Present: Christy Branston, Helena Calogeridis , Judy McTaggart , Jim Parrott , Richard Pinnell, Susan Routliffe (Chair), Mary Stanley , Jackie Stapleton , Linda Teather , Melanie Watkins , Rose Koebel (Recorder)
Guests: Susan Bellingham, Shabiran Rahman
Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meeting of February 24, 2004 were approved.
Focus Group Study Report
The Committee reviewed and commented on the Focus Group Study Report, which was prepared by team members Christy Branston, Shabiran Rahman , Jackie Stapleton and Melanie Watkins.
It was noted that many students and faculty were contacted with an invitation to participate in the focus group discussions about reference service, but relatively few participated. Although the report identifies some themes or trends from the discussions, the findings cannot be generalized. Between now and the next meeting, ISMC will re-read the report with a view to identifying whether some of the findings point to a need for further investigation, and which of the findings might be translated into recommendations. Susan commended the focus group study team for writing a very thorough and clear report.
Reference Service Goal Statement
The Committee reviewed the latest draft of the statement Judy prepared. It was suggested that we finalize the statement when we prepare the reference review report.
Staff Views about Reference Service
ISMC reviewed the questionnaire Helena compiled. Helena will make the changes as suggested today. The Committee will finalize the questionnaire via e-mail.
Skills Necessary for Reference Work
Several changes were suggested for the list of skills as they were categorized at the February 24 meeting. Rose will amend and re-send the list to the Committee. We’ll consider how to distribute it for feedback at our next meeting.
Next Meeting: April 6 at Porter. Topics for discussion: Focus group report (identify findings that require further investigation or translate into recommendations); staff questionnaire about reference service (review, distribution); skills necessary for reference work (distribution of draft for feedback).