Final Exam Questions and Sample Answers

The following questions and sample answers were selected from recent final exams. The selected answers represent ones that were judged to be in the range of "good to excellent" and are presented anonymously here with permission.

Question 1
Question 2
Question 3

Sample question 1:

Recently at least one state government has dropped a prohibition against the charging of fees for public library services. Should libraries charge fess for "premium" services? In your answer provide arguments on all sides of the issue.

Answer:

With at least one state government dropping a prohibition against charging fees for public library services, our profession needs to examine sources of library funding & how to best meet patron information needs with the money available.

I personally would like to see all aspects of library service free in a public library. The concept of equity of access is part of the Library Bill of Rights & means that all persons regardless of age, race, religion or socio-economic status should be free to access information. Since the public library may be the only way that lower economic earners may access information, charging for public library services would likely hurt those patrons the most and thus restrict their equity of access. This would in turn increase the existence of the Digital Divide which is the wide difference in information access available between different groups of people in the US. For instance, access to technology (and thus information) is much higher in two-parent families, higher wage earners & Caucasians. African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, the elderly, the poor & single parent homes are less likely to be able to access information via home computers & thus must rely on public library services.

Already some public librarians are charging for some services such as: copying, reference services, database searching, overdue fines, bibliographic instruction, interlibrary loans & even fees for video or book check outs. Some public libraries in larger urban areas may charge for special services such as a coffee snack bar or bookstore/gift shop.

I do not like the idea of charging for essential library services such as checking out books or receiving reference help. This brings me to the question of "should libraries charge fees for premium services?" First, we'd need to agree on what constitutes a premium service. Printing out a 4 page article off the internet is obviously not a huge expense but printing 400 pages is indeed an excess! Libraries need to determine guidelines for what is acceptable in this area. While some service should be free, certainly each patron can't print out 400 pages or the funds would be soon be depleted.

So is an interlibrary loan a premium service? Again, I think it depends on how many the patron needs & how quickly. Databases now can provide patrons with hundreds of hits on a search. Acquiring 20 ILL'S might not be unreasonable at no cost but certainly 200 would be excessive. Again, libraries need to set guidelines and charge only if the request exceeds those guidelines & thus is too expensive. In keeping with my support of free public library services, some ILL'S should still be available at no cost.

Public libraries are supported by tax-payers through local taxes, property taxes & other fees. In that respect, users are already paying for library services. Perhaps a reasonable way to be sure that Library costs are covered would be to charge an annual library card fee for patrons outside of the local tax base. Even a small fee for local user library cards might be an option. Since my thoughts still remain with those lower economic earners who would be discouraged by even these fees, I would prefer to look at how the budget is being spent & if there are some areas that could be trimmed.

Since our answer is to reflect arguments for both sides of this issue here is my summary:

While my little chart only reflects two sides, the real answer probably lies somewhere between. While maintaining our desire to provide equity of access to all persons, some library services should be free to everyone. On the other hand, premium services such as excessive interlibrary loans, numerous computer print-outs or loss of library items should be charged for when the library's guidelines have been exceeded.

I hope that bibliographic instruction, reference service & checking out materials will remain free to the public. This is the essence of what library service is about - providing information to all persons to help fulfill an information need.

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Sample Question 2

How would you define a "digital library"? Is the Internet itself an effective digital library? What would you identify as the primary challenges for the organization of, and access to, digital information?

Sample Question 2 -- Answer

A "digital" or "virtual" library is one that is made up entirely of electronic or digital resources. It can be accessed at any time or place by the users. It is the epitome of F.W. Lancaster's dream of a "paperless library" and was also foreseen by Freemont Rider when he discovered that print library collections have a "doubling time" of approximately 16 years. The issue Rider was concerned about was spare for the exploding volume of materials. Daniel Bell and others speculated extensively about this "paperless" post-industrial society where everyone would have access to the "right" information at the "right time" for example.

This vision of a digital library sounds exciting. Some librarians are already on their way to be coming totally digital - - making it possible for a user to sit down at a computer anywhere (now, increasingly on wireless basis) and retrieve the information needed.

But, on many links, this vision of digital librarians is a long way from being totally attainable. The Internet has certainly fueled the enthusiasm for this digital library.

Yet, the Internet is far from a digital library. Yes, it does contain resources that people do access and use in their lives. However, much of the public has the false perception that "everything" is available on the Internet - - they just need to sit down, type in a few terms, and voila, the information they seek will appear on their computer screen in front of them.

The truth is that a very small percentage of the universe of knowledge is available on the Internet. Valuable point, video periodicals, microform, and microfilm collections exist on un-digital, "physical" libraries. The fact that so many are turning to the Internet as their sole source of information is leaving a lot of "conventional" resources untapped and "wasting" in the physical library collections.

In addition, the Internet is certainly not an effective digital library because services are not made available to users to help them find and access the needed information. If services are available (for example, "Ask Jeeves") they are not necessarily offered by trained librarians who have knowledge of question negotiation, the reference interview, information needs and uses, for example. Increasingly these "online information" web sites are charging for their assistance. For those who cannot pay for the service, this will disadvantage them and contribute to the "Digital Divide."

Search engines such as "Google" are available to users to search the comparatively small number of resources out there on the Internet. Unfortunately, these operate on a similar concept which flaws filtering (i.e., key-word searching)) and may flood the user with information totally unrelated to the terms he/she typed in. In other words, the user will have many false drops! Frequently, web sites pay for inclusion on the search engine or the search engine delivers results on the basis of popularity of the site.

So, the "reference service" (really it is not this at all!!!) provided on the Internet by search engines and sites such as Ask Jeeves do not serve the user well at all!! By giving directly to the web, users overlook librarians who are trained in information access and retrieval. They will be unbiased in their provision of information and also do not have an affirmed motive behind the provision. So, their provision is much more equitable than the Internet can provide.

Service is also lacking on the Internet in regards to the collaboration that librarians and libraries are undertaking in the form of digital or virtual reference. For example, the Library of Congress is spear heading the CDRS (collaborative digital reference service) which will essentially provide users of libraries, who are members to CDRS, access to the print and non-print collections of the world in addition to the invaluable expertise of professional librarians. This virtual reference comes closer to the concept of a digital library, but still is mediated by a member library.

But, it isn't digital, because the majority of collections are not digitalized and thus not available at the user's fingertips. In fact, there is an incredible time and expense which is involved, should all of the print (or non-print, such as videos) documents be digitalized, "cataloged" in some way (such as the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative), then loaded digitally for access!! It is a huge task and will take hefty resources to attain this "total digital" good, which would be necessary to do over and above the Internet resources to achieve a "totally digital" Library.

As alluded to above, the resources would need to be available to support the technological infrastructure necessary for a totally digital library. In addition to monetary resources, equipment, software, etc., there would need to be trained human resources to establish the resource and provide appropriate services (reference, reader's advisory, and so forth).

Plus, users would need to be trained to use this digital library environment, meaning more funds, expertise, and time. Ideally, users would be taught to be information literate, so they could understand when they have an information need, know how to find the needed information, and how to use it effectively in their personal and/or professional lives. This would be quite an endeavor, since users would need to be taught basic literacy and computer literacy (if they already didn't have it), before they could be taught this "self sufficient" skill that would help them be effective life long learners.

There are other human "barriers" that need to be attained in addition to training. Although many users are connected and online, and acquainted with the glow of a screen, many other users still prefer books and/or paper documents. In fact many times, users print out material, so they can read a hard copy. Plus, book sales are not down - - they are flourishing, making the totally digital, e-book equipped library not as salient as proponents might like.
There are also copyright issues which challenge access to e-books, which is an in-depth topic in itself. For instance, the "first sole doctrine" has allowed libraries to circulate materials more than one time. With digital e-book in a digital library, a user fee may need to be paid to the publisher/creator of the resource, each time it is accessed. Fair use is also an issue in the digital environment - - digital materials may be encrypted and thus not be available for access, and citation in the scholarly world, for example. This could challenge the development of further knowledge in the scholarly world!

There are countless challenges which underline the digital library. I'll conclude with the often-overlooked idea that the library exists as "place" in our society. It has for several hundred years, and I trust will (in some form) into the next century. The library as a physical place when people can access meeting rooms and exercise free speech is vital in our democratic society. Users can meet and exchange ideas, speak with a librarian (in person!), attend educational or civically valuable programs. The idea of the library that exists as a physical and cultural institution has a long history (where the digital library does not) of organizing and providing access to information of all users to enhance their personnel lives and fuel our democracy.

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Sample Question 3

What does the information professional need to know? From the perspective of a type of information agency and job function (e.g., academic library reference, public library children's services, a corporate information architect) describe specific, essential elements of an information professionals knowledge base at the start of the 21STcentury.

The knowledge base required of today's information professional, specifically a reference librarian in an academic library (AL) is both extensive and multi-faceted. In the current environment of rapidly proliferating information resources, changing user expectations, and financial challenges, academic librarianship demands that its practitioners continually update their existing knowledge and skills to effectively serve their various client groups. The modern information professional's knowledge base is a dynamic entity that requires continual learning and adaptation.

For this discussion, I am assuming that the academic reference librarian works in a large, research oriented institution like UK, which supports both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a full range of subject degrees, from the bachelor through doctorate level, as well as faculty who are active in both teaching and research activities. Given that there are significant differences in the activities and skills required of academic librarians in other kinds of institutions of higher education, this distinction is necessary to focus the discussion. It could be said that the academic reference librarian's knowledge base has three major facets: resource knowledge, subject knowledge, and process knowledge.

Resource knowledge aspects of the knowledge base pertain to the person's familiarity with and fluency of use of the extended collection of their institution, including the traditional books and journals, electronic databases available through vendors or proxy servers, alternative formats such as audio-visual materials, microforms, CD-ROM. The AL reference librarian would need to understand the systems to access these resources, such as the cataloging and classification system in use, how to expertly use the OPAC, vendor interfaces to electronic resources, and any applicable indexing languages or terminology for specific vendors, or databases such as Dialog or ERIC. In addition, the reference librarian would need to know the various document delivery options available to the user, in order to provide physical access to the information. This would include tradition check-out electronic full text delivery from a multitude of sources, and inter-library loan options for unavailable items.

In short, resource knowledge aspects refer to the reference librarian's ability to assist the user with obtaining both intellectual and physical access to the information resources the institution has to offer. For the reference librarian at this level of academic institution this means keeping a functional knowledge of a huge range of resources in various formats some with ever changing interfaces or requirements, while serving user groups as diverse as freshman undergraduates and grant-wielding researchers in highly technical fields, and amazingly challenging task!

A second aspect of this person's knowledge base is the subject knowledge facet. A reference librarian at a Research 1 might need to specialize in serving the users in a particular discipline, such as chemistry or humanities, and serve them through a topically organized separate library. It might even be mandatory that such a reference librarian possess a second masters in the subject area they are serving. At the least, this individual will need to be immersed in the literature of the subject area, and become deeply familiar with the journals, authors, and special terminologies of the discipline.

The specialized academic reference librarian will need to develop a strong rapport with the user groups of the discipline, particularly the professors and graduate students, to learn the kinds of information resources they need to consult with, and the preferred formats for information delivery.

The third and most over-arching aspect of the required knowledge base is process-related knowledge. This refers to the fundamental understanding the I.P. needs to have of their users information needs, seeking and use, the kinds of actions the I.P. needs to take to respond to the users needs, and the kinds of behaviors and interactions the I.P. must be capable of in order to function effectively as a member of an information institution.

In terms of understanding their clients, this reference librarian should understand that information needs of AL clients arise from user awareness of gaps in their own knowledge, and may be explicit or very undefined. The ref. librarian's ability to conduct an effective reference interview, focusing on the client's true information need that underlies his or her question, will largely determine if that client's need is effectively met, or if it remains unsatisfied. This I.P. should also understand information seeking behavior well, remaining aware of Zipf's Principle of Least Effort, and the fact that information seekers will often "satisfies" themselves with less appropriate resources that are more easily obtained. The reference librarian needs to know when information provision is a more appropriate response that just mediating the client's needs, particularly for busy faculty clients. In short, the reference librarian must have a solid theoretical and practical knowledge of the processes of information needs, seeking and use from a user perspective, in order to serve their clients efficiently and effectively.

The I.P. in question also must have knowledge of organizational processes in order to function well. The academic reference librarian must understand the goals of their institution - the support of teaching, learning and research activities of faculty and students-and know how to align their own activities to help meet those goals. One specific way that must be operationalized in the current AL environment is to be effective while working in teams. Many large AL are moving toward a team-based management structure that will require librarians to develop strong communication, collaboration, and cooperative skills.

Time constraints won't allow an exhaustive explication of all aspects of the vast knowledge base required of an academic reference librarian. In general, this person will need to thoroughly understand the array of information resources and services their library offers, the needs & behaviors and preferences of their client groups the knowledge base and terminologies of one or more specific disciplines, and the organizational process of their institution. This is no doubt a tremendous challenge, particularly since this knowledge base must be kept current despite a rapidly evolving information environment.

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