40 students undertaking the MSc in Information Studies at the School of Wee Kim Wee, Nanyang Technological University was brought on a visit to LKCRL by Professor Shaheen on 29 Oct 2013. Mr Patrick Pu, Chair of Membership Committee, Library Association of Singapore (LAS) also joined the session.
The students arrived promptly at 6.30pm at the POD, Level 16 National Library as the library is strategically located in between Bugis and City Hall MRT. It was a lively gathering of students, professor, a LAS member and library staff. This was the 8th networking and collaboration activity organised by General Reference Team of LKCRL since 2006.
The opening presentation was about LAS and its activities by Mr Patrick Pu. This was incorporated with the objective of encouraging the students to join the information professional assocation. This was followed by lecture by Professor Shaheen on Virtual Reference Services for 90 minutes and a 15-minutes break with tea, coffee and snack served, courtesy of LKCRL.
Ms. Sharon Teng, Librarian of LKCRL provided an introduction to Reference Work and Reference Services. This was followed by Ms. Hameedah M Ibrahim, Librarian of LKCRL who explained on the collections (print and non-print) and services available at LKCRL. Students engaged themselves actively during the Q&A session and enjoyed the ambience and scenic view from the POD. They were busy taking photos from different angle at the POD for remembrance. Thereafter, students were up on their feet to get ready for a tour of the library.
2 LKCRL Librarians and 2 Library Officers led the tour of Library of Level 8 in 2 groups. Key stops included the library promenade areas where exhibitions are held. Collection display on Reference Works and Digital Reference was put up for their browsing. The Librarians highlighted to the students on the Library Science collection, microfilms, microfiches, posters, maps and ephemera. Some of the students were surprised, as this was their first time seeing them!
The 45 minutes tour ended at about 9.45pm at the Level 8, Reading Room area. Students were impressed with the facilities, collections and services offered at LKCRL. Feedback received was positive, with 47% rating the programme as “Excellent”; 47% “Good” and 6% “Satisfactory”. Almost all of the students commented that the programme had been useful and helped them to discover more resources (e-resources and databases) for their projects.
They remarked that the library tour had served as a great platform for sharing practitioners’ experiences and gaining insights, and they now had a much better understanding of the types of reference work done at the library. Most of them were satisfied and found that it was a well-spent evening.
Some photos:
Mr Patrick Pu explained about LAS and its activities
Professor Shaheen’s lecture on Digital Reference Service
Librarian Sharon Teng presented on Reference Work and Reference Services at LKCRL
Librarian Hameedah Mohamed Ibrahim presented on Collections Layout and Resources available at LKCRL
Reported By: Hameedah M Ibrahim, Librarian, LKCRL