knowledge, should be able to pick it up. I think it would make our lives a little easier, a little more organized at the reference desk. We could even use the planning function, for big events like the summer reading club. Help organize task list, create deadlines, and make sure each librarian knows his/her responsibility.

As for wiki's itself, it seems just like a more involved blog. I can see where they would be useful to provide information on services that the library provides, and perhaps more detailed training for the different databases. There are actually tons of ways the library could incorporate those ideas. But I was more excited to learn about PB works, more than anything :)

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