Statement of Competency N
Evaluate programs and services on specified criteria.
One topic pressed upon in the library science profession is that of standards and guidelines. The need to be aware of existing standards, or the lack thereof, in some realms of the profession is crucial. Benchmarking tools such as those provided by the Northwest Documentation Conservation Center (NEDCC) are guidelines to ensure archival materials are kept in the optimum environment to protect their lasting value. Many archives can only follow guidelines to the best of their budgetary capabilities. Other standards, such as those put forth by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) call for strict adherence for interoperability of technologies.
Many standards and guidelines exist for libraries and archives from preservation of materials to tips on writing sound collection development policies. Those in the profession must be aware of the newest guidelines especially in an era of bourgeoning technologies such as digital and electronic document preservation. These guidelines are readily available via the internet and through workshops sponsored by groups like the American Library Association (ALA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Other guidelines focus on how library professionals are to conduct themselves with patrons. Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has published a variety of documents directing libraries of proper protocol. “Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Library Users” is an example of RUSA’s guidelines for patron interaction.
Awareness of standards and guidelines is key for a library professional to bring the best tools to their employer. These tools can be used in just about every aspect of library and archival institutions from collection development to reference services. A good working knowledge of best practices will provide long-term stability to preservation of materials. A good way to exercise knowledge of standards is by visiting other institutions or looking into their projects and evaluating how, or if, they are using best practices. In the submitted evidence for this competency, I have chosen assignments that required knowledge of standards and applied them by evaluating existing sites and policies.
The first example of program evaluation is a LIBR 266 (Collection Management) assignment that compared the collection development policies of a state and a public library. Collection development policies should touch on topics including the library’s mission, weeding and handling challenges. Policies were evaluated by criteria put forth by Wayne Disher’s book, Crash Course in Collection Development, and by library journal articles. These sources all agree on main points to contain in a collection development policy. One necessary inclusion is that of an intellectual freedom statement. In the event of a patron wanting to bring a challenge to library materials, the institution has a document to fall back. This assignment analyzes two policies, how they differ, and how well they incorporate key sections of a collections development policy.
The second piece of evidence, Reference Service Observation, is a LIBR 210 (Reference and Information Services) assignment that uses resources including RUSA behavioral guidelines and IFLA digital reference guidelines. Face-to-face and digital reference interviews were examined comparing the behavior of the reference library to the guidelines of reference performance. Reference librarians must realize the importance of following guidelines like RUSA’s in order to make patrons comfortable and rewarded by their experience.
Digitization is quickly becoming an access option for library and archival materials. Mass digitization project have ended in sub par products when institutions do not use best practices during the project. Benchmarking standards run the gamut from quantity versus quality as seen in Google’s mass digitization projects to University standards like those put forth by Cornell University. The third piece of evidence uses Cornell’s Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging Tutorial and the best practices put forth by the Western States Digital Standards Group. Denver Public Library’s project for their Western History Collection is evaluated based on these best practices. This assignment ran congruently with my internship at the Visual Resources Collection (VRC) at University of California, Irvine (UCI). I was able to take my experience with this assignment and apply it to their ongoing digitization project to compare and contrast.
The evidentiary pieces put forth are only a few examples of my experience in applying standards and best practices to programs and services. Courses and other extracurricular activities during my MLIS education offered a myriad of opportunity to apply my knowledge and, in turn, build a strong foundation for this discipline.